Memorials Of The Goldsmiths Company Being Gleanings From Their Records Between The Years 1335 And 1815

Excerpt from Memorials of the Goldsmiths' Company, Vol. 2: Being Gleanings From Their Records Between the Years 1335 and 1815, With an Introduction and Notes Although the period covered by the following pages - viz., from 1651 to 1815 - is not perhaps so historically important as that dealt with in the first volume, the records are, nevertheless, replete with interest. The early poverty of the Company, and its gradual growth of prosperity, may be clearly traced. It will be seen that in 1651 the Court appointed "a Committee of Surveyors" to value the Company's property, and that upon receipt of the Committee's report various expedients for raising money were discussed. It is stated that "the great engagements of the Company" were "chiefly occasioned by borrowing money for the service of the State, and continuing the same at interest, and not receiving it again"; and in the following year (1652) a detailed account of "Money lent to the State" and 44 Moneys receaved of the State " is given. This is followed in 1654 by further entries respecting the "Public Faith debts," as they were then called. Again in 1667, after the havoc wrought by the Great Fire, "consideration is taken of the many urgent and pressing occasions of the Company for the payment of money for their present service, and more especially for that of repairing their Hall," and the Court are compelled to sell much of the Com: pany's plate, and also "certain of their houses not subject to charges for Charitable purposes"; while in 1670 the usual searches for defective wares were omitted "in regard to the great charge that doth attend the same." It will be noted that at this time various members of the Court voluntarily offered loans of money for the Company's public services. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Memorials of the Goldsmiths' Company, Vol. 1: Being Gleanings From Their Records Between the Years 1335 and 1815; With an Introduction and Notes Before proceeding to examine the records I have thought it well, for the sake of those to whom other works may not be accessible, to give' a brief account of the Company, and in this sketch I have made use of the Report, with Appendices, of the Royal Commission of 1880, and I have also quoted freely from Mr. Dibdin's article in the Quarterly Revzew on the Report of the Commissioners; Strype's Stow; and Herbert's History of the Twelve Great Companies, to which works I here acknowledge my obligations. It is but right to add, however, that I have found Herbert's history untrustworthy, and that many of his statements have required verification and correction. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Vol 1 of a three-volume edition, provides translations of the Goldsmiths' Company Register of Deeds with full explicatory annotation, and with a clear introduction to both the manuscript and the legal texts contained in it. The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, commonly known as the Goldsmiths' Company, is one of the twelve Great Livery Companies of the City of London. This three-volume edition provides translations of the company's Register of Deeds with full explicatory annotation and with a clear introduction to both the manuscript and the legal texts contained within. Additionally, the volumes contain detailed name and subject indexes. The company's Register of Deeds has never been fully utilised by historians, but it contains a record copy made from the fifteenth century onwards of the original deeds of the company's acquisitions of property from the reign of King Richard I to the seventeenth century. These deeds reveal much about the precise location of properties and their inhabitants. Wills, often appearing in the Register, help to piece together a social history of the time. Charitable purposes were often the reason for monies or property bequeathed to the Goldsmiths, sometimes of an educational nature, or of almsgiving to the poor, or for the training and support of young goldsmiths and silversmiths. Many documents also concern women, either acting solely in their own name or jointly with a husband, sometimes also appearing as daughters or sisters, providing evidence regarding their legal position during the medieval and early modern period. The editing and translation of these documents (from Latin and French into modern-day English) will be of great use to historians interested in the buildings of medieval and Tudor London and their use as personal or business premises. But beyond these obvious confines, these so far hidden sources will help to rewrite a social, legal, and economic history of medieval and Tudor London.