Medieval guild that became part of the fabric of York
Posted on 26 April 2006
A new definitive history of The Company of Merchant Taylors of York traces the significance of a group which provided the bedrock of York’s pre-industrial manufacturing base for 400 years.Yet despite being the largest profession among the citizens and freemen of York for 400 years, their contribution to the city was largely unsung until this new collection of essays by historians, drawn principally from the University of York’s Department of History.
We hope this collection will ... rescue thousands of York’s artisans and craftsmen from undeserved oblivion
Professor Barrie Dobson
Under the editorship of Professor Barrie Dobson and Professor David Smith, they have chronicled the story of the Company of Merchant Taylors from its origins in the 14th Century to the present day. The book is published on 28 April 2006 by the Borthwick Institute in its Texts and Studies series.
The backdrop to the Company’s history is the Merchant Taylors’ Hall in Aldwark, one of the four surviving medieval guildhalls in York – the others are the Guildhall itself, the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall and St Anthony’s Hall in Peaseholme Green.
Few of the 90 present day members of the Company of Merchant Taylors are practising tailors – they now regard the conservation of the Hall for future generations as their greatest responsibility.
Professor Dobson, a former Master of the Company, said: "Urban historians have almost always tended to devote much more attention to mayors and merchants than to tailors and seamstresses, despite the fact that it was on the labouring skills of its manual workers that a town’s economy depended. We hope this collection will redress the balance and rescue thousands of York’s artisans and craftsmen from undeserved oblivion."
Professor Smith added: "The history of the Merchant Taylors of York can throw significant new light on the economic and social forces which influenced the development of a town now celebrated as England’s most important historic city."
Notes to editors:
- The Merchant Taylors of York (a history of the Craft and Company from the fourteenth to the twentieth century) ISBN-13: 978-1-904497-16-5 is published by Borthwick Publications, University of York, and costs £25. It is available from the Borthwick Institute at the University of York or the Company of Merchant Taylors Aldwark, York YO1 7BX
- The Company of Merchant Taylors of York has its origins in the religious confraternity of St. John the Baptist, which built the present half-timbered Hall in Aldwark during the early part of the fifteenth century. Nearly all those involved in the clothing trade were required to be a member. In the 'Ordinances de Taillours' of 1386 were listed Taylors, Cissors, Drapers, Clothiers, Clothmakers, Hosiers, Vestmentmakers, Embroiderers, Sowers, Milliners, Chapmen, Mantuamakers and others. The Company was one of the largest manufacturing craft guilds in the City, with 128 Master Taylors in membership in 1386. These various guilds were amalgamated into the present Company, which in 1662 received a Royal Charter from King Charles II. The regulatory role of the Company lasted until 1835 when the Municipal Corporations Act removed the Guild control of trade.
- The Borthwick Institute for Archives is one of the biggest archive
respositories outside London. During its 50-year history, it has
collected archives from all around the world, from the 12th century to
the present day. Every year it welcomes thousands of visitors to use
its archive materials. In January 2005, it opened to the public in a
new, purpose-built building, situated adjacent to the J.B. Morrell
Library on the University of York's Heslington campus. The new building
was made possible due to a grant of £4.4 million by the Heritage
Lottery Fund.
- The University of York's Department of History combines exciting and original research with the best traditions of stimulating and innovative teaching. Widely accepted as one of the foremost centres of historical research and practice in the UK, the Department numbers some thirty professional academic staff and approximately 800 undergraduate and graduate students. The Department is rated 'Excellent' in teaching and received a '5A' rating in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise.