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Title: An Old City Company: a Sketch of the History and Conditions of the Skinners' Company of London
Author: Sebastian, Lewis Boyd
Language: English
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AN OLD CITY COMPANY
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration]
Privately Printed Opuscula
ISSUED TO MEMBERS OF
THE SETTE OF ODD VOLUMES.
No. LIV.
AN OLD CITY COMPANY.
[Illustration]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
AN OLD CITY COMPANY:
A Sketch of the History and Conditions of
the Skinners’ Company of London,
The substance whereof was compiled
by command of His Oddship
Brother MAX PEMBERTON, Hack,
and read before
Ye Sette of Odd Volumes on
November 25th, 1902.
by
LEWIS BOYD SEBASTIAN,
Skynner to ye Sette.
[Illustration]
London:
Imprynted at ye Bedford Press, 20 & 21, Bedfordbury, W.C.
---
MDCCCCVI.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
IMPRIMATUR
Let this be imprinted.
By Order of the Publication Committee,
CONRAD W. COOKE (_Mechanick_),
Secretary, Publication Committee.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
_This Edition is limited to 299 Copies, and is imprynted for private
circulation only._
_No_....
Presented unto
BY
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration]
DULCE EST DESIPERE IN LOCO.
_Horace. Odes, iv, 12._
DULCE—_Delightful_, says the Poet,
EST—_is it_, and right well we know it,
DESIPERE—_to play the fool_
IN LOCO—_when we’re out of school_.
W. M. T.
[Illustration]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration]
Introductory Note.
THIS historical sketch of the Skinners’ Company of London, to which I
was apprenticed some forty years ago, and which I have since had the
exceptional honour of serving through seven Wardenships and two
Masterships (1886–7 and 1894–5) is an expansion of a Paper read before
Ye Sette of Odd Volumes at Limmer’s Hotel, on the 25th November, 1902.
Who that reads can feel surprise that such a Company, with such a
past—and such a present—commands and receives the loyal and enthusiastic
devotion of all its members.
Five-and-twenty years ago disparaging criticisms of the ancient Livery
Companies of the City of London were not uncommon. It had become a habit
with writers of a certain class to describe the members of the Companies
as illiterate people battening on public money, employing themselves in
what was often spoken of as “gorging and guzzling” at the expense of
their trusts, incapable of sitting down to a meal without the incentive
of £5 notes secreted under their plates; and whose business, when any
was done, largely consisted in granting beneficial leases of their trust
estates to one another. All ignorant and malignant fiction.
Whether anyone ever believed these stories it is difficult to say. At
the present time, at all events, there can be few, if any, who can
continue to do so. In point of fact, the members of the Companies are
very much like other people, educated in the same ways, and actuated by
the same motives, but with a strong sense of their responsibility for
the maintenance by their Companies of the high position which they
gained, centuries gone by. The funds of which the Companies dispose are
either their trust funds—as to the dealings with which the Charity
Commissioners can speak—or their corporate funds, which are governed by
their own pleasure. No £5 notes are hidden under plates; no beneficial
leases of a Company’s property are granted to its members. The
employment of a member of the Court of the Skinners’ Company to work for
the Company for remuneration, whether professionally, commercially, or
otherwise, is strictly prohibited. It is no doubt true that portions of
the Companies’ own incomes are spent on entertainments, in accordance
with the practice which has prevailed ever since the Companies existed
at all; but I do not think that here, at all events, or in any other
place where good fellowship prevails, any complaint will be made of
this. Moreover, as the money spent is the Companies’ own, criticism
would appear to be irrelevant. The entire income of the Companies, after
payment of their expenses, including the cost of the entertainments,
&c., is allocated to objects of public utility, selected by the owners.
The former misconceived attacks were very wounding to the members of the
Companies, whose feelings of personal honour and of affection towards
their Company were sorely outraged by them. For my own part, when I
compare my Company, my School, my University, my College, my Inn of
Court, I doubt whether any but William of Wykeham’s Winchester can vie
with the Skinners’ Company in my affections.
There are several reasons for this which appear to me to be good. One
is, that a member of such a Company feels himself to be connected by a
direct link with the History of England, of which these Companies are
part. Their destinies have been shaped and guided by men, of whom many
have done good service to their country, and who stand towards their
successors of later date in the position of honoured and revered
ancestors, to be followed and imitated so far as change of circumstances
permits. They are gone, but their work remains to be preserved and
extended.
Another reason is the opportunity which membership of a Company affords
of being of some little use in one’s own day and generation. There is
great scope for this in the wise and prudent management of the affairs
of a great Company. The sick have to be tended, the poor to be relieved,
the schools to be governed, the exhibitions and prizes to be awarded,
the estates to be managed, worthy institutions to be selected for
support, all the multifarious matters connected with the ownership of
property and the dispensation of charity to be controlled. All these
must be of interest to any generous mind.
Then there is the association with agreeable and congenial comrades.
Both Oxford and Cambridge are well represented in the Court of the
Skinners’ Company, and few of the greater public schools lack at least
one supporter. Eton, Winchester, Westminster, Harrow, Rugby,
Charterhouse, Marlborough, Clifton, Tonbridge, King’s College School,
are all to be found there. Other members have been claimed by Commerce
at an early age, but all are cultivated and kindhearted, and united in
the desire to promote the benefit of the Company and the useful and just
disposal of its resources. A pleasanter or more congenial society could
not easily be found. It has been a source of much gratification to me
that I was allowed to assume the title of “Skynner” to ye Sette.
The narrative which follows can be filled in by reference to the
“Account of the Worshipful Company of Skinners of London,” which was
published by my regretted friend and colleague, the late James Foster
Wadmore, A.R.I.B.A., while this Paper was in course of preparation. He
had then recently completed fifty years of service in the Court of the
Company, of which he was for several years the senior member, but
survived the publication only a few months.
[Illustration]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration]
An Old City Company.
THE corporate name of the Company is “The Master and Wardens of the
Guild or Fraternity of the Body of Christ of the Skinners of London.”
The association with the feast of Corpus Christi, held on the Thursday
after Trinity Sunday, goes back to the earliest days of the Company, and
the annual Corpus Christi procession and feast of the Company are
referred to and expressly sanctioned by the Charter of 1392—16 Ric. II.
When the name is Latinized, the word “Pelliparii” serves as the
equivalent of Skinners.
The Arms of the Company date from 4 Edw. VI., and are as follows:—The
Shield—_Ermine_, on a chief _gules_, three ducal coronets _or_, capped
of the field and tasselled gold. The Crest—a lizard (Lynx) statant
proper, gorged with a wreath, leaved _vert_, purffled _or_. The
Supporters—Dexter, a lizard proper; Sinister, a martin _sable_; each
gorged with a wreath, leaved _vert_. Motto—“To God only be all Glory.”
Down to the seventeenth century “In Christo Fratres” was used.
The date of the first establishment of this Company is unknown, but it
was certainly long prior to the year 1327—1 Edw. III—when the first
Royal Charter was granted to “Our beloved men of the City of London
called Skynners.” Later charters were granted from time to time, but it
is not necessary to refer to them here. The Company also holds an
unlimited license in mortmain. The earlier of the City Companies, such
as the Weavers, Saddlers, and others, claim to have had their beginning
in Saxon times. Whether the same is true of the Skinners, it is now
impossible to say, but at all events the grant of the charter
constituted a Royal recognition of what was already a voluntarily
existing fraternity.
An old book in the possession of the Company, written on vellum and
illuminated, which dates from the end of the fifteenth century, contains
a list of names of the “Founders and Bretherne and Susterne of the
fraternity of Corpus Christi founded by the Worshipful Fellowship of
Skynners of the Citee of London, that is to wit.”—
King Edward the III.
Dame Philip, his Queen.
King Richard the II.
Dame Anne, his Queen.
Prince Edward, father of the said King Richard.
King Henry the IIII.
Dame Johan, his Queen.
King Henry the V.
Dame Kateryn, his Queen.
King Henry the VI.
King Edward the IIII.
Dame Elizabeth, his Queen.
Leonell, Duke of Clarence.
Henry, Duke of Lancastre.
Thomas, Duke of Clarence.
John, Duke of Bedford.
Humfrey, Duke of Gloucester.
Richard, Duke of York.
John, Duke of Excestre.
George, Duke of Clarence.
Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
Edmund, Erle of Rutland.
Richard, Erle of Salesbury.
John, Lord Faunhope.
And others of less distinction, several of whom are described as
“clerk,” nearly 600 in all.
Then follows a list of names of sisters of the fraternity, rather more
than 100 in all. The membership of the Skinners’ Company is still open
to females, but only through patrimony; and as a female member can only
become a freewoman, and is not eligible for the Livery, only few take
advantage of the opportunity.
So far as the records of the Company show, there is no evidence to
support the idea that membership of the Company was ever confined to
skinners or furriers. A list of 1446 contains the names of persons
variously described as “doctour,” “bocher,” “dier,” “joyner,” “groser,”
“skynner,” and so on. So again, in a list of members admitted to the
Livery in 1738, there were only six skinners out of twenty-seven, the
remainder of whom are described as engaged in other occupations.
The working or “Artesan” Skinners, however, made attempts on various
occasions to obtain admission as such into the governing body of the
Company, but such attempts invariably proved unsuccessful. In 1606, the
“Artesan” Skinners applied for and obtained the grant of a new charter
to the Company, providing for the election of a certain proportion of
working skinners, and the admission to the Court of certain persons
named; but the Company brought the matter before the Privy Council, and
they after report made by the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, ordered the
improperly-obtained charter to be cancelled.
Again, in 1744, the “Artesan” Skinners proceeded in the Court of King’s
Bench for a mandamus, to compel the Court to choose certain of the
“Artesans” as members of the Court, but such proceedings failed. In
1747–8, a similar further attempt was made without success; and since
then the Company has had no further annoyance of this description.
