working life of women seventeenth century - School of Economics ...

WORKING LIFE OF WOMENIN THESEVENTEENTH CENTURYALICE CLARK

PREFACEFirst editionTria investigation, whose conclusions are partly described in thefollowing treatise, was undertaken with a view to discovering theactual circumstances of women's lives in the Seventeenth Century.It is perhaps impossible to divest historical enquiry from allpersonal bias, but in this case the bias has simply consisted in aconviction that the conditions under which the obscure mass ofwomen live and fulfil their duties as human beings, have a vitalinfluence upon the destinies of the human race, and that a littleknowledge of what these conditions have actually been in the pastwill be of more value to the sociologist than many volumes of carefullyelaborated theory based on abstract ideas.The theories with which I began this work of investigation as tothe position occupied by women in a former social organisation havebeen abandoned, and have been replaced by others, which though stillonly held tentatively have at least the merit of resting solely onascertained fact. If these theories should in turn have to be discardedwhen a deeper understanding of history becomes possible,yet the picture of human life presented in the following pages willnot entirely lose its value.The picture cannot pretend to be complete. The SeventeenthCentury provides such a wealth of historical material that only a smallfraction could be examined, and though the selection has been asrepresentative as possible, much that is of the greatest importancefrom the point of view from which the enquiry has been made, is notyet available. Many records of Gilds, Companies, QuarterSessions and Boroughs which must be studied in exfenso before ajust idea can be formed of women's position, have up to the presentbeen published only in an abbreviated form, if at all.Another difficulty has been the absence of knowledge regardingwomen's position in the years preceding the Seventeenth Century.This want has to some extent been supplied through the kindness ofMiss Eileen Power, who has permitted me to use some of the materialcollected by her on this subject, but not yet published.The Seventeenth Century itself forms a sort of watershed betweentwo very widely differing eras in the history of Englishwomen-theElizabethan and the Eighteenth Century. Thus characteristics of

4 INTRODUCTORYtragic class of wage earners, who, though comparativelyfew in numbers, already constituted a serious problemin the seventeenth century.In the course of the investigation, comparison isfrequently made with the economic position of medizvalwomen on the one hand, and with women'sposition under modern industrial conditions, on theother. It must be admitted, however, that comparisonswith the middle ages rest chiefly on conjecture.Owing to the greater complexity of a woman's lifeher productive capacity must be classified on differentlines from those which are generally followed indealing with the economic life of men,For the purposes of this essay, the highest, mostintense forms to which women's productive energyis directed have been excluded ; that is to say, thespiritual creaton of the home and the physical creationof the child. Though essentially productive, suchachievements of creative power transcend the limitationsof economics and one instinctvely feelsthat there would be something almost degradingin any attempt to weigh them in the balance withproductions that are bought and sold in the market oreven with professional services. Nevertheless it mustnever be forgotten that the productive energy whichis described in the ensuing chapters was in no sensealternative to the exercise of these higher forms ofcreative power but was employed simultaneously withthem. It may be suspected that the influences ofhome life were stronger in the social life of theseventeenth century than they are in modern England,and certainly the birth-rate was much higher in everyclass of the community except perhaps the very poorest.But, leaving these two forms of creative poweraside, there remains another special factor complicatingwomen's economic position, namely, the extent of herproduction for domestic purposes-as opposed toindustrial and professional purposes. The domesticINTRODUCTORY5category includes all goods and services, either materialor spiritual, which are produced solely for the benefitof the family, while the industrial and professionalare those which are produced either for sale or exchange.In modern life the majority of Englishwomen devotethe greater part of their lives to domestic occupations,while men are freed from domestic occupations ofany sort, being generally engaged in industrial orprofessional pursuits and spending their leisure overpublic services or personal pleasure and amusement.Under modern conditions the ordinary domesticoccupations of Englishwomen consist in tending babiesand young children, either as mothers or servants, inpreparing household meals, and %keeping the houseclean, while laundry work, preserving fruit, and themaking of children's clothesare still often included inthe domestic category. In the seven~enth century itembraced a much wider range of production ; forbrewing, dairy-work, the care of poultry and pigs, theproduction of vegetables and fruit, spinning flax andwool, nursing and doctoring, all formed part of domesticindustry. Therefore the part which women playedin industrial and professional life was in addition to amuch greater prodoctive activity in the domestic spherethan is required of them under modern conditions.On the other hand it may be urged that, if womenwere upon the whole more actively engaged in industrialwork during the seventeenth century than theywere in the first decade of the twentieth century,men were much more occupied with domestic affairsthen than they are now. Men in all classes gave timeand care to the education of their children, and theyoung unmarried men who generally occupied positionsas apprentices and servants were partly employedover domestic work. Therefore, though now it istaken for granted that domestic work will be done bywomen, a considerable proportion of it in former daysfell to the share of men.

INTRODUCTORYThese circumstances have led to a different use ofterms in this essay from that which has generally beenadopted ; a difference rendered necessary from thefact that other writers on industrial evolution haveconsidered it only from the man's point of view, whereasthis investigation is concerned primarily with itseffect upon the position of women.To facilitate the enquiry, organisation for productionis divided into three types :(a) Domestic Industry.(b) Family Industry.(C) Capitalistic Industry, or Industrialism.No hard-and-fast line exists in practice betweenthese three systems, which merge imperceptibly intoone another. In the seventeenth century all threeexisted side by side, often obtaining at the same timein the same industries, but the underlying principlesare quite distinct and may be defined as follows :(a) Domestic Industry is the form of productionin which the goods produced are for the exclusive useof the family and are not therefore subject to anexchange or money value.(b) Family Industry is the form in which thefamily becomes the unit for the production of goodsto be sold or exchanged.The family consisted of father, mother, children,household servants and apprentices ; the apprenticesand servants being children and young peopleof both sexes who earned their keep and in thelatter case a nominal wage, but who did not expect toremain permanently as wage-earners, hoping on thecontrary in due course to marry and set up in businesson their own account. The profits of family industrybelonged to the family and not to individual membersof it. During his lifetime they were vested in thefather who was regarded as the head of the family ;he was expected to provide from them marriageportions for his children as they reached maturity,INTRODUCTORYand on his death the mother succeeded to hisposition as head of the family, his right of bestowalby will being strictly limited by custom and publicopinion.Two features are the main characteristics of FamilyIndustry in its perfect form ;-first, the unity ofcapital and labour, for the family, whether that of afarmer or tradesman, owned stock and tools andthemselves contributed the labour : second, the situationof the workshop within the precincts of the home.These two conditions were rarely completely fulfilledin the seventeenth century, for the richerfarmers and tradesmen often employed permanentwage-earners in addition to the members of theirfamily, and in other cases craftsmen no longer ownedtheir stock, but made goods to the order of the capitalistwho supplied them with the necessary material.Nevertheless, the character of Family Industry wasretained as long as father, mother, and children workedtogether, and the money earned was regarded asbelonging to the family, not to the individual membersof it.From the point of view of the economic positionof women a system can be classed as family industrywhile the father works at home, but when he leaveshome to work on the capitalist's premises the lastvestige of family industry disappears and industrialismtakes its place.(c) Capitalistic Indurtry, or industrialirm, is thesystem by which production is controlled by theowners of capital, and the labourers or producers, men,women and children receive individual wages.''The tcrm " individual wages " is used here to denote wages paid either to menor women a* individuals, and regarded as belonging to the indikidual person, while"family wages " are those which cover the serricrs nf the nholc family and belongto the family as a whole. This definition differs from the common use of the terms,but is necessary for the explanation of some important points. In ordinary conversation" individual wages " indicate those which maintain an indi~idual only, while"family wages" are those upon which a family lives. This does not imply a real

8 INTRODUCTORY INTRODUCTORYDomestic and family industry existed side by sideduring the middle ages ; for example, brewing, baking,spinning, cheese and butter making were conductedboth as domestic arts and for .industrial purposes.Both were gradually supplanted by capitalisticindustry, the germ of which was apparently introducedabout the thirteenth century, and graduallydeveloped strength for a more rapid advance in theseventeenth century.While the development of capitalistic industrywill always be one of the most interesting subjects forthe student of political economy, its effect upon theposition and capacity of women becomes of paramountimportance to the sociologist.This effect must be considered from three standpoints:-(I) Does the capitalistic organisation of industryincrease or diminish women's productive capacity ?(2) Does it make them more or less successful intheir special function of motherhood ?(3) Does it strengthen or weaken their influenceover morals and their position in the generalorganisation of human society ?These three questions were not asked by the menwho were actors in the Industrial Revolution, andapparently their importance has hitherto escaped thenotice of those who have written chapters of itshistory.Mankind, lulled by its faith in the " eternal feminine" has reposed in the belief that women remainthe same, however completely their environment mayalter, and having once named a place " the home "thinks it makes no difference whether it consists of aworkshop or a boudoir. But the effect of thedifference in the wages, as the same amount of money can be used to support oneindividual in comfort or a family in penury. In modern times the law recognises atheoretic obligation on the part of a man to srlpport his children, but has no powerto divert his wage3 to that purpose. His wages are in fact recognised as his individualproperty. The position of the family was very different in the eeventeenth centuv.Industrial Revolution on home life, and throughthat upon the development and characters ofwomen and upon their productive capacity, deeplyconcerns the sociologist, for the increased productivecapacity of mankind may be dearly bought by thedisintegration of social organisation and a loweringof women's capacity for motherhood.The succeeding chapters will show how the spreadof capitalism affected the productive capacity ofwomen :-(I) In the capitalist class where the energy andhardiness of Elizabethan ladies gave way beforethe idleness a d pleasure which characterised theRestoration period.(2) In agriculture, where the wives of the richeryeomen were withdrawing from farm work and wherethere already existed a considerable number of labourersdependent entirely on wages, whose wives having nogardens or pastures were unable to supply the families'food according to old custom. The wages of suchwomen were too irregular and too low to maintainthem and their children in a state of efficiency, andthrough semi-starvation their productive powers andtheir capacity for motherhood were greatly reduced.(3) In the Textile Trades where the demandfor thread and yarn which could only be producedby women and children was expanding.The convenience of spinning as an employmentfor oddminutes and the mechanical character of itsmovements which made no great tax on eye or brain,rendered it the most adaptable of all domestic artsto the necessities of the mother. Spinning becamethe chief resource for the married women whowere losing their hold on other industries, but itsreturn in money value was too low to render themindependent of other means of support. There islittle evidence to suggest that women shared, inthe capitalistic enterprises of the clothiers during

10 INTRODUCTORY INTRODUCTORYthis period, and they had lost their earlier positionas monopolists of the silk trade.(4) In other crafts and trades where a tendencycan be traced for women to withdraw from businessas this developed on capitalistic lines. The historyof the gilds shows a progressive weakening of theirpositions in these associations, though the corporationsof the seventeenth century still regarded the wife asher husband's partner. In these corporations theeffect of capitalism on the industrial position of thewage-earner's wife becomes visible.Under family industry the wife of every mastercraftsman became free of his gild and could share hiswork. But as the crafts became capitalised manyjourneymen never qualified as masters, remaining inthe outer courts of the companies all their lives, andactually forming separate organisations to protect theirinterests against their masters and to secure a privilegedposition for themselves by restricting the number ofapprentices. As the journeymen worked on theirmasters' premises it naturally followed that theirwives were not associated with them in their work,and that apprenticeship became the only entranceto their trade.Though no written rules existed confining apprenticeshipto the male sex, girls were seldom if everadmitted as apprentices in the gild trades, and thereforewomen were excluded from the ranks of journeymen.As the journeyman's wife could not workat her husband's trade, she must, if need be, findemployment for herself as an individual. In somecases the journeyman's organisations were powerfulenough to keep wages on a level which sufficed forthe maintenance of their families ; then the wifebecame completely dependent on her husband, sinkingto the position of his unpaid domestic servant.In the Retail and Provision Trades which in somerespects were peculiarly favourable for women, theyexperienced many difficulties owing to the restrictiverules of companies and corporations ; but where a manwas engaged in this class of business, his wife sharedhis labours, and on his death generally retained thedirection of the business as his widow.The history of brewing is one of the most curiousexamples of the effect of capitalism on women's positionin industry, for as the term " brewster " shows,originally it was a woman's trade but with the developmentof Capitalism it passed completely from thehands of women to those of men.The tendency of capitalism to lessen the relativeproductive capacity of women might be overlookedif our understanding of the process was limited to thechanges which had actually taken place by the end ofthe seventeenth century. No doubt the majority ofthe population at that time was still living underconditions governed by the traditions and habits formedduring the period of Family and Domestic Industry.But the contrast which the life described in the followingchapters presents to the life of women undermodern conditions will be evident even to readerswho have not closely followed the later historicaldevelopments of Capitalism.In estimating the influence of economic changeson the position of women it must be remembered thatCapitalism has not merely replaced Family Industrybut has been equally destructive of Domestic Industry.One unexpected effect has been the reversal of theparts which married and unmarried women play inproductive enterprise. In the earlier stages ofeconomic evolution that which we now call domesticwork, viz., cooking, cleaning, mending, tending ofchildren, etc., was performed by unmarried girls underthe direction of the housewife, who was thus enabledto take an important position in the family industry.Under modern conditions this domestic work fallsupon the mothers, who remain at home while the

