ANALYSIS OF THE PAYMENTS IN THE WARDS

THE CRAFTS IN THE DIFFERENT CLASSES

(The scanty information given in the roll has been supplemented by search in the London records )

NOTE I WOMEN IN THE CRAFT GILDS

Dr Cunningham in a passage on the position of women in the craft gilds (fn. 1) says that in the case of the London weavers, the weaver's rights descended to his widow, but that this seems to have been exceptional

But in the case of five men in the roll, of four different trades, they expected their wives to carry on their business, as they left to them the remaining term of an apprentice Thomas de Worstede, mercer, left also to his wife, six chests in a seld, (fn. 2) and another mercer, Henry le Chener, left to his wife, his shop in the great seld of London, and also the remaining term of two apprentices (fn. 3) , John Trapp, a skinner (fn. 4) , Simon de Turnham, a fishmonger, (fn. 5) and John de Somersham, draper, (fn. 6) each assigned one apprentice to his wife

It might be contended that though this was done, the custom had no sanction from the craft or city authorities, but it is stated in the will of Simon de Turnham that his wife or his executors shall present the apprentice, "at the end of his term in the Gildhall, as a good and faithful apprentice, as is the custom, and make him free and lawful, according to the custom of the city for apprentices" There is evidently no doubt of the wife's power to do this, or the duty would have been left to the executors alone

So the widow's rights seem to have been of the fullest kind, extending even to those which belonged to to the members of the craft gilds as burgesses

NOTE II THE TRANSLATION OF ALDERMEN

The translation of aldermen from one ward to another was frequent in the fourteenth as in later centuries Mr Beaven makes some comments about it, but he gives no reason for the translations (fn. 1)

The roll, by indicating the man's residence, makes it possible to suggest an explanation

In the cases where an alderman was not translated he was generally living in the ward that he was elected by in the first instance This is true of John de la Rokele (Dowgate), William de Briklesworth (Tower), Ralph de Upton (Coleman Street), and John de Cotoun (Walbrook)

But it would frequently happen that there was no vacancy in the ward of residence of the man who wished to become an alderman In such cases, he would represent another ward, and might in time be elected to the ward he lived in This appears to have been the case with Andrew Aubrey and John de Grantham, who were translated from Bread Street and Cornhill respectively, to the aldermancy of Cordwainer Richard Constantin was probably translated from Aldersgate to Cripplegate, (fn. 2) and Bartholomew Deumars was translated from Bishopsgate to Dowgate, and Henry Combemartyn from Aldgate to Tower

In all these cases the aldermen served first for poor wards which would always be dependent on the richer wards for their aldermen But translation was as frequent from the rich wards as from the poor (fn. 3)

NOTE III THE MYSTERY OF BLADERS

On page 233 of Letter Book E there is evidently a misreading or a misprint of "beader" for "blader" The wardens here mentioned are elsewhere called blader-e g Hamo le Barber in Bk F, p 220, Cal Wills, I, 533, and John Ate Loke, Cal Wills, I, 544

Footnotes