London, Volume 3
Knight, Charles
1842
LXXV.-Goldsmiths' Hall.
LXXV.-Goldsmiths' Hall.
We will not say,--in. imitation of the well-known phrase, He who has not seen Paris has seen nothing,--he who has not seen the Goldsmiths' Hall has not seen London; but it may be safely asserted that, without a glance into the interior of this noble building, no can form a just conception of the wealth, luxury, and, we must add, taste, of some of our great civic companies; which, however they may now have ceased to be identified with any very large portion of the commercial greatness of London, were undoubtedly the originators; of that greatness, and the guardians through all sorts of troublous times of the comparatively free and enlightened principles on which alone commercial prosperity can be based. But those times are now past; and the Companies generally, like the victors in a good fight, seem to have little else to do but to sit down, eat, drink, and make merry, and discourse of all the alternations of good and evil fortune by which the previous contest was marked. Grasping monarchs can no longer haunt their visions with fines and rumours of fines, as the price of the maintenance of their rights; needy ones can no longer hold out the expectation of fresh privileges to be obtained by the all-persuasive mediation of citizen gold. But with the conflict and the danger, the glory and the influence have passed away. Trade, so much indebted to them whilst yet but a young weakling, has grown | |
386 | strong and robust, and can take excellent care of himself. The leading-strings of day have become shackles at another; and so the giant throws them off, or bursts through them. Let him not, however, forget what he was; or be ungrateful to those who have aided so greatly to make him what he is. |
The Goldsmiths' Company, more fortunate than most of its early brethren, is still essentially a business Company. It has so happened that the peculiar privilege intrusted to them from a very early period, of assaying and stamping articles made of the precious metals, has not been found to be attended with any important disadvantages; so in their hands the privilege still remains,[n.386.1] notwithstanding the enormous increase of business that must have taken place. This circumstance to a certain extent favourably distinguishes the Goldsmiths' Company[n.386.2] from the other great civic Companies, and promises to it a longer lease of power and consideration. | |
He who has once seen the present Hall of the Company will not forget its position at the back of the Post Office; for the very circumstance that such a magnificent building should be so curiously and badly situated strikes every with surprise. There it is, however, not yet years old; and, consequently, there for the next or centuries we may be sure it will remain. Of course, this is a matter over which the architect, Mr. Hardwick, could have no control. Perhaps the best, or at least the most convenient way, to enjoy the view of its exterior, is to pass from through the Post Office, and there, standing on the top step, and leaning your back against the wall, the eye at once takes in fronts of the building, the superb west or principal facade, feet broad, with its attached Corinthian columns and beautiful Italian windows; and the south, feet broad, with its decorating pilasters. In some respects the enforced proximity of the spectator to the building is advantageous; as, for instance, in following the details of the beautiful Corinthian entablature, which is supported by the entire front of the western facade, and continued quite round the edifice. The solidity of the Hall is as noticeable as its splendour. The plinth, feet in height, is formed of large granite blocks from the Haytor quarries, Devonshire; whilst the walls are built of Portland stone. Some of the single blocks used in the shafts of the columns, and in the entablature, weigh as much as tons. The roof is covered with lead. | |
Within, we enter into a low square vestibule, where sits the porter in his old-fashioned high circular chair; a place which, though handsome, is unpretending, and enhances by contrast the lofty staircase partially seen through the glazed screen opposite. As we pass through the screen we find ourselves in a scene of true architectural splendour. The broad staircase ascends direct before us, then branches to the right and left to the landing or gallery at the top, which extends along the walls on either side and behind us. Above, at a great height, we look on the richly carved ceiling of the dome, where around a concealed opening in the centre play beams of green and golden light. Pendant from the | |
