The origin of the City Livery Companies is lost in obscurity, but it would be safe to say that bodies similar in constitution and objects, have always existed since the time when the various trades became separated from one another. There is, in fact, some analogy between these Companies and the " collegia opificum " of ancient Rome. The analogy is not, however, complete, for whilst the latter were mainly directed to the religious and social welfare of the community, the principal objects of the former were, at least at their inception, the protection of the particular trades from which they had sprung.
The craft guilds and the guilds merchant were a feature of Anglo-Saxon times. The latter were composed of merchants, and as a natural result there was a certain amount of antagonism between the craft guilds, composed of the trade craftsmen, and the guilds merchant, and with the increase in numbers of the former, the latter eventually had to give way. The craft guilds were firmly established in London in the reign of Edward II. In 1398 we find a return being ordered by Richard 11 of all the charters and letters patent of the craft guilds throughout the country. There are records showing that in 1214, a member of the Mercers' Company or Guild became Lord Mayor, whilst towards the latter part of the I 3th century, the Lord Mayors were always selected from one of the craft guilds, either the Mercers', Goldsmiths', Woolstaplers', etc.
The constitution of these guilds appears to have been much about the same as that of the City companies, in that Stewards, fixed an entrance or admittance fee, and periodical dues, and met at stated intervals during the year for the purpose of electing officers, and at the conclusion of such meetings sat down to a common banquet. yet another feature of these guilds was the "clothing" or livery of the governing body. Each guild prescribed the clothing or livery to be worn by its members, and a part of the ceremony of elections was the accepting of the "clothing" by the liveryman. Frequent mention is made of this in the early records of this Company, but the characteristics of the livery are nowhere described.
It appears that the first charters were granted during the reigns of Edward III and Richard II. The Fishmongers' Charter was granted in 1433. The charters granted to the craft guilds usually gave them power to hold land, and the right to make bye-laws for the regulation of the trade. Not infrequently, as in the case of the Upholders Company, power was given to fine and seize goods, although these powers seem to be of doubtful legality, for we find that in the case of the Dyers' Company, the power to seize badly dyed cloth was questioned and was held to be contrary to law (see Waltham v. Austin [1600], 8 Coke,125a). A similar decision was given in the same year in relation to the Merchant Taylors' Company's right to fine (see Davenant v. Hurdie, II Coke, 86a).
There have at all times apparently been three distinct classes of membership of these craft guilds -(a) freemen, (b) liverymen, (c) members of the Court. Admission to the guild or company was obtained either by apprenticeship, patrimony or redemption. The right of admission by patrimony means the right of any lawful issue of a freeman to claim admission on proof of legitimacy, and that his or her father was a freeman at the date of the applicant's birth. Thus it was no uncommon thing to find women as members. Admission by redemption means admission by purchase.
Such, no doubt, was the origin of the Upholders' Company, and it probably existed as a fraternity or guild from earliest times. On the 11th December, 1465, it was granted a Coat of Arms from Herald's College, and on the 14th June, 1626, it obtained its Charter from Charles I.
In the investigation of the financial history of the Company one is handicapped by the fact that the Minutes of the Court Meetings are alone in existence, and from a later date the cash accounts of the Wardens, and there are practically no other contemporary records until comparatively recent times. Even such records as there are commence only from 1678, and one may conjecture that the original records of the Company were lost in the Great Fire of 1666; although this still leaves an interval of twelve years unaccounted for. A possible explanation is that the practice of keeping Minutes may have been instituted only at this time when the Rules and Ordnances were drawn up.
The condition of the Company's finances at the commencement of the existing records do not appear to have been very robust. Their total resources, in fact, appear to be some £40 in cash in the Company's "chest", one or two bonds for small loans made to young members of the Company on the security or guarantee of a third party without interest; a certain amount of silver plate which seems to have been worth between £30 and £40, together with some freehold property which cost, in 1646 £400.
These funds were no doubt the balance of members' fines and admission fees, fines levied under the Charter on manufacturers of poor quality goods, and gifts or legacies from members and past members. There is a record of some of these latter, e.g.
1628 John Hodgson, sometime Alderman of the city, £100, to be lent to four journeymen at £25 each for 4 years without interest. Also given to the Company, £50.
1645 Thos. Arlington gave the Company £20.
1645 Andrew Yardly for the purchase of a hall, £500.
1647 Humphrey Seal to be lent to a young journeyman £20, for 5 years.
1651 Godfrey Holmes, £20
1662 Michael Best, £20
1670 W. Stabela for loan to a young journeyman, £25.
1681 Arthur Best, £50.
1707 P. Jackson for the purchase of property out of the rents of which to pay £1 each to 20 poor Upholsterers, £800.
It seems that it was customary to keep these gifts in the Company's "chest" until they were loaned out, after which they were taken into the Company's funds, and used for general purposes.
It is doubtful whether there were any gifts or legacies, other than those recorded, unless they were taken into the Company's general funds and expended as part of the income, for, as is evident from the foregoing, the Company had very little in hand at the commencement of the existing records.
So far as the cash in the "chest" is concerned then, it seems that this was possibly the balance of admission fees and fines levied on the members, together with the loans to the journeymen which, when they were refunded, were taken into the general funds of the Company. The fines seem to have been comprised of sums paid on admission to the livery, fees for binding apprentices and fines on members for passing over an office. In the latter case however, the Company had to defray out of the fine the cost of a Dinner to the Members, the expense of which would otherwise fall on the member himself. Thus, if a Warden refused office, then he was in the first place fined £20, and secondly a sum of £13 6s. 8d., out of which latter the Company were provided with a Dinner. Similarly, if the Master refused office, then this cost him £26 I 3s. 4d., whilst his failure to contribute to the Audit Day Dinner cost him a fine of £20. The Audit Day Dinner was apparently provided by the Master and two Wardens for the time being, and failure on the part of all of them resulted in the Company receiving £40, by way of fines, that is, the Master £20, the Upper Warden £13 6s. 8d., and the Lower Warden £6 13s. 4d.
It was provided by the Regulations that a person on being made free of the Company, should present it with a silver spoon of a weight of 2 ozs. The plate given in this way was not elaborate, for it normally seems to have taken the form of a silver spoon with the donor's initials engraved thereon, or a sum of 10s. in lieu, although there are records of larger sums being given. As stated earlier the value of the plate in 1678 amounted to about £30 to £40, including, several cups and tankards, and the inference is either that the giving of silver plate to the Company was of recent origin, or that the earlier gifts to the Company perished in the Great Fire twelve years earlier.
The fines for making or selling poor quality goods were not in themselves heavy, but it is reasonable to suppose that if the Master and Wardens were diligent in their searches, the revenue from this source was not inconsiderable. Thus, the use of Sheep's Leather for making chair covers, etc., was the subject of a fine of 20s. for every chair, etc., whilst the use of any other material than " downe feathers or flocks cleane and well wrought " as a stuffing material, incurred a fine of £5 for every offence. Again every person "using the Art or Mistery of an Upholder within the Citty of London and Liberties thereof or within seven miles compass of the same" was liable to be summoned to appear at a Meeting " there to heare read such good fitting and wholesome Orders as are made for the bettering of the trade and suppressing divers enormities and abuses," and failure to appear rendered the unfortunate tradesman liable to a fine of twelve pence. A similar fine was imposed on Freemen who neglected to obey the Master's Order to attend the burial of a brother Upholder and "accompany the Corps (sic) to the Church."
The land to which reference was made earlier was apparently a house or houses in respect of which the Company received £32 per annum. The situation of the property is not stated in the records recording the receipt of the rents, but it may be inferred that it was property situated on the site of Wingfield House or Wingfield Place, Lambeth Hill and Peters Hill in the Parish of St. Peters in the ward of Baynards Castle which was destroyed in the Great Fire. This property was purchased in 1646 for £400 to serve as a hall for the Company, and the money for its purchase was given by one Andrew Yardley in 1645. The "writings" relating to the purchase of this land were enrolled on the Rolls of the Chancery in 1646. When it was destroyed in the Great Fire the Company apparently erected on the ground, in common with many other companies at that time, house property from which it derived rent.
The Company subsequently had no hall, and its meetings were apparently held at various taverns in the City. It seems that at one time it rented for a term certain rooms for the purpose of holding meetings, for under date September 7th, 1699, it is ordered that the "Mansion House in Leadenhall Street belonging to the proprietors for furnishing mourning beds, etc., for funerals be taken for five years at £12 per year," and the Minute then goes on to state the rooms required and the times when they would be used.
It is not shown by the records that the lease was renewed, but in June 1706, there is in the Minutes of a Court of Assistants a direction to the Warden to pay the proprietors of this "Mansion House" a sum of £40 in full for use of the rooms to the following Michaelmas.
It is quite clear that this ground on which the Company's Hall once stood and which was the site of a Mansion House known as Wingfield House or Wingfield Place was also the site of what was known later as Crane Court. This appears to have been a narrow court or passage 100 feet long and only five feet wide at one end, containing ten dwelling houses and running between St. Peter's Hill and Lambeth Hill, parallel to Upper Thames Street. Both St. Peter's Hill and Lambeth Hill are still in existence, but the site of the Company's property is now occupied by warehouses. As will appear later, the site was purchased by the Corporation of London in the year 1863 for the sum of £4,250, and the land was utilised for City improvements. It is interesting to observe that the value of the property had increased ten times in roughly two hundred years. A ground plan of the Crane Court property appears in the Minutes of August, 1813.
In 1678, when the existing records commence, the Company, as stated before, does not appear to have been flourishing. Its total income for the year, including fines and rent, amounted to £93 10s. whilst its outgoings, comprised of entertaining expenses, tax on property, and fees to clerk and beadle, amounted to £73 1s 4d., the balance of £20 8s. 8d. being put into the "chest."
The year 1680 saw the end of the Company's interests in the Irish lands, for they were then sold to the Clothworkers' Company for £40, and a Deed of Release was executed. It is a matter of interest to trace the history of these Irish lands.
In the year 1609, the reigning monarch, James I, who was perplexed at the continual disturbances in the territories of Northern Ireland, which had been escheated by the Crown, suggested that the City Companies should acquire these lands for a consideration and develop them. After considerable negotiation the City Companies collectively agreed to subscribe a sum of £20,000, in consideration for which they were to be given control of the lands in the districts of Coleraine and Derry, with a view to colonising these lands with English Protestants and quelling the rebellions, which were so frequently troubling the Government. Of the £220,000 subscribed, £15,000 was to be used for building and improving the lands, and £5,000 for buying out the private interests. The money was duly subscribed to the Companies on the basis of their relative wealth, and a company was formed for the purpose of holding the lands. This company is what is now known as the Irish Society. The lands were duly conveyed to the Society, but the task of controlling and settling the land with English settlers proved much more expensive than was at first thought, and the City livery companies ultimately subscribed further sums in the neighbourhood of £60,000 for this purpose. The Upholders' proportion of the original sum of £20,000 is not shown in the records, but they contributed, between 1613 and 1615, a sum of £65 in response to demands. The real effect of the arrangement was that the escheated lands were made over to the Society and the City Companies undertook the task of developing these lands, and installing English settlers, mainly from the various crafts of the City. The lands in due course proved more or less self supporting, and in 1832 the question was raised by the City companies, led by the Skinners' Company, as to whether or not the Irish Society held the lands in trust for the public in general, or as trustee for the City Livery Companies. The case went to the House of Lords, and the upshot was that the Irish Society was deemed to be trustee of the lands for the public at large, but after satisfying the needs of the public, any surplus was divisible amongst the City Livery Companies. Inasmuch as the lands did not produce sufficient to finance the schemes which were necessary for the betterment of the people in North Ireland, there was no surplus, and the Livery Companies received no dividends whatever after this date. Further difficulty arose in 1891 through an action by the Attorney General of Ireland, who issued a writ against the Irish Society and the City Livery Companies jointly, including the Upholders' Company for the purpose of determining the status of the people and their rights in connection with the land. It was then discovered that the Deed of Release was executed in 1680 whereby the Upholders' Company had released all its rights in the Irish Lands to the Clothworkers' Company for the sum of £40. However, it seems that Dr. Freshfield was instructed to protect the interests of the Company, but there is no further record relating to the matter, and one can only assume that the Upholders' Company were able to establish that they had in fact relinquished their interest in the land.