INTRODUCTORYunmarried girls go out to take their place in industrialor professional life. The young girls in modern lifehave secured a position of economic independence,while the mothers remain in a state of dependenceand subordination-an order of things which wouldhave greatly astonished our ancestors.In the seventeenth century the idea is seldom encounteredthat a man supports his wife ; husband andwife were then mutually dependent and togethersupported their children. At the back of people'sminds an instinctive feeling prevailed that the fatherfurnished rent, shelter, and protection while the motherprovided food ; an instinct surviving from a remotepast when the villein owed to his lord the labour ofthree or four days per week throughout the year inaddition to the boon work at harvest or iny other timewhen labour was most wanted for his own crops ; surelythen it was largely the labour of the mother and thechildren which won the family's food from theyard-land.The - realitv of the change which has been effectedin the positidn of wife andmother is shown by a letterto The Gentleman's Magazine in 1834 criticising proposedalterations in the Poor Law. The writer defendsthe system then in use of giving allowances from therates to labourers according to the number of theirchildren. He says that the people who animadverton the allowance system " never observe the causefrom which it proceeds. There are, we will say,twenty able single labourers in a parish; twentyequally able married, with large families. One classwants 12s. a week, one 20s. The farmer, who has hischoice of course takes the single." The allowancesystem equalises the position of married and single.Formerly this inequality did not exist " because it wasof no importance to the farmer whether he employed thesingle or married labourer, inasmuch as the labourer'swzfe and family could provide for themselves. They areINTRODUCTORYnow dependent on the man's labour, or nearly so ;except in particular cases, as when women go out towash, to nurse, or take in needlework, and so on. Themachinery and manufactures have destroyed cottagelabour-spinning, the only resource formerly of thefemale poor, who thus were earning their bread at home,while their fathers and husbands were earning theirsabroad. . . . In agricultural parishes the men, thelabourers, are not too numerous or more than arewanted; but the families hang as a dead weightupon the rates for want of employment. The girlsare now not brought up to spin-none of them knowthe art. They all handle when required, the hoe, andtheir business is weeding. Our partial remedy forthis great and growing evil is allotments of land,which are to afford the occupation that the distaffformerly did ; and so the wife and daughters can becultivating small portions of ground and raising DO-0 1 -tatoes and esculents, etc., the-while the labourer is athis work."lThese far reaching changes coincided with thetriumph of capitalistic organisation but they may nothave been a necessary consequence of that triumph.They may have arisen from some deep-lying cause,some tendency in human evolution which was merelyhastened by the economic cataclysm.The fact that the evolution of women's position inthe professions followed a course closely resemblingthat which was taking place in industry suggests theexistence of an ultimate cause influencing the directionin each case.-Gentleman's Magaztne, 1834, Vol. 1, p. 531. A Letter tohd dltborp on the PoorLazus, by Equltas

CAPITALISTSTerm includes aristocracy and nouveau-riche. Tendency of these two classes toapproximate in manners-activity of aristocratic women with affain of household,estate and nation-Zeal for patents and monopolies-Money lenders-Shipping trade-Contractors-Joan Dant-Dorothy petty-~ssociation ofwives in husbands' businesses-Decrease of women's business activity inupperclasses-Contrast of Dutch women-Growing idleness of gentlewomen.PERHAPS it is impossible to say what exactly constitutesa capitalist, and no attempt will be qade to definethe term, which is used here to include the aristocracywho had long been accustomed to the control ofwealth, and also those families whose wealth had beennewly acquired through trade or commerce. Thesecond group conforms more nearly to the ideasgenerally understood by the term capitalist ; butin English society the two groups are closely related.The first group naturally represents the oldertraditional relation of women to affairs in the upperclasses, while the second responded more quickly to thenew spirit which was being manifested in Englishlife. No rigid line of demarcation existed betweenthem, because while the younger sons of the gentryengaged in trade, the daughters of wealthy tradesmenwere eagerly sought as brides by an impoverishedaristocracy. Therefore the manners and customs ofthe two groups gradually approximated to each other.At the beginning of the seventeenth century it wasusual for the women of the aristocracy to be very busywith affairs-affairs which concerned their household,their estates and even the Government.Thus Lady Barrymore writes she is " a cuntrylady living in Ireland and convercing with none butCAPITALISTSmasons and carpendors, for I am now finishing ahouse, so that if my govenour [Sir Edmund Verney]please to build a new house, that may be well seatedand have a good prospect, I will give him my bestadvice gratis."'Lady Gardiner's husband apologises for her notwriting personally to Sir Ralph Verney, she " beingalmost melted with the double heat of the weather andher hotter employment, because the fruit is suddenlyripe and she is so busy preserving."= Their householdconsisted of thirty persons.Among the nobility the management of the estatewas often left for months in the wife's care while thehusband was detained at Court for business or pleasure.It was during her husband's absence that Brilliana,Lady Harley defended Brampton Castle from anattack by the Royalist forces who laid siege to it forsix weeks, when her defence became famous for itsdetermination and success. Her difficulties in estatemanagement are described in letters to her son :" You know how your fathers biusnes is neglected ;and alas ! it is not speaking will sarue turne, whearetheare is not abilltise to doo other ways ; theareforeI could wisch, that your father had one of morevnderstanding to intrust, to looke to, if his rents arenot payed, and I thinke it will be so. I could desire,if your father thought well of it, that Mr. TomasMoore weare intrusted with it ; he knows your fathersestate, and is an honnest man, and not giuen to greatexpences, and thearefore I thinke he would goo themost frugally way. I knowe it would be some chargesto haue him and his wife in the howes ; but I thinkeit would quite the chargess. I should be loth tohaue a stranger, nowe your father is away."'l Verney Family, Memoirs durrng the Cavzl War, Vol. I., p. 2 10.Ibid. Vol I , p. 12.' Harley, Letters of Brilliana, the Lady, pp. r 46-7, 1641.1 S

I 6 CAPITALISTS CAPITALISTS" I loos the comfort of your fathers company, andam in but littell safety, but that my trust is in God ;and what is doun to your fathers estate pleases himnot, so that I wisch meselfe, with all my hart, atLoundoun, and then your father might be a wittnesof what is spent; but if your father thinke it beestfor me to be in the cuntry, I am every well pleasedwith what he shall thinke best."'One gathers from these letters that in spite of herdevotion and ability and his constant absence Sir E.Harley never gave his wife full control of the estate,and was always more ready to censure than to praiseher arrangements ; but other men who were immersedin public matters thankfully placed the whole burthenof family affairs in the capable hands of their wives.Lady Murray wrote of her father, Sir George Baillie," He had no ambition but to be free of debt ; yet sogreat trust and confidence did he put in my mother,and so absolutely free of all jealousy and suspicion, thathe left the management of his affairs entirely to her,without scarce asking a question about them ; exceptsometimes would say to her, ' Is my debt paid yet ? 'though often did she apply to him for direction andadvice ; since he knew enough of the law for themanagement of his own agairs, when he would takethe time or trouble or to prevent his being imposedupon by others."'Mrs. Alice Thornton wrote of her mother :" Nor was she awanting to make a faregreatter improvement[than her dowery of ~zooo] of my father'sestate through her wise and prudential government ofhis family,and by her care was a meanes togive opportunityof increasing his patrimony."3' Harley, Letters of Brilliana, The Lady, p. 167, 1642.a Murray (Lady), Memozrs of Lady Grzsell Batllie, p. 13.Thornton (Mrs. Alice), Autobzography, p. 101, (Surtees' Society Vol. lxii.)In addition to the Household Accounts those of thewhole of Judge Fell's estate at Swarthmore, Lancashire,were kept by his daughter Sarah. The followingentries show that the family affairs included a farm,a forge, mines,some interest in shipping and somethingof the nature of a Bank.July I I, 1676, is entered : " To m" Recd. of Tho :Greaves wife wch. 1 am to returne to London for her,& is to bee p" to her sonn JnO. ffellp Waltr. miers inLondon, 001. 00. 00.Jan., 14, 1676-7, by money lent Witlm Wilsonour forge Clarke till hee gett money in for Ireonsold 10. o. o.Aug. ye go 1677 by m" in expence at adgarley whenwee went to chuse oare to send father ooo. 00.04."Other payments are entered for horses to " leadoare."' &C.,&c.In addition to those of her family Sarah Fell keptthe accounts for the local " Monthly Meeting " of theSociety of Friends, making the payments on its behalfto various poor Friends.One of the sisters after her marriage embarked uponspeculations in salt ; of her, another sister, MargaretRous, writes to their mother : " She kept me in thedark and had not you wrote me them few words abouther I had not known she had been so bad. But I hada fear before how she would prove if I should meddle ofher, and since I know her mind wrote to her, being shewas so wickedly bent and resolved in her mind, Iwould not meddle of her but leave her to her husbandsrelations, and her salt concerns, since which I haveheard nothing from her. But I understand by othersshe is still in the salt business. I know not what itwill benefit her but she spends her time about it. Ihave left her at present."'Fell (Sarah), Household Accortnt Book.Crosfield (H. G.), Lzfe of Margaret Fox, of Swarrhmore Hall, p. 232, 1699.1 7

CAPITALISTSA granddaughter of Oliver Cromwell, the wife ofThos. Bendish, was also interested in the salt business,having propertyin salt works at Yarmouth in the man-agement of which she was actively concerned.It wassaid of her that " Her courage and presence of mindwere remarkable in one of her sex, . . . shewould sometimes, after a hard day of drudgery go to theassembly at Yarmouth, and appear one 6f the mostbrilliant there."'Initiative and enterprise were shown by LadyFalkland during her husband's term of office inIreland whither she accompanied him." The desire of the benefit and commodity of thatnation set her upon a great design : it was to bringup the use of all trades in that country, which is fain tobe beholden to others for the smallest commodities ;to this end she procured some of each kind to come fromthose other places where those trades are exercised,as severalsorts of linen and woollen weavers, dyers, allsorts of spinners and knitters, hatters, lace-makers,and many other trades at the very beginning."After a description of her methods for instructionin these arts the biographer continues : " She broughtit to that pass that they there made broad-cloth sofine . . . that her Lord being Deputy wore it.Yet it came to nothing ; which she imputed to ajudgment of God on her, because the overseers madeall those poor children go to church ; . . . . and thattherefore her business did not succeed. But othersthought it rather that she was better at contriving thanexecuting, and that too many things were undertakenat the very first ; and that she was fain (having littlechoice) to employ either those that had little skill in thematters they dealt in, or less honesty ; and so she wasextremely cozened. . . but chiefly the ill ordershe took for paying money in this . . . having thelCostcllo, Eminent Englrshwomen, Vol. 111, p. 55.CAPITALISTSworst memory in such things in the world . . .and never keeping any account of what she did, shewas most subject to pay the same things often (asshe hath had it confessed to her by some that they havein a small matter made her pay them the same thingfive times in five days)."'Lady Falkland received small sympathy from herhusband in her dealings with affairs-and though hermethods may have been qxasperating, their unfortunatedifferences were not wholly due to her temperament.He had married her for her fortune and when thiswas settled on their son and not placed in his control,his disappointment was so great that his affectionswere alienated from her.Of her efforts to further his interests Lord Falklandwrote to Lord Conway :" My very good Lord,By all my wife's letters I understand my obligationsto your Lordship to be very many ; and shetakes upon her to have received so manifold and nobledemonstrations of your favour to herself, that shebegins to conceive herself some able body in court,by your countenance to do me courtesies, if she had thewit as she hath the will. She makes it appear she hathdone me some good offices in removing some infusionswhich my great adversary here (Loftus) hath made. . . it was high time ; for many evilunto youconsequences of the contrary have befallen me sincethat infusion was first made, which I fear will not beremoved in haste; and must thank her much forher careful pains in it, though it was but an act of dutyin her to see me righted when she knew me wronged. . and beseech your Lordship still to continue thatfavour to us both ;-toher, as well in giving hergood counsel as good countenance within a new worldand court, at such a distance from her husband a poor-Falkland, (The Lady), Her LEfe, pp. 18-20.

