1429. The first Charter. Privilege of Gar bling. felves a Hall, the fite of which has remained ever fince in the poffeffion of their defcendants. The Company's first charter of incorporation was granted by King Henry the Sixth, in the seventh year of his reign, and they became "a body politick, by the name of Cuftodes & Communitas Myfterii Groceria Londini."* The particulars of the fine and costs of obtaining the Patent, are detailed in the books as follows, viz. 1429.-To yo Chauncellor, for a fyne to yo King £50 0 0 8 5 O 12 A patent Roll of the 26th of the fame King granted to the Company the exclufive privilege of garbling in all places throughout the kingdom of England. This garbling, being chiefly confined to pepper and other fpices, was deemed neceffary, in order that the material might be fold in a clean and pure ftate, unmixed with bafer matter. The officer to whom this operation was entrusted, was fworn at the time of his appointment, to discharge his duty faithfully and diligently and to obferve that the garble of merchants' goods fhould be impartial. In the year 1394, a petition was presented to the Corporation of London by the Grocers' Fraternity, and by Angelo Ciba, Reginald Grillo, Tobias Lomellino, Branca Doria and other Genoefe, Floren * Ravenhill, as I have already stated in the Preface, compiled his scanty account of the Company from Stowe, and he has adopted the error of the latter respecting a Charter granted by Edward III. which he states was several times renewed and confirmed by Henry VII. in 1429. I repeat that I can find no mention of any fuch document prior to the one in question, nor do I believe it ever existed. tine, Lucca, and Lombardy merchants, complaining of the unjust mode of garbling fpices and other fotill wares. It was thereupon ordered that any merchant who should, for the future, fell fpices, or other merchandize belonging to garbellage, without its being first cleansed by a garbeller chofen, accepted, and sworn for that purpose, should forfeit the goods. The Grocers' Company were requested to recommend fome member of their own body to the Court of Aldermen to fill this office, which they accordingly did and Thomas Halfmark was chosen and fworn garbeller of spices and of fotill ware.* This Charter was afterwards confirmed, with a few alterations, in the reigns of Henry the Eighth, Charles the First, Charles the Second, James the Second, and William the Third. The office of garbeller, however, fell into defuetude, and the last mention made of it is in July 1687, when a "Mr. Stuart, the city garbeller, offered to purchase the Company's right in the garbling of fpices and other garbleable merchandize." The Court, finding that, "from long disuse, their privilege of appointment to that office was weakened, they accepted a small fine of £50, from Mr. Stuart for the office for life, and twenty fhillings per annum." 1463. Firft tranf I have already mentioned that the original Ordinances of this Company were kept in Norman French lation of and, I should have added, partly in Latin. As fome the Ordi * "The garbeller of spices is an officer of great antiquity in the city of London, who is empowered to enter any shop or warehouse, to view and search drugs, &c. and to garble and cleanse them."-Cowel. + As a specimen of the Latin I give the following extract from the books dated 1453 Tempore vero Wilelmi Marow Aldermanni necnon Iohannis Crof nances lish. into Eng- confufion arose from this irregular mode of infcribing the acts and proceedings, it was refolved in 1418, during the Mastership of Robert Chichely, that they should be tranflated into English. This was not, in all probability, executed to the fatisfaction of the Court of Affiftants; for, in 1463, Alderman William Marow being Mafter, the whole was renewed or re-copied, as appears from the following entry: "In the tyme of William Marowe, Alderman, and alfoe of John Crofbie and William Browne, Wardeyns, namelie, of ye. Mysterie or Brotherhode of Groceres of the Cittie of London, elected yo. 29 daie of yo. moneth of Auguste, in ye. yeere of owre Lorde 1463, and in ye. 3d. yeere of King Edward IV. this boke was renewed." New Ordinances were made, confirming and improving those already cited and, further providing for the security and interests of the Fraternity. They relate chiefly to the obligation of fecrecy on the part of the members, to the promotion of brotherly love and, as the chief means of