In 1679 the Company paid £50 for procuring the approval of the Lord Chancellor to the Company's Bye-Laws, whilst in 1685 it was forced to meet further heavy expenses. It seems that this Company, in common with other City companies, incurred the displeasure of James II, and was forced to surrender its rights and privileges under the Charter and petition for a new one. This new one was duly granted by James II on the 9th June, 1687, but was annulled by Act of Parliament in the following reign (2 William and Mary), and the old Charter of Charles I was again revived.
All this cost the Company a considerable sum of money though, and there are sundry payments of £30 and £20 recorded. The normal income of the Company was insufficient to provide these funds, and in 1686 the Company mortgaged its land to one Giles Denny for £100 at 6 per cent., and part of the Company's plate was sold. In 1687 various loans were called in and the mortgage was redeemed. The net result of this trouble over the Charter seems to be that the "chest" was depleted, and the major part of the silver sold, and numerous loans were called in, so that the Company had to commence afresh in about 1687 to 1690. Its principal funds then comprised the various gifts which were lent out, and the Company's land which yielded £32 per annum. The income and expenditure for some years remained fairly steady, and there was little balance in hand at the end of each year. Sometimes one finds a credit balance, but this was more often than not wiped out in the following year by an excess of expenditure over the income.
The activities of the Company in protecting the interests of the trade are reflected in the entry in October, 1689, to the effect that £25 was paid to one Ward, towards the cost of obtaining an Act of Parliament for prohibiting the making of cane chairs.
In 1697 there is a Minute ordering that the "loan money" which, until that time, was apparently kept in the "chest," should be paid into the Bank of England at interest until some young man petitioned for a loan. If this money was in fact paid into the Bank then there is no record of it in the account books, and the implication is that no record was kept of these sums until they finally came into the Company's hands as part of the general funds. This makes it the more difficult to estimate the extent of the Company's resources at that time.
In 1707 Mr. Peter Jackson handed to the Company two East India Bonds to the value of £800 for the purchase of property out of the income of which the pensions to 20 poor persons was to be paid. The accounts show the receipt of the £800 and also the interest received on the Bonds. The accounts also show a payment of £27 17s. in respect of interest and premium to Mr. Peter Jackson, which seemed to indicate that he was to receive the interest until such time as the Bonds were sold and the property purchased. These Bonds appear to have been sold in 1709 and the proceeds with the interest thereon amounted to £872 1s.
A further £200 was borrowed from one member of the Company at 6 per cent, and in May, 1709, the two houses in Coleman Street were bought for £990. £100 of the loan was repaid with interest in September, 1709, and the balance in 1712-1713. On November 30th, 1708, the first entry appears of £20 paid to twenty pensioners.
The houses appear to have been insured in the Phoenix Office when bought, but subsequent entries show that the Coleman Street houses were insured in the Hand-in-Hand Fire Office.
These houses, when bought, were let at £19 and £39, respectively, and one of them would appear to have been converted into a shop, for in 1714 it was let to John Barnes, a surgeon, and he was allowed the first quarter's rent towards emptying the vault and "sashing" the shop.
Between 1707 and 1725, the income of the Company seems to have improved and to have been very good, what with the fines imposed on the members and the rent from the property, and at the latter date the Company seems to have had a matter of £215 in hand, notwithstanding that a certain amount of repair work had to be done to the Company's property. Of this balance of £215, £102 7s. was invested in a nominal South Sea Bond, and this constitutes the first investment of the Company outside real estate. The interest on the South Sea Bond was at the rate of 4½ per cent.
It is noteworthy that the last recorded search for bad quality goods took place in 1726.
The position in 1729, then, was that the Company had a South Sea Bond to the nominal value of £100, two notes of members who had been admitted to the Livery and had been unable to pay the fee and fine, amounting in all to £9 in cash, cash amounting to £106 10s., in addition to the property at Peter's Hill and the legacies put out on loan to young journeymen. It is to be regretted that the record of these later sums was not more distinct, for it is impossible to estimate with any degree of axactitiude the precise amount that was out on loan and which would ultimately fall into the Company's general funds, although there is a Minute dated 7th July, wherein it is stated that of the £220 "loan" money given to the Company there had been lost by defaulters the sum of £62 10s., leaving £146 10s. to be paid into the Company's funds, and £11 still outstanding.