CAPITALISTSweak woman stands in the greatest needof to dispatchher suits,". . . etc., etc." Dublyn Castle this 26th of July, 1625."~Later he continues in the same strain :66. . . I am glad your Lordship doth approve mywife'sgood affection to her husband, which was a point 1never doubted, but for her abilities in agency ofaffairs, as I was never taken with opinion .of them, soI was never desirous to employ them if she had them,for I conceive women to be no fit solicitors of stateaffairs for though it sometimes happen that they havegood wits, it then commonly falls out that they haveover-busy natures withal. For my part I should takemuch more comfort to hear that she were quietlyretired to her mother's in the country, than that shehad obtained a great suit in the court."'The sentiments expressed by Lord Falkland werenot characteristic of his time, when husbands weregenerally thankful to avail themselves of their wives'services in such matters.While Sir Ralph Verney was exiled in France, heproposed that his wife should return to England toattend to some urgent business. His friend, Dr.Denton replied to the suggestion :6 c. . . not to touch upon inconveniences of yrcomminge, women were never soe usefull as now, andthough yu should be my agent and sollicitour of allthe men I knowe (and therefore much more to bepreferred in v' own cause) yett I am confident if yuwere here, yu would doe as our sages doe, instruct y'wife, and leave her to act it wth committees, theirsexe entitles them to many priviledges and we find thecomfort of them more now than ever."sFalkland (7ha Lndy), Her L+, pp. 131-132.' Ibid, pp. 132-3.Verney Family, Vol. II., p. ~$0, 646.CAPITALISTSThere are innumerable accounts in contemporaryletters and papers of the brave and often successfulefforts of women to stem the flood of misfortune whichthreatened ruin to their families.Katharine Lady Bland treated with Captain Hothamin 1642 on behalf of Lord Savile " and agreed withhim for the preservation of my lords estate and protectionof his person for E~,ooo," E320 of which hadalready been taken "from Lord Savile's trunk atKirkstall Abbey . . . and the Captain . . .promised to procure a protection from the parliament. . . . for his lordships person andestate."'Lady Mary Heveningham, through her effortsrestored the estate to the family after her husbandhad been 'convicted of high treason at theRestoration.'Of Mrs. Muriel Lyttelton, the daughter of LordChancellor Bromley, it was said that she " may be calledthe second founder of the family, as she begged theestate of King James when it was forfeited and liveda pattern of a good wife, affectionate widow, and carefulparent for thirty years, with the utmost prudenceand economy at Hagley to retrieve the estate and payoff the debts ; the education of her children in virtueand the protestant religion being her principal employ.Her husband, Mr. John Lyttelton, a zealous papist,was condemned, and his estates forfeited, for beingconcern'd in Essex's plot."3Charles Parker confessed, " Certainly I had starvedhad I not left all to my wife to manage, who getssomething by living there and haunting some of herkindred and what wayes I know not but I am sureCalendar State Papers, Domestic, April 8, 1646.Hunter (Joseph), History and Topography of Ketteringham, p, 46.S Nash, Hirt. and Antiy. of Worcester, Vol. I,, p. 492. It appears by depositionsin the Court of Chancery that she paid off Azg,wo which was charged upon theestate, and only sold lands to the value of A8,8~q, Ibid, p. 496.

CAPITALISTSsuch as noe way entangle me in conscience or loyaltynor hinder me from serving the King."'Lady Fanshawe said her husband " thought itconveniente to send me into England again, . . . .there to try what sums I could raise, both - for hissubsistence abroad and mine at home.. . . I. . . . embarked myself in a hoy for Dover, withMrs. Waller, and my sister Margaret Harrison and mylittle girl Nan, . . . . . I had . . . . .the good fortune as I then thought it, to sell E300 ayear to him that is now Judge Archer in Essex, forwhich he gave me Eq,ooo which at that time I thoughta vast sum ; . . . . five hundred pounds Icarried to my husband, the rest I left in my father'sagent's hands to be returned as we needed it."'The Marquis of Ormonde wrote : " I have written2 seuerall ways of late to my wife about our domestickaffaires, which are in great disorder betweext the wantof meanes to keepe my sonnes abroad and the dangerof leaueing them at home. . . . I thank you foryour continued care of my children. I haue writtentwice to my wife to the effect you speake of. I prayGod shee be able to put it in execution either way."'This letter does not breathe that spirit of confidencein the wife's ability which was shown in some of theothers and it happened sometimes that the wife waseither overwhelmed by procedure beyond her understanding,or at least sought for special considerationon the plea of her sex's weakness and ignorance.Sarah, wife of Henry Burton, gives an account ofBurton's trial in the Star Chamber, his sentence andpunishment (fine, pillory, imprisonment for life)and his subsequent transportation to Guernsey, " wherel Ntcbolas Papers, Vol. I., p. 97.Fanshawe (Lady), Memoirs of, pp. 80-8 I.a Nicbolas Papers, Vol. I11 , pp. 274-6.1656.Charles Parker to Lord Hatton.Marquis of Ormonde to Sir Ed. Nicholae,CAPITALISTShe now is but by what order your petitioner knowethnot and is kept in strict durance of exile and imprisonment,and utterly denied the society of your petitionercontrary to the liberties and privileges ofthis kingdome . . . debarred of the accesse offriends, the use of pen, inck and paper and othermeans to make knowne his just complaintes," andshe petitions the House of Commons " to take herdistressed condition into your serious consideracionand because your peticioner is a woman not knowinghow to prosecute nor manage so great and weightybusines " begs that Burton may be sent over toprosecute his just complaint.'Similarly, Bastwick's wife pleads that he is so closelyimprisoned in the Isle of Scilly " that your petitioneris not permitted to have any access unto him, so thatfor this 3yeares and upward hir husband hathbeen exiled from hir, and she in all this time could notobtayne leave, although she hath earnestly sued forit, neither to live with him nor so much as to see him,and whereas your peticioner hath many smale childrendepending uppon hir for there mauntenance, and sheof hir selfe being every way unable to provide forthem, she being thus separated from her deare andloving husband and hir tender babes from therecareful1 father (they are in) great straights want andmiserie," and she begs that her husband may be sentto England," your Petitioner being a woman no wayable to follow nor manage so great and weighty acause . . . 792The above efforts were all made in defence offamily estates, but at this time women were alsoconcerned with the affairs of the nation, in which theytook an active part.Mrs. Hutchinson describes how " When the Parlia--ment sat again, the colonel [Hutchinson] sent up his'State Papers, Domestic, cccclxxi. 36, Nov. 7, 1640.'S.P.D., cccclxxi. 37, 1640.23

24 CAPITALISTS CAPITALISTS 25wife to solicit his business in the house, that the LordLexington's bill might not pass the lower house . .she notwithstanding many other discouragementswaited upon the business every day, when heradversaries as diligently solicited against her " afriend told her how " the laste statemen's wives cameand offered them all the information they had gatheredfrom their husbands, and how she could not but knowmore than any of them ; and if yet she would impartanything that might show her gratitude, she mightredeem her family from ruin, . . . but she discernedhis drift and scorned to become an informer,and made him believe she was ignorant, though shecould have enlightened him in the very thing hesought for ; which they are now never likely to knowmuch of, it being locked up in the grave."'Herbert lblorley wrote to Sir William Campion in1645 :" I could impart more, but letters are subject tomiscarriage, therefore I reserve myself to a more fitopportunity. . . . If a conference might be had,I conceive it would be most for the satisfaction of usboth, to prevent of any possible hazard of yourperson. If you please to let your lady meet meat Watford . . . or come hither, I will procureher a pass."'Sir William replied :" For any business you have toimpart to me, I have that confidence in you, by reasonof our former acquaintance, that I should not makeany scruple to send my wife to the places mentioned ;but the truth is, she is at present soe neare her timefor lying downe, for she expects to be brought to bedwithin less than fourteen days, that she is altogetherunfit to take soe long a journey. . . .993Lifc of Colonel Hutcbinson, by his Wife, pp. 334-336.'Surrcx Arch. Coll., Vol. X., p. 5. To Sir William Campion from HerbertMorley, July 23rd, 1645.Ibid, Vol. X., p. 6.A book might be wholly filled with a story of thepart taken by women in the political and religiousstruggles of this period. They were also active amongthe crowd who perpetually beseiged the Court forgrants of wardships and monopolies or patents.Ann Wallwyn writes to Salisbury soliciting thewardship of the son of James Tomkins who is likely todie.' The petition of Dame Anne Wigmore, widow ofSir Richard Wigmore, states that she has found out asuit which will rectify many abuses, bring in a yearlyrevenue to the Crown and give satisfaction to thePetitioner for the great losses of herself and herhusband. Details follow for a scheme for a corporationof carriers and other^.^Dorothy Selkane reminds Salisbury that a patenthas been promised her for the digging of coals upona royal manor. The men who manage the businessfor her are content to undertake all charges for thediscovery of the coal and to compensate the tenantsof the manor according to impartial arbitrators. Shebegs Salisbury that as she has been promised a patentthe matter may be brought to a final conclusion thatshe may notbe forced to trouble him further" having alredie bestowed a yeres solicitinge therein."'In I 61 o the same lady writes again :-" I have beneat gte toyle and charges this yere and a halfe past asalso have bene put to extraordinarie sollicitacionmanie and sundry waies for the Dispatching of mysuite . . ." and begs that the grant may passwithout delay.*A grant was made in 1614 to Anne, Roger andJames Wright of a licence to keep a tennis court atSt. Edmund's Bury, CO. Suffolk, for life.5 BessyC.S.P.D.lxvii, 129, 1611.' C.S.P.D. clxii, 8. March 2, 1630.a S.P.D., xlviii. I 19. ~2nd October. 1609.' S.P.D. liii, 131, April 1610.C.S.P.D. lxxvii, 5 April 5, 1614.

26 CAPITALISTS CAPITALISTS 27Welling, servant to the late Prince Henry, petitionedfor the erecting of an office for enrolling theApprenticesof Westminster, etc. As this was not granted,she therefore begs for a lease of some concealed lands[manors for which no rent has been paid for a hundredyears] for sixty-one years. The Petitioner hopes torecover them for the King at her own charges.'Lady Roxburgh craves a licence to assay all goldand silver wire " finished at the bar " before it isworked, showing that it is no infringement on theEarl of Holland's grant which is for assaying andsealing gold and silver after it is made. This, it ispointed out, will be a means for His Majesty to pay offthe debt he owes to Lady Roxburgh which otherwisemust be paid some other way.2A petition from Katharine Elliot " wett nurse to theDuke of Yorke" shows that there is a moor waste orcommon in Somersetshire called West Sedge Moorwhich appears to be the King's but has been appropriatedand encroached upon by bordering commoners.She begs for a grant of it for sixty years ; as an inducementthe Petitioner offers to recover it at her owncosts and charges and to pay a rent of one shillingper acre, the King never previously having receivedbenefit therefrom.' The reference by Windebanknotes that the king is willing to gratify the Petitioner.Another petition was received from this same ladydeclaring that " Divers persons being of no corporationprefers the trade of buying and selling silk stockingsand silk waistcoats as well knit as woven utteringthe Spanish or baser sort of silk at as dear rates as thefirst Naples anh also frequently vending the woven forthe knit, though in price and goodness there is almosthalf in half difference." She prays a grant for thirty-' S.P.D. cxi, 121, 1619.S.P.D. clxxx, 66, 1624.".P.D. cccxxiii, 109, 18th June, 1637.one years for the selling of silk stockings, half stockingsand waistcoats, to distinguish the woven from theknit receiving from the salesmen a shilling for everywaistcoat, sixpence per pair of silk stockings andfourpence for every half pair.'Elizabeth, Viscountess Savage, points out that Freemenof the city enter into bond on their admittance withtwo sureties of a hundred marks to the Chamberlainof London not to exercise any trade other than that ofthe Company they were admitted into. Of late yearspersons having used other trades and contrived notto have their bonds forfeited, and the penalty belongingto His Majesty, she begs a grant of such penaltiesto be recovered at her instance and ~harge.~The petition of Margaret Cary, relict of Thomas CaryEsquire, one of the Grooms of the Chamber to theKing on the behalf of herself and her daughters, begsfor a grant to compound with offenders by engrosseringand transporting of wool, wool fells, fuller's earth,lead, leather, corn and grain, she to receive a PrivySeal for two fourth-parts of the fines and compositions.Her reasons for desiring this grant are that her husband'sexpense in prosecuting like case: has reaped no benefitof his grant of seven-eighths of forfeited bonds for thelike offences. She urges the usefulness of the schemeand the existence of similar grants.'Mistress Dorothy Seymour petitions for a grant ofthe fines imposed on those who export raw hides contraryto the Proclamation and thereby make coaches,boots, etc., dearer. The reference to the Petitionstates : " It is His Majesty's gratious pleasure thatthe petitioner cause impoundr. to be given to theAttorneyGeneral touching the offences abovernencioned . . . and as proffyt shall arise to His.' S.P.D. cccxxiii ,7. Bk. ofpeiitioners, Car. I.' S.P.D. ccciii ,65, Dec. 6th, 1635.3S.P.D. cccvi., 27, 1635.

2 8 CAPITALISTS CAPITALISTS 29Majesty . . . he will give her such part as shallfully satisfy her pains and good endeavours. "lThe projecting of patents and monopolies was thefavourite pursuit of fashionable people of both sexes.Ben Johnson satiriies the Projectress in the person ofLady Tailebush, of whom the Projector, Meercraftsays :. . . . . . '' She and I nowAre on a Project, for the fact, and ventingOf a new kind of fucus (paint for Ladies)To serve the Kingdom ; wherein she herselfHath travel'd specially, by the way of serviceUnto her sex, and hopes to get the monopoly,As the Reward of her Invention."2When Eitherside assures her mistressI do hearYou ha' cause madam, your suit goes on "Lady Tailebush replies :" Yes faith, there's life in't now. It is referr'dIf we once see it under the seals, wench, then,Have with 'em, for the great caroch, six horsesAnd the two coachmen, with my Ambler bare,And my three women ; we will live i' faith,The examples o' the Town, and govern it.I'll lead the fashion still." . . . . . . 9From the women who begged for monopolies whichif granted must have involved much worry and labourif they were to be made profitable, we pass naturallyto women who actually owned and managed businessesrequiring a considerable amount of capital. They notinfrequentlv acted as pawn-brokersand money-lenders. Thus, complaint is made that ElizabethPennell had stolen " two glazier's vices with thescrews and appurtenances " and pawned them to1 S.P.D. cccxlvi, z, Feb. ~st, 1637.a Jonson, (Ben.) The Devil is an A ss, Act 111, Scene iv.a (Ibid), Act IV., Scene ii.one Ellianor Troughton, wife of Samuel Troughtonbroker.'Richard Braithwaite tells the following story ofa " Useresse" as though this occupation wereperfectly usual for women. " Wee reade in a bookeentituled the Gift of Feare, how a Religious Divinecomming to a certaine Vseresse to advise her of thestate of her soule, and instruct her in the way tosalvation at such time as she lay languishing in herbed of affliction ; told her how there were threethings by her to be necessarily performed, if ever shehoped to be saved : She must become contrite inheart . . . confesse her sins . . . . makerestitution according to her meanes whereto shee thusreplyed, Two of those first I will doe willingly : but todoe the last, I shall hold it a dzfzculty ; for should Imake restitution, what would remaine to raise my childrentheir portion ? To which the Divine answered ;Without these three you cannot be saved. Yea but,quoth shee, Doe our Learned Men and Scriptures rayro ? Yes, surely said the Divine. And I will try,(quoth shee) whether they say true or no, for I willrestore nothing.And so resolving, fearefully dyed. . . for preferring the care of her posterity,before the honour of her Maker."2The names of women often occur in connectionwith the shipping trade and with contracts. Somewere engaged in business with their husbands as in thecase of a fine remitted to Thomas Price and Collethis wife for shipping zoo dozen of old shoes, withintention to transport them beyond the seas contraryto a Statute (5th year Edward VI) on account of theirpo~erty.~ Others were widows like Anne Hodsallwhose husband, a London merchant, traded for many' ~iddlesex Co. Rec. Sess. Books, p. 18, 1690.Braithwaite, (Richd.), The English Gentleman, p. 300, 1641.a Overall Remembrancia, Analytical Index to, p. 519, 1 582.m.

30 CAPITALISTS CAPITALISTS 3'years to the Canary Islands, the greatest part of hisestate being there. He could not recover it in his lifetimeowing to the war with Spain and therefore his wifewas left in great distress with four children. Herestate in the Canary Islands is likely to be confiscated,there being no means of recovering it thenceexcept by importing wines, and it would be necessaryto take pipe-staves over there to make casks tobring back the wines. She begs the council therefore" in commiseration of her distressed estate togrant a licence to her and her assignes to lade oneship here with woollen commodities for Ireland,To lade Pipe staves in Ireland (notwithstanding theprohibition) and to send the same to the CanaryIslands."'Joseph Holroyd employed a woman as his shippingagent ; in a letter dated I 706 he writes re certain goodsfor Holland : that these " I presume must be markedas usual and forward to Madam Brown at Hull. . .and he informs Madam Hannah Browne, that " Byorders of Mr. John Whittle I have sent you one packeand have 2 packes more to send as und'. You are tofollow Mr. Whittle's directions in shipping."2In 1630 Margrett Greeneway, widow of Thos.Greeneway, baker, begged leave to finish carrying outa contract made by her husband notwithstanding thepresent restraint on the bringing of corn to London.The contract was to supply the East India Companywith biscuit. Margrett Greeneway petitions to bringfive hundred quarters of wheat to London-some arealready bought and she asks for leave to buy the rest.The petition was granted."A Petition of " Emanuell Fynche, Wm. LewisMerchantes and Anne Webber Widow on the behalfe' Council Register, 8th August, 1628.P Holroyd, Joseph (Cloth Factor) and Saml. Hill (clothier), Letter Bks. of, pp. 18-25.' C.R., 3rd December, 163~9,of themselves and others owners of the shipp called theBenediction was presented to the Privy Councilstating that the ship had been seized and detained bythe French and kept at Dieppe where it was deteriorating.They asked to be allowed to sell her there.'The name of another woman ship-owner occursin a case at Grimsby brought against ChristopherClaton who " In the behalfe of his Mother An Alford,wid.,hath bought one wessell of Raffe of one LaurenceLamkey of Odwell in the kingdome of Norway, uponW" private bargane there appeares a breach of thepriviledges of this Corporation."'In 1636 upon the Petition of Susanna Angel1" widowe, and Eliz. her daughter (an orphan) of thecittie of London humbly praying that they might bytheir Lordshipps warrant bee permitted to land 14barrels of powder now arrived as also 38 barrells which isdaily expected in the Fortune they paying customeand to sell the same within the kingdome or otherwiseto give leave to transport it back againe into Hollandfrom whence it came " the Officers of the customs wereordered to permit the Petitioners to export thepo~der.~Women's names appear also in lists of contractorsto the Army and Navy. Elizabeth Bennett andThomas Berry contracted with the Commissionersto supply one hundred suits of apparel for the soldiersat Plymouth.*Cuthbert Farlowe, Elizabeth Harper Widowe, EdwardSheldon and John Davis," pooreTradesmen of London "petition " to be paid the L180 yet unpaid of theiraccounts for furnishing the seamen for Rochelle withclothes and shoes " att the rates of ready money."j' S.P.D. ccxxxvi., 4j, ~tth, April, 1633.' Hist. MSS. Corn., 14 Rep., VIII., p. 284, 1655.' S.P.D. ccxcii., 24. March 23, 1636/7., Proceedings ofGunpowder Commissioners.S.P.D. xx., 62, Feb. gth, 1626.S.P.D. cxcvii., 64, July, 1631.

32 CAPITALISTSA warrant was issued" to pay to Alice Bearden LIOOfor certain cutworks furnished to the Queen for her ownwearing."'Edward Prince brought a case in the Star Chamber, v.Thomas Woodward, Ellenor Woodward, and Georg.Helliar defendants being Ironmongers for supposedselling of iron at false weights to undersell plaintiff." Defendants respectively prove that they ever boughtand sold by one sort of weight."'For her tenancy of the Spy-law Paper Mill, Foulis" receaved from M". lithgow by Wm. DouglasHands 85 lib. for ye 1704 monie rent. She owes me3 rim of paper for that yeir, besydes 4 rim she owesme for former yeirs."*Joan Dant was one of the few women " capitalists "whose personal story is known in any detail. Herhusband was a working weaver, living in NewPaternoster Row, Spital Fields. On his death shebecame a pedlar, carrying an assortment of mercery,hosiery, and haberdashery on her back from house tohouse in the vicinity of London. Her conduct as amember of the Society of Friends was consistent and hermanners agreeable, so that her periodic visits to thehouses of Friends were welcomed and she was frequentlyentertained as a guest at their tables. After someyears, her qpenses being small and her diligence great,she had saved sufficient capital to engage in a morewholesale trade, debts due from her correspondentsat Paris and Brussels appearing in her executor'saccounts. In spite of her success in trade Joan Dantcontinued to live in her old frugal manner, and whenshe applied to a Friend for assistance in making herwill, he was astonished to find her worth rather morethan Lg,ooo. He advised her to obtain the assistancel S.P.D., clix., 27th Jan. 1630.'S.P.D., dxrxi., 138, 1630.a Foulis, Sir John, Account Book, 5th Jan., 1705.CAPITALISTS 3 3of other Friends more experienced in such matters.On their enquiring how she wished to dispose of herproperty, she replied, " I got it by the rich and Imean to leave it to the poor."Joan Dant died in 1715 at the age of eighty-four.In a letter to her eixecutors she wrote, " It is theLord that creates true industry in his people, and thatblesseth their endeavours in obtaining things necessaryand convenient for them, which are to be used inmoderation by all his flock and family everywhere.. . And I, having been one that has taken painsto live, and have through the blessing of God, withhonesty and industrious care, improved my little inthe world to a pretty good degree ; find my heartopen in that charity which comes from the Lord, inwhich the true disposal of all things ought to be, to dosomething for the poor,-the fatherless and the widowsin the Church of Christ, according to the utmost of myability."'Another venture initiated and carried on by awoman, was an Insurance Office established by DorothyPetty.. An account of it written in 1710 states that :-" The said Dorothy (who is the Daughter of a Divineof the Church of England, now deceas'd) did Set upan Inrurance O$ce on Birthr, Marriages, and Servicer,in order thereby to serve the Publick, and get anhonest Livelyhood for herself. . . . . The saidDorothy had such Success in her Undertaking, thatmore Claims were paid, and more Stamps us'd forPolicies and Certificates in her Office than in allotherthe like Offices in London besides ; which goodFortune was chiefly owing to the Fairness and Justiceof her Proceedings in the said Business : for all theMoney paid into the Office was Entered in one Book,and all the Money paid out upon Claims was set downin another Book, and all People had Liberty to perusel Britisb Friend, 11.) p. I 13.

CAPITALISTSboth, so that there could not ~ossibly be the leastFraud in the Management thereof."'In 1622 the names of Mary Hall, 450 coals, BarbaraRiddell, 450 coals, Barbara Milburne, 60 coals, areincluded without comment among the brothers of thefellowship of Hostmen (coal owners) of Newcastlewho have coals to rent.' The name of BarbaraMilburne, widow, is given in the Subsidy Roll for1621 as owning land.' That these women were equalto the management of their collieries is suggested bythe fact that when in 1623 Christopher Mitford leftbesides property which he bequeathed direct to hisnephews and nieces, five salt-pans and collieries to hissister Jane Legard he appointed her his executrix,'which he would hardly have done unless he had believedher equal to the management of a complicated business.The frequency with which widows conductedcapitalistic enterprises may be taken as evidence ofthe extent to which wives were associated with theirhusbands in business.The wife's part is sometimesshown in prosecutions, as in a case which was broughtin the Star Chamber against Thomas Hellyard,Elizabeth his wife and John Goodenough and HughNicholes for oppression in the country under a patentto Hellyard for digging saltpetre . . . " inpursuance of his direction leave and authority. . .Nicholes Powell, Defendants servant, and the saidHellyard's wife, did sell divers quantities of saltpetre. More particularly the said Hellyard's wifedid sell to Parker 4001bs. at Haden Wells, 300 or 400lbs. at Salisbury and 300 or 400 Ibs. at Winchesterat L9 the hundred." Hellyard was sentenced to afine of LI ,000, pillory, whipping and imprisonment.1 CaseofDorothy Petty, 1710.' Nmcastle and Gateshead, Hzstory of, Vol. III., p. 242.a Ibid, p. 237.* Ibid, p. 252.CAPITALISTS35" As touching the other defendant Elizabeth Hellyardthe courte was fully satisfyed with sufficient matterwhereupon to ground a sentence against the defendantEliz. but shee being a wyfe and subject to obey herhusband theyr Lord ships did forbeare to sentenceher."'Three men, " artificers in glass making," beg thatLady Mansell may either be compelled to allow themsuch wages as they formerly received, or to dischargethem from her service, her reduction of wages disablingthem from maintaining their families, and drivingmany of them away.' Lady Mansell submits afinancial statement and account of the rival glassmakers'attempts to ruin her husband's business, oneof whom " hath in open audience vowed to spend~oooli, to ruine your petitioners husband joyningewith the Scottish pattentie taking the advantage ofyour petitioners husbands absence, thinckinge yourpetitioner a weake woman unable to followe thebusines and determininge the utter ruine of yourpetitioner and her husband have inticed three of herworkemen for windowe glasse, which shee had longekepte att a weeklie chardge to her great prejudice tosupplie the worke yf there should be anie necessitie inthe Kingdome," etc., etc.," she begs justice upon therivals, " your petitioner havinge noe other meanesnowe in his absence (neither hath he when he shallreturne) but onelie this busines wherein he hathengaged his whole estate."'Able business women might be found in every classof English society throughout the seventeenth century,but their contact with affairs became less habitualas the century wore away, and expressions of surpriseoccur at the prowess shown by Dutch women in'S.P.D., cdx., 21, 1634.' S.P.D., cxlviii , 52, 1623,a S.P.D ; dxxi.. 147. Addenda Charles I., 1625.

CAPITALISTSbusiness. " At O~tend, Newport, and Dunkirk,where, and when, the Holland pinks come in, theredaily the Merchants, that be but Women (but notsuch Women as the Fishwives of Billingsgate ; for theseNetherland Women do lade many Waggons with freshFish daily, some for Bruges, and some for Brussels,etc., etc.) I have seen these Women-merchantsI say, have their Aprons full of nothing but EnglishJacobuses, to make all their Payment of."'Sir J. Child mentions " the Education of theirChildren as well Daughters as Sons ; all which, be theyof never so great quality or estate, they always take careto bring up to write perfect good Hands, and tohave the full knowledge and use of Arithmetick andMerchant Accounts," as one of the advantages whichthe Dutch possess over the English ; " the wellunderstanding and practise whereof doth strangelyinfuse into most that are the owners of that Quality,of either Sex, not only an Ability for Commerce of allkinds, but a strong aptitude, love and delight in it ;and in regard the women are as knowing therein asthe Men, it doth incourage their Husbands to hold onin their Trades to their dying days, knowing thecapacity of their Wives to get in their Estates, andcarry on their Trades after their Deaths : Whereas ifa Merchant in England arrive at any considerableEstate, he commonly with-draws his Estate from Trade,before he comes near the confines of Old Age ;reckoning that if God should call him out of the Worldwhile the main of his Estate is engaged abroad inTrade, he must lose one third of it, through the unexperienceand unaptness of his Wife to such Affairs,and so it usually falls out. Besides it hath been observedin the nature of Arithmetick, that like other partsof the Mathematicks, it doth not only improve theRational Faculties, but inclines those that are expertl England's Way, 1614. Harleian Misc., Vol. III., p. 383.CAPITALISTSin it to Thriftiness and good Husbandry, and preventsboth Husbands and Wives in some measure fromrunning out of their estates."'This account is confirmed by Howell who writes ofthe Dutch in 1622 that they are " well versed in allsorts of languages . . . Nor are the Men only experttherein but the Women and Maids also in their commonHostries ; & in Holland the Wives are so well versedin Bargaining, Cyphering & Writing, that in theAbsence of their Husbands in long sea voyages theybeat the Trade at home & their Words will pass inequal Credit. These Women are wonderfully sober,tho' their Husbands make commonly their Bargainsin Drink, & then are they more ca~telous."~This unnatural reversing of the positions of men andwomen was censured by the Spaniard Vives who wrote" In Hollande, women do exercise marchandise andthe men do geue themselues to quafting, the whichcustomes and maners I alowe not, for thei agre not fiithnature, ye which hath geuen unto man a noble, a high& a diligent minde to be busye and occupied abroade,to gayne & to bring home to their wiues & familiesto rule them and their children, . . . . and to yewoman nature hath geuen a feareful, a couetous & anhumble mind to be subject unto man, & to kepe ythe doeth gayne."'The contrast which had arisen between Dutch andEnglish customs in this respect was also noticed byWycherley, one of whose characters, Monsieur Paris,a Francophile fop, describes his tour in Holland in thefollowing terms : " I did visit, you must know, one ofde Principal of de State General . . . and did find hisExcellence weighing Sope, jarnie ha, ha, ha, weighingsope, ma foy, for he was a wholesale Chandeleer ; and-l Child, Sir J., A N m Discourse ofTrade, pp. 4-5. 1694,Howell, (Jas ), Familiar Letters, p. 103,a Vives, Ofice and Duties ofa Husband, trans. by Thos. Papell.

38 CAPITALISTShis Lady was taking de Tale of Chandels wid her ownwiter Hands, ma foy ; and de young Lady, his ExcellenceDaughter, stringing Harring, jarnie . . . hisSon, (for he had but one) was making the Tour ofFrance, etc. in a Coach and six."'The picture is obviously intended to throw ridiculeon the neighbouring state, of whose navy and commercial- - progressm England stood at that time in considerablefear.How rapidly the active, hardy life of the Elizabethan~entlewoman was being transformed into the0idleness and dependence whlch has characterisedthe lady of a later age may be judged by Mary Astell'scomment on " Ladies of Quality." She says, " They areplaced in a condition which makes that which is everyone'schief business to be their only employ. Theyhave nothing to do but to glorify God and to benefittheir neighbours."' After a study of the RestorationDrama it may be doubted whether the ladiesof that period wished to employ their leisure) overthese praiseworthy objects. But had they the will,ignorance of life and inexperience in affairs arequalifications which perhaps would not have increasedthe effectiveness of their efforts in either direction.The proof of the change which was taking placein the scope of upper class women's interests does notrest only upon individual examples such as thosewhich have been quoted, though these instances havebeen selected for the most part on account of theirrepresentative character.It is quite clear that the occupation of ladies withtheir husband's affairs was accepted as a matter of coursethroughout the earlier part of the century, and it isonly after the Restoration that a change of fashion in thisrespect becomes evident. Pepys, whose milieu was* Wycherley, l@ Gentleman Dancing Master, p. 21.' Astell, (Mary), A Serious Proposal, p. 145, 1694.CAPITALISTStypical of the new social order, after a call upon Mr.Bland, commented with surprised pleasure on Mrs.Bland's interest in her husband's affairs. " Then to eata dish of anchovies," he says " and drink wine and syderand very merry, but above all things, pleased to hear Mrs.Bland talk like a merchant in her husband's businessvery well, and it seems she do understand it andperform a great deal."' The capacity of a womanto understand her husband's business seldom arousedcomment earlier in the century, and would havepassed unnoticed even by many of Pepys' contemporarieswho lived in a different set. Further evidenceof women's business capacity is found in the fact thatmen generally expected their wives would prove equalto the administration of their estates after their death,and thus the wife was habitually appointed executrixoften even the sole executrix of wills. This customwas certainly declining in the latter part of thecentury. The winding up of a complicated estate andstill more the prosecution of an extensive business,could not have been successfully undertaken by personswho hitherto had led lives of idleness, unacquaintedwith the direction of affairs.That men did not at this time regard marriage asnecessarily involving the assumption of a seriouseconomic burden, but on the contrary, often consideredit to be a step which was likely to strengthen them inlife's battles, is also significant. This attitude waspartly due to the provision of a dot by fathers ofbrides, but there were other ways in which the wifecontributed to the support of her household. Thusin a wedding sermon woman is likened to a merchant'sship, for " She bringeth her food from far " . . .not meaning she is to be chosen for her dowry, "forthe worst wives may have the best portions, . . .a good wife tho' she bring nothing in with her, yet,Pepys, (Sam.) Diary, Vol. II., p. 113, Dec. 31, 1662.3 9

CAPITALISTS CAPITALISTS41thro' her Wisdom and Diligence great things come inby her ; she brings in with her hands, for, Sheputteth herhands to the wheel. . . . . If she be too high tostain her Hands with bodily Labour, yet shebringeth in with her Eye, for, She overseeth theWays of her Household, . . . and eateth not theBread of Idleness." She provides the necessities oflife. " If she will have Bread, she must not alwaysbuy it, but she must sow it, and reap it and grind it,. . . She must knead it, and make it into bread.Or if she will have Cloth, she must not always run tothe Shop orto the score but she begins at the seed,she carrieth her seed to the Ground,she gathereth Flax,of her Flax she spinneth a Thread, of her Thread sheweaveth Cloth, and so she comes by her coat."'The woman here described was the mistress of alarge household, who found scope for her productiveenergy within the limits of domestic industry, but ithas been shown that the married woman often wentfarther than this, and engaged in trade either as herhusband's assistant or even on her own account.The effect of such work on the development ofwomen's characters was very great, for any sort ofproductive, that is to say, creative work, provides adiscipline and stimulus to growth essentially differentfrom any which can be acquired in a life devotedto spending money and the cultivation of ornamentalqualities.The effect on social relations was also marked, fortheir work implied an association of men and womenthrough a wide range of human interests and a consequentdevelopment of society along organic rather thanmechanical lines. The relation between husband andwife- which obtained most usually among the upperclasses in England at the opening of the seventeenthcentury, appears indeed to have been that of partner-ship ; the chief responsibility for the care of children andthe management and provisioning of her householdresting on the wife's shoulders, while in businessmatters she was her husband's lieutenant. The wifewas subject to her husband, her life was generally anarduous one, but she was by no means regarded ashis servant. A comradeship existed between themwhich was stimulating and inspiring to both. Theladies of the Elizabethan period possessed courage,initiative, resourcefulness and wit in a high degree.Society expected them to play a great part in thenational life and they rose to the occasion ; perhapsit was partly the comradeship with their husbandsin the struggle for existence which developed in themqualities which had otherwise atrophied.Certainly the more circumscribed lives of theRestoration ladies show a marked contrast inthis respect, for they appear but shadows of thevigorous personalities of their grandmothers. Prominentamongst the many influences which conspiredtogether to produce so rapid a decline in the physique,efficiency and morale of upper class women, must bereckoned the spread of the capitalistic organisation ofindustry, which by the rapid growth of wealth madepossible the idleness of growing numbers of women.Simultaneously the gradual perfecting by men of theirseparate organisations for trade purposes rendered themindependent of the services of their wives and familiesfor the prosecution of their undertakings. Though thestern hand of economic necessity was thus withdrawnfrom the control of women's development in theupper classes, it was still potent in determining theirdestiny amongst the " common people," whose circumstanceswill be examined in detail in the followingchapters.1 Wilkinson, (Robert). Conjugal Duty, pp. 13-17.

