A Brief History of the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers, London A.D. 1351-1889. T. C. Noble
commly called sea coales and pitt coales, which hath byn approved of by many prsons dealing in leade and other artists.” In 1766 John Purnell, of Froombridge, Gloucester, ironmaster, invented a new machine for making ship-bolts and rods of iron and steel. Between these dates there were several patents granted to ironmongers, but the patents were for numerous inventions quite apart from the trade.
We have stated that the Ironmongers are known to have existed many years previous to their incorporation in 1463. Now, according to the ancient City records, called “Liber Horn,” compiled in the reign of Edward I., (and quoted by Stow and others), the “Feroners,” or dealers in iron, about the year 1300 complained to the Mayor (Elias Russel) and the aldermen “for that the smiths of the wealds and other merchants bringing down irons of wheels for carts to the City of London they were much shorter than was anciently, to the great loss and scandal of the whole trade of ironmongers.” Whereupon an inquisition was taken, and three rods of the just length of the strytes, and the length and breadth of the gropes belonging to the wheels of carts were presented and sealed with the City seal. One was deposited in the Chamber of London, Guildhall, and the other two handed to John Dode and Robert Paddington, the ironmongers of the market, and John Wymondham, ironmonger of the Bridge, who were accordingly sworn to oversee for the benefit of the trade, and empowered to seize all unjust and less-sized irons in future. This reference is particularly interesting, for it not only proves the existence of “the trade” at least one hundred and sixty years before the incorporation of the Ironmongers, but gives us an insight into the way complaints were redressed nearly six hundred years ago.
In Causton’s introduction to “Mildmay on City Elections,” we are told that in a few years after the accession of Edward III. a silent revolution had been accomplished—the gildated crafts by the enrolment of the special freemen, householders of the wards each in his mystery, had obtained an exclusively civic importance, paramount to the mixed character of the inhabitants of the wards as civic divisions, and the reconstruction of the City from a territorial to a trading classification had become complete. Thus, in the twenty-fifth year of Edward III., 1351, a precept was directed to the wardens of the City Guilds by the Mayor (which precept formerly had been directed to the men of each ward), and in this precept each of the thirty-three mysteries was directed to select from their number four persons, who were to join the others of the Companies in a consultation with the Mayor and Sheriffs on the business of the City. The Ironmongers accordingly selected their two wardens and two others to represent them, and from this date they claim their existence as a Guild. In 1363 (37 Edward III.), when these Companies were called upon for “an offering” to the King to enable him to carry on the war in France, the then large sum of 452l. 16s. was contributed, and the Ironmongers supplied 6l. 18s. 4d. It is worthy of note that upon this occasion in precedency on the list it stood eleventh, while to-day, some 500 years later, its precedency on the list of City Companies is the tenth. Of this precedency, which was a serious question in olden time, we shall have to say a few words later on in our history.
We have now to mention a most interesting circumstance, which has only recently been discovered. Among the enrolled letters at Guildhall which between 1350 and 1370 were sent from the Corporation to many persons, and which Dr. Sharpe, the Records Clerk, so ably edited for the City four years ago, there is one written in French, and dated the 18th of October, the 38th Edward III. (1364), and directed to some persons whose names have not been preserved, but then residents at Bury—probably Bury St. Edmunds, in Suffolk—“desiring them to assist Thomas de Mildenhale, citizen and ironmonger of London, to recover his runaway apprentice, Andrew, the son of William Bruwere, who is understood to be staying in the town of Bury, in such manner as they would wish their folk to be treated in like case or weightier. The Lord have them ever in his keeping.” We are not told, and are not likely to know now, whether this runaway “merry” Andrew was brought back, and, if so, how the Chamberlain received him. In subsequent days a runaway apprentice would have “little ease” at the hands of the Guildhall caretaker of a citizen’s conscience.
We shall include in this second chapter of our history another most interesting document which Mr. Riley found when making his extracts from the Guildhall treasures a few years ago. It is nothing more or less than the appraisement of the goods and chattels of Stephen le Northerne, in the thirtieth year of Edward III. (1356), and gives us a very curious picture of what an ironmonger’s shop contained at that date. It would appear that the goods were in the house of one John Leche, in the parish of St. Michael, Cornhill, on June 6 that year, and that the appraisers were William Sunnyng, carpenter, Robert de Blithe, “brasyere,” Robert Russe, “brasyere,” Henry Clement and Stephen Basham, “lockyers” (locksmiths), and Adam Wayte, “upholder.” The total value of the household goods and stock-in-trade came to the sum of 9l. 14s. 2d., but even this amount was a large one in those days. Among the articles enumerated and appraised we find five carpets, 7s.; five bankeres, (bench-covers), 12 quyshynes (cushions), and one dosere (tapestry hanging), 3s. 9d.; three tablecloths and one towel, 21d.; one surcoat, 8s.; one aumbrey (portable cupboard) and chest, 18d.; one balance, called an “auncere” (weighing-machine), 12d.; pair of iron gauntlets and pair of bracers (for the arms), 6d.; 20 lbs. pewter, 2s. 11d.; two querne (or mill) stones, 18d.; three brass pots, two pitchers, a basin, seven brass plates, nine pieces of holdshrof, 19s. 11d.; feather bed, three carpets, three sheets, 9s. 6d.; two balances, 6s.; trivet and four iron slegges (sledge-hammers), 3s. 6d.; two plonchones (iron punches) and four cart-strokes (tires), 3s. 8d.; pair of irons for Eucharist, five fire-forks, four heynges, one tin pan, six latches for doors, four small goldsmiths’ anvils, two kerfsheres (chaff-shears), 5s.; eight pairs of kemstercombs (wool-combers), and one boweshawe (bowshave), 11d.; old iron and balance, 6s. 8d.; two iron spits and iron for bedsteads, 5s. 8d.; fifteen battle-axes, 7s.; four hatches and nine pair of hinges, 6s.; two small andirons, twelve hatchets, five pickaxes, seven carpenters’ axes, three twybilles, three woodbilles, four masons’ axes (old), pair of pincers, flesh-hook, &c., 10s. 4d.; twelve dozen hinges, 5s.; ten pairs linch-pins, nine pairs of bar-hooks, 6s.; iron grate, anvil, &c., 2s. 3d.; thirty-three pairs of okees (ornamental mouldings), 6s.; twenty bolts and sockets, 6s.; twelve pairs of Utt garnets, eleven pairs of Ambry garnets, ten plate-locks, 8s. 6d.; five latches, iron chisel, 120 keys, twelve cart-clouts (axle-tree plates), 3s.; pikestaff, 4d.; sixty columns (axle trees) for wheels, three barrels and two vats, 2s. 3d.; pair of mustard querns (mills), 6d.: mincing-bowl and shoe-horn, 1d.; bacinet, dagger, and buckler, 5s.; wooden bedstead, 2s.; &c.
This inventory is very curious, and, as inventories of so early a date are very rare, we could not resist the temptation of quoting one, especially when it related to an ironmonger’s shop. Now, it appears that the whole of these goods and chattels, together with one tenement, three shops, and one alley, situated in the parish of St. Michael, Cornhill, and valued at fourteen shillings yearly (rents in Cornhill were reasonable in those days), were delivered over to Simon Palmer, “pelterer,” and William Sunnyng, “carpenter,” by the Mayor and Aldermen, to be holden in trust for the use of Alice, the daughter of John Leche aforesaid, when she came of age. As the premises appear to have been shortly afterwards burnt to the ground, the trustees had to rebuild, and on folio 45 of the Corporation Letter Book G Mr. Riley found the cost of such restoration.
In our first chapter we stated it was in 1377 that by enactment the Common Council and other officials of the City were directed to be elected from the mysteries instead of by the Wards, as theretofore. This privilege, although only temporarily enjoyed as regarded the Council, yet has continued, so far as the Liverymen being the elective body of the City officials, down to the present time, notwithstanding that 500 years have passed by since the passing of the Act; and, looking at the list of names of the persons chosen and the many notable individuals, styled by old Stow under the heading, “Honor of citizens and worthinesse of men in the same,” there are few persons who carefully and without prejudice study the facts but will agree with us that the Livery have never neglected their duty, but have, as a rule, only elected those persons who would do their duty to their country, to their Sovereign, and to their brethren