The constitution and government of the Company are as follows:—At the
head comes the Court, consisting of the Master, four Wardens (known
respectively as First or Upper Warden, Second Warden, Third Warden, and
Renter Warden, of whom the Renter Warden, though possessing the
privileges of a member of the Court, is not one technically until
elected to membership at the end of his year of office), and Assistants,
all of whom but one (the last-preceding Renter Warden) are usually
Past-Masters. The above form the governing body of the Company. The
total number of the Court is fixed at not exceeding thirty. At one time
the Assistants were termed the XVI., and apparently did not exceed that
number. The members of the Court are all members of the Livery, and next
to them come the other members of the Livery, who are without seats in
the governing body. Below them come the Freemen, and after them the
Apprentices.
To trace the career of a member up to the Chair—if he is not the son of
a freeman, born after the date of his father’s freedom, so as himself to
be entitled to the freedom by patrimony, he must be apprenticed to a
freeman while between the ages of 14 and 21. After seven years of
apprenticeship he is entitled to the freedom, and it is usual to take up
the freedom of the City of London at the same time as the freedom of the
Company. Those entitled by patrimony are able to take up the freedom on
attaining 21. The Livery are elected by the Court from the freemen. The
practice has fluctuated. Sometimes the Court have elected practically
all qualified candidates free from objection. At other times, when the
numbers appeared to be growing too fast, limits have been imposed. At
the present time, the rule is to restrict the number of Liverymen
elected after apprenticeship to not exceeding three a year. This is in
addition to patrimonial candidates.
From the Livery one is chosen annually by the Court, on Corpus Christi
Day, to serve as Renter Warden for the year ensuing. The Renter Warden
was in former years the Bursar of the Company. He received the rents and
made the payments. He had the charge of the moveable property of the
Company, and was responsible for all. In return for this, certain of the
Company’s benefactors directed small annual payments to the Renter
Warden. The Renter Warden still checks over the plate of the Company on
taking office, but his responsible duties are now discharged by the
salaried officers of the Company, under the directions of the Court and
its committees. At the end of the Skinners’ year, _i.e._, on the
following Corpus Christi Day, it is usual for the retiring Renter Warden
to be elected to the Court, and through the following year he acts as
junior member, without office. The following year he is elected third
Warden, the next second Warden, the next first Warden, and then Master;
so that in six years from his election as Renter Warden he has passed
the Chair, and goes to the bottom of the Assistants, with only his own
ex-Renter Warden below him.
The ancient officers of the Company are the Clerk and the two Beadles,
the Clerk being the trusted and chief executive official, while the
Beadles discharge duties of a humbler character. To these have been
added, in more recent times, the Solicitor, the Surveyor, and the
Accountant.
On Corpus Christi Day the Election Court is held at noon, the members
being arranged round the horseshoe table in their usual order: that is
to say, the Master in the Chair at the head of the table, with the Clerk
at his right hand. Beyond him, the four Wardens in order of precedence.
The Master and Wardens alone wear their gowns at this and all other
meetings of the Court. On the Master’s left hand the Senior Assistant
sits, and beyond him, and round the outside and inside of both branches
of the table, come the remaining Assistants, more or less in order of
seniority, though this is not strictly adhered to. After the Minutes of
the previous meeting have been read, the first Warden is nominated for
the Mastership by a member, and leaves the room. Another member is
nominated in competition with him, and after the first Warden has been
elected on a show of hands, he is called back into the Court-Room, and
returns his thanks. The same course is adopted with the retiring second
and third Wardens and the Renter Warden of the year before, who are
respectively elected first, second, and third Wardens. Then follows the
election of most interest—that of the new Renter Warden, who is to join
the Court for the first time. Subject to the rule incapacitating more
than two near relatives from membership at the same time, any member of
the livery is eligible after the completion of seven years of
membership, and of these some will have been nominated by various
members of the Court in the previous March. The selection between these
is made by ballot, the name or names having the fewest votes being
removed from the list at each round, so that the final result represents
the general sense of the Court as nearly as possible. After this, it is
usual for the retiring Renter Warden to be elected to the Court. The
various committees are then appointed, and the annual re-election of
Officers follows. Shortly after 2 p.m., the Court, and such of the
livery as are able to attend, preceded by the Beadles with their staves,
and by the Clerk, and accompanied by the Preacher, proceed through the
streets to the Church of St. Mary, Aldermary (since the demolition of
St. Antholin’s), where a service is performed and the annual sermon
delivered by the Preacher, who is selected by the Master, and is usually
a highly-placed ecclesiastic, sometimes of episcopal—or even
archiepiscopal—rank.
In the evening the traditional election banquet takes place in the
Company’s Hall, in Dowgate Hill. The Master has on his right the four
outgoing Wardens, in order of precedence, and next to them the third and
Renter Wardens elect. On his left are the Guests of the Company, and the
remaining seats are occupied by the Court and Livery, all of whom are
invited. When dinner is over, and the loyal toasts have been honoured,
the doors of the hall are thrown open to the strains of music, and a
procession enters, headed by the musicians, who are followed by ten
Christ’s Hospital boys, representing the ten scholars formerly nominated
by the Company under the will of Mr. Stoddard (1611). Then come ten of
the junior Liverymen, each carrying alternately one of the five Cokayne
cups, referred to later on, or one of the election caps, and after them
the two Beadles with their staves, and the Clerk. The procession marches
round the hall from left to right, and halts when the first of the
Liverymen comes opposite the Master for the second time. The Master then
takes from him the first cap and, after trying it vainly on the heads of
some of the chief Guests, fits it successfully on the Master-elect, to
whom he then drinks from the first of the five cups. Then the music
strikes up, and the procession moves round the hall again, till a
circuit has been completed, when another halt is called, and the first,
second, and third Wardens elect are successively capped and pledged.
Then follows another circuit of the procession, and a similar
recognition of the Renter-elect, after which the procession resumes its
march, and leaves the hall. As each of the five Elect is capped, he
returns to his seat, wearing the cap, the retiring Renter Warden making
way for the third and Renter Wardens elect to pass above him. After an
interval, the caps are laid aside, and the Master proceeds to propose
the health of the Master-elect, and after his response the ordinary
proceedings are resumed.
The Cokayne cups bear the date-mark of 1565, and passed to the Company
under the will, dated 1598, of Mr. William Cokayne. Each stands 16½ in.
high, and is in the form of a silver-gilt cock standing on a tortoise,
the head of the cock being removable. Ever since the cups came into the
possession of the Company they have been used at the election banquet,
in pursuance of an engagement entered into by the Company at the time of
the bequest becoming operative. Their value must be very great. The
workmanship is somewhat delicate, and repairs have had to be executed
from time to time. Thus, Renter Warden’s account, 1661–2:—
“Paid Jacob Boddendicke for makeing a new tayle for one of the cockes
and refreshing 3 other cockes and mending their tayles and one of
the cases—005–10–00.”
The actual change of office does not take place until the Swearing-in
Court, held on the Thursday following Corpus Christi. At that Court the
outgoing Master takes the Chair, having a second similar Chair on his
left hand, and the outgoing Wardens in their usual places on his right.
After the Minutes of the Election Court have been read, the new Master
makes his declaration, and takes the Chair, the ex-Master moving into
the vacant Chair placed for him. Then the Senior Past-Master heads a
procession round the Court-Room, the other members falling into their
places as the procession moves on, the Wardens coming last, and so they
file past the two Chairs, offering congratulations to the new Master,
and condolences to his predecessor. Then the three senior Wardens elect
make their declarations simultaneously, and proceed past the Master,
ex-Master, and Senior Member, and round the room, to receive the
felicitations of their colleagues. Then the new Renter Warden is called
into the room, and goes through the same process. As the Master and
Wardens make their declarations, to which all the members present listen
standing, they assume their gowns, which, as already stated, they alone
wear habitually throughout the sittings of the Court, though not in
Committees. Then the ex-Renter Warden makes his declaration as a Member
of the Court. The two Beadles are present. Then follows the reading of a
selection from the Ordinances of the Company, after which a vote of
thanks to the ex-Master for his “prudent government of the Company
during the past year” is proposed, carried, and responded to, and the
proceedings then follow a normal course. At the banquet in the evening
the new Master is in the Chair, having the ex-Master in a similar Chair
at his left hand. The latter’s health is proposed in the course of the
evening, after which his retirement is complete. At this banquet the
Master and Wardens wear their badges for the first time, of which the
Master’s badge was provided by the Company in 1874–5, and the Wardens’
badges have been presented since by various Past-Masters.
The “othe of the newe maister and wardeyns the morowe after the day of
corporis X’pi,” as taken in the fifteenth century, is worthy of note.
“Ye shall swere that ye shalbe true liegemen unto oure liege lorde the
Kyng, and to his heyres Kyngs; ye shall be indifferent jugis betwene
party and party, withoute favoure, love, or affeccion, and withoute
malice or any evill will to any parsone or parsons: all maner ordenances
and good rules that bene made or shall be made for the wele of this
craft of Skynners ye shall truly execute and kepe; ye shall not breke
any of the ordenances made by ye comyn assente and hole agreement of all
the XVI of thys Companye w^toute ye hoole agrement of alle or of ye most
part of ye same XVI. All these thyngs ye shall truly observe and kepe;
so help you God and all seyntes, and by the boke; and kys ye hyt.”
The old custom was that the Lord Mayor of London acted as Chief Butler
at the Coronation of a Sovereign, assisted by a representative of each
of the twelve great Companies. John Pasmer, Pellipar, represented the
Skinners’ Company in this way at the Coronation of Richard III, in 1483;
and so recently as the Coronation of George IV, in 1821, the Company was
similarly represented by Mr. Thomas Moore, who was Master of the Company
at the time of that King’s accession to the throne.
The Company has in its possession a complete list of the Masters from
1485 downwards. A few only of the earlier Masters can be identified.
Thus, John Penne is described as Master of the Company in 1409 in a deed
of that year, and William Newenham as Master in 1434 in a will of that
date.
In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries it seems to have been customary
for the same member to occupy the Chair on several occasions, especially
when he was conspicuous among the Aldermen of the City of London. Thus,
between the years 1485 and 1600 only thirty-nine members served the
office, of whom the most frequent occupants of the Chair were:—
Sir William Martyn, 5 times, the first being in 1485, and the last in
1502.