The next twenty years are more or less uneventful. In 1731 the South Sea Bond was sold for £I02 3s. 7d. and £200 nominal South Sea Annuities 4 per cent. were bought for £2l7 15s., the balance being taken out of the general funds. These were not retained long, though, for in the same year the Master and Wardens went to view the houses on St. Peter' s Hill (there is an entry in the Cash Account: " Spent with Master viewing houses, £l 3s. !"), and the upshot was that some fairly extensive repairs had to be effected at a cost of between £300 and £400. This necessitated the sale of the South Sea Annuities for, £205 16s. and the borrowing from one Grimshaw of £200 at interest. This latter sum was repaid as to £100 in October, 1734, £50 in 1738 and a further £50 in 1740. Other repairs to the Company's property were effected in 1735 the following years, and the balance of the Company's cash did not grow very much. For example, the party wall of the house in Coleman Street was found to be in a "ruinous" condition. In 1742 another South Sea Annuity was purchased for £114 but was sold in 1748 for £102 to pay for repairs costing £100 odd.
Some indication of the value of the ten houses on St. Peter's Hill can be obtained from the fact that in 1733 they were insured in the Hand-in-Hand Office for £700.
In 1750 the Company was again put to some expense in petitioning for and obtaining an Act of Common Council for regulating the trade of Upholstering, the main purpose of which was to prevent anyone other than a member of the Company from practising the trade of upholstery in the City of London. The balance of cash at the end of 1750 was only £53 4s. 7d., and this dwindled in the following year to £6 7s. 5d. The cost of obtaining the above mentioned Act accounted for about £36.
It is noticeable that the ground rent of £32 per annum for the St. Peter's Hill property ceased in 1733, and there is a Minute authorising the Clerk to collect the rents from the properties. These rents then appear to have been collected from the individual tenants, and each of the ten houses appears to have been let at an average rent of between £7 and £8 per annum. The cost of repairs seems to have been heavy, and in 1750, out of a total rental of £77, £57 was spent on repairs. This is perhaps not surprising, for doubtless the houses were erected soon after the Great Fire, and in that case would be nearly 100 years old by this time. In fact, the absence of any records since 1678 relating to the building of the houses gives rise to the inference that they must have been built between 1666 and 1678.
In 1755 the piecemeal collection of rents ceased, and the whole of Crane Court, St. Peter's Hill, comprising ten houses, was let to a Mr. Reynolds, a bricklayer, for twenty one years at £37 per annum clear of all taxes.
From 1750 to 1770 there is a change in the character of the income. It has increased somewhat, namely, from an average of £180 in 1737 to something in the neighbourhood of £200 to £220 in 1771, and, moreover, has become more stable, for whilst the income from admission fees, fines and quarterage has declined, as also has the income arising from penalties imposed on shopkeepers and others in respect of the sale of poor quality goods, yet the receipts have increased. The investments have not increased, the chief reason being that the balance of the cash increased but slowly, whilst the property necessitated heavy expenditure at times, and in 1767 the sum of £170 was spent on the repair of one of the houses in Coleman Street. However, in 1766, £150 nominal South Sea Annuities, a popular form of investment, were purchased for £132, whilst in 1771 £100 nominal South Sea Annuities were purchased for £83, and the fall in the price is not without significance.
A curious item appears in the Cash Accounts for 1757 and following years. At the beginning of the year, usually the first item, there is an entry on the receipts side as follows:- "Received 136 ozs. 8 dwts. Silver plate at 5d. per oz. - £34 2s.", whilst the final item on the payments side runs as follows:- "Paid for plate deposited with Mr. Runnington for Order of Court £34 2s." An entry appears in the Minute Book round about this time to the effect that the Company's plate is to be left in the care of Messrs. Runnington, the Company's Cooks. One may hazard several conjectures as to the meaning of these entries, but perhaps the simplest explanation is that the Company deposited the plate with these people, who it may be inferred from other entries were the proprietors of the "George" in Ironmonger Lane, for safe keeping, and the entries are made with a view to preserving some record of the existence and whereabouts of the plate.
The Court at this time not infrequently dined at the "Spaniards" at Hampstead, and one is struck with the fact that this must have been a somewhat arduous journey in those days, and was probably accomplished either on horse or by coach.
Between 1770 and 1800 there were efforts to effect economies, and in fact there was a resolution in 1780 that the cost of the Masters' Dinners was not to exceed 2s. 6d. per head. This measure seemed necessary, for the total sum spent on feasting in 1777 was £124, which in those days was no inconsiderable sum. Even then there seems to have been some attempt at economy for in 1776 one of the Liverymen was severely censored for ordering French wines at the Livery Dinner, thereby causing heavy expense to the Company. It is not unlikely, however, that the motives of economy were not untinged with patriotism, for in addition to referring to the excessive cost to the Company the Court took exception to what it described as " setting a bad example to futurity."
In 1776 the Coleman Street property was re-let for thirty one years at £60 per annum in further consideration of the tenant expending on the property £200 within one year. In 1781 the income was insufficient to meet the expenses, and £100 of the South Sea Annuities had to be sold to pay the debts. A Committee was appointed and it recommended that the cost of entertaining be reduced and the admission fees be increased. Again, in 1794, the fees were increased, and the result of these efforts was that by 1806 the Company had so far flourished as to be able to invest the sum of £1,000 in South Sea Annuities.
The Tortoiseshell Tobacco Box was presented to the Company in 1777 by a Mr. George Friend, whilst the Ivory Hammer was given in 1794 by Mr. Boulton, the Master.
In 1786 the Crane Court property was let for a term of thirty one years on payment of a premium of £100 and a rental of £43 and the further consideration that the tenant expended on the property during the next seven years the sum of £200.
It is interesting to note that in 1788 the annual "Country" dinner in July was held at the Mermaid Inn and Tavern, Hackney, whilst from 1790 onwards it was held at the Crown and Sceptre, Greenwich, except in 1800, when it was held at the Ship.
