The History and Antiquities of London, Westminster, Southwark, and Parts Adjacent, vol. 2
Allen, Thomas
1828
Merchant Taylors'.
The of this company are, a royal tent between parliament robes | |
lined , the tent garnished , tent staff and pennon of the last; on a chief a lion passant guardant or. . On a mount vert, a lamb passant | |
holding the banner of the last, , on the banner a cross pattee gu. all within a glory of the . . camels .
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This company arose from an ancient guild or fraternity, dedicated to St. John Baptist, and called says Stow, This guild received a confirmation from Edward I. in his year, with power to &c. At that period, and during a long succession of years, the master was denominated In the year , a more regular incorporation of this company took place, under the authority of the letters patent of Edward IV. who was himself a freeman, as all his predecessors in the sovereignty had also been, from the time of Edward III. Henry VII. who was likewise a member, re-incorporated the company in the year , by the new description of This was done, according to the above historian,
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The members of this company consist principally of merchants, mercers, drapers, taylors, &c. to the amount of upwards of in number. They are governed by a master, wardens, and about assistants. In the long list of distinguished characters, who have been enrolled among the freemen of this most respectable community, are included sovereigns, about as many princes of the blood royal, dukes, duchesses, nearly archbishops and bishops, earls, countesses, between and lords and barons, upwards of lord mayors, abbots and priors, many knights, &c. | |
of the most eminent taylors (professionally so) on record was sir John Hawkwood, a native of Essex. He was usually styled, and is stated, in the jocular language of Fuller, to have During his apprenticeship to a taylor in the city, he was pressed, and sent into France, where, through his valour and talents, he was promoted from the station of a private soldier to the rank of captain, and was also honoured with knighthood. After the peace made in , he became a leader among the military adventurers, or companies, called the and having greatly signalized himself as commandant of the white bands, his aid was solicited by Barnabas, (brother to the duke of Milan,) who was then at war with the state of Mantua. In this new service, his prowess and gallantry gave so much satisfaction, that Barnabas bestowed on him his daughter in marriage, together with an estate of considerable value. He afterwards assisted pope Gregory the , in recovering the revolted cities of Provence, and was rewarded with dominion over towns. He next entered into the pay of the Florentines, and served them with such great success and fidelity, that on his decease, he was most honourably buried in the Great Church at Florence, where a noble monument was raised to his memory, agreeably to a vote of the senate. He died full of years and glory, in . Sir Ralph Blackwell, who is stated to have been his fellow apprentice, and was also knighted for his valour by Edward III. was a member | |
361 | of this company. Pennant says, but this assertion appears to have been made without sufficient authority. Among the other eminent persons enrolled as merchant taylors, were the celebrated historians, Speed, and Stow; both of whom, likewise, were taylors by profession. |
In Stow's Annals, under the date , is an account of a splendid entertainment given to James I. his son Henry, and by the merchant taylors, on the day of their annual feast, () and election of master and wardens. says our author, &c. Here the king was feasted, and afterwards presented with a by the master; the shewing him, at the same time, a roll of all the dignified members that had ever belonged to this company. The purse was by the monarch, who in return stated, that and that Then all and he also, having been presented with a. and shewed the roll, declared that he would become a freeman, ; this was of course acceded to, and James, during the whole ceremony, and beheld all
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The hall of this company is situated in , on an extensive site, originally occupied by the of a named Edmund Crepin, who in the year ( of Edward III.) made it over in trust for the company, to John de Yakesley, the king's pavillion-maker. This messuage was afterwards called the New Hall, or Taylors' Inn, to distinguish it from the ancient hall | |
362 | which stood in . The present structure was erected soon after the fire of London, and is a large but irregular structure of brick. |
From an early period this hall has been chosen as the place of entertainment for large and honourable parties, as public corporations, &c.; and the anniversary meeting of the great characters, both of church and state, who compose the is always held here. | |
The Merchant Taylors' is a very affluent company, and its annual income for benevolent purposes, is said to exceed , a considerable portion of which is expended in the support of Merchant Taylors' school. | |
Footnotes: [] Arms granted 21 Edward IV. 1481; confirmed 22 Hen. VIII. 1530; crest and supporters granted Dec. 23, 29th Eliz. 1584. [] Stow's Sur. p. 142. [] He was the son of Gilbert de Hawkwood, a tanner of Sible Hedingham; after his decease a monument was erected in the church there to his memory, by his executors. [] In the year 1668, Winstanley published a small octavo, now very scarce, with the following title, The Honour of the Merchant Taylors; wherein is set forth the noble acts, valiant deeds, and heroic performances of merchant taylors in former ages; their honourable loves, and knightly adventures, their combatting with foreign enemies, and glorious successes in honour of the English nation; together with their pious acts and large benevolences, &c. The head of sir Ralph Blackwell, with city arms on the right, and those of the merchant taylors on the left, was prefixed. [] Howe's Stow, p. 890, 891. [] Stow's Sur. p. 143, edit. 1797. [] Stow's Sur. p. 198, edit. 1633. |