Sir Thomas Mirfine, 5 times, the first being in 1509, and the last in
1516.
Geoffrey Walkeden, 5 times, the first being in 1561, and the last in
1577.
Sir John Champneys, 6 times, the first being in 1527, and the last in
1539.
Sir Andrew Judd, 6 times, the first being in 1533, and the last in
1555.
Sir Wolstan Dixie, 7 times, the first being in 1573, and the last in
1592.
Alderman Philip Gunter, 8 times, the first being in 1556, and the last
in 1582.
Seven others served for four years each within the same period.
After the sixteenth century the practice of re-election became nearly
obsolete, and at the present day it is never adopted except in the case
of the death or retirement of the Master, or one of the five members in
the succession to the Chair, in which event a Past-Master has to be
elected in order to avoid dislocating the ordinary course of the
Company. Only eight re-elections took place during the whole of the
nineteenth century; and there are at the present time only two double
Past-Masters in existence. On leaving the Chair for the second time, a
double Past-Master regains his original precedence.
In the seventeenth century, three instances occurred of noblemen who had
joined the Company being elected and serving as Master. These were the
Earl of Berkeley in 1685, the Earl of Monmouth (afterwards of
Peterborough) in 1690, and the Earl of Romney in 1696. At the Election
Court at the conclusion of the Earl of Monmouth’s Mastership (June 18th,
1691), it is recorded in the Minutes that “Ye R^t Hon^{ble} ye Master
appeared and tooke his place;” and after the elections were over it was
ordered that a dinner should be given, on which £60 should be expended,
“To w^{ch} the R^t Hon^{ble} the Master declared hee would make the same
up 100_l._ But the Co^{rt} considering his Lo^{pps} extraordinary bounty
from time to time shewed to ye Company, w^{th} great importunity prayed
his Lo^{pps} excuse therein, letting his Hono^r know a Buck was ye
usuall and only p^rsent made by ye Mast^r on ye like occasion. Upon
mo’con to know who should preach ye Elec’con Sermon, it was by the R^t
Hon^{ble} ye Mas^{tr} declared that he would appoint his owne Chaplaine
to performe ye same.” In recent years it has become usual for each
Master to leave with the Company some permanent record of his year of
office, in the form of a piece of plate, but this is a purely voluntary
act.
It is usual for the Master to officiate at public ceremonials—such as
laying of foundation-stones, opening of new buildings, and the like,
instead of inviting distinguished aliens to act; and a collection of the
records of some of such occasions will be found in Appendix III.
It is also usual, in the event of a child being born to the Master
during his year of office, for the four Wardens to stand godfathers to
the child on behalf of the Company, and for a silver cradle or its
equivalent to be presented by the Company to their godchild. It is an
understood thing that the child, if a boy, shall be christened
“Skinner,” and, if a girl, shall be christened “Pellipar,” or some
variant of that name. Such occasions have of late years been far from
frequent. In fact, there has been only one within the last quarter of a
century, and that happened twenty years ago.
The Hall of the Company is situate in Dowgate Hill, facing the west side
of Cannon Street Station, and having the Hall of the Tallow-Chandlers’
Company adjoining it on the north, and that of the Dyers’ Company on the
south. In and prior to the fourteenth century, the buildings standing on
the site were known as the Copped Hall, but since the fourteenth century
the Copped Hall with certain shops adjoining, or the buildings which
have replaced them from time to time, have formed the Hall of the
Skinners’ Company. The earliest deed relating to the premises which is
in the possession of the Company is a grant of the Copped Hall by
Edmund, Earl of Cornwall, to Reginald de Thunderley, in December, 1295.
The old Hall was consumed in the Great Fire of 1666, after which the
present Hall was erected in its place.
One of the earliest members of the Company to arrive at distinction was
Thomas Legge, who was Lord Mayor in 1347 and again in 1354, and was the
ancestor of the Earls of Dartmouth. His was the age of the wars with
France, and he contributed £300 to the expenses of the expeditionary
forces. In 1364, the Skinners’ Company supplied a sum of £40 for the
same purpose.
In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the order of precedence of the
Companies was not clearly defined, and struggles took place between them
from time to time, in which one Company sought to establish its
superiority over another. The Skinners, who always ranked high among the
chief Companies, fell out with the Fishmongers over this matter in 1339,
and fighting took place, which had to be put down by force.
But the chief of these disputes in which the Skinners were concerned
took place at the beginning of the reign of Richard III, between the
Skinners and the Merchant Taylors, which again caused fighting, and led
to the question of precedence in processions between the two Companies
being submitted to the arbitration of Lord Mayor Billesdon and the
Aldermen of the City of London, by whose award, dated the 10th April,
1484—1 Ric. III—it was in effect decided that each Company should invite
the Master and Wardens of the other to dine with them in their Common
Hall once a year, and that the two Companies should take precedence in
processions in alternate years, beginning at Easter. This order was only
to be disturbed by the event of a member of either Company becoming Lord
Mayor, in which case, according to old custom, the Lord Mayor’s Company
was to take precedence of all others. The award will be found in
Appendix I, together with a supplementary award of the 17th January,
1521—12 Hen. VIII—explaining that the original award was applicable on
all occasions.
Lord Mayor Billesdon’s award, which forms the subject of the painting
recently placed by the two Companies jointly in the Royal Exchange, has
continued to be scrupulously observed down to the present time. The two
Companies rank alternately sixth and seventh among the twelve great
Companies of the City, and the Master and Wardens of each dine with the
other once a year; the Skinners’ entertainment taking place in December,
and that of the Merchant Taylors’ in June. The representatives of the
visiting Company are received as the chief guests of the occasion, and
after dinner the Master of the entertaining Company gives the
time-honoured toast, which, when the entertainment is at Skinners’ Hall,
is in the following terms:—“The Master and Wardens of the Worshipful
Company of Skinners drink health and prosperity to the Worshipful
Company of Merchant Taylors, also to the Worshipful Company of Skinners,
Merchant Taylors and Skinners, Skinners and Merchant Taylors root and
branch; may they continue and flourish for ever!” To which the Master of
the Merchant Taylors’ Company responds in identical form, but
transposing the names of the two Companies. When the entertainment is at
Merchant Taylors’ Hall, the Master of that Company gives the toast on
behalf of his Company, to which the Master of the Skinners’ Company
responds.
In the year 1681, some little friction appears to have occurred with
respect to the annual visit, as the Court Book for that year contains
the following entry under date August 9th:—“Whereas, at a Court holden
the 8th of June last, it was ordered that the Mast^r and Wardens of the
Merchant Taylors should be invited to dine with this Worp^l Comp: on
their Election Day, viz^t, on the 15th of the said month, and whereas
the Mast^r and Wardens of the said Compa: were invited by the Wardens of
this Worp^l Comp: at Merchant Taylors schoole at the usuall time, and
forasmuch as the Mast^r and Wardens of the said Company of Merchant
Taylors for severall reasons to their Court appearing did decline the
said invitac’on and sent one of their Wardens to excuse their comeing;
and since, viz^t, on Monday, the 8th of August instant, one of their
Wardens with some other p’sons in his Comp: made an invitac’on to the
Mast^r and Wardens of this Worp^l Company to dine with their said
Company, on Thursday, the 11th of this instant August. Now, this Court
haveing had informac’on from the Mast^r and Mr. Warden Key that such
their invitac’on was not made by ord^r of Court of Assistants of the
said Company of Merchant Taylors, but only by one of their Wardens, with
the consent and direction of the said Mast^r and Wardens—This Court doth
therefore desire Mast^r and Wardens of this Company now p’sent to
decline goeing to their said Dinner or to accept thereof in respect the
said invitac’on was not made by ord^r of their Court according to their
usuall custome.”
In pre-Reformation times, an important feature in the conduct of the
Company was the performance of obits and rendering of honour to departed
members. The Renter Warden’s accounts, which have been preserved from
1491 downwards, contain numerous references to such matters. Thus, in
1535–6—
“Pay’d to Syr John Stylbone, pryst, syngynge and prayinge for the
soule of Master Merfen at the Charnel-house, and at Seynt
Antolyns, by yere
vii_li._”
“Item, pay’d for the kepynge of Mr. Myrfyns obbyte by yere at the
Charnel-house xxvi_s._ viii_d._”
Again, in the following year—
“Payd for a dyner provided at Skynners’ Hall for the bequest of
William Tornor, Skynner, decessed, for the clothyn of thys
felysshipe in the tyme of thys accompt
iiii_li._ v_s._ ii_d._”
“Item, payd for spice, bred, wyne, and ale at hys buryinge at
Skynners’ Hall after _Dirige_ for the Company at the tyme of his
buryall in the tyme of thys accompt
vi_s._ viii_d._”
On the other hand, we find among the receipts in 1535–6—
“R’d of Thomas Davy the yonger for a fyne for that he denyed to bere
the corpus of Thomas Franke to hys beryall
xii_d._”
“Item, r’d of Water Bucknell for a fyne for that he gave oprobryus
wordes to the Master and Wardens, xx_d._, and for that he denyed
to bere the corpus of Thomas Franke, decessid, according to the
ordynances
iii_s._ iiii_d._ Summa v_s._”
So, in 1536–7—
“Receyved of the executors of John Edwards, Skynner, latte decessed,
for his bequest to make a recreacion at Skynners’ Hall for the
clothinge of the Company that were present at his buryall in the
tyme of thys accompt
xl_s._”
The fine imposed on Water Bucknell for his “oprobryus” words to the
Master and Wardens show that the authorities of the Company knew how to
guard themselves from insult. But they were equally careful in the case
of less important members. Thus, in 1535–6—
“R’d of William Tornor for a fyne for that he Revyled and myssayd
ongoddly wordes to George Forman
v_s._”
“Item, R’d of George Forman for slaunderus wordes and mysbehavyor to
the sayd William Turnor the same day
iii_s._”
It may be conjectured that the 2_s._ by which Turner’s fine exceeded
Forman’s was owing to the blasphemous character of his language.
Litigation was a cheap and inexpensive amusement in those days. Thus, in
1535–6—
“Payd for the sute in the lawe bytwene thys house and Mystres Bedell
in the Spirituall Corte for maynteynynge of the Torches Master
Bedyll gave thys house
vii_s._ vi_d._”
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the Company contained many
men of distinction. One of the more conspicuous of these was Sir Andrew
Judd, who was Master of the Company in 1533, and on five subsequent
occasions. He was Alderman, Sheriff, and (in 1550) Lord Mayor of London.
He was also Mayor of the Staple of Calais, and in all his various
offices he was distinguished by loyalty and capacity, taking, among
other things, an active part in the suppression of Sir Thomas Wyatt’s
rebellion. He died in 1558, having amassed a considerable fortune as a
merchant, and was a benefactor of the Company to a substantial extent.
He founded the Company’s almshouses for men in Great St. Helen’s. But
his especial glory is that, in the year 1553, he founded and endowed, in
his native town of Tonbridge, under letters-patent obtained by him from
Edward VI, the famous free Grammar School, now known as Tonbridge
School, which has since made good its claim to a place among the great
public schools of England. This school is, by direction of the Founder,
governed by the Skinners’ Company, in whom he reposed the fullest
confidence, not unwisely.
Very little now remains of the original school buildings, with the
exception of a part of the Head-Master’s house; the old buildings were
removed and new ones erected in 1863–4, to which were added a large
block of science rooms, with a library and gymnasium, in 1886–7, and a
great hall with another large block of class-rooms and workshops,
joining the science buildings to the 1863–4 buildings, in 1894. A new
chapel was erected in 1900–2, replacing a smaller one which had been
built in 1859, but which was never consecrated, and is now used as a
museum. Still further additional buildings are in prospect. Large
additions have also been made to the playing-fields. The school is now
governed under a Scheme of the Charity Commissioners of 1881, and
contains about four hundred boys.
The annual Visitation of the Governors takes place at the end of the
summer term, when the doors of the houses in the town are decorated with
young birch trees, in a way which I only remember to have seen elsewhere
at the old Imperial city of Rothenburg, in Bavaria, at Whitsuntide. On
the first day the buildings and property are inspected, and any
necessary directions given. On the second day a Latin address, reminding
one of the _Ad Portas_ at Winchester, is delivered by the Head Boy on
the arrival of the Governors at the School, to which one of the
Examiners replies. A roll-call in the Great Hall follows, succeeded by a
commemorative service in the parish church, at which an interesting
bidding prayer is repeated (see Appendix II). In the afternoon there is
a prize distribution in the Great Hall, with the addition of addresses
by the Head Master and the Master of the Governors, an announcement of
the result of the examination for leaving exhibitions, and a list of
honours obtained, which grows from year to year. Three silver pens,
respectively gilt, parcel-gilt, and plain, are also presented to
distinguished scholars, in accordance with the Founder’s directions.
The inscription on Sir Andrew Judd’s monument in the church of St.
Helen’s, Bishopsgate, is as follows:—
“To Russia and Muscova
To Spayne Gynny withoute Fable
Traveld he by land and sea
Bothe Mayre of London and Staple.
The commenwelthe he norished
So worthelie in all his daies
That ech state fullwell him loved
To his perpetuall prayes.
Three wives he had: one was Mary
Four sunes one mayde had he by her
Annys had none by him truly
By Dame Mary had one dowghter
Thus in the month of September
A thowsande fyve hunderd fyftey
And eyght died this worthie Staplar,
Worshipynge his posterytye.
S’r Andrew Judd Knt.”
Sir Andrew Judd’s daughter by his first wife was named Alice, and
married one Thomas Smythe. She, by her will dated in 1592, left
considerable bequests for the benefit of the inhabitants of the
almshouses founded by her father, and for other purposes connected with
the Company. Her second son was the well-known Sir Thomas Smythe,
referred to later on.
Other conspicuous Skinners of the sixteenth century were Sir John
Champneys, Lord Mayor in 1534 and six times Master of the Company; Sir
Richard Dobbs, Lord Mayor in 1551 and four times Master, who took a very
active part in the foundation of Christ’s Hospital; Sir Wolstan Dixie,
Lord Mayor in 1585 and seven times Master, also President of Christ’s
Hospital; Sir Stephen Slaney, Lord Mayor in 1595, Master four times and
President of Christ’s Hospital; Sir Richard Saltonstall, Lord Mayor in
1597, Master four times, and Governor of the Merchant Venturers’
Company.
The sixteenth-century benefactors of the Company include Thomas Hunt and
Lawrence Atwell, under whose wills, dated respectively in 1557 and 1588,
considerable property was bequeathed to the Company for various
charitable purposes; and Henry Fisher, under whose benefaction, by deed
dated in 1562, an Exhibition at Brasenose College, Oxford, is maintained
for a Tonbridge scholar, and remuneration is provided for the preacher
of the annual Corpus Christi sermon.
Sir James Lancaster was a successful merchant, trading to the East
Indies, and an esteemed naval commander. In 1600 he was appointed the
first Admiral of the fleet of the East India Company, of which he was a
director. Under his will, dated 1618, certain Exhibitions at the
Universities, and stipends for poor preachers, are awarded by the
Company.
Sir Thomas Smythe, son of Dame Alice Smythe, and grandson of Sir Andrew
Judd, after serving the office of Sheriff of London, became the first
Governor of the East India Company. He was also prominent in connection
with the Muscovy Company and the Virginia Company, and acted as
Ambassador from James I to the Czar of Russia. By his will, proved in
1625, property was left to the Company, out of which certain University
Exhibitions, as well as scholarships at Tonbridge, are established; and
the residue is distributed for charitable purposes among poor residents
in certain parishes in Kent, under a scheme sanctioned by the Chancery
Division in 1883.
Under the will of William Stoddard, dated 1611, the Company possesses
the right to nominate children to Christ’s Hospital.
In the early years of the seventeenth century the Company was largely
occupied with the acquisition and settlement of its Irish estates in the
County of Londonderry. Proposals for the colonisation of large districts
in the North of Ireland were issued by the Crown in 1608, and the
response made by the public proving inadequate for the purposes in view,
application was made to the City of London, which resulted in the City
undertaking the plantation of the County of Londonderry. This was
effected through the instrumentality of a new Corporation composed of
Aldermen and members of the Common Council, to which was given the name
of “The Irish Society.” Of this Society the first Governor was Alderman
Sir William Cokayne, Lord Mayor in 1619, and Master of the Company in
1609 and two later years. He was also President of St. Thomas’ Hospital,
and was son of the donor of the Cokayne cups. The first Deputy-Governor
was also a Skinner, William Towreson, or Towerson, who was Master in
1616. The _modus operandi_ was that the county (exclusive of the towns
of Derry and Coleraine, and the ferries and fisheries) was divided into
twelve portions, equalised as far as practicable, and that these were
appropriated by lot among the twelve great Companies. With two
exceptions, each of the twelve had associated with it some of the minor
Companies, who contributed certain proportions of the necessary funds,
so that each of the twelve, with its associated Companies, provided
one-twelfth of the total expense. The Skinners’ estate, constituting the
Manor of Pellipar, was shared by them with the Stationers, the
White-Bakers, and the Girdlers, the Skinners’ share being somewhat
larger than those of the other three combined. In 1876, the Skinners’
Company bought out the Stationers and Bakers, leaving the Girdlers their
sole co-owners, the latter owning rather more than eleven per cent, of
the undivided estate, and the remainder belonging to the Skinners’
Company. For many years the estate was let to middlemen on successive
leases for three lives, but in 1872 this system came to an end, and the
estate was managed directly by the Skinners’ Company. It has recently
been disposed of under the Irish Land Acts.
In the seventeenth century, the Company became possessed of a
considerable estate in Clerkenwell, known as “Clarke’s Close,” under the
will, dated in 1630, of John Meredith. They also award another
University Exhibition under the will of Edward Lewis, dated in 1673.
Under the will of Lewis Newbury, dated in 1683, the Company’s almshouses
for women were erected at Mile End. These, as well as the Judd
almshouses for men at St. Helen’s, have recently been replaced by new
and more commodious buildings at Palmer’s Green: to which all
inscriptions and other objects of interest at the old almshouses have
been carefully removed.
The Company was involved in the troubles arising from the arbitrary
proceedings of the kings of the Stuart family, and the disturbances
attending the establishment and supersession of the Commonwealth. In
1625, the Company was compelled by judgment, obtained on a writ of _quo
warranto_, to surrender its lands to the Crown, but the judgment was set
aside by the Parliament in 1641, and Charles I assented to their
decision. During the great Civil War large sums of money were advanced
to the City, and the Renter Warden’s accounts contain numerous entries
of expenditure on arms and gunpowder. In 1645–6, the following entries
appear:—
“Aug. 5. Paid the Collectors of Dowgate Ward for 2 months ending 1
Aprill, 1645, for the maintenance of S’r Thomas Fairfaxes army
0024 00 00
Aug. 13. Paid the Collectors of Dowgate Ward for the fortifications for
2 months
0021 00 00
Aug. 25. Paid the Collectors for 3 months for the maintenance of S’r
Tho: Fairfaxes army
0036 00 00
Sept. 30. Paid the Collectors for the maintenance of S’r Thomas Fairfaxs
army for two months
0024 00 00
Nov. 10. Paid the Collectors for 2 months assessment for the Scottish
army
0009 00 00
Dec. 3. Paid the Collectors for the fortifications for 2 months and is
in full for 6 months
0021 00 00
Jan. 7. Paid the Collectors for the maintenance of S’r Tho: Fairfaxs
army for 3 months in full
0036 00 00
Jan. 23. Paid the Collectors in full for 12 months for the Brittish
armye in Ireland
0010 10 00
Apr. 21. Paid the Collectors in full for the assessm’t of the Scottish
armye
0009 00 00”
In 1648, the following entries relate to soldiers quartered at the
Hall:—
“Nov. 30. Paid, spent on the Lieutenant and souldiers when they came to
quarter in the Hall
0000 13 06
Dec. 22. Paid, spent by the Clarke on the souldiers
0000 02 02
Paid, spent more on the souldiers by the Clarke while workmen were
secureing the house
0000 05 07
Paid for iron boltes, staples, boardes, nayles and workemanshipp to
secure the house
0000 16 04
Feb. 6. Paid M’r. Warden Alport by order of the M’r. and Wardens for 2
bedds and furniture to lodge the comaunders in att the courte
parlor
0031 13 08
Mar. 26. Paid, spent on the M’r. and Wardens when they went to Collonell
Tichburne to gett the souldiers removed
0000 04 10
Paid Mr. Richbell for fire and candles for the souldiers
0014 18 09
Paid, spent by the Clarke in going and coming by water to the
Quarter-M’r Generall with Collonell Tichburne’s lettre to get the
souldiers removed
0000 04 10
Paid a souldier that went to the Lieutenant to Whitehall and for
bringing downe the souldiers’ bedds out of the Hall into the yard
0000 01 06
Paid for makeing cleane the Hall after the souldiers were gone
0000 12 04”
It seems to have been considered imprudent to make the entries too
explicit in all cases. Thus in 1642:—
“Allowed to the Renter Warden for reasons best known to the Auditors
015 00 00”
And in 1646–7 the same entry appears, but the amount is increased to,
20–03–01.