AGRICULTURE 43AGRICULTUREAgriculture England's leading Industry-Has provided the most vigorouc rtock ofEnglish race-Division into three classes :-(A) Fanners. Portraits of Farmers' Wives-Fitzherbert's " Prologue forthe Wyves Occupacyon." Size of household-The Wife who " doth not takethe pains and charge upon her." Financial aptitude-Market-Occupationof gentlewomen with Dairy and Poultry-Expectation of the wife's abilityto work and do service.(B) Husbandmen. Economy of their Small Holding-The more theyworked for wages the greater their poverty-Strenuous but healthy life of thewomen-Extent to which they worked for wages-Character of work-Best'saccount of Yorkshire Farms-other descriptions. Spinning-The wife'rindustry no less constant when not working for wages, but more profitable toher family, whom she clothed and fed by domestic industry.(C) Wage-earners. Maximum rates of wages fixed at Assizes representgenerally those actually paid. Common labourers' wage, winter and summer-Women's wages seasonal-Not expected when married to work week in, weekout. Cost of living-Cost of labourers' diet-Pensions and Allowances-PoorRelief-Cost of clothes and rent-Joint wages of father and mother insufficientto rear three children-Recognised insolvency of Labourers' Family-Dispute8concerning labourers' settlements. Farmers' need for more labourer*Demoralisation-Demand for sureties by the Parish. Infant mortality-Lifehistqy of labourers' wife-Explanation for magistrates' action in fixingmaximum wages below subsistence level-Proportion of wage-earning families.ALTHOUGH the woollen trade loomed very largeupon the political horizon because it was a chiefsource of revenue to thc Crown and because rapidlyacquired wealth gave an influence to clothiers andwool merchants out of proportion to their numbers,agriculture was still England's chief industry inthe seventeenth century.The town population has had a tendency to wear 'outand must be recruited from rural districts. Thevillage communities which still persisted at this periodin England, provided a vigorous stock, from which themen whose initiative, energy and courage have madeEngland famous during the last two centuries werelargely descended. Not only were the farming fam-ilies prolific in numbers but they maintained a highstandard of mental and moral virtue. It must besupposed therefore that the conditions in which theylived were upon the whole favourable to the developmentof their women-folk, but investigation willshow that this was not the case for all members alike ofthe agricultural community, who may be roughlydivided into three classes :(a) Farmers. (b) Husbandmen. (c) Wage-earners.(a) Farmers held sufficient land for the completemaintenance of the family. Their household oftenincluded hired servants and their methods on thelarger farms were becoming capitalistic.(b) Husbandmen were possessed of holdings insufficientfor the complete maintenance of the family andtheir income was therefore supplemented by workingfor wages.(c) Wage-earners had no land, not even a garden,and depended therefore completely on wages for themaintenance of their families.In addition to the above, for whom agriculture wastheir chief business, the families of the gentry, professionalmen and tradesmen who lived in the countryand smaller towns, generally grew sufficient dairy andgarden produce for domestic consumption.The above classification is arbitrary, for no hardand fast division existed. Farmers merged imperceptiblyinto husbandmen, and husbandmen intowage earners and yet there was a wide gulf separatingtheir positions. As will be shown, it was the womenof the first two classes who bore and reared the childrenwho were destined to be the makers of England,while few children of the wage-earning class reachedmaturity.A. Farmers.However important the women who were the mothersof the race may appear to modern eyes, their historywas unnoticed by their contemporaries and no analysis

AGRICULTUREwas made of their development. The existence ofvigorous, able matrons was accepted as a matter ofcourse. They embodied the seventeenth centuryidea of the " eternal feminine " and no one suspectedthat they might change with a changing environment.They themselves were too busy, too much absorbedin the lives of others, to keep journals and they werenot sufficiently important to have their memoirswritten by othir pe6ple.Perhaps their most authentic portraits may befound in the writings of the Quakers, who were largelydrawn from this class of the community. Theydepict women with an exalted devotion, supportingtheir families and strengthening their husbandsthrough the storms of persecution and amidstthe e$cting claims of religion.John Banks wrote from Carlisle Prison in 1648to his wife, " No greater Joy and Comfort I have inthis world. . . than to know that thou and a11thine are well both in Body and Mind . . .though I could be glad to see thee here, but do notstraiten thyself in any wise, for I am truly content tobear it, if it were much more, considering thy Concernsin this Season of the Year, being Harvest time and theJourney so long."I After her death he writes, " WeLived Comfortably together many Years, and she wasa Careful Industrious Woman in bringing up of herChildren in good order, as did become the Truth, inSpeech, Behaviour and Habit ; a Meet-Help and agood Support to me, upon the account of my Travels,always ready and willing to fit me with Necessaries,. . . and was never known to murmur, tho' I wasoften Concerned, to leave her with a weak Family,. . . She was well beloved amongst good Friends andof her Neighbours, as witness the several hundreds thatwere'at her Burial. . . . our Separation by Death,' Banks (John), Journal, p. Ior, 1684.AGRICULTUREwas the greatest Trial that ever I met with, above anythinghere below. Now if any shall ask, Why I havewrit so many Letters at large to be Printed . . .how can any think that I should do less than I havedone, to use all Endeavours what in me lay, to StrengthenandEncourage my Dear Wife, whom I so often,and for so many Years was made to leave as aforesaid,having pretty much concerns to look after."'Of another Quaker, Mary Batt, her father writes inher testimony that she was " Married to PhillipSyler of Waldon in the County of Somerset before sheattained the age of twenty years. . . . The Lordblessed her with Four Children, whereof two dyedin their Infancy, and two yet remain alive : at theBurial of her Husband, for being present, she had twoCows valued at Nine Pounds taken from her, which,with many other Tryals during her Widowhood, shebore with much Patience,remained a Widow about four Years, the Lord drewthe affection of James Saylor . . . to seek herto be his Wife, and there being an answer in her, theLord joyned them together. To her Husband her45. . . After she hadLove and Subjection was suitable to that Relation,being greatly delighted in his Company, and a Meet-Help, a faithful Yoak-fellow, . . . and in hisAbsence, not only carefully discharging the duty asher Place as a Wife, but diligent to supply his Placein those affairs that more immediately concernedhim."' And her husband adds in his testimony, " Myoutward Affairs falling all under her charge (I,being absent, a Prisoner for my Testimony againstTythes) she did manage the same in such-care andpatience until the time she was grown big with Child,and as she thought near the time of her Travail (acondition much to be born with and pittyed) she thendesired so much Liberty as to have my Company homeBanks, (John), Journal, pp 129-30.' Batt (hlaryj, Pertrmony ofthe Lrfe and Death of, pp 1-3, 1683

AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE 47two Weeks, and went herself to request it, whichsmall matter she could not obtain, but was denyed ;and as I understood by her, it might be one of thegreatest occasions of her grief which ever happenedunto her, yet in much Meekness and true Patienceshe stooped down, and quietly took up this her lastCross also, and is gone with it and all the rest, out of thereach of all her Enemies, . . . Three Nights andTwo Days before her Death, I was admitted to cometo her, though I may say (with grief) too late, yet itwas to her great joy to see me once more whom sheso dearly loved ; and would not willingly suffer meany more to depart out of her sight until she hadfinished her days, . . . Her Sufferings (in thecondition she was in) although I was a Prisoner, werefar greater then mine, for the whole time that shebecame my Wife, which was some Weeks above ThreeYears, notwithstanding there was never yet man,woman, nor child, could justly say, she had given themany offence . . . yet must . . . unreasonable mencleanse our Fields of Cattle, rummage our House ofGoods, and make such havock as that my Dear Wifehad not wherewithal to dress or set Food before meand her Children.'The duties of a Farmer's wife were described ahundred years earlier by Fitzherbert in the " Boke ofHusbandrie." He begins the " Prologue for thewyves occupacyon," thus, " Now thou husbande thathast done thy diligence and laboure that longeth to ahusband to get thy liuing, thy wyues, thy children,and thy seruauntes, yet is there other thynges to bedoen that nedes must be done, or els thou shalt notthryue. For there is an olde common saying, thatseldom doth ye husbande thriue without leue of hiswyf. By thys saying it shuld seem that ther be otheroccupaci6s and labours that be most covenientBatt (Mary), Testimosy to Lifc and Dentb of, pp. 57, 1683.for the wyfes to do, and how be it that I haue not theexperience of all their occupacyions and workes as Ihaue of husbandry, yet a lytel wil I speake what theyought to do though I tel the not how they shoulddo and excersyse their labour and occupacions.A lerson for the wyfe . . . alway be doyngof some good workes that the deuil may fynde thealway occupied, for as in a standyng water are engendredwormes, right so in an idel body are engenderedydel thoughtes. Here maie thou see yt of idelnescommeth damnatib, & of good workes and labourcommeth saluacion. Now thou art at thy libertie tochose whither waye thou wilte, wherein is greatdiversite. And he is an unhappye man or woman thatgod hath given both wit & reason and putteth him inchoise & he to chose the worst part. Nowe thouwife I trust to shewe unto the diuers occupacions,workes and labours that thou shalt not nede to beydel no tyme of ye yere. What thinges the wife isbounde of right to do. Firste and principally the wyfeis bound of right to loue her husband aboue fatherand mother and a1 other men . . .What workes a wyfe should do in generall.Firstin the mornyng when thou art wakCd and purposeto rise, lift up thy had & blis the & make a signe ofthe holy crosse . . . and remembre thy makerand thou shalte spede muche the better, & when thouart up and readye, then firste swepe thy house ;dresse up thy dyscheborde, & set a1 thynges in goodorder within thy house, milke ye kie, socle thy calues,sile up thy milke, take up thy children & aray th~,& provide for thy husbandes breakefaste, diner,Souper, & for thy children & seruauntes, & take thyparte wyth them. And to ordeyne corne & malt tothe myll, to bake and brue withall wh~ nede is.And mete it to the my11 and fro the myll, & se thatthou haue thy mesure agayne besides the tole or ellesthe mylner dealeth not truly wyth the, or els thy corne

AGRICULTUREis not drye as it should be, thou must make butter andchese when thou may, serue thy swine both IuGrcyngand eueninge, and giue thy polen meate in the mornynge,and when tyme of yeare cometh thou must takehede how thy henne, duckes, and geese do ley. and togather up their egges and when they waxe broudy to setthem there as no beastes, swyne, nor other vermynehurte them, and thou must know that all hole fotedfoule wil syt a moneth and a1 clouen foted foule wylsyt but three wekes except a peyhen and suche othergreat foules as craynes, bustardes, and suche other.And when they haue brought forth theyr birdesto se that they be well kepte from thegleyd, crowes,fully martes and other vermyn, and in the begynyngof March, of a lytle before is time for a wife to makeher garden and to get as manye good sedes and herbesas she can, and specyally such as be good for the potand for to eate & as ofte as nede shall require it mustebe weded, for els the wede wyll ouer grow the herbes,and also in Marche is time to sowe flaxe and hempe,for I haue heard olde huswyues say, that better isMarche hurdes then Apryll flaxe, the reason appereth,but howe it shoulde be sowen, weded, pulled, repealed,watred, washen, dried, beten, braked, tawed, hecheled,spon, wounden, wrapped, & ouen. It nedeth not forme to shewe for they be wyse ynough, and thereof maythey make shetes, bord clothes, towels, shertes, smockes,and suche other necessaryes, and therfore lette thydystaffe be alwaye redy for a pastyme, that thou benot ydell. ~ n undoubted d a woman cannot get herlivinge honestly with spinning on the dystaffe, butit stoppeth a gap and must nedes be had. Thebolles of flaxe whan they be rypled of, muste be rediledfrom the wedes and made dry with the sunne toget out the seedes. How be it one maner oflinsede called lokensede wyll not open by the sunne,and therefore when they be drye they must be sorebruien and broken the wyves know how, & thenAGRICULTUREwynowed and kept dry til peretime cum againe.Thy femell hempe must be pulled fro the chuclehepe for this beareth no sede & thou muste doe by itas thou didest by the flaxe. The chucle hempe dothbeare seed & thou must beware that birdes eate it notas it groweth, the hempe thereof is not so good asthe femel hepe, but yet it wil do good seruice. Itmay fortune sometime yt thou shalte haue so manythinges to do that thou shalte not we1 know where isbest to begyn. The take hede whiche thinge shouldbe the greatest losse if it were not done & in whar spaceit would be done, and then thinke whar is the greatestloss & there begin. . . . It is c6venient for ahusbande to haue shepe of his owne for many causes,and then may his wife have part of the wool1 to makeher husbande and her selfe sum clothes. And at theleast waye she may haue ye lockes of the shepe therwithto make clothes or blankets, and couerlets, or both.And if she haue no wol of her owne she maye take wollto spynne of cloth makers, and by that meanes shemay have a conuenient liuing, and many tymes to doother workes. It is a wiues occupacion to winow a1maner of cornes, to make malte wash and wring, tomake bey, to shere corne, and in time of nede to helpeher husbande to fyll the mucke wayne or donge carte,dryve the plough, to lode hey, corne & such other.Also to go or ride to the market to sell butter, chese,mylke, egges, chekens, kapons, hennes, pygges, gees,and a1 maner of corne. And also to bye al maner ofnecessary thinges belonging to a houshold, and tomake a true rekening & accompt to her husbandwhat she hath receyued and what she hathe payed.And yf the husband go to the market to bye or sellas they ofte dd, he then to shew his wife in lyke maner.For if one of them should use to disceiue the other,he disceyveth him selfe, and he is not lyke to thryve,& therfore they must be true ether to other.'' Fltzherbert (Slr Anth.), Boke ofHurbandryr.

AGRICULTUREFitzherbert's description of the wife's occupationprobably remained true in many districts during theseventeenth century. The dairy, poultry, gardenand orchard were then regarded as peculiarly thedomain of the mistress, but upon the larger farms shedid not herself undertake the household drudgery.Her duty was to organise and train her servants, bothmen and women.The wages assessments of the period give some ideaof the size of farmers' households, fixing wages for thewoman servant taking charge of maulting in greatfarms, every other maulster, the best mayde servantthat can brewe, bake and dresse meate, the secondmayd servant, the youngest majrd servant, a womanbeing skilful in ordering a house, dayry mayd, laundrymayd, and also for the men-servants living in thehouse, the bailiff of husbandry, the chief hinde, andthe common man servant, the shepherd, and thecarter.That some women already aspired to a life of leisureis shown in an assessment for the East Riding ofYorkshire, which provides a special rate of wages forthe woman servant " that taketh charge of brewing,baking, kitching, milk house or malting, that ishired with a gentleman or rich yeoman, whose wifedoth not take the pains and charge upon her."'In addition to the management of the dairy, etc.,the farmer's wife often undertook the financial sideof the business. Thus Josselin notes in his Diary :" This day was good wife Day with mee ; I perceiveshe is resolved to give mee my price for my farme ofMallories, and I intend to lett it goe." A few dayslater he enters " This day I surrendered Malloriesand the appurtenances to Day of Halsted and hisdaughter."%liRogers U. E. Thorold), Hist. Agric. and Prices, Vol. VI., pp. 686-9, aasesa. forYorks, East Riding, Ap. 26, 1593.' Josselin (R), Diary, p. 86, April gth, and 3oth, 1650.AGRICULTUREThe farmer's wife attended market with greatregularity, where she became thoroughly expert in theart of buying and selling. The journey to marketoften involved a long ride on horseback, not alwaysfree from adventure as is shown by information givento the Justices by Maud, wife of Thomas Collar ofWoolavington, who stated that as she was returninghome by herself from Bridgwater market on or about7th July, Adrian Towes of Marke, overtook her andcalling her ugly toad demanded her name ; he 'thenknocked her down and demanded her purse, to which,hiding her purse, she replied that she had bestowedall her money in the market. He then said, ' I thinkyou are a Quaker,' & she denied it, he compelledherto kneel down on her bare knees and swear bythe Lord's blood that she was not, which to save herlife she did. Another woman then came up andrebuked the said Towes, whereupon he struck her down' atwhart ' her saddle into one of her panniers.'Market was doubtless the occasion of much gossip,but it may also have been the opportunity for a wideinterchange of views and opinions on subjects importantto the well-being of the community. Whilemarket was frequented by all the women of theneighbourhood it must certainly have favouredthe formation of a feminine public opinion on currentevents, which prevented individual women fromrelying exclusively upon their husbands for informationand advice.The names of married women constantly appear inmoney transactions, their receipt being valid fordebts due to their husbands. Thus Sarah Fell entersin her Household Book, " Pd. Bridget Pindr in fullof her Husband's bills as appeares Lj. 17s. 6d."2 by m"pd Anthony Towers wife in p' for manner wee are to--P-Somerset Quarter Sessions Records, Vol. 111, pp. 370-1,1659. -' Fell (Swab) Hourebold Accounts, p, 3 I 7, 1676.

52 AGRICULTURE AGRICULTUREhave of her 1.00' to m0 Recd. of Myles Gouth wifefor ploughing for her I .oqArithmetic was not considered a necessary itemin the education of girls, though as the followingincident shows, women habitually acted in financialmatters.Samuel Bownas had been sent to gaol for tithe, butthe Parson could not rest and let him out, when hewent to Bristol on business and spent two weeksvisiting meetings in Wiltshire. After his return, whileaway from home a distant relation called andasked his wife to lend him ten pounds as he wasgoing to a fair. She not thinking of tithe which wasmuch more, lent it and he gave her a note, whichaction was approved by her husband on his return ;but the relation returned again in Samuel Bownas'sabsence to repay, and tore the note as soon as he receivedit, giving her a quittance for the tithe instead.She was indignant, saying it would destroy herhusband's confidence in her. The relation assured herthat he would declare her innocence, but he couldnot- have persuaded her husband, for "he wouldhave started so many questions that I could not possiblyhave affected it any other way than by ploughingwith his heifer."'Women's names frequently occur in presentmentsat Quarter Sessions for infringements of bye laws.The Salford Portmote "p' sent Isabell the wyef ofEdmunde Howorthe for that she kept her swyneunlawfull, and did trespas to the corn of the saidRaphe Byr~m."~Katharine Davie was presented " for not pavingbefore her doore." Mrs. Elizabeth Parkhurst for" layinge a dunghill anenst her barne and not makingethe street cleane." Isabell Dawson and EdmundCowper for the like and Mrs. Byrom and some men"for letting swyne go unringed and trespassinge intohis neighbors corne & rescowinge them when theyhave beene sent to the fould."' " Charles Gregorie'swife complained that shee is distrained for 3s. for anamerciament for hoggs goeing in the Streete whereupon,upon her tendring of 3s. xijd is restoredwith her flaggon."' The owner of the pig appearsvery often to be a married woman. At Carlisle in1619: ,'We amarye the wief of John Barwicke forkeping of swine troughes in the hye streyt contrarythe paine and therefore in amercyment according tothe orders of this cyttie, ~iid."~Such women may often not have been farmersin the full sense of the word, but merely kepta few pigs to supplement the family income. Even thegentry were not too proud to sell farm and gardenproduce not needed for family consumption, and arealluded to as " . . . our Country Squires, whosell Calves and Runts, and their Wives perhaps Cheeseand Apples."Many gentlewomen were proficient in dairy management.Richard Braithwaite writes of his wife :" Oft have I seen her from her Dayrey comeAttended by her maids, and hasting homeTo entertain some Guests of QualityShee would assume a state so modestlySance affectation, as she struck the eyeWith admiration of the stander-by."The whole management of the milch cows belongedto the wife, not only among farming people but alsol Fell (Sarah), Household Accounts, p. 339, 1676.B Zbid, p. 386, 1677."ownas (Samuel), Ltfe, pp. 116-17.' Salford Portmote Records, Vol. I, p. 3, I 597.' Salford Portmote Records, Vol. II., pp. 67, 1633.' Guilding. Readtng Records, Vol. IV., p. 512, 1653.a Ferguson, Muntcrpal Records of Carlisl., p. 278.' Howe!l, Fam~lzar Letters, p. 290, 1644.

54 AGRICULTUREamong the gentry. The proceeds were regarded asher pin-money, and her husband generally handed overto her all receipts on this account, Sir John Foulisfor example entering in his account book :" June 301693. To my wife ye pryce of ye gaird kowes. -~$e, E4 o o.'"Sometimes .- -~- - when the husband devoted himself togood fellowship, the farm depended almost entirelyon his wife ; this was the case with Adam Eyre, aretired Captain, who enters in his Dyurnall,Feb. 10, 1647, " This morning Godfrey Brightbought my horse of my wife, and gave her .,Q, andpromised to give her 20s. more, which I had all but20s. and sheeis to take in the corne sale E4." May 18,1647, " I came home with Raph Wordsworth of theWater hall who came to buy a bull on my wife, whowas gone into H~lrnefrith."~The business capacity of married women was evenmore valuable in families where the father wished todevote his talents to science, politics, or religion, unencumberedby anxiety for his children's maintenance.It is said in Peter Heylin's Life that " Being deprivedof Ecclesiastical preferments, he must think of somehonest way for a livelihood. Yet notwithstanding hefollowed his studies, in which was his chief delight. . .. . In which.pleasing study while he spent his time, hisgood wife, a discreet and active lady, looked both afterher Housewifery within doors, and the Husbandrywithout ; thereby freeing him from that care andtrouble, which otherwise would have hindered hislaborious Pen from going through so great a work inthat short time. And yet he had several divertisementsby company, which continually resorted to hishouse ; for having (God be thanked) his temporalEstate cleared from Sequestration, by his Composition' Foulis (Sir John, of Raveleton), Acn. Bk, p. 158.Eyre, (Capt. Adam), A Dyurnall, p. 16, p. 36.AGRICULTURE 5 5with the Commissioners at Gold~mith's Hall, and thisEstate which he Farmed besides, he was able to keep agood House, and relieve his poor brethren.'"Gregory King's father was a student of mathematics," and practised surveying of land, and dyalling, as aprofession ; but with more attention to good-fellowship,than mathematical studies generally allow : and,the care of the family devolved of course on themother, who, if she had been less obscure, had emulatedthe-most eminent of the Roman matron^."Âdam Martindale's wife was equally successful. Hewrites " about Michaelmas, 1662, I removed my familyfrom the Vicarage to a little house at Camp-greene,. . . wherewe dwelt above three years and half . . .I was three score pounds in debt, . . . but (Godbe praised) while I staid there I paid off all that debtand bestowed L40 upon mareling part of my ground inTatton. . . . If any aske how this could bewithout a Miracle, he may thus be satisfied. ' I hadsent me. . . E41 . . . and the EIO my wifewrangled out of my successor, together with a table,formes and ceiling, sold him for about L4 more."3Later on he adds " My family finding themselvesstraitened for roome, and my wife being willing tokeep a little stock of kine, as she had done formerly,and some inconvenience falling out (as is usual) bytwo families under a roofe, removed to a new housenot completely f~rnished."~That in the agricultural community women weregenerally supposed to be, from a business point ofview, a help and not a hindrance to their husbandsthatin fact the wife was not " kept " by him but helpedhim to support the family is shown by terms proposed--l Heylin, (Peter), pp. 18-19.' King (Gregory), Natrrral and Political Observations, etc.Martindale, (Adam,) Life, p. I ~ L' Ibid, p. 190.