The position of the Company at the beginning of the 19th century, so far as its income and expenditure was concerned, was by no means good, and by 1805 there was a continually increasing debit balance on the Cash Account. In that year, as a result of a Committee's investigation, the fees on admission, etc., were again advanced. Moreover, an attempt was made to enforce the Act of Common Council of 1750, and copies of the relevant section of the Act were distributed to persons who appeared to be carrying on business as upholsterers in the City of London without being free of the Company. The Committee advocated rigid economy, and some of the dinners were cut down. There certainly appears to have been room for some saving, for the Election Dinner in 18O5 cost no less than £72 - a sum which in those days represented very considerable purchasing power.
In 1808 the Company's Bye-laws with regard to trading without being free of the Company were again advertised. By 1811, when another Committee was appointed to enquire into the Company's finances, there had been a distinct improvement, and although the excess of income over expenditure was not sufficient to permit of any further investments being made, beyond a further £200 in South Sea Annuities in 1810, the balance kept more or less steady.
The next ten years saw a considerable increase in the Company's income. The leases of both the Crane Court houses and the Coleman Street property expired during this period, and the properties, on being surveyed, were found to be in a ruinous condition, particularly those in Crane Court. There were a number of Committees appointed to deal with the matter, and the upshot was that the Crane Court houses were let to a Mr. Westbrook for twenty one years at £90 per annum in further consideration of very extensive repairs-s and improvements being effected, and two of the houses on St. Peter's Hill being entirely rebuilt. The outgoing tenant paid £74 10s. for dilapidations. The houses in Coleman Street were let in 1820, after some difficulty and a good deal of advertising, to a Mr. Palmer for an annual rent of £156 and the further consideration that the property was put into good repair, the outgoing tenant paying £62 8s. for dilapidations.
This increase in the income from the Company's property, amounting to £143 per annum, placed the Company in a much more sound position, and a Committee investigating the matter in 1822 reported that there was no longer any need to exercise the stringent economies that had been observed for some years, and some of the dinners were restored. The Company resumed its summer dinner at the Crown and Sceptre, Greenwich. In 1823 the practice of making an allowance in respect of coach hire to the Members of the Court who attended the meetings was resumed, and the allowance which at the outset had been 2s. 6d. per head, subsequently increased to 5s. per head, was further increased to 10s. per head. These allowances are, no doubt, the origin of the present fee of 20s. allowed to members attending Court meetings. In the same year also the practice of permitting certain members of the Court to invite visitors to some of the dinners was instituted.
In 1821 the £1,200 South Sea Annuities were sold and re-invested in 3 per cent. Bank Annuities 1826. By 1825 the Company's investments in this Stock amounted to £2,200, bringing in £66 per annum which, together with the rents from the houses of £246, ensured the Company an annual income of £312 without taking into account the income derived from fines and admission fees, which in the same year amounted to no less a sum than £344.
In 1817 there was a suggestion that the Clerk should be elected to the Court, but it met with no support, and the letters copied into the Minutes of the period are interesting.
In 1821 the office of Clerk fell vacant, and upon the appointment of a new Clerk there was an investigation into the question of his remuneration. This was eventually fixed at £40 per annum plus the fees receivable by him in respect of bindings, etc. There was a further stipulation that he should be entitled to charge, as Solicitor, for all professional work done by him. The Minutes of the period recapitulate the duties which the Clerk was expected to perform by virtue of his office.
It seems that by this time the true functions of the Company had ceased, for notwithstanding the attempts made in the early part of the century to enforce the requirements of the Charter and the subsequent Act of Common Council, it is evident that there must have been a very large number of people practising the trade within the City and the surrounding seven miles, yet by no means all of these were freemen of the Company. Moreover, the practice of searching for bad quality goods had long since fallen into disuse, and, in short, the time had come when it was impracticable to carry into effect the essential purpose of the Company as a craft guild to regulate and protect the trade of its members.
The outstanding feature of the next quarter of a century to 1850 is the steady but insistent decline in the admissions to the Company and the consequent drop in fines. During this period the Company flourished, but although a certain number of investments were made, yet the Company spent most of its income as it was received.
By far the greater part of the income was spent in entertaining, and in 1827 no less a sum than £249 1s. 2d. was spent in dinners. Some idea of the scale on which the Company entertained can be gauged from the fact that in that year sixty persons were present at the Livery Dinner, and this seems to have been about the average. The dinners were held chiefly at the Albion in Aldersgate Street, at a cost of 14s. per head, which included bread, beer, cheese, dessert, ices and rose water. At this time the summer dinners were being held at the West India Dock Tavern, Blackwall.
In the year 1833 the Coleman Street property was acquired by the Corporation of the City of London for improvements, and the Company received in consequence the capital sum of, £2,550. This sum was invested in 3 per cent. Consols, and this, with sundry other investments, made from time to time, brought the total investments of the Company in 3 per cent. Consols up to £6,306 7s. 8d. in 1842. This included a legacy of £100 left to the Company by Sir William Rawlins.
The sale of the Coleman Street property caused a serious decrease in the Company's income, for instead of receiving an annual rent of £156, its income from the proceeds of the sale amounted to half only of this sum, showing a decrease of some £70.
There appears to have been some suggestion, when the property was sold, that the proceeds should be re-invested in freeholds, and, in fact, some properties were viewed and tenders were made.
In 1830 the Bank annuities were sold and were re-invested in 3 per cent. Consols, but the income was not affected by this change of investments.
In 1836 there was a proposal to separate the Stewards' fines paid and not appropriated from the General Fund of the Company. The reason for this is not quite clear, although subsequent events, to which reference will be made later, point to a possible reason. However, the order of the Court was subsequently rescinded, for it was found on investigation that during the past twenty years £650 more had been spent on livery dinners than had been received in fines, and it will be remembered that these fines were intended to cover the cost of certain dinners.
In the year 1837 the lease of Crane Court expired, and in 1838 the property was let to one Legg, a member of the Company, on a term of twenty one years, at £100 per annum.
During all this time the income of the Company was declining seriously, and some of the quarterly dinners were dropped, whilst in 1838 the Members of the Court refused to accept the Court fees owing to the state of the Company's funds, and the Company was also compelled to refuse an invitation to subscribe to a memorial to the late Admiral Lord Nelson.
Further consideration was given to the matter of the Company's finances in 1839, and apparently a more favourable view was taken of the matter, for it was resolved to increase the annual payments to the pensioners by 10s. and to continue the Livery Dinners so long as there were Stewards' fines. The matter was again reviewed in 1844, and the same resolution with regard to the Livery Dinners was again made.
In the year 1844 Mr. William Hunter, a member of the Court, was elected an Alderman and Sheriff of London and Middlesex and sixteen members of the Court, together with the Clerk, were ordered to attend when he was sworn in, in accordance with the custom prevailing in other Companies. The Minutes of the period give a description of the swearing in and the subsequent entertainment provided by Mr. William Hunter.
It is not without interest to notice that in 1841 the Beadle was censured, on the complaint of several members, for being intoxicated at the Dinners. He was again censured for the same offence in 1842, and in 1843 he was dismissed.
The practice of stamping the admissions to the Company with a Revenue Stamp was commenced in 1842.
The next half-century to 1900 is characterised by many changes in the affairs of the Company, and the outstanding feature so far as its finances are concerned, is the manner in which the investments have changed.
In 1850 the investment income of the Company amounted to something in the neighbourhood of £290 per annum, derived partly from the property at Crane Court (£100) and partly from £6,306 3 per cent. Consols (£189). At the end of the century the income amounted to some £327, derived from investments in six separate holdings of Government and Railway Stock. In addition the Company were treating as income during the whole of this time, up to the last year or two of the century, the fines and fees received from the members on admission.
It is a matter of interest to note here that in 1725 the first investment outside real property was made, namely, £100 South Sea Bond. Some two hundred years later, namely, in 1933, the Company again reverted to real property as a form of investment, as will be shown later, and in the meantime its corporate funds were held in a variety of stocks or securities, always, of course, of a non-speculative nature, with the possible exception of the investment in the South Sea Company.
In 1851 there was an outstanding item of interest, inasmuch as for the first, and, in fact, so far as the records show, the only time in the annals of the Company, a member was elected Lord Mayor, namely, Mr. William Hunter. The occasion necessitated some expense to the Company in attending the Lord Mayor to Westminster Hall, and the records show that this amounted to over £60, including £25 for the hire of a barge, and eight guineas for the hire of a band, in addition to the cost of hiring banners, banner bearers, and kindred expenses.
In the same year £30 was granted to the tenant of Crane Court to enable him to comply with the requirements of the Sanitary Commissioners.
In 1859 Crane Court again became vacant, and was re-let to a Mr. Robinson for a year at a rental of £120, an increase of £20 a year. The outgoing tenant, who had to effect certain necessary repairs, was granted £15 towards the cost.
The years 1862 and 1863 were active ones for the members, for, in 1862 a Committee was formed for the purpose of investigating the best method of selling the Company's property, whilst in the following year an Act was passed to effect improvements in the City of London which would necessitate the compulsory acquisition of Crane Court.
Once again it was found that the expenses were too high in comparison with the income, and as a move in the right direction the number of dinners was cut down to eleven in two years.
At about this time also the question was raised of disposing of the Company's funds amongst the existing members, and winding up the Company, and Counsel's opinion was taken on this point. The outstanding difficulty appears to be that the whole of the liverymen could not be traced, and although Counsel's opinion appears to have been delivered verbally, so that no permanent record of it remains, yet there seems grounds for supposing that he advised against the wholesale distribution of the Company's funds. The difficulty can be appreciated when one bears in mind the fact that the lawful issue of a deceased member could claim admission to the freedom of the Company by patrimony, as has been observed in the preliminary note. Nevertheless, he appears to have seen no objection to the realisation of sufficient of the Company's property to enable the fees paid by the existing members, other than their admission fees, being repaid to them.** (see below)
The fines paid by the then members of the Company were ...
Livery ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. £8 8s. 0d. Quarterage ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... £1 0s. 0d. Steward's Fine ... ... ... ... ... ... . £13 6s. 8d. Court Fine ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... £12 12s. 0d. Junior Warden's Fine ... ... ... ... £6 0s. 0d. Senior Warden's Fine ... ... ... ... £10 0s. 0d. Master ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... £15 0s. 0d.
... and the total sum required to repay the members the sums paid by them by way of fines was £1,862 0s. 8d. This sum was obtained by selling the whole of the Consols, the balance remaining being held for subsequent investment, and the existing members were duly repaid the fines paid by them during their association with the Company.
[** It is to be observed that after the repayment of the fees to the members of the Company in 1862, no further fees or fines were received for admission to the freedom, livery, or Court, and a number of members were, no doubt, admitted without any Payment at all, until 1896, when the fresh Resolutions which form the basis of the present Resolutions, were passed. Nor were any more fines levied for election as Master or Wardens.]
At this time, also, the negotiations for the sale of Crane Court were in progress, and the price eventually fixed for the acquisition of the property for City improvements was £4,250. This sum, less the expenses, was then invested in £2,000 East Indian Railway Debentures and £2,000 East India Stock. A further small amount of the latter stock was purchased in 1867, and at the end of that year the Company's funds consisted of £5,850 (nominal) East India Stock and £2,000 (nominal) East Indian Railway Debentures, providing a net income of some £382, a return in the neighbourhood of 5 per cent.
In 1865 the Clerk's salary was fixed at £40 per annum plus the binding fees, and the proper fees for professional services as a Solicitor.
In 1866 there appears an entry in the Cash Book recording the receipt of £27 1s., being interest on £4,284 deposited with the " Bank of London."
The Company's Banking Account with the London and Westminster Bank was opened in 1866, the cheques to be signed by the Trustee of the Company's funds and countersigned by the Clerk.
There appears to have been some enquiry at this time by the freemen of the Company with regard to a possible division of the remainder of the Company's funds, but the Clerk replied to the effect that the Court entertained no such proposal.
In 1868 the assets of the Company still comprised £5,850 East India Stock and £2,000 East India Debentures, and the actual net income amounted to £382 13s. 10d., a return of nearly 5 per cent. net, which compares very favourably with the present returns that are obtainable. Most of the income was being spent at that time, and the bills for the Albion Tavern, Aldersgate, amounted to no less than £225 in 1869. In 1882 the dividends from the East India Stock were reduced from 5 per cent. to 4 per cent., and in 1886 Corporation Duty made its first appearance.
During this time the income from the investments remained constant, but the expenditure was kept within limits, with the result that by 1889 there was a balance in hand of over £200. In that year the East India 4 per cent. Stock was redeemed, and the proceeds, or part thereof, amounting to £5,571 6s., were invested in £3,000 (nominal) Victoria Inscribed Stock and £2,000 South Australian Stock. In 1891 the balance of the redemption money was invested in £3I5 7s. 2¾ per cent. Consols.
In 1889 the Clerkship fell vacant, and of the two candidates, one of whom was the late Mr. W. J. Crump, afterwards Sir William J. Crump, J.P., a Mr. Taylor was selected. Mr. Taylor died in 1894 and Mr. W. J. Crump was this time elected.
The investments in 1891 had seriously depleted the Company's bank balance, and in 1894 £99 1s. 9d. Consols was sold for £99 10s. to increase this balance. At about this time the Court gave serious attention to the Company's investments, and as a result, the remainder of the Consols and the East Indian Railway Annuity were sold and the proceeds were re-invested in Great Western Railway, London and North Eastern Railway, London and North Western Railway and Caledonian Railway Stock were purchased. The Committee who investigated the Company's funds at this time recommended the purchase of Ordinary Stock in these railways, which, it will be observed, was not trustee stock.
In 1895 a Committee, formed in the previous year, reported on the financial position of the Company, and recommended the changes in the investments with the result set out above.
The Committee further investigated the question of the fees payable on admission to the freedom, admission to the Livery, and election to the various offices, and made certain recommendations which were not, however, wholly accepted by the Court. The result of these deliberations was that it was resolved that the fee payable on admission both to the Freedom and the Livery should be fifty guineas, no fees being chargeable on admission to the Court or on election to office. The number of the Court was fixed at nineteen, the limit in existence at the present time, whilst the election date was altered from July to April. The resolutions embodying the above proposals were finally approved at the meeting held on the 30th March, 1896.
On the 1st January, 1898, the investments of the Company were as follows ...
| £3,000 Victoria Government 4 per cent. | £3,240 |
| £2,000 South Australian 4 per cent. | £2,240 |
| £700 N.E.Rly. Consolidated Stock | £1,256 |
| £700 G.W.R. Ordinary | £1,242 |
| £700 L. and N.W. Rly. | £1,433 |
| £460 Caledonian Rly. Deferred Ordy. | £264 |
| £9,675 |
Following the recommendations of the Committee dated the 19th September, 1895, referred to above, to the effect that the amounts received by way of admission fees should be kept distinct from the Company's income on General Account, the Clerk reported on the 19th April, 1898, that the balance in hand was £52 10s. This sum formed the nucleus of the present Special Account, the value of the investments of which, at the present time (1934) is approximately £3,200, wholly invested in real estate. The first investment on the Special Account was made in 1900, when £200 Caledonian Railway Stock was purchased.
On 11th October, 1898, further Resolutions as to the conduct of the Company's business were proposed, and these were carried unanimously and rescinded those passed in March, 1896. No drastic alterations were made, with the exception of Resolution 32, which framed the constitution of the Special Account and specifically provided that the moneys received in respect of admission fees should be held on a separate account, not forming part of the corporate funds of the Company, to be used by the members of the Court in such manner as they shall think fit.
Such, then was the position of the Company at the close of the 19th century. During the century the funds of the Company had grown considerably, and were largely augmented by the results of the sale of the freehold property. The income had reached a more or less steady level of approximately £330 per annum, derived wholly from investments, whilst the ground had been laid for the building up of a substantial reserve fund by the institution of the Special Account. This has grown during the period of thirty four years from 1900 to the present time to the sum of £3,200, approximately, and has been made up wholly from admission fees and the income derived therefrom. This fund, as has been shown, is not part of the corporate funds of the Company, and can be dealt with in any manner which the Court, in its discretion, may decide. In reviewing the history of the Company for the last thirty four years, the most striking feature perhaps is the steady growth of the Special Account to which reference is made above. In the period from 1898 when it was constituted, until 1934, the Special Account has grown to a sum of over £3,100. Of this amount £2,042 represents admission fees, the balance being made up of income arising from the investment of the capital. The total of the account would, in fact, have been greater, but for the fact that for some of the years, the income was used for general purposes. There has, moreover, been a certain amount of capital depreciation owing to the fall in security values.
It will have been noticed that the Resolutions of 1898 revised the admission fees. The Resolution as drawn, imposed a fee of fifty guineas for admission to the freedom and for election to the livery, no fee being payable on election to the Court. Whether this was intentional or otherwise is not clear, but in 1900 the Resolution was amended so that after that date the fee for admission to the freedom and election on to the livery, was fifty guineas, whilst the same fee was payable on election to the Court by those members of the livery who had been admitted to the freedom subsequent to 1900.
In 1900 it was resolved to form a reserve fund out of the General Account income, and the Resolution directed that £20 should be set aside annually for this purpose. In fact, rather more than this amount was annually invested until 1906, when nothing more is heard of this reserve.
In the year 1904 the Peter Jackson trust received attention. It seems that for some years prior to this date the strict terms of the trust had not been observed, and although the annual sum of £20 had, in fact, been distributed, it had not been distributed to twenty necessitous freemen of the Company, but to four or five poor persons, some of whom were not freemen or widows of freemen. Having regard to the terms of the trust, whereby on failure of observance, the fund or property was to revert to some third party, it was thought expedient to take the advice of counsel as to the legal position. Accordingly, the joint opinion of Mr. Harry T. Eve, K.C., and Mr. E. J. Elgood was obtained by the Clerk. In the opinion of these eminent counsel there was little chance of any difficulties arising owing to the technical failure of the trust, but they advised that henceforth the sum obtained from the sale of the trust property should be invested in trustee securities and should be specifically earmarked as the Peter Jackson Trust Fund, and further that twenty necessitous upholsterers should be made freemen of the Company, and should each be paid annually the sum of one pound. This was accordingly done, and the proceeds of the sale of the Coleman Street property, namely, £2,550, were invested in trustee securities and twenty necessitous upholsterers were admitted as freemen. This fund is still specifically earmarked, and the number of necessitous freemen is kept up to twenty by filling the vacancies caused by death.
The Company's plate was re-valued for the purpose of insurance in the year 1905, and Mr. Comyns of Beak Street, a member of the Goldsmiths' Company, intimated that in valuing the Company's silver salt cellar at £200, he did not intend to imply that this was its market value, for this piece was unique, and might easily fetch £1,000 if put up for auction, a fact which was confirmed in 1929 when Mr. Trevor had the plate again re-valued. In the year 1905 the Company commenced holding its Meetings and Dinners at Princes' Restaurant, and in 1908 it entertained the Lord Mayor there.
The subject of admission fees again received attention in the year 1913, and the fee payable on admission to the freedom and election to the livery was reduced from fifty guineas to twenty five guineas. No doubt there was a very good motive underlying this reduction in the fee, but the effect on the financial position cannot be ignored. At the present time the net return from the investment of the twenty five guineas, after deducting income tax, is not more than, say 3¾ per cent., or 19s. 6d., and since the cost per head of the annual livery dinner of which liverymen are entitled to partake is roughly £2, it means that each new liveryman costs the Company an additional £1 per head per annum. In fact, the whole of the cost of the livery dinner falls on the Company's general funds for the income from the admission fees is treated as part of the Special Account and is invested, as has been shown earlier.
The War had its effect on the activities of the Company, as on everything else connected with the City, and the Dinners were wholly discontinued. The Court meetings were then held at the Clerk's office, 27, Leadenhall Street, E.C.3.
In 1915 a valuation was made of the Company's investments, and the records show that the cost price of these were as follows:-
General Account ... ... ... ... ... ... ... £6,591
Special Account .... ... ... ... ... ... ... £1,118
Peter Jackson's Trust . ... ... ... ... ... £2,535
There had been some depreciation, and £200 War Stock was purchased out of the balance of cash on General Account in order to make up the depreciation of the Peter Jackson securities.
At the conclusion of the War, the investments were considered, but it was not deemed expedient to effect any change.
In 1920 the Company entertained the Lord Mayor at the Girdlers' Hall at a cost of £174, otherwise the Dinners were again held at the Princes' Restaurant.
From this time onwards there has been no matter of particular interest except that the admissions to the freedom and livery remained steady, and there were twenty five admissions between 1920 and 1934.
In 1926 the Company's silver-gilt salt cellar was borrowed by the Victoria and Albert Museum for exhibition purposes, whilst in 1928 and 1929 it was borrowed for exhibition at Lansdowne House and Seaford House.
In the year 1926 the advice of the Company's stockbrokers, Messrs. Galloway & Pearson, was taken as to reorganising the Company's investments. They did not, however, recommend that any of the investments be sold, owing to the state of the market.
From this time onwards there set in a tendency for the income to fall steadily, and it became apparent at last that either the expenditure, which for some time had exceeded the income, would have to be reduced seriously, or else some steps would have to be taken to improve the income.
In the year 1933 a Committee was formed to investigate the finances of the Company, and a suggestion was made by Mr. J. Trevor, F.A.I., that the existing securities be realised and the proceeds be invested in freehold ground rents or mortgages. The market value of the Company's securities in April, 1933, were as follows:-
General Account ... ... ... ... ... ... £2,675
Special Account .... ... ... ... ... ... £2,987
Peter Jackson's Trust. ... ... ... ... £2,089
It is particularly interesting to observe the serious depreciation of the General Account investments, the cost price of which was £6,591. The proposition made by Mr. Trevor was recommended by the Committee and approved by the Company, with the result that after considerable negotiation the Clerk found suitable and amply secured freehold ground rents for the Company's funds. The Peter Jackson Trust funds were left untouched.
The position in the year 1934 is therefore that the General and Special Account funds are invested in freehold ground rents situated in and around London, and providing an income of roughly 5 per cent. The Company is assured of a steady and ascertainable income which will not be affected by fluctuations of trade.
In this year the Company again had the pleasure of dining at the Girdlers' Hall in Basinghall Street, the expense being defrayed by the Master, Mr. F. Lewis Griggs.
And so after many centuries this old link with the past still flourishes, and bids fair to flourish for many centuries more, as a reminder of the achievements of the Freemen of this ancient City of London.
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