Freedom of the City
and
The London Livery Companies
|
| Archdale, Combs &c. Freedom of the City and The London Livery Companies |
|---|
Archdale-Combs &c. Freemen of the City of London 1272-1685 |
|---|
|
William de CUMBE, woolman, London, 1272 John COMBE, Woolmonger, 1333 William COUMBYS, Fishmonger, London, 1452 Thomas COMBES, Draper, London, 1506 John COMBE, Merchant Taylor, London 1509-1547 Robert COMBE, Leatherseller, St. Stephen (Walbrook? Coleman?), 1545 Robert COMBES, Draper, London, 1558 Thomas ARCHDALE, Draper, St. Antholin Budge Row, 1559 Thomas STACY, Mercer, London, 1559 Richard CLIFTON, Skinner, St. Antholin Budge Row, 1567 Martin ARCHDALE, Grocer, St. Margaret Pattens, 1575 Matthew ARCHDALE, Draper, St. Michael Paternoster Royal, 1580 Richard RIPTON, Draper, 1581 John COMBE, Draper, St. Mary the Virgin Aldermanbury, 1583 Richard ARCHDALE, Draper, Elbow Lane/College St., London, 1596 Ellis COMBE, Draper St. Stephen Coleman St, 1606 Randall MANNING, Skinner, London, 1606 John COMBE, Taylor, St. Thomas Apostle, 1613 Edward DITCHFIELD, Sewer, St. Mary Woolchurch Haw, 1606 Thomas DUTTON, Scrivener, London, 1632/3 William PALMER, Haberdasher, St. Mary the Virgin Aldermanbury, 1636 Francis LOVETT, Draper, Gracechurch St., London Christopher LOVETT, Draper, London and Dublin, Ireland, 1646 John COMBES, Butcher, St. Olave, Southwark, 1652 John COMBES, Draper, St. Olave, Southwark, 1652 Archdale COMBE, Draper, Oxford & Dublin, Ireland, 1656 John ARCHDALE, Draper, London, 1656 Archdale PALMER, Shoemaker (cordwainer), St. Mary the Virgin Aldermanbury, 1661 Benjamin COMBE, Goldsmith, St. Mary Woolnoth, 1673 Richard COOMBES, Hatmaker (Haberdasher), London, 1685 |
Throughout the Combs &c. London research reports are men termed drapers, merchant taylors, mercers (general merchants), grocers, fishmongers, skinners (fur traders), leathersellers, butchers, cordwainers (shoemakers, fine leathers), haberdashers (hatmakers), watermen, scriveners (writers of court letters and legal documents) and goldsmiths. It is easy to think of these terms as "just occupations," but to the tradesmen who were "citizens and merchants of London," these were titles of dignity, much the same as those of the nobility. These were their badges of honor, the symbols of their status as freemen, and oftimes even preferable to being a "gent." 1
In medieval times, a "freeman" was a man who was not the property of a feudal lord, a man who enjoyed the privilege (not then a right) to earn money and to own land, and in London a man whose trade was - literally - his key to the : None other than members of the guilds (later known as livery companies) could engage in trade (commercial activity). In fact, until the mid-1800s, none other than the sons of freemen were even eligible for apprenticeship, and "admission to freedom of the city" was attainable only by (1) completion of apprenticeship (servitude); (2) patrimony (child of a freeman); or (3) redemption (purchase or gift). Only in one of these instances could a man (21 years being the minimum age) become a citizen of London. 2
Those who completed their apprenticeship and were admitted as members of their guild were, if they resided in the City, eligible to apply to the City of London Court of Common Council for admission to freedom, and if approved, required to make oath to both the Sovereign and the Lord Mayor of London. 3
The London Guildhall
Most livery companies had several "levels of membership," beginning with "ordinary" members, then "liverymen;" members of their courts of assistance (governing bodies); and finally the master and wardens (those who kept a guild’s accounts and regulated its affairs). Most also maintained registers, some going back to the fourteenth century, that recorded either or both the binding of apprentices to masters and their presentment to the company courts. Although copies of individual articles of indenture were rarely kept, both warden accounts and court of assistant minutes frequently included much more information than just a name; i.e., the 1656 Drapers’ Company apprenticeship record of Archdale COMBE of Soulbury, Bucks, included the information that he was the father of John COMBE of Sparsholt, Berks, armiger, deceased, and Elizabeth COMBE, widow of Oxfordshire. 4
Most of the larger early livery companies still have early records, many including published rolls of apprentices and freemen, and in some cases substantially more. 5 As is borne out by Combs &c. Drapers Company research, examination of these records, some going back to the 1400s, can result in a treasure trove of information, both genealogical and historical. 6 See COMBS-COOMBS &c LONDON LIVERY COMPANY RECORDS to learn more about company records and specific members bearing the COMBS-COOMBS name.
Even just learning the dates can be helpful: to be apprenticed, one had to be at least fourteen years of age, and no more than twenty, and the period of apprenticeship a minimum of seven years; thus an individual freed by apprenticeship in 1583 was probably not much older than 27 years of age, and no less than twenty-one. 7 Knowing to whom the individual was apprenticed can also be helpful. In the above example, Archdale COMBE was apprenticed to his maternal uncle, Christopher LOVETT (documented by parish and other records), and the Drapers’ records of Christopher LOVETT document that he (and presumably his apprentice) was in Dublin, Ireland by 1662. In another example, Richard RIPTON is apprenticed as a Draper to Thomas ARCHDALE, whose 1611 St. Mary the Virgin Aldermanbury will includes a bequest to his "cousin" Richard RIPTON.
Further identifiers relate to the level of membership. All men entered as "ordinary member," but the next level, "liveryman," required the payment of fee, but also permitted the member to wear the company "livery" (distinctive clothing a.ka. uniform identifying their trade). Moreover, one had to be a liveryman to sit on a company’s court of assistants, or to be elected as a Warden or Master. 8
That the guild system was successful and in good part responsible for London’s rapid growth as a trade center in the late 1500s is borne out by a number of statistics, including that over 11,000 people were apprenticed to just the eleven major livery companies between 1530 and 1609; that during this same period, 913 were apprenticed with four of the major cloth and clothing companies alone (Clothworkers, Drapers, Haberdashers and Merchant Taylors), experiencing a whopping increase of 132%. 9
In fact, the term "tradesman" takes on an entirely different meaning when one considers that England’s international trade "adventures" (including the London and Virginia Companies, the Levantine and East India, etc.), were supported and sponsored by the London guilds, with the entire nation and its colonies depending on the guilds to finance and settle new lands won. 10
One result was that the power of the liveries in respect to governance of the City increased commensurately: From early on, municipal authority had rested with the Lord Mayor and his Aldermen (elder men), initially one from each of London’s 25 wards, but by 1285, a second level of authority that came to be known as "common councilmen" (citizens elected from each ward to "counsel" the Aldermen on "common" affairs of the City). Eventually the responsibilities (and thus authority) of the Common Council became greater than that of the Aldermen, and the Court of Common Council more powerful in many ways than the Court of Aldermen. 11
London Court of
Common Council
Those eligible to vote for, or be elected to, the Court of Common Council were required to be liveryman, with Common Councilman being the first step toward Alderman, then Sheriff and finally Lord Mayor. 12 At least two Combes achieved the position of Common Councilman, John COMBE, draper of Aldermanbury and Harvey Christian COMBE, fishmonger and brewer, who went on to become an Alderman by 1790 (through 1817), and Lord Mayor in 1799. 13 William COMBES (COUMBYS), also a fishmonger, was an Alderman from 1437-1452 (14), the year he died testate in London, probably a resident of St. George, Eastcheap (Early Combs &c. of London)
The "political bent" of John COMBES, draper, was possibly due to his master, Sir Thomas PULLYSON, who served as an alderman from 1573 to 1588, and as mayor in 1584 , just one year after John was admitted to freedom. John’s brother-in-law, William PALMER, haberdasher, may have been the same who served as an alderman in 1625-1626. John’s son-in-law was Randall MANNING, Jr., a skinner, and his father, Randall MANNING, Sr., may have been the R. MANNING, skinner, who served as an alderman in 1604. (14)
Resources for researching London freemen and livery companies, in addition to those included in the end notes below, include The London Guildhall’s Livery Company Membership Guide and List of Livery Companies.
Return to
Combs &c. of London
Early Combs &c. of London
Last updated
You are Our Visitor.
Please Email Additions/Corrections to Webmaster