56 AGRICULTUREfor colonists in Virginia by the Merchant Taylors whooffer "one hundred acres for every man's person thathath a trade, or a body able to endure day labour asmuch for his wief, as much for his child, that are ofyeres to doe service to the Colony."'B. Husbandmen.Husbandmen were probably the most numerousclass in the village community. Possessed of a smallholding at a fixed customary rent and with rights ofgrazing on the common, they could maintain a positionof independence.Statute 31 Eliz., forbidding the erection of cottageswithout four acres of land attached, was framed withthe intention of protecting the husbandman againstthe encroachments of capitalists, for a family whichcould grow its own supply of food on four acres ofland would be largely independent of the farmer, as thefather could earn the money for the rent, etc., byworking only at harvest when wages were highest. Ashowever this seasonal labour was not sufficient for thefarmers' demands, such independence was not whollyto their mind, and they complained of the idlenessof husbandmen who would not work for the wagesoffered.Thus it was said that " In all or most towns,where the fields lie open there is a new brood ofupstart intruders or inmates . . . loiterers who willnot work unless they may have such excessive wagesas they themselves desire."' " There is with us nowrather a scarcity than a superfluity of servants, theirwages being advanced to such an extraordinary height,that they are likely ere long to be masters and theirmasters servants, many poor husbandmen being forcedto pay near as much to their servants for wages as totheir landlords for rent."s' Clode, (C M ) Merchant Taylors, Vol. I., p 323Pseudonismus, Constderattons concmning Common Ftelds and Enclosurcr, 1654.SPse~donlsmils, A Vtnd~catton of the Consrdcratrons concrrntng Common Fieldsand Enclosures. I 656.AGRICULTURE 57The holdings of the husbandmen varied fom sevenacres or more to half an acre or even less of gardenground, in which as potatoes1 were not yet grown inEngland the crop consisted of wheat, barley, rye, oats,or peas. Very likely there was a patch of hemp orflax and an apple-tree or two, a cherry tree and someelder-berries in the hedge, with a hive or two of beesin a warm corner. Common rights made it possibleto keep sheep and pigs and poultry, and the possessionof a cow definitely lifted the family above the povertyline.Dorothy Osborne describing her own day to herlover, gives an idyllic picture of the maidens tendingcows on the common : " The heat of the day is spentin reading or working, and about six or seven o'clockI walk out into a common that lies hard by the house,where a great many young wenches keep sheep andcows, and sit in the shade singing of ballads. I go tothem and compare their voices and beauties to someancient shepherdesses that I have read of, and find avast difference there ; but trust me, I think these areas innocent as those could be. I talk to them and findthey want nothing to make them the happiest peoplein the world but the knowledge that they are so. Mostcommonly, when we are in the midst of our discourse,one looks about her, and spies her cows going into thecorn, and then away they all run as if they had wingsat their heels. I, that am not so nimble, stay behind,and when I see them driving home their cattle, Ithink 'tis time for me to retire too."2Husbandmen have been defined as a class whocould not subsist entirely upon their holdings, butmust to some extent work for wages. Their need forwages varied according to the size of their holdingand according to the rent. For copy-holders the rent' Potatoes were already in use in Ireland, but are tcarcely referred to during thisperiod by Engllsh wnters.' O~borru (Dorotby), Lcttm, pp. 103,q. 1652-1654.

5 8 AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE 59was usually nominal,' but in other cases thehusbandman was often forced to pay what wasvirtually a rack rent. Few other money paymentswere necessary and if the holding was large enoughto produce sufficient food, the family had little causeto fear want.Randall Taylor wrote complacently in 1689 that incomparison with the French peasants, " Our Englishhusbandmen are both better fed and taught, and thepoorest people here have so much of brown Bread,and the Gospel, that by the Calculations of our Billsof Mortality it appears, that for so many years pastbut One of Four Thousand is starved."'The woman of the husbandman class was muscularand well nourished. Probably she had passed hergirlhood in service on a farm, where hard work, largelyin the open air, had sharpened her appetite for theabundant diet which characterised the Englishfarmer's housekeeping. After marriage, much of herwork was still out of doors, cultivating her garden andtending pigs or cows, while her husband did his day'swork on neighbouring farms. Frugal and to the lastdegree laborious were her days, but food was stillsufficient and her strength enabled her to bear healthychildren and to suckle them. It was exactly thisclass of woman that the gentry chose as wet nursesfor their babies. Their lives would seem incredibly. . . andl 30s. Susanna Suffolke a young maid holds a customary cottage,renteth per annum 2d.A28 Elm. Filoll (widdow) holdeth one customary tenement. Rent per annum26s. 8d.At May Stanes holdeth one customary cottage (late of Robert Stanes) andrenteth per annum 7d.A12 Margaret Dowe (widdow) holdeth one customary tenement (her eldest sonthe next heir) rent 7s. 8d.Among freeholders. Johan Mathew (widow) holdeth one free tenement and onecroft of land thereto belonging . . . containing three acres and a half andrenteth 3d.(Stones, Joiley. 1628. From a List of Copyholders in West & S. Haningfield,Essex.)' Taylor. (Randall), Discourse of the Growth $England, etc., p. 96, 1689.hard to the modern suburban woman, but they hadtheir reward in the respect and love of their familiesand in the sense of duties worthily fulfilled.The more prosperous husbandmen often added totheir households an apprentice child, but in other casesthe holdings were too small to occupy even the family'swhole time.At harvest in any case all the population of thevillage turned out to work ; men, women, and children,not only those belonging to the class of husbandmen,but the tradesmen as well, did their bit in a work sourgent ; for in those days each district dependedon its own supply of corn, there being scarcely anymeans of transport.Except during the harvest, wages were so low that aman who had a holding of his own was little temptedto work for them, though he might undertake somespecial and better-paid occupation, such as that of ashepherd. Pepys, describing a visit to Epsom, writes :" We found a shepherd and his little boy reading, farfrom any houses or sight of people, the Bible to him,I find he had been a servant in my Cozen Pepys'shouse . . . the most like one of the old patriarchsthat ever I saw in my life . . . he values his dogmightily, . . . about eighteen score sheep in hisflock, he hath four shillings a week the year roundfor keeping of them."'Probably this picturesque shepherd belonged to theclass of husbandmen, for the wages paid are higherthan those of a household servant. Four shillings aweek comes to EIO. 8. o by the year, whereas a Wiltshirewages assessment for 1685 provided that a servantwho was a chief shepherd looking after I ,500 sheep ormore was not to receive more than by the year.=On the other hand, four shillings a week would not' Pepys, Vol. IV, p. 428. 14 July, 1667.' Hirt. MSS. ~ iss. Corn. Yar. COU., vol. I. .p. 170.

AGRICULTUREmaintain completely the shepherd, his boy and a dog,not to speak of a wife and other children. Thus,while the shepherd tended his sheep, we mayimagine his wife and children were cultivating theirallotment.The wages for the harvest work of women as well asmen, were fixed by the Quarter Sessions.' Referencesto their work may be found in account books anddiaries. Thus Dame Nicholson notes : " Aug. 13,1690, I began to sher ye barin croft about 11 o'clock,ther was Gordi Bar and his wife-also Miler's sonJames and his sister Margit also a wife called Nietontheysher 17 threv and 7 ~hivis."~Best gives a detailed account of the division of workbetween men and women on a Yorkshire farm : " Weehave allwayes one man, or else one of the ablest of thewomen, to abide on the mowe, besides those that goewith the waine~.~ The best sort of men-shearershave usually 8d. a day and are to meate themselves ;the best sorte of women shearers have (most commonly)6d. a day.' It is usuall in some places (whearethe furres of the landes are deepe worne with raines)lA comparison of the assessments which have been preserved, in the di5erentcounties shows that men's earnings varied in the hay harvest from :-qd. and meat and drink, or %d. without, toSd.,, ,, ,, ,, ,, IS.4d. ,,and in the cam harvest from :-~ d and . meat and drink, or ~od. without, to1. 7, ,, ., ,, ,, 2s. 9,Women'* wages varied in the hay harvest from :-~d. and meat and drink, or qd. without, to6d. 9, 7, 1, 1 8 7,and in the corn harvest from :-zd. and meat and drink, or 6d. without, to6d.,, ,, ,, ,, ,, 18. :,The variations in these wages correspond with the price of corn in different partrof England and muct not be regarded as necessarily representing differences in thereal value of wages.%Society of Antiquarians of Scotland, vol. uxix, p. 125.Nicbolson's Account Book.a Best, Rural Emnamy, p. 36.Dame MargaretAGRICULTUREto imploy women, with wain-rakes, to gather the corneout of the said hollow furres after that the sweathrakeshave done.'. . We use meanes allwayes to getteyther 18 or else 24 pease pullers, which wee setteallways sixe on a lande, viz., a woman and a man, awoman and a man, a woman or boy and a man, etc.,the weakest couple in the fore furre. . , it is usuallin most places after they gette all pease pulled, or thelast graine downe, to invite all the worke-folkes andwives (that helped them that harvest) to supper, andthen have they puddinges, bacon, or boyled beefe,flesh or apple pyes, and then creame brought in platters,and every one a spoone ; then after all they havehotte cakes and ale ; some will cutte theire cakeand putte into the creame and this feaste is called thecreame-potte or creame-kitte . . . wee sendallwayes, the daye before wee leade, [pease] two of ourboys, or a boy and one of our mayds with each of them ashorte mowe forke to turn them."'For thatching, Best continues :" Wee usually providetwo women for helpes in this kinde, viz, one to drawethacke, and the other to serve the thatcher ; she thatdraweth thacke hath gd. a day, and shee that serveththe thatcher qd. a day, because shee also is to temperthe morter, and to carry it up to the toppe of thehowse . . . Shee that draweth thatch shouldealways have dry wheate strawe . . . whearewithto make her bandes for her bottles. She that servethwill usually carry up q bottles at a time, and sometimesbut 3 if the thatch bee longe and very ~ette."~' Be*\ Ri~ral Economy, p. jg.Ibid, pp. 93-4.Ibid, pp. 13s-g.l' The thatchers," Best says, " bare in most places 6d. a day& theire meate In Summer time, . . . yett we neaver use to give them above 4d . . .- . because their dyett is not as in other places ; for they are to have three mealeaday, vrz. theire breakfaste att eight of the clocke, . . . theire dinner about twelve andtheire supper about seaven or after when they leave worke; and att each meale.fowcr service,, viz. butter, milke, cheese, and either egges, ppes, or bacon, and sometimesporridge insteade of milke : if they meate themselves they have usua!ly ~od.a day."

62 AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE 63" Spreaders of mucke and molehills are (for themost parte) women, boyes and girles, the bigger andabler sorte of which have usually 3d. a day, and thelesser sorte of them 2d. a day.'?' " Men that pullpease have 8d. women 6d. a day."'A picture of hay-harvesting in the West of Englandgiven by Celia Fiennes suggests that in other parts ofEngland to which she was accustomed, the labour,especially that of women, was not quite so heavy.All over Devon and Cornwall she says, hay is carriedon the horses' backs and the people " are forced tosupport it wth their hands, so to a horse they havetwo people, and the women leads and supports them,as well as ye men and goe through thick and thinn.. . . I wondred at their Labour in this kind, forthe men and the women themselves toiled Like theirhorse^."^There was hardly any kind of agricultural work fromwhich women were excluded. Everenden " pay;:IS. 2d. to the wife of Geo. Baker for shearing 28 sheep.In Norfolk the wages for a " woman clipper of sheepe "were assessed at 6d. per day with meat and drink, IS.without, while a man clipper was paid 7d. and ~qd.It is noteworthy that only qd. per day was allowed in thesame assessment for the diet of " women and suchimpotent persons that weed corn and other such likeLaborers " and ad. per day for their wages.= Pepyson his visit to Stonehenge "gave the shepherdwoman,for leading our horses, qd.,"' while Foulisenters, " Jan. 25, 1699 to tonie to give ye women at--L Rest, Rural Economy, p. 140.a Ibid, p. 142.S Fiennes (Celia), 'Through England on a Side-saddle, p. 225.Suss. Arch. Coll. Vol. IV., p. 24.Evercndon Account Book6 Tingye U. C. ) Eng. Hist. RN, Vol. XIII., pp. 52 j-6.Pepys, Vol. V., p. 302. (11th June, 1668).restalrig for making good wailings of strae, 4s. (Scotsmoney)."'But the wives of husbandmen were not confinedto agricultural work as is shown by many paymentsentered to them in account books :' Thus the churchwardens at Strood, in Kent, paid the widow Cable forwashing the surplices IS.^ ; and at Barnsley they gave" To Ricard Hodgaris wife for whipping dogs " (outof the Church) Z S.~ while " Eustace Lowson of Salton(a carrier of lettres and a verie forward, wickedwoman in that folly) and Isabell her daughter areincluded in a Yorkshire list of recusants.=No doubt the mother with young children broughtthem with her to the harvest field, where they playedas safely through the long summer day as if they and shehad been at home. But at other times she chose workwhich did not separate her from her children, spinningbeing her unfailing resource. It is difficule living inthe age of machinery to imagine the labour whichclothing a family by hand-spinning involved,though the hand-spun thread was durable and fashionsdid not change.In spite of the large demand the price paidwas very low, but when not obliged to spin for sale,Foulis (Sir John) Acct. Bