general court "kepte by the hoole body of ye ffelyshyppe of Iremongers, that euy pson of ye company of the bachelars that is amytted to com into the clothyng of ye seyd ffelyshyppe shall pay, as sone as he hath receyvyd his gowne clothe or lyvery, to the comyn box, vjs. viijd. And likewise euy redempcyonar at hys ffyrst comyng into ye clothyng shall pay vjs. viijd. And euy man of ye ffelyshyppe, be syde yt is of ye olde clothyng, shall pay at ye receyving of yer clothing ijs. a pece." Stowe, in speaking of the Liveries in his time, observes :— "But yet in London amongst the graver sort (I mean the liveries of companies) remaineth a memory of the hoods of old time worn by their predecessors: these hoods were worn, the roundlets upon their heads, the skirts to hang behind in their necks to keep them warm, the tippet to lie on their shoulder to wind about their necks; these hoods were, of old time, made in colours according to their gowns, which were of two colours, as red and blue, red and purple, murrey, or as it pleased their masters and wardens to appoint to the companies; but now of late time they have used their gowns to be all of one colour, and those of the saddest; but their hoods being made, the one-half of the same cloth their gowns be of, the other half remaineth red as of old time." A charter granted to the Leathersellers' Company by James the First is also illuminated, and represents the liverymen of that period habited in a dress which differs but little from that which is worn at present.* We ought * The engravings in the margin of pages 47 and 50 are from sketches not, perhaps, to close this sketch of the liveries without noticing another example which is preserved in the celebrated picture by Holbein, representing the members of the Barber-Surgeons' Company receiving their charter of incorporation from the hands of Henry the Eighth in 1541. UTTING S These dresses, it is true, may have been provided for the occasion, and therefore somewhat better than usual; they are certainly both costly and elegant. 1497. The yeomanry preferred a petition to the master, taken from these charters by permission of the late Mr. Vines, clerk of the Leathersellers' Company. In the charter of 1444, the liverymen are represented kneeling; I have placed them here in a standing posture for the purpose of better exhibiting the costume. The engraving on page 51 is sketched from Holbein's picture in the Barbers' Hall by permission of the court of that company. wardens, and court of the livery, praying that they might be allowed to nominate annually two wardens for the government of their own body, who should be empowered to collect eight pence a-year from each of their members, for the general good, and other regulations to be observed at the feast of Corpus Christi. This document is appended at page 74 to an ancient Book of Orders; it consists of three leaves only, and is evidently imperfect. We select the following extract as a specimen of the orthography : Und youre suffrage and correccion it shall plesse your good maistershippes all to graunte unto us the yemenry of this yo" worshipfull felishipe of this craffte of Iermongers theis peticcons here after ffolowinge at oure enstaunce and in pe weye of charyte: Firste, that they may haue licences to chesse ij. newe rulars at seche seasone of the yere as it shall be thought be youre grete wysdomys moste expedent. The said rewlars alway here after shall mowe gedir of euery broder covenaunte and other viijd a yeerre, for the wele and onesté of us yo seide yemenry. Also that at suche seasone herre after as it shall falle that the onerabell masse of the holy ffeste of Corpus Xpi shall be and by youre maister shippes worshipfully kepte at any cherche wher so it be, that eny of us, youre yemenry, iff it shall please you, in the onowre of the aforeseide holie and solempe ffeste to offer jd at the seide masse, and he or thei that wille not so doo but dissabei it, or failethe when he is lawfully warnede, shall mowe paye to the rulers for the tyme beying of us yo" yemenry, to the encresynge of oure porre boxe di. lb. waxe to the valewe of iiijd w1oute any redempcion. 1516. RICHARD GREY, a member of the Ironmongers' Company, and one of the aldermen of the city, was this year elected sheriff of London. He was buried at St. Michael's, Queenhithe, and left five pounds to the master and wardens of the Ironmongers for the purpose of keeping his obit for five years in the said church; twenty shillings to be expended at each obit. To the priest and clerk of the said parish, ringing of bells, ij. tapers of wax, and bread and drink for the master and wardens of the said craft, viijs. iiijd. The master, if present, was to receive ijs. and either of the wardens xxd. and the residue of the xxs. to be divided among poor householders, iiijd. to each person. Arms Argent, on a bend cottised dancetté gules, three lion's heads erased of the field, all within a bordure azure bezantée. MS. Harl. No. 6860, and Coll. Arms. 1523. Kyng Harey the viijth in the xiij. yere off hys rayn borowd off the site of London xxM". off the whyche som off money he comandyd to haue all the money and platt that was belonging to every hawlle or craft in London, to the ententt that the money myght be lentt with the more esse, at the whyche commandmentt he hade all oure money belonging to oure hawlle, that was the sme off xxvi xiiija; and also was solde at thatt tyme theys passell off platt here aftyr foloyng Im. p. mo ij. basons off sylu of the gyft off mas? Byfylde late Irmong and shreeve off London, weying le troy ciiij. vnces di at iijs iiija pr. vnc. xvij3 viijs iiijd. Iť a old stondyng cuppe wth a coù, all gyltt, off the gyft off mas? Batte, lat Irõmong of London, and Fyllys hys wyff, weying le troy xlj. vnces q' at iijs vijd pr. vnc. vijli vijs xa. And allso we layd to pleg all the resewdewe off our platt for xxj1i xvj3 xa. S'ma, That the kyng hadd owtt off owre hawlle iijxxxjli xiiijs ijd and also euy man off our company that was off the valewe namyd off xxi and aboue, lentt to the kyng the same tyme as here aftyr foloyth-- Mr. Wytm Denh" m, owre war den, xxxli Edmond Cyrtwyn, ye oder war- Wytm Ryng, xl1i Thomas Mychell, xxxli John Arowley, xxli Helm Byrd, xx3 Rychard Dobbys, xx Wylm Steuyns, xyli Robert Downe, vli 1524. Thomas Gray, xls Thomas Eyre, xxs Under this date we find the names of fifty-six persons of the yeomanry recorded, also the receipts and expenditure of the yeomanry for one year ending at Midsummer, and the particulars of their four quarterly suppers: Thys ys the account of us Robt Wenħm, Robt Mannyng, of all souch somes of money as we have resseyued and payde from the fest of mydsom in the yere of owre lord God M ve xxiij. for the space of a hole yere endyde at the sayde ffest of mydsom in the yere M vc xxiiij. then beyng mast's wardens Humfrey Barnys and Richard Dobbys, of owre craft of Iremongers, in pressence of souch as was warned to come to this sayde acount. Fyrst we answer of all and euy souch pssells of goods as by us resseyued, as more pleynly apperyeth by an inuytory ther of made in the foote of thys boke, which goods we make delyuy of at this day of owre acounte. And we answer of vjs iiijd by us ressyued of owre former vjs iiijd And we answer of viijs by us resseyved of and for myghelms q'ter . viijs And we answer of ixs iiijd by us resseyued of and for ixs iiijd And we answer of vs iiijd by us resseyued of and for vs iiijd And we answer of ijs viijd by us resseyued of Robt |