387 | dome hangs a massive lamp, revealing, when lighted on festive occasions, new beauties in this most beautiful of staircases. Among the other features of the place are the double screens of Corinthian columns with their classic ornaments, Diana and the Hart, and Apollo; the lofty pictures occupying the upper part of the wall before us, comprising portraits of George IV. by Northcote, and George III. and his quoteueen presented by William IV. from the Palace at Kensington; the bust of William IV. by Chantrey in the niche below; and lastly the sculpture on the square pedestals which ornament the balustrade of the flight of stairs. These are youthful Cupid-like figures typical of the seasons, by Mr. Nixon, only being yet completed in the marble. The figure is intently examining a bird's nest, a circumstance suggestive of of the most interesting of associations; the has a wreath flowers hanging gracefully round it, and leads a full-grown lamb; the has its arms filled with goodly sheaves of corn, whilst fruits are wreathed about its body; and the , a charming figure, is confronting the rude winds, and with difficulty holding close its drapery. Ascending to the gallery, pausing now on the stairs, leaning now over the balcony to admire the beautiful combinations of form which every fresh position commands, we find several doors; at the top of the staircase on each side opening to the Livery H-all, situated beyond the staircase, and others through rich corridors or passages to a suite of apartments extending along the western front of the building, and over the outer vestibule through which we have passed. And comes the Court-room on the right of the northernmost corridor. This is an apartment for the meetings of the Court of Assistants, and is handsomely decorated. The stucco ceiling in particular is of very elaborate workmanship; from it hangs a large glass chandelier, now covered up, but the nature of which is made known by the delicate tinkle produced by every passing vehicle. On a sideboard, carefully preserved beneath glass, is of the most interesting remains we possess of the Romans in London, the little altar-piece engraved in the account of Roman London,[n.387.1] which was dug up during the late rebuilding of the Hall. It has evidently been a fine piece of workmanship, for, although the surface of the stone is greatly corroded, the beauty of the outlines of the figures still arrests the attention at the glance: the position of the dog may be mentioned as exceedingly expressive and graceful. On the walls hang some interesting pictures. Here is Janssen's rich and beautiful portrait of Sir Hugh Middleton, with a shell in his left hand, typical of the great work of his life, the bringing the springs of Hertfordshire to London. The share that the unfortunate Sir Hugh presented to the Goldsmiths' Company, of which he was a member, is now worth, we believe, between and annually. Another portrait we may mention is that of.Sir Thomas Vyner, Knight and Baronet, , the gentleman referred to in the following title of of the printed accounts of the annual Lord Mayor's pageants. We must premise that the Goldsmiths still make it a matter of etiquette to keep up some of the old state and ceremony on these occasions, which, but for them, would lose half the splendour that yet remains to them. They have, indeed, a very ancient reputation in matters of the kind. When Henry VI. |
388 | expected the coming of the quoteueen Margaret of Anjou from France, he wrote to the
Goldsmiths, as a craft which had at all such times to prepare themselves to do her honour. And the splendour of their appearance at the appointed time showed how they appreciated the application. The title in question runs thus: The procession and pageant together seem certainly to have been a handsome affair. We can only notice the last, which consisted of parts, the illustrating, in an ingenious manner, the Company's arms, the other its trade and history. The pageant consisted of In this is Of the Trade Pageant Thomas Jordan writes- Pageants of this character had meaning in them, and must have had at least beneficial effect, that of making the handicraft arts interesting and their pursuit honourable: we wish we could say as much of the civic pageants of the present day. The connection of St. Dunstan with the Goldsmiths' Company is a curious subject, and that meets you at every step in their history, as well as in. still more palpable shapes in their Hall. Here, for instance, in the Court Room is a large painting, said to be by Julio Romano, but we should think incorrectly, devoted to the Saint's glory. In the foreground appears St. Dunstan, a large figure in a rich robe, and crozier in hand; in the background, by an amusing licence, we see him again, performing his memorable deed of taking the devil by the nose; and above appears the heavenly host, no doubt applauding the deed, and apparently signifying as much to the St. Dunstan in the front of the picture. Then, in the records of the Hall we read of St. Dunstan's almsmen; of St. Dunstan's feast on St. Dunstan's day; of St.]Dunstan's eve; of splendid tapestry made at a great expense in Flanders in illustration of St. Dunstan's exploits, and used for the decoration of the Hall; [n.389.3] of St. Dunstan's-statue, in silver gilt, set with gems, which formerly surmounted the screen of the Livery Hall, and which was broken up at the period of the war against images during the Reformation, and turned to the of St. Dunstan's cup, in which the goldsmiths frequently drank to his memory; of in Zachary Church; and of the chapel of St. Dunstan, with another image, in . The origin of this connection is no doubt to be found in the circumstance that, when Dunstan left the court of Athelstan in disgust and retired to Glastonbury, he employed himself occasionally in the formation of articles useful to the church, as crosses and censers. Ecclesiastics were then among the most skilful of artificers, for Edgar had directed |
390 | that priests, in order And it was whilst Dunstan was thus employed that the devil, having, unfortunately for himself, tempted him once too often, was seized in the unpleasant manner already described. The holy man immediately became famous. The goldsmiths in particular, who seem to have looked on him as of their craft, now, or soon after, adopted him as their founder and patron saint. We may here add that, in the list of jewellery belonging to Edward I., mention is made of a gold ring, with a sapphire, The business transacted in the Court Room is, of course, the ordinary business of the Company, as the management of estates, charities,[n.390.1] &c., and presenting, therefore, no interesting features. But it was not so once, when rebellious apprentices had to be whipped or otherwise punished, when offending members had to be reprimanded, sometimes kneeling before the assembled officers, or when the table was covered with goodly collections of gold and silver articles, and sometimes even and brought as to the Company, who seem to have occasionally dabbled in the pawnbroking trade from a very early period. of the entries on this subject, given in Mr. Herbert's valuable work on the Livery Companies of London, refers to the year . Besides their ordinary duties, the Wardens were occasionally called in to decide matters of a less official nature between the different members of the Company, but where their knowledge or position were found useful. A great deal of jealousy existed at all times between the foreign and English goldsmiths, which sometimes led to serious disputes. A difference of a more friendly nature was that brought before the Wardens in the reign of Edward IV., when workmen, Oliver Davy, citizen and goldsmith of London, and of the same city, contended for the palm of superiority in the of their craft. The honour of the respective countries was concerned in the struggle, and a high tribunal alone was thought worthy of giving a decision. So at a meeting at the Pope's Head in , in the presence of several distinguished members of the Goldsmiths' Company, the following arrangement, after due consideration, was made. , that Oliver Davy should White Johnson was to do exactly the same thing by the hands of an Alicant stranger; or Alicant's child, taking his liberty of what nation he would within the city of London, town of , or borough of . It was further agreed that the Wardens of Goldsmiths' Hall should decide between them, taking with them, to ensure impartiality, English and Alicant goldsmiths. The loser in the struggle was to pay the winner a crown, his costs for making his puncheons, and provide a dinner at the Hall for the |
391 | Wardens and for all parties concerned.
the wager is adjudged to be won by Oliver Davy. We do not see how, to use Mr. Herbert's phrase, the was advanced by the decision, as no opinion whatever seems to have been expressed as to the real merits of the respective works. Very proud, however, do the English goldsmiths appear to have been of the result, for when, after having kept the whole puncheons years, Oliver Davy brought them into the Goldsmiths' Hall, at the instance of the Wardens, and gave them to the Company, the former, with great solemnity, ordered them We may here add that the foreign; goldsmiths had at an early period a quarter to themselves, and were regulated by members of their own nation, under the control, however, of the English company, to whose funds they contributed in the shape of fees for apprentices, for admission into the craft, and for licences, also for fines, just the same as the other goldsmiths of London. We have an, interesting glimpse of the customs among the artificers in the century in of documents presented by the German and Dutch goldsmiths to the Wardens of the Company in and . The last consists of the and states that
|
Before quitting the Court Room we must not forget to mention the white marble chimney-piece which was brought from Cannons, the former seat of the Duke of Somerset. The lateral supports consist of very large and boldly sculptured terminal busts, attributed, we are told, to Roubiliac by a late eminent sculptor. | |
Leaving the Court Room, and crossing the corridor or passage, we enter the Drawing-room, a scene of almost unsurpassable luxury and splendour. Immense | |
392 | mirrors cover a considerable portion of the walls, and the remainder, in panels, is hung with crimson satin bordered by white and gold mouldings; the white stucco ceiling is exquisitely wrought with an interminable profusion of flowers, fruits, birds, beasts, and scroll-work ornaments, relieved at the corners of the room by the gay colours of the coats of arms; the soft thick carpet, of a rich maroon ground, presents in the centre the Goldsmiths' arms in all the splendid and proper colours of their heraldic emblazonry, and is as splendidly bordered; the curtains are of crimson damask, gold-embroidered; the chairs and ottomans are covered with crimson satin and gold, the tables are of gold and the most beautiful marbles, and the chimney-piece and grate of an exceedingly sumptuous kind. Add to these features the chandelier hanging from the roof, with its glittering pendants; imagine it lighted, and colours more varied and brilliant than rainbow ever presented shifting and glancing to and fro; behold the room itself thronged with fair and magnificently dressed ladies, their costume only the more impressive from the contrast with the sober dresses of the gentlemen ;--and you have altogether as superb a scene of the kind as, with few exceptions, the social life of England could afford. |
The chief object of interest in the Court Dining-room, the next of the suite, is the chimney-piece, where in the centre boys hold a wreath enclosing a head, whose melancholy history is told in the thin, almost attenuated-looking features and sad expression. It is Richard II., the monarch from whom the Goldsmiths' Company may be said to have received their principal charter of incorporation; we say principal, for in all the Goldsmiths received from the time of Edward III. to Elizabeth no fewer than charters--some of confirmation only, which the Companies of an early day were accustomed to get from time to time, in order to refresh the memory of any monarch who might otherwise be suddenly requiring a very heavy fine,--and others granting new privileges. And we may here fitly pause awhile to noticethe early history of this Company. The goldsmith's is perhaps, above all other manual arts requiring any considerable taste and skill, the in which the English have excelled from a very early period. About Bishop Wilfred built a church at Ripon, in Yorkshire, the columns and porticoes of which were enriched with gold, silver, and purple; and a sumptuous copy of the Gospels, in a case of pure gold set with gems, was among the donations then made. In the Ashmolean Museum a piece of ornamental workmanship in gold that was made for Alfred the Great is still preserved, and the workmanship is of a high order, though the design is rude enough. Again, among the plunder of the Conquest taken over to Normandy by William, on his visit to his native country after the great event which has made his name so memorable, were a variety of articles, such as golden vases, chased cups of gold and silver, Saxon drinking-cups made of large buffalo-horns, and ornamented at the extremity, which filled the people of that country with astonishment, and shows how far before their conquerors were the Saxons of that day in the goldsmith's craft. William of Poictevin, whose whole account shows what a strong impression the wealth of England had made upon him, speaks expressly of the men excelling in every species of elegant workmanship. A still stronger proof perhaps to be found in the admiration elicited from Pope Adrian (our countryman) when Robert, Abbot of St. Alban's, sent to him golden candlesticks: | |
393 | the
Pontiff declared he had never seen more beautiful workmanship. Matthew Paris also describes a
large cup of gold made by Baldwin, a goldsmith, for the same Abbot Robert, The service of the churches must have contributed greatly to call forth and to encourage talent of this kind; for, besides the numerous utensils required, there were the gorgeous shrines to decorate and enrich, labours on which immense quantities of the precious metals were lavished during the middle ages, With the firm consolidation of the kingdom that took place on the cessation of those civil wars, which, owing their origin to the state of things produced by the Conquest, were only ended in by the fall of De Montfort, and the consequent increase of the general prosperity, the monarchs no doubt became more luxurious and expensive. The wardrobe account of Edward I.'s plate and jewels is exceedingly curious, and illustrates in various points the manners and customs of the age, as well as the state of the goldsmith's art. Ade was the King's artificer, no doubt the chief goldsmith of his day. The list comprises pitchers of gold and silver, gold cups, cups of silver (gilt and plain, some having stands, and enamelled), and above other cups of silver; also a pair of knives with silver sheaths, enamelled, with of crystal; a pair of knives with ebony and ivory handles and studs, a large ewer set all over with pearls, a comb and looking-glass of silver gilt, enamelled, and a silver bodkin in a leathern case; gold, silver, and crystal crosses, some set with sapphires, and enclosing relics, and with emeralds and other precious stones, enclosing a great piece of the real cross of Christ; pikes of gold and silver, shrines, silver trumpets, gold clasps, rings, a large silver girdle ornamented with precious stones; a large image of the King in silver, habited in a surcoat, and with a hood over his head and a silver plate under his feet; and serpent tongues in a standard of silver. Lastly, there are royal crowns, set with rubies, emeralds, and great pearls; another with rubies and emeralds; another with Indian pearls; and a , a great crown of gold, with emeralds, sapphires of the east, rubies, and large eastern pearls-this was the coronation crown. Among this splendid collection was the before mentioned, which, we are told, was of the workmanship of St. Dunstan. A body of men, comprising among their members skill to accomplish works of the kind here indicated, and who, from the very value of the materials on which they worked, must have been persons of character and consideration, were not likely to be the last to seek the protection of the Guild, or general association of those engaged in their pursuit; indeed, if we had the means of knowing the early history of these associations, we should probably find the goldsmiths were among the , if not the very , to defend themselves, their properties, and their personal freedom in this manner. Not that we are to look upon the artificers of that period as so many peaceful citizens, who were nothing except when banded together. Not a man of them but knew how to defend himself, if he were attacked, by the skilful use of his own trusty weapon: a circumstance that made the members of the chief trades, when in unison, truly formidable bodies. This is illustrated in an incident that has been preserved of a quarrel between the goldsmiths and the merchant |
394 | tailors about the middle of the century, when their animosity proceeded so far that they, and
their respective friends, met by mutual consent night, to the number
each of men completely armed, and commenced a regular
battle, which was so fiercely maintained that, before the Sheriffs could succeed in bringing a
great body of the citizens to put a stop to the proceedings, several were killed and many
wounded on both sides. The combatants suffered severely, in the whole, for their display of
martial valour- of the ringleaders perishing on the scaffold. The
earliest mention of the goldsmiths as a guild occurs in the beginning of the century marked by
this combat, when Henry II. fined the adulterine or unlicensed guilds; and among those who were
the most heavily muleted were the goldsmiths. From this time to the reign of Edward III. we
find nothing particularly deserving notice in the history of the Guild, but in that reign they
began to bestir themselves to acquire a new and more commanding position. The petition
presented to Edward and his Council in Parliament, in the year of
his reign, gives us an interesting glimpse of the state of the trade at that time in London. In
this petition they show They add, also, that The answer to this petition was very satisfactory, granting to the goldsmiths, apparently, everything they desired. Merchants were no longer to bring any sort of money from abroad, but only plate of fine silver; goldsmiths were prohibited from selling gold or silver, wrought, or plate of silver, to any such merchants to be carried out of the kingdom; and lastly,--and this was the most important concession of the whole,--those of the same trade might elect honest, lawful, and sufficient men, best skilled ii the said trade, to inquire of the |
395 | matters aforesaid, to reform defects, and inflict due punishment
upon offenders. In this, the charter, the Company are addressed as
the King's nor was the charter in question all the evidences of his love; he subsequently empowered them to purchase estates to the value of yearly for the support of decayed members: a gift of , it must be observed, had something to do with all this beneficence. In the reign of Richard II. the Company became, as before stated, essentially, though still not nominally, incorporated, as with Subsequent monarchs from time to time confirmed and enlarged their privileges, till Edward IV. in express words ordained them a and gave them the power of inspecting, trying, or regulating all gold and silver works throughout the kingdom. Lastly, we may observe that, being opposed in their trade search and assay, during the reign of Henry VII., that monarch gave them additional power to imprison or fine defaulters, to seize and break unlawful work, to compel the trade within miles of the City to bring their work to the Company's common-hall to be assayed and stamped, and in case it was not standard to utterly condemn the same. The searches referred to must have led to some curious scenes. The trade was divided among foreigners and natives, whose chief places of resort at were and the immediate neighbourhood of the Goldsmiths' Hall, but who by the time of Henry VIII. had extended their shops to different parts of London and . The Sanctuaries were very naturally the resort of numbers of the dishonest portion of the trade; and in the Goldsmiths' books, under the date of Henry VI., we find a not an unamusing instance in point:-- Besides general quarterly searches, we find the Wardens were always on the watch on the occasion of any unusual assemblage of persons likely to buy trinkets, and more particularly during fairs. Like some of the similar searchers of the present day with regard to weights, due warning was given to delinquents to hide whatever they chose. In reading the account of the array of the search, sees very plainly that the worst rogues must have escaped amidst so much ceremony. came the beadle with his insignia of office, and in full costume; then the wardens in their hoods and livery, the Company's clerk, renter wardens, brokers, |
396 | with porters and other attendants
properly habited. These on then into . And on the following day they went through the fair adds the from which we quote, The legislature had at different periods endeavoured to assist the searchers in the attainment of the common object, honest trade, by various regulations. In an act was passed, stating that, in future no such articles shall be gilt or silvered, whether with or without intention to deceive, under a penalty of . The only exceptions were articles for the use of the Church, most of which might be made of silvered copper or latten, A curious and at the same time frightful incident of an earlier timne is mentioned in Arnold's where themselves are stated to have been the delinquents. In these, with Such was the wholesale butchery dignified by the name of justice in the century. |
From the Court Dining-room pass we now through the passage and across the top of the staircase to the Livery Hall, the fitting conclusion of the whole we have beheld. This is a room of great size and noble proportions, measuring about feet in length, in width, and in height Noble ranges of scagliola Corinthian columns insulated from the wall, and raised on lofty pedestals, support the roof, which is dark but most rich mass of ornamental decoration, and from which hang numerous chandeliers. lofty windows in the side that faces you as you enter shed a rich light through the place, being more than half filled with armorial bearings; and the remainder of the unoccupied space is marked off into small square compartments of ground glass, which alone give a fine effect to the windows whilst excluding a bad view. A screen, and gallery above, ornament the extremity, and a niche for the display of the Company's plate the other. This niche is an elegant contrivance. The back is lined with plain scarlet drapery, and in the centre i! a wooden framework similarly covered, which, with the assistance of the light admitted from | |
397 | above, displays the treasures of the Company in a
pyramidal form with the happiest effect. Many of the separate articles of that pyramid have a
history of themselves; we can only mention of them :--the cup. This is
by no less an artist than Cellini, and was presented by quoteueen Elizabeth (who Pennant
observes was ) to Sir Martin Bowes, whilst he was Lord Mayor, by whom it was presented to his brethren the Goldsmiths, with a charge to drink his health at certain periods in it, and to have a good dinner afterwards: we believe we are not hazarding too much to say that neither of these debts of gratitude are neglected. On each side of the niche is a mirror of unusual size, with busts in front, at their base, of George III. and George IV. Between the scagliola pillars, adorning the side opposite to the window, are lofty portraits, kingly or queenly subjects as usual (the loyalty, and church-and-state pride of the Goldsmiths' Company are well known); comprising portraits of quoteueen Adelaide by Sir Martin Archer Shee, William IV. in the appropriate costume of a and her present Majesty, by Sir George Hayter. In looking again at the richly stained arms which Mr. Willement has placed in the windows, consisting of the arms of the Members of the Court of Assistants, at the period of the opening of the Hall in , and of other assistants who have since died, a suggestion occurs which we think deserves consideration. In the annals of the Company, many are the worthies whose life and character must have an interest for the members ; surely their arms should be here. There is Gregory de Rokesley, for instance, goldsmith, who was times Lord Mayor of London, keeper of the King's Exchange, and chief Assay Master of all the English Mints. And if these recommendations are not sufficient, there is better still. This is the man whom honest Stow praises for having refused to compromise the dignity of his office, by answering as mayor a mandate to attend the King's Justices in the Tower, but who showed his individual respect for it by throwing off his civic robes at the Church of Allhallows, Barking, and then obeying the mandate as a private individual. The act led not only to his arrest, but to the arrest of the liberties of the City for a time. Then again there is Sir Nicholas Farindon, who gives name to the Ward of Farringdon, and the various benefactors of the Company, among whom Thomas Wood, sheriff in , should not be forgotten. This gentleman built in , which Stow describes as containing in number &c. These, we presume, were the goldsmiths' stalls which Hall so oddly describes in connexion with the pageants on the occasion of the marriage of Henry VIII. with his wife, as Numerous other members of still greater general reputation will readily occur: it will suffice to mention the admirable Sir Hugh Middleton, and Sir Francis Child, goldsmith, Lord Mayor, and founder of the regular bankinghouse in England, the well-known and highly respectable establishment in Fleet |
398 | Street. The chief difficulty that might have been experienced in carrying
into effect the plan proposed has been anticipated by the careful Stow; the arms of the oldest
member ,we have here mentioned, Rokesley's, for instance, will be found among the engravings of
the
|
The mention of Sir Francis Child recalls of the most important circumstances in the history of the Company,--its connection with the origin of the mighty system of modern banking. Our earliest bankers were, as is well known, the Jews, though, as their system seems to have been to receive deposits of goods, or title-deeds, &c., as security, they were perhaps more correctly called pawnbrokers. In the century a more respectable class of men, the Lombards, or Italian merchants, then recently settled in England, began to obtain much of this trade. The goldsmiths, we have already seen, were occasionally bankers, in the only sense in which banking as yet existed, so early as , in imitation, probably, of the Lombards. And till the century matters remained in this state. At that time a concurrence of peculiar circumstances led them to embark largely in the business. In Anderson's is given a curious account of these circumstances, on the authority of a rare pamphlet of the date of , entitled, From this publication it appears that the London merchants had been generally accustomed to deposit their money in the Tower, in the care of the Mint Master. A little time before the meeting of the Long Parliament, Charles I. seized there , professedly as a loan, of course not only without the consent, but to the extreme indignation, of the unfortunate owners. No more money after that time found its way into the Mint for the sake of security. And then, according to the pamphlet, it became customary with merchants and traders to intrust their cash to their clerks and apprentices: a striking evidence, by the way, of the terrible state of insecurity of men's property before the breaking out of the civil war. When the latter burst like a storm over the whole country, many of these clerks and apprentices took the opportunity of relieving themselves of the dulness of the shop and desk, and their masters at the same time of the superfluous cash they had placed in their hands; and thus a new and better mode of disposing of such money became indispensable. At last, about the year , the merchants began to place their funds in the hands of the Goldsmiths, who now added this the essential feature of a bank to their ordinary occupations of buying and selling plate and foreign coins of gold and silver, of melting and chilling these articles, some to be coined at the Mint, and the rest to be used in supplying the general dealers in the precious metals, jewellers, &c. The wealth and reputation of the Company would at once give confidence in the new mode, and consequently the business transacted increased so greatly in amount as to become a matter of very high importance and consideration. says the writer of the pamphlet, What follows is a sad charge against the respectable Company which has a St. | |
399 | Dunstan for its
founder.: It would have been worth while to see the puzzled looks of the merchants when they found the ingenious use their clerks had made of their money; and the whole affair must have occasionally led to some amusing scenes,--clerks perhaps sometimes discounting themselves instead of through the goldsmiths, and, possibly, their own masters' bills as they circulated in due course of trade, not for their masters, but with their masters' own money; but their impudence may not have ventured quite so far as that. Respecting the goldsmiths as bankers, the pamphlet continues,-- This system continued on the Restoration, the goldsmiths principally confining the lending part of the new business to Government, but borrowing, we presume, from whoever chose to lend. They gave receipts for the sums deposited, which, passing from hand to hand, became a virtual kind of bank-notes. In this brief detail we see in operation nearly all the parts of a modern banker's business. But concerns of such magnitude, and involving principles which, according as they are right or wrong, materially influence to prosperity or distress the entire nation, require all the thought and skill and capital of those concerned in its management. Some of the more intelligent. goldsmiths soon perceived this, and also that magnificent fortunes would no doubt be realized by those who, possessing the requisite qualifications, should devote their exertions solely to it. Francis Child was the of these persons, and may, therefore, be very properly called the [n.397.1] He was originally an apprentice to William Wheeler, goldsmith and banker, whose shop was--on the site of the present banking-house. Child married his master's daughter, and thus succeeded to the estate and business. The latter, we presume, from the very circumstance of his being generally acknowledged to be the regular banker, |
400 | thenceforth, or at least subsequently, confined his business entirely to the banking department. He died in as Francis Child, and after having served the offices of sheriff, lord mayor, and member of parliament for the City. |
Having been so recently erected, of course the Hall has, properly speaking, no history, unless the splendid banquet which marked its opening on the , be esteemed such, when the Duke of Wellington, and many other distinguished personages connected with the same political party, were among the guests. There was certainly feature of that meeting worthy of noticethe declaration of the Prime Warden, who, in stating that the creation of a building-fund had long been in contemplation for the re-erection of their mansion, added,
| |
Footnotes: [n.386.1] This business is carried on in apartments at the back of the Hall, having a separate entrance. [n.386.2] And, we may add, the Apothecaries': these two are the only Companies that retain the old right of control over their respective businesses. [n.387.1] Vol. I., p.281. [n.389.3] The account of Money delivered to Mr. Gerard Hughes for the rich arras for the hanging of the Hall, the tapestry in question, contains some interesting items: we extract the following. It appears there was Paid for the devising of the story, for the exchange making of the money, and for costs and charges of Mr. Hughes's servant lying there (in Flanders), and for the canvas, &c., 291. 8s. 8d. Then in the charges for making of the stories, in white and black, there was paid to four masters, every of them for sixteen days, at a shilling a-day, 3l. 4s. A boy was paid to sharp their colours, that is, point the chalk or charcoal with which they sketched, 2d. a-day; the translating of the story out of English into Dutch, to enable the foreign workmen to under stand it, cost 10s. The entire expense of the work was about 550l. [n.390.1] The property of the Company and the estates it holds in trust for charitable purposes are matters not allowed to come before the public. The Company itself, we may. here observe, consists of a master (the office is now held by the Sovereign), a prime and three other wardens, 21 assistants, and 150 liverymen. The chief officer is the clerk, whose position is generally considered to be highly lucrative and influential. [n.397.1] Pennant. |