effecting this, it was ordained" that yf anye debatis arose betwixt anye two members, for misgovernaunce of wordes, or afkyng of dette, or anye othere thynge, the partye playntif should come to the Maistres for the yere, and telle his grievaunce," and the Master was to make an end thereof; but if he could not, then, by leve of the Maistre they might goe to the Lawe;" which, I hope, few of them had the imprudence to do. by et Willmi Broune Gardianor. videls. Mftere fuis ffraternitatis Grocerie Civitatis Lond. elect. Vicefonono die menfis Augufti Anno dni mllmo cccc.lxiij et anno regni Regis Edwardi quarti III hujus libri erat renova. In quo continentur Conftitucōnes et Ordinaciones dicte Mistera acetiam Compōtus divfor. Gardianōr. et ultima voluntas divfor. ffratri fraternitatis ejufdem, etc. For a confiderable time after these new arrangements, there is no notice of any occurrence worth relating; the entries are confined to the registering of apprentices and freemen, to the elections of Wardens and to the details of accounts of expenditure. As fome of these are curious and worth preferving, I fhall give a few extracts from them in the Appendix; their insertion here being fuperfluous and calculated only to interrupt the course of the narrative. forma tion. 1556. Although there is no special mention of the fact, it The Reis clear from a variety of entries in the books, that the Grocers' Company went with the stream at the Reformation and adopted the Proteftant faith, in which they appear to have continued until Queen Mary came to the throne. The first act of her reign was the restoration of the Catholic religion; and this Company, in common with the others, was compelled to adopt, or to appear to adopt, the ancient creed. I find, accordingly, that on Sunday, June 8, 1556, "My maistres the Aldermen, the Wardeyns and the hole Liverie, affembled at their comon houfe called Grocers' Hawll and from thens they went to their churche, called St. Steven's, Wallbrooke; where they heard dirge fonge; and, that being ended, they returned to their fayde Hawll, where they drank according to their olde custome; and after, as many as were members, went to the election of their new Wardeyn;" and, on the day following, (Monday,) the whole Livery came to the Hall at ten o'clock in the morning, and again went to St. Stephen's, where a fermon was preached by Mr. Christopher, "and the maffe of Requiem fonge by note;" and, that done, they returned to the Hall to dinner; after which, they crowned Sir John Ayliffe, 1558. A Loan. Knight and Alderman, their upper Warden.* The Wardens were then requested to provide "an honeft prefte, of goode fame," to wait upon the Livery when they attended burials, or on other occafions, "where he might be needed." Sir John Harfte, being appointed to this office, put in his humble fuit" to be allowed the two lodgings adjoyning the parfonage of St. Steven's, Wallbrooke, for his lodging there during pleafure, upon his regularlie attending the Companie." The Rectory of St. Stephen's, being vacant at this period, three priests made fuit for it to the Company and one Dr. Staple was elected; but as Bonner, the Bishop of London, refused to approve of this appointment, it is most probable that the faid Dr. Staple was not confidered by him as a genuine Catholic. From this nomination, we may infer that the members of the Grocers' Company, in outwardly refuming the restored religion, yielded to force and not to conviction. A Mr. Busby was afterwards elected to the living. The first compulsory loan levied upon the City was at the commencement of the year 1558 and it had for object to enable Queen Mary to profecute that * The Grocers had, originally, founded a chantry in the church of St. Anthony, which had been fuppreffed at the Reformation. At this period, they fought to recover it, as appears by the following entry :— "Mafter Ofborne to be confulted as to an Exchequer writ to be fent to the poffeffors and occupiers or receivers of the profits of the late chaunterie in the church of Saint Antonie's of London, of the foun dation of the craft of Grocers." The matter came to nothing. + "On pretence of difcouraging controverfy, fhe (the queen) filenced, by an act of prerogative, all the preachers throughout England, except fuch as should obtain a particular license; and it was easy to foresee that none but the Catholics would be favoured with this privilege."-Hume's Hiftory of England, vol. iv. |