Many of the other entries during this period are also worthy of note.
Thus:—
1644–5. “Paid for a drincking, July 18, being a daye of Thankesgiving
0002 16 01
1645–6. “Paid to Mr. Taylor’s blinde sonne for studying a sermon by
order of Courte
0001 00 00
1647–8. “Paid, loste by lighte monye received in 100_li._
0000 02 03
1648. “Paid, loste more by Counterfett monye
0000 05 06
1648–9. “Paid for a dynner, being thanksgiving daye about Colchester
0015 10 07
1649–50. “Paid a cheater that pretended hee was to bring the Company a
doe from the state
0000 05 00
1654–55. “Paid Mr. Ogelbye for a booke called Virgill by order of Courte
005 00 00
1658. “Paid for intertayning the Lord Maior and Aldermen att their going
to the funerall of the Protector
0001 16 04”
The Colonel Tichborne referred to in some of the entries of 1648 was Sir
Robert Tichborne who gained an unfortunate prominence in the times of
the Commonwealth. After successful trading he became a Colonel in the
Parliamentary army, and was appointed Lieutenant of the Tower of London.
He also obtained a seat in Parliament, and in 1649 presented a petition
to the House of Commons in favour of the execution of Charles I. He was
a member of the High Court by whom the King was condemned, and signed
the warrant for his execution, in January, 1649. In 1650 he was Master
of the Company, and in the same year he served as Sheriff of London, his
colleague being another Skinner, Richard (afterwards Sir Richard)
Chiverton, whose Mastership, in 1651, succeeded his own. In 1655 he was
knighted by the Lord Protector, and in 1656 he filled the office of Lord
Mayor, in which he was again succeeded, in 1657, by Chiverton. In 1657
he was nominated one of Cromwell’s peers, and became known as Lord
Tichborne. A pageant was provided by the Company on his accession to the
Civic Chair, at a cost of several hundreds of pounds. As has been seen,
the Company availed themselves of his influence to secure the removal of
the soldiers who had been quartered at the Hall in 1648, and they were
not ungrateful for his protection. The following further entries in the
Renter Warden’s accounts refer to him:—
“1650, Maye 30. Paid for a dinner when our M’r. and Wardens went to the
Court of Aldermen about Alderman Tichborne
0000 13 00
June 15. Paid Mr. Woodall for warning a Courte of Assistance about
Alderman Tichborne
0000 02 06”
In the same year there appears among the “good debts due to the house”
the following:—
“Alderman Tichborne, our M’r., for his fyne to come into the Assistants
0025 00 00”
while in 1650–51 there appears among the payments:—
“Paid, allowed Alderman Tichborne out of his fyne according to an order
of Courte
0025 00 00”
1656–7. “Paid, given the Lord Maior by order of Courte towardes the
tryming of his house
0060 00 00”
In 1653–4, under date February 8th, appears the entry:—
“Paid for a dynner when the Lord Protector was feasted att Grocers’ Hall
0026 04 02”
After Cromwell’s death, when the Restoration was approaching, “the Lord
Tichborne” was appointed one of a large committee to arrange for a
banquet to the Lord General Monk and his lady, which took place on the
5th April, 1660. The following entry refers to this occasion:—
“Paid for a dynner, April Vth, for the Lord Generall Moncke, the
Councell of State, and the Feild Officers
0476 12 09”
In May following the Company provided £504 towards a present from the
City to the King and the Dukes of York and Gloucester: and various other
sums were paid in connection with the reception of Charles II, including
“the interteynement of his Ma^{tie} to a Feast att Guildehall.” The
change of circumstances is further attested by the following entries:—
“1660–61. Paid the vergers att Poulis, Januarye 30, being a daye of
humiliation
000 05 00
Paid June 12, att the Myter Taverne, being a daye of humiliation which
turned to a daye of rejoycing by meanes of faire weather
000 15 10”
In the autumn of the year 1660 Tichborne was tried as a regicide by the
Special Commission, and sentenced to death, but was not executed. His
property was, however, confiscated, and he passed the remainder of his
life in confinement, and died a prisoner in the Tower of London in 1682.
The following entries in 1661–62 show that the Company were not
prevented by the heavy taxes on their loyalty from giving effect to
their interest in learning:—
“1661–2. Paid the royall present for the Kinge’s Ma’tie according to an
order of Courte of the xxixth of August
200 00 00
Paid to the M’r and Fellows of Pembrooke Hall in Cambridge towardes the
charge of their building according to an order of Courte of the
viiith of Julye
66 13 04”
In 1665 came the Great Plague, followed, in 1666, by the Great Fire of
London, in which the old Skinners’ Hall shared the fate of so many
others of the City Halls. The Company’s valuables were saved, but the
Hall itself was destroyed, and for some years after the meetings of the
Company were held in other halls and buildings which had escaped the
fire. Little time was lost in rebuilding. Outstanding loans were called
in, land was sold, contributions were levied upon members, and by 1672
the new buildings were sufficiently completed for occupation by Sir
George Waterman, the Skinner Lord Mayor of 1671–2, on whose accession to
office one of the numerous pageants provided by the Company was
represented. It was usual at that period for the Hall to be let to City
functionaries for their term of office, and the Court Books record a
number of such lettings. Mention may be made of such lettings to Sir
Robert Hanson, Lord Mayor, 1672–3, and Sir Owen Buckingham, Sheriff,
1695–6. From Christmas, 1698, to Michaelmas, 1707, the East India
Company had the use of the Hall, and four silver candlesticks presented
by them are still in the possession of the Company. In its leading
features the Hall remains as it then was, but various alterations and
improvements have been made from time to time. The Great Dining Hall was
improved in 1847–8, and again in 1890–1, and is now in course of
decoration with historical paintings by Mr. Brangwyn, A.R.A. The famous
Cedar Drawing-room, commemorated by Lord Macaulay, was fitted with a new
ceiling in 1876; the Oak Parlour was restored in 1889, and a second
entrance from Cloak Lane has very recently been constructed.
The more important pieces of plate in the possession of the Company were
presented in the seventeenth century. The Cokayne cups, already referred
to, belong to the sixteenth century, but with this important exception
the plate earlier than the nineteenth century all dates from the
seventeenth. Special mention may be made of the Peacock Cup,
representing a silver peahen, with removable head, accompanied by three
peachicks, the gift of Mary, widow of James Peacock, Master, 1638–9,
presented in 1642; the Master’s Salt, bequeathed by Benjamin Albin,
Master 1669–70, who had taken an active part in rescuing the Company’s
plate at the time of the Great Fire: the Leopard Snuff-box, presented by
Roger Kemp, Master 1680, which is always placed in front of the Master
at banquets, school prize-givings, and other functions; and the Monteith
Bowls, purchased with money bequeathed by Sir Richard Chiverton, Master
1654, Lord Mayor 1657.
At the Court of May 4th, 1681, “Major Manley signifyed that the Right
Hono^{ble} the Earl of Shaftesbury would doe the Company the honour to
take his ffreedome of this Socyety w^{ch} moc’on the Court agreed to and
ordered the Master and Wardens (and certain others named), or as many of
them as conveniently can, to attend his Lordship, and to acquaint him
with their readiness to receive his Lordship into their Society.” And on
November 30th of the same year, it was ordered that Lord Shaftesbury,
Lord Herbert, and Francis Charlton, Esq., should have their freedoms
presented to them in silver-gilt boxes, engraved with the Company’s
arms.
In 1684–5 the Company erected in the Royal Exchange a statue of Edward
III. A small model of this statue was kept by the Company, and on April
26th, 1738, “Mr. Deputy Nash was desired to get the modell of King
Edward the III’ds statue repaired, and to get a handsome frame and glass
case to be set up above the Master’s chair at the upper end of the
Hall.” This model is still preserved in the Cedar Drawing-room.
The Company’s charters were seized on a writ of _quo warranto_ in the
reign of Charles II, and a fresh charter was granted by James II; but
the seizure and the new charter were set aside by Act of Parliament, 2
Wm. and M., Sess. I, cap. 8, and the Company was restored to its
previous position.
The sympathies of the Company at this crisis in the national history are
sufficiently evidenced by an entry in the Court-Book for 1687,
subscribed by thirty-seven names: “Now whose names are hereunder
subscribed doe declare that noe fforeigne prince, person, prelate,
state, or potentate hath or ought to have any jurisdiction, power,
superiority, pre-eminence, or Authority Ecclesiasticall or Spirituall
within this Realme. Soe help me God.”
During the struggle which led to the deposition of James II, a very
leading part was taken by Sir Thomas Pilkington, Master in 1677 and
1681. He was elected M.P. for the City of London in 1679, and again in
1680 and 1689. He was Sheriff in 1681, and was very conspicuous in his
opposition to the Court party at the election of his successor in the
following year. Before steps could be taken against him for his conduct
on this occasion, he had already, in November, 1682, been sent to
prison, where he remained until June, 1686, for words spoken in
disparagement of the Duke of York. On being tried, while a prisoner, for
his behaviour at the election of Sheriffs, he was again convicted and
fined, but this judgment was set aside by the House of Lords in 1689. He
and others, including Roger Kemp, the donor of the Leopard snuff-box,
were removed from the Court of the Company at the instance of the Crown,
but by Order in Council of September 25th, 1687, they were ordered to be
re-admitted, and those who had been substituted for them to be
displaced: which was carried out by order of the Court on the 15th
October, 1687. He had been Alderman of Farringdon Without since 1680,
but removed to Vintry in 1688; and on the death of Sir John Chapman, the
Lord Mayor, in March, 1689, he was elected to succeed him for the
remainder of the year. Such was the esteem in which he was held, that he
was re-elected at the end of the year, and again for a third year. On
his becoming Lord Mayor, the King and Queen were present at his banquet,
together with the Prince and Princess of Denmark (afterwards Queen
Anne), and most of the dignitaries of the Kingdom and foreign
representatives. The Company provided a pageant on his re-election in
1689; and so enthusiastic were his colleagues in the Company that, on
his second re-election to the Mayoralty, the Court, on November 25th,
1690, passed a resolution which, after setting out various claims which
he had to their gratitude, proceeded as follows:—“This Co^t therefore,
well weighing the p’misses and calling to minde his Lo^{pps} sufferings
by the excessive ffines and exorbitant veredicts formerly given against
him, meerly for the faithfull discharge of his duty and trust when
Sheriffe of this Citty, and opposeing the arbitrary and popish designs
then carrying on for the subversion and totall overthrow of the Lawes
and Established Religion of the Kingdom, and that his Lo^{pp} by his
wise and prudent government of this Citty for ye yeare last past (being
a yeare of extraordinary difficulty) hath done great service to their
Ma^{ties}, the Nation, and the Citty. This Co^{rt} did and hereby doe
unanimously agree to pr’sent his Lo^{pp} with the use of the Hall for
the yeare ensueing. And did alsoe agree that the Master and Wardens and
the body of all the Assistants of the Worp^{ll} Company now p^rsent
should immediately attend S^{r.} Thomas Pilkington, Knight, the p^rsent
Lord Maior, and acquaint his Lo^{pp} with their Order and
acknowledgement, and likewise to returne his Lo^{pp} their hearty
thankes for the good service he hath done their Ma^{ties}, the Nation,
and this Citty in his Lo^{pps} last yeares prudent and good Governm^t
thereof.” Lord Mayor Pilkington’s picture, painted at this time by order
of the Court, still hangs in the Court-Room.
In 1689, the honorary freedom was presented to the Earl of Monmouth
(Master in the following year), Sir Rowland Gwyn, the Earl of Portland,
and Lord Sydney; and on Nov. 12th, 1689, it was “Ordered that the Ma^r
and Wardens (and others) be desired as a Comm’ee to joyne with the Right
Honorable the Lord Mayor and the other Honorary Members of this Comp^a
to attend on their Mai^{ties} when the noble persons aforesaid shall
appoint to p^rsent them with the copyes of their Freedomes, each in a
Box of Gold, of which the Ma^r, Wardens, and Comm^{ee} aforesaid were
desired and ordered to provide the same.” This was followed up by the
following order on Nov. 5th, 1690:—“Ordered that boxes of gold to ye
value of £60 p^rsented to their Ma^{ties} with their ffreedomes, and
that the R^t Hon^{ble} the M^r (the Earl of Monmouth) be acquainted with
it, and that the Wardens attend his Lo^{pp} touching the same and to
follow his Lo^{pps} direc’con therein.”
The time of the Court was not entirely occupied with matters of state.
On June 25th, 1689, the following entry occurs:—“M^r Glover (Thomas
Glover, the executor of Lewis Newbury, the founder of the almshouses at
Mile End) appeared and complayned of diverse great disorders com’itted
by severall of the Pen’coners or Almesffellowes in the Almshouses at
Mile End of the erec’con of Mr. Lewis Newberry, perticularly of the Wid:
Barrett, her unruly sons sometimes comeing in at unseasonable houres and
lodgeing there, and of an impudent girle of ill Fame w^{ch} Tho. Row
employs there; likewise of others selling ale on Sabbath daies after
sermon, namely Goodwife Dawson and Wid: Carver. All which were
respectively called in and their sevrall misbehaviours rep^rsented to
them and rebuked for it; but upon their promise of amendm^t for the
future (and this being the first compl^t against them), the Court was
pleased to pardon their sevrall offences at p^rsent.” This warning seems
to have been only partially successful, for on Dec. 11th, 1696, the
following further entry appears:—“This Co^rt being informed that the
widow Carver and the widow Goodwin, who inhabit in the almeshouses at
Mile End, did sell strong water and ale, haveing been cautioned ag^t the
same, yett nevertheless do still persist therein. Itt was therefore
ordered they should have notice given them that unless they discontinue
their practice in a week’s time from the date hereof, they shall bee
removed from their almeshouses and penc’ons.”
After the close of the seventeenth century, the matters recorded are of
less interest, and the troubles of the Company were of a minor order.
Thus, in July, 1738, “Mr. Thomas Zachary acquainted this Com^{ee} that
he had casually dropt out of the Bag the little keys of this Compa^{ys}
small iron chest wherein the Seal of this Company was put, and also the
Key of the Poors Box, whereupon this Com^{ee} sent for Mr. Cooke, the
Smith, and directed him to break open the said small Chest and Poors
Box, which was done in their presence, and the Seal of this Company and
the other things therein contained was taken out of the small iron
chest, and also twelve pounds fifteen shillings and six pence out of the
Poors Box, and were put into a bag and sealed up by this Com^{ee} and
lockt up in this Compa^s large iron chest untill such time as the Smith
could mend the Locks and make new keys to the said chest and Poors box,
which they ordered him forthwith to do.”
The Honorary Members elected in the eighteenth century were:—in 1766,
H.R.H. the Duke of Cumberland; in 1767, the Rt. Hon. C. Townshend,
Chancellor of the Exchequer; in 1794, Earl Howe, Admiral of England.
The Honorary Members elected in the nineteenth century were:—in 1834,
Viscount Strangford, a descendant of Sir Andrew Judd; in 1861, Lord
Clyde; in 1877, the late Earl of Dartmouth, a descendant of Sir Thomas
Legge; in 1878, T. G. Kensit, Esq., Clerk of the Company, 1828–1878; in
1886, Sir Saul Samuel, Agent-General for New South Wales (on the
occasion of the Colonial Exhibition); in 1893, the present Earl of
Dartmouth; in 1895, the Rt. Hon. A. W. Peel, Speaker of the House of
Commons, afterwards Viscount Peel, and the Most Rev. E. W. Benson,
Archbishop of Canterbury; in 1896, the Most Rev. W. Alexander,
Archbishop of Armagh, an old Tonbridge scholar; in 1897, the Rt. Hon. W.
C. Gully, Speaker of the House of Commons, afterwards Viscount Selby; in
1900, General the Rt. Hon. Sir Redvers Buller.
Since the commencement of the present century the following have been
elected:—in 1905, the Most Revd. R. Davidson, Archbishop of Canterbury,
and the Earl of Cromer; in 1906, the Rt Hon. J. W. Lowther, Speaker of
the House of Commons, and Viscount Milner.
The later decade of the nineteenth century, and especially the last
twenty-five years, have constituted a period of great activity and
progress on the part of the Company, especially in the direction of
education; and it has been a matter of great satisfaction to the Company
to see the number of young persons, trained up under their direction,
increased from the two hundred, or fewer, boys, educated at Tonbridge
School so late as the early ’eighties, to approximately 1,100,
distributed over four schools, of which the second in point of date was
opened so recently as 1887. Out of the 1,100, nearly 400 are girls.
These schools are, in addition to Tonbridge School, of which the numbers
now exceed four hundred, the Commercial School at Tonbridge, also on Sir
Andrew Judd’s Foundation, opened in 1888; the Company’s Middle School
for Boys at Tunbridge Wells, opened in 1887; and the Company’s Middle
School for Girls at Stamford Hill, opened in 1890. Important buildings
have been erected at all these new schools. The rebuilding and
enlargement from time to time of Tonbridge School have been already
mentioned.
The Company has also contributed very large sums to the City and Guilds’
Institute during the last twenty-five years, for the support of its
Central Technical College at South Kensington, its Technical College at
Finsbury, its Art School at Kennington, and its Technological
Examinations. It also took an active part in the foundation at
Clerkenwell, on a site adjoining the Company’s Clarke’s Close Estate, of
the Northampton Polytechnic Institute, to which it contributes annually.
It has also given material assistance to the Leather Industries’
Department of the Yorkshire College, Leeds, now the Leeds University.
Members of the Company take an active part in the government of these
various institutions.
In 1887, the Company took steps to obtain the consolidation of their
almshouses and of their minor pension charities, and in 1891 a Scheme,
framed by the Charity Commissioners at the suggestion of the Company,
came into operation, by which such charities were consolidated, and in
place of the Judd almshouses in Great St. Helen’s, and the Newbury
almshouses at Mile End, new and more convenient almshouses were erected
at Palmer’s Green. In connection with this Scheme, the various
charitable charges upon the Company’s properties were redeemed, and the
Company’s estates are now free from any such charges.
In furtherance of the policy of Parliament to make the occupiers of land
in Ireland the owners of their holdings, the Company resolved in 1886 to
give their Irish tenants an opportunity of purchasing their holdings
under the Land Acts; and the Pellipar Estate, in the County of
Londonderry, has now passed entirely into the hands of the tenants.
The Company’s Hall premises have been greatly improved. Special mention
may be made of the decoration of the dining-hall, which is now
frequently placed at the disposal of other Companies, and literary and
scientific institutions, on special occasions, and thus made more
frequently useful, and of the renovation of the beautiful Oak Parlour,
which had been allowed to fall into disuse.
In these various directions the present Court of the Company claim to
have shown themselves not unworthy of the heritage handed down to them
by their predecessors.
Quorum pars parva fui.
[Illustration]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration]
APPENDIX I.
_The Award of Sir Robert Billesdon, Lord Mayor, April l0th, 1484.
1 Ric. III._
-------
Mem’dum quod decimo die Aprilis Anno r’ni Regis Ric’i tertii post conq’m
primo Magistri et Gardiani miste’r Pellipa’r & Cisso’r cum q’mpluribus
aliis probis hominibus utriusq’ Mist’r compromiserunt se stare Judicio
Roberti Billesdon Majoris et Aldermannorum civitatis Londo’n super
quâdam materi’a controversiæ inter eos penden’. Qui quidem Major et
Aldermanni reddiderunt Judicium pro materi’a prædicta pacificand’ forma
seq’n:
[MEMORANDUM that on the 10th day of April, in the first year of the
reign of King Richard the third after the conquest, the Masters and
Wardens of the Mysteries of Skinners and Taylors, with several worthy
men of each mystery, agreed to abide by the decision of Robert
Billesdon, Mayor, and the Aldermen of the City of London, in a certain
matter of controversy pending between them. Which Mayor and Aldermen
gave their decision for the purpose of settling the aforesaid matter in
the following terms.]
Be it remembred that where there hath been of late a variaunce and
controversie moeved & had betwene the Maist’, Wardeyns, and Feolaship of
the Skynn’s of the Citee of London on the one p’tie, and the Maist’,
Wardeyns, & Feolaship of Taillors of the same Citee on that other p’tie,
for the roume & place in their going afore in p’cessions within the same
Citee: And for ceasyng and pacifying thereof the said Maist’rs,
Wardeyns, and Feolashipps of both the said p’ties, the x^{th} day of
Aprill the first yere of the reign of Kyng Richard the iii^{de}, of
their free willes have comp’mitted and submitted theymself to stonde and
obey the Rule and Jugeme’t of Robt. Billesdon, Mair, and th’ aldremen of
the said Citee of London: Whereuppon the said Mair and Aldremen, the day
and yeere abovesaid, takyng uppon theym the Rule, direccion, and charge
of arbitreme’t of and in the premisses for norishing of peas and love
betwene the Maisters, Wardeyns, and Feolashipps aforesaid, the which ben
ii grete and wirshipfull membres of the said Citee, by thassent and
agreeme’t of the Maist’s and Wardeyns of both the said Feolashipps have
adjugged and awarded in the forme that foloweth: First, that the said
Maist’ and Wardeyns of Skynn’s shall yerely desire and pray the said
Maist’ and Wardeyns of Taillors to dyne with theym atte their Com’on
Hall in the vigill of Corp’ X’ti, yf the same Maist’ and Wardeyns of
Skynn’s than make an open Dyner; and that the said Maist’ and Wardeyns
of Taillors so praied shall yeerely dyne then and there with the said
Maist’ and Wardeyns of Skynn’s aforesaid withoute a reasonable excuse
had: Also, it is awarded and adjugged that the said Maist’ and Wardeyns
of Taillors shall yeerely desire and pray the said Maist’ and Wardeyns
of Skynn’s to dyne with theym in the Fest of the Nativitee of Seint John
Bapt’e if thei there than kepe an oppen dyner at their Com’on Hall; and
that the said Maist’ and Wardeyns of Skynn’s so praied shall yerely dyne
than and there with the said Maist’ and Wardeyns of Taillors aforesaid,
withoute a reasonable excuse, etc. Moreover, to sette aparte all manner
occasions of strif and debate which hereaft’ myght fall betwene the
Maist’s, Wardeyns, and Feolashipps aforesaid for the rowme and going in
p’cessions as it is above rehersed, it was awarded and jugged by the
said Mair and Aldremen, the day and yeere abovesaid, that the said
Maist’, Wardeyns, and Feolaship of Skynn’s shall goo in all p’cessions
before the said Maist’, Wardeyns, and Feolaship of Taillors from the
Fest of Easter next comyng unto the Fest of Easter than next ensuyng;
and that the said Maist’, Wardeyns, and Feolaship of Taillors from the
same Fest of Easter then next ensuyng shall goo in all p’cessions before
the said Maist’, Wardeyns, and Feolaship of Skynn’s for a yeere, fully
to be complete; and so evermore the Maist’, Wardeyns, and Feolaship of
Skynn’s for to have the pre-emynencie of goyng afore in p’cessions one
yeere, and the said Maist’, Wardeyns, and Feolaship of Taillors to have
the pre-emynencie of goyng afore in p’cessions another yeere, begynnyng
the yeere alwey in the Fest of Easter: Provided alwey that as ofte as
hereafter it shall hapne any Aldreman of either of the said Feolashipps
to be Mair of this Citee of London, by reason whereof the Feolaship of
the same Mair shall, after the old custume of the said Citee, goo afore
all other Feolashipps in all places within the said Citee duryng the
tyme of the Mairaltie of the Mair so chosen, that the same going afore
all the same tyme be not accompted for any yeere of going afore by this
awarde or juggeme’t: But that the same of the said ii Feolashipps which
had by this ordenaunce the preemynence of going afore in p’cessions from
the Fest of Easter next afore begynnyng of the said Mairaltie have like
preemynence from thende of the said Mairaltie to the Fest of Easter than
next folowyng, in p’forming of his hole yeere, and from thensforth to
kepe thordre above appoynted.”
_The Supplementary Award of January 17th, 1521. 12 Hen. VIII._
-------
“Where late the Wardens of the Skynn’s exhibited to the Court a Bill of
Compleynt agenst the Mayst’ and Wardens of M’chantayllors recytyng by
the same an Ordynaunce made in the Mayralt’ of Mr. Byllesdon for
thorderyng of the seyd ii Crafts in goyng in p’cessions, and surmytted
also in their seyd Bill that the seyd Ordynaunce was to be understand of
oonly in goying in p’cessions, and at noon other gen’all goyings or
assembles, which Ordynaunce red, herd, and rypely understand by this
Court, was clerely interpretyd and declared that the true meanyng and
intent of makyng of the seyd Ordynaunce was understand of not oonly for
goyng in p’cessions, but also for rydyng, goyng, or metyng in and at all
other assembles: And thereupon the seyd Wardens had in comaunde’t by
this Court, that they and their succ’ from hensforth shuld use and
exercise the seyd Ordynaunce according to the seyd interpretacc’on and
declar’ by this same Court made and determyned.”
* * *
------------------------------------------------------------------------
APPENDIX II.
_Bidding Prayer used at Tonbridge School at the Annual
Commemoration Service on Skinners’ Day at the end of the
Summer Term._
---
_This prayer follows the anthem, the congregation all standing._
INASMUCH as, by the Providence of Almighty God, from whom all good
things do come, on this day our School is gathered together here, now as
of old, to thank Him for all His blessings, it is right that we should
remind ourselves once more of all that we owe to those who have gone
before us.
And first you are to remember your Founder, Sir Andrew Judd, Knight.
He was born at Tonbridge on the estate of his ancestors called “Barden,”
situated by the river side below Quarry Hill. He was apprenticed in
London into the Company of Skinners, and became himself a Skinner and a
Merchant of Muscovy. He went with the ships of the Merchants’ Company,
which rounded the North Cape to the coast of Russia. He crossed the
country in sledges a seven days’ journey to the River Volga, and so to
Astrakan on the Caspian Sea. He also went to the West Coast of Africa,
to Guinea, at the request of King Edward VI, and brought thence gold
dust to be coined into guineas, and many natural curiosities. In the
year 1544 he was Sheriff of London, and in the year 1550–1 he was Lord
Mayor, in which office he bore himself with loyalty and with valour. On
six several occasions he was Master of the Skinners’ Company—in the
years 1533, 1538, 1542, 1547, 1551, and 1555. In 1554 he was called upon
to make stand for Queen Mary against the rebellion of Sir Thomas Wyatt.
He was, moreover, Mayor of the Staple of Calais, and held many public
offices of trust, under both Edward and Mary, so that he is rightly
accounted one of “the Worthies of England.” He died in 1558, and is
buried in the Church of St. Helen’s, in Bishopsgate, in London, where
stands a monument to his memory in marble.
Five years or more before he died he founded, not by will, but at his
own expense during his lifetime, besides his almshouses near to St.
Helen’s Church, “a stately Free School” at Tonbridge. This he diligently
fostered, and framed for it Statutes under which it was governed for 327
years: Statutes full of kindly wisdom. Further, he endowed it with
certain houses in Gracechurch Street, and with the estate of the
Sandhills in the parish of St. Pancras, and afterwards by will in 1558
with other gifts, whence the School is to this day supported and
increased. For all these good deeds, and because this School hath for
its Founder so manly and so worthy a gentleman, you shall thank God.
And, secondly, you are to remember the grandson of your Founder, the son
of his daughter Alice, Sir Thomas Smythe, a great benefactor to the
School and to the poor of Tonbridge. He was born about 1558, and dwelt
near Southborough. He was for fifteen years Governor of the East India
Company, and took part in establishing the Colony of Virginia. He
founded four Exhibitions from this School to the Universities of Oxford
and Cambridge. He died in 1625, and was buried at Sutton-at-Hone, in
Kent.
Furthermore, you are to remember Henry Fisher, the faithful servant of
Sir Andrew Judd, who founded a Scholarship at Brasenose College, Oxford;
Sir Thomas White, founder of St. John’s College, Oxford, who, “_propter
eximium amorem in Andream Judd_,” gave to Tonbridge School a Fellowship,
now a close Scholarship, at his College, also _Robert Holmdon_, the
founder of the Leathersellers’ Exhibitions, _Thomas Lampard_, _Lady Mary
Boswell_, _Mr. Worrall_, _Mr. Strong_, all of them Benefactors of the
School, and many others whose names are not recorded.
Nor shall you forget all those who, as Governors, or as Masters, or as
Boys, or in whatever station in this School, during more than 350 years
have striven with faithful hearts to serve it; their noble deeds and
character are ours by inheritance.
Finally, let us pray, that, when our time shall come to fall asleep, we,
too, after their example may have faithfully served our generation by
the will of God: To whom be all honour and glory, world without end.
_Amen._
_Let us Pray._
[_The two following prayers were written in Latin for the use of
Tonbridge School very shortly after its foundation in 1553_, A.D.]
ÆTERNE Deus, a quo solo omne bonum consilium, omnis bona cogitatio
procedit, gratias tibi maximas agimus, quod viris optimis, et Andreae
Judd, militi, Scholam hanc pie instituendi, magnoque sumptu suo
exstruendi et dotandi, et quod Thomae Smythe, militi, eam nec minore
sumptu suo augendi et in perpetuum faciendi consilium inspirasti; Teque
suppliciter oramus, ut eam a calamitate omni tuearis; et Ecclesiae
regnoque tuo utilem semper facias; et ut nos cum omni diligentiâ eo
contendamus quo pii illi nos pervenire voluerunt, ut bene pieque eruditi
Ecclesiae tuae et Reipublicae tandem utiles evadamus, per Iesum
Christum, Dominum nostrum. _Amen._
* * * * *
CLEMENTISSIME Pater coelestis, qui coelum et terras et quae in iis sunt
omnia summâ sapientiâ condidisti, eâdemque providentiâ tuâ perpetuo
regis et conservas,—concede, quaesumus, quemadmodum optimi illi, Andreas
Judd, et Thomas Smythe, milites, spectatæ societatis Pellipariorum fide
et providentiâ freti, eorum curae hanc Scholam commiserunt,—ut et ipsi,
fidei suae his defunctis debitae semper memores, Scholam hanc diligenter
curent et tueantur; tandemque, post huius vitae cursum honeste
confectum, aetemum fidelissimae illius procurationis suae proemium in
coelis consequantur, per Iesum Christum, Dominum nostrum. _Amen._
[_Then follow (in Latin) the Prayer of St. Chrysostom and the
Blessing._]
* * *
------------------------------------------------------------------------
APPENDIX III.
-------
RECENT MEMORIAL STONES CONNECTED WITH THE COMPANY.
-------
1.
_The Tonbridge School Chapel of 1859, now the Museum._
-------
“Hunc lapidem Ἀκρογωνιαῖον ædis hujus ad majorem Dei gloriam, et in usum
Scholæ Tonbridgiensis, condendæ posuit Robertus, Episcopus Riponensis,
a. d. x. Cal. Jun. A.D. MDCCCLIX. Patroni, vicini, magistri, alumni
pecuniam Contulert.
J. I. Welldon, D.C.L., archididascalo;
Wadmore et Baker, architectis;
E. Punnett, Fabro.
Nisi Dominus domum ædificaverit in vanum laboraverunt qui ædificant
eam.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.
_The Tonbridge School Buildings of 1863._
-------
“Hanc Scholam ab Andrea Judd, milite,
Fundatam et munifice dotatam, A.D. MDLIII,
Curatores ejus honorata Pellipariorum Societas
De integro exstruxerunt et ædibus cum amplioribus tum magis
Hodiernis discipulorum usibus accommodatis ornaverunt.
Lapidem auspicalem posuit vii^{mo.} idus Maias A.D. MDCCCLXIII
Georgius Legg, Armiger, hujus Societatis præfectus annuus.
=Custodibus=
G. Trist
F. Howell
S. Wix
F. Turner
=Ludimagistris=
J. I. Welldon
E. I. Welldon
E. H. Burnell, Architecto.
G. Punnett, Redemtore.
T. G. Kensit, Notario.
Timor Domini principium Sapientiæ
Prov. i, v. 7.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.
_The Tonbridge School Science Buildings of 1886–7._
-------
“Ad Dei Gloriam
Et in Augmentationem Veteris Scholæ
Ab Andrea Judd, Equite, Conditæ
Has Ædes
Quibus Pristinæ Literarum Disciplinæ
Nova Artium et Scientiarum Studia concilientur
Honorata Pellipariorum Societas
Ponendas curaverunt.
Anno Domini MDCCCLXXXVII^{mo}
Ludovico Boyd Sebastian, I.C.B., A.M.,
Præfecto Annuo.
=Custodibus=
G. B. Kent.
C. Dorman.
W. Masterman, I.C.P.
G. A. Trist.
=Infomatore=
T. B. Rowe, M.A.
=Architecto=
E. H. Burnell.
=Notario=
E. H. Draper.
Audite disciplinam et estote sapientes et nolite abjicere eam.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.
_The Tonbridge School Buildings of 1894._
-------
“Ad Dei Gloriam
Et in piam fundatoris Andreæ Judd Equitis Memoriam
Has Ædes ad ampliores alumnorum Tonbridgiensium usus
Exædificandas et ornandas curaverunt Honorata Pellipariorum Societas
Anno Domini MDCCCXCIV^{to}
Ludovico Boyd Sebastian, I.C.B., A.M., iterum præfecto annuo.
=Custodibus=
R. C. Bunbury
A. L. Tweedie
A. B. Kent
J. Colman
=Informatore=
Josepho Wood, S.T.P.
=Architecto=
W. Campbell Jones
=Notario=
E. H. Draper
Nisi Dominus æedificaverit Domum in vanum laboraverunt
qui ædificant eam, Ps. CXXVII. i.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
5
_The Tonbridge School Chapel, 1900–2._
-------
“Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
et in usum veteris Scholæ Tonbridgiensis
Ab Andrea Judd milite conditæ
Hanc Ædem Domino Nostro Jesu Christo dedicatam
Ædificandam curavit Honorata Pellipariorum Societas.
-------
Hunc lapidem posuit Præfectus Annuus Jeremias Colman, A.M., I.P. A.D.
Kal. Jun. XI Anno Domini MDCCCC.
=Custodibus=.
C. Herberto Dorman.
Carolo H. F. Christie.
Johanne Poland.
W. Wilding Jones.
=Archididascalo=.
Carolo C. Tancock, S.T.P.
=Notario=
E. Herberto Draper.
=Architecto=
W. Campbell Jones.
In Christo Fratres.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.
_Sir Andrew Judd’s Commercial School, Tonbridge, 1895–6._
-------
“Sir Andrew Judd’s Commercial School.
This Stone was laid by
Lewis Boyd Sebastian, Esqr., B.C.L., M.A.,
Master of the Worshipful Company of Skinners,
Governors of the School,
On Saturday, April 27th, 1895.
=Wardens=
Robert Clement Bunbury
Alexander Leslie Tweedie
Arthur Barton Kent
Jeremiah Colman
=Clerk=
E. Herbert Draper
=Architect=.
W. Campbell Jones, A.R.I.B.A.
=Builders=
Thos. Turner, Limited.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
7.
_The Middle School for Boys, Tunbridge Wells, 1886–7._
-------
“1886.
Skinners Company’s
Middle School for Boys.
This Stone
was laid on the xxvii day of October, MDCCCLXXXVI, by
Lewis Boyd Sebastian, B.C.L., M.A., Master.
=Wardens=
George Barton Kent
Charles Dorman
William Masterman, D.C.L.
George Arthur Trist.
To Commemorate the Foundation of the School by the
Worshipful Company of Skinners, London, Governors.
Edw. Herbert Draper, Clerk.
Edw. Henry Burnell, Architect.
William Oakley, Builder.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
8.
_The Middle School for Girls, Stamford Hill, 1889–90._
-------
“This Foundation Stone of the
Skinners’ Company’s School for Girls
was laid by
Charles Dorman, Master,
June 6, 1889.
=Wardens=
W. Masterman, D.C.L.
W. C. B. Stamp
G. A. Trist
H. L. T. Hansard
=Clerk=
E. H. Draper
=Architect=
E. H. Burnell
=Builders=
Holloway Bros.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
9.
_The Almshouses at Palmer’s Green, 1894–5._
-------
“The Skinners’ Almshouses.
This stone was laid on the nineteenth day of July,
Anno Domini, 1894,
by
Lewis Boyd Sebastian, B.C.L., M.A., Master.
=Wardens=
Robert Clement Bunbury
Alex. Leslie Tweedie
Arthur Barton Kent
Jeremiah Colman
=Arch^t=
W. Campbell Jones,
=Clerk=
E. Herbert Draper
=Builders=
J. Godfrey and Son”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.
_The Northampton Polytechnic Institute, Clerkenwell, 1894–6._
-------
“Northampton
Institute.
This Stone
was laid by
Charles Dorman, Esq.,
Chairman of
The Governing Body,
July 9^{th}, 1894.
Ed^d W. Mountford, Arch^t.”
[N.B.—Mr. Charles Dorman was Master of the Skinners’ Company, 1888–9,
and did much to promote the creation of the Institute.]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
11.
_The Clerkenwell Free Library, 1890._
-------
“This Stone was laid by
William Masterman, Esq., D.C.L.,
Master of the Worshipful Company
of Skinners, on March 8th, 1890.
Commissioners
Elected 1888.
=Chairman=
Rev. J. H. Rose, M.A.,
=Vice-Chairman=
W^m Robson,
Rev. W. Dawson, M.A.
J. Johnson.
A. J. Dixie.
J. Kelly.
H. W. Fincham.
C. Morris.
T. Wildbore.
-------
Elected 1890.
W. Davies.
J. D. Spires.
=Librarian=
Jas. B. Brown
=Architects=.
Karslake and Mortimer.
=Builders=.
M‘Cormick and Sons.”
[N.B.—This Library was built on a site provided by the Company on their
Clarke’s Close Estate at Clerkenwell.]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
12.
_Leather Industries’ Buildings, University of Leeds, 1898–9._
-------
“This Stone was laid by
Arthur Barton Kent,
Master of the Worshipful
Company of Skinners,
on the 13 of June, 1898.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
13.
_Leather Industries’ Buildings, University of Leeds, 1898–9._
-------
“This Building, erected at
the cost of the
Worshipful Company
of Skinners, of the City
of London,
was opened by
Jeremiah Colman, Esq.,
Master of the Company,
on the 27th of November, 1899,
for advanced instruction
and research in the
science and practice of
Leather Manufacture.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
20 AND 21, BEDFORDBURY,
LONDON, W.C.]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
● Transcriber’s note:
○ Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected. One
unpaired double quotation mark could not be corrected with
confidence.
○ Typographical errors were silently corrected.
○ Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only
when a predominant form was found in this book.
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