572 



LIST OF WILTSHIREMEN EXTRACTED FROM THE 



MINUTE BOOKS OF THE COMPANY OF WEAVERS OF 



LONDON. 1653—1674. 



By F. R. Y. Eadcliffe, K.C. 



The history of the Worshipful Company of Weavers of London 

 is being written, and for that purpose the old minute books of the 

 Company have been inspected ; and I have had au opportunity of 

 transcribing a good many of them (so far as material). 



The Company is the oldest of all the London Trade Guilds — 

 having been incorporated by royal charter at least as far back as 

 the reign of Henry the First : and its history is extraordinarily 

 interesting, as will be seen when the book appears. 



My present purpose is to contribute to the Wilts Archmological 

 Magazine a few entries in the minute books which concern the 

 County of Wilts. 



The Common Hall of the Company, well-known as the place of 

 meeting of the Cromwellian Committees, was destroyed in the 

 Great Fire of London — but the Company chanced to have at the 

 time an unusually competent and careful clerk, who managed to 

 save many of the old documents, including the minute books, as far 

 back as 1653. The same clerk, during his tenure of office, except 

 between 1654 and 1661, when I suppose that the business of the 

 trade guilds was more or less at a standstill, kept a careful record 

 of the name and place of abode of the father of every member who 

 took up his freedom. He was, alas, the only clerk who did so. 

 This record is of great interest. We talk now-a-days of the exodus 

 from country into town. The record shows that this movement 

 was well established as far back as 1653. At least four-fifths of 

 the members taking up their freedom at that time came from the 

 provinces. They came from every county in England from North- 

 umberland to Cornwall, from several counties in Wales, and, 

 occasionally, from Scotland and Ireland. Most of them came 

 from Northamptonshire and Leicestershire and elsewhere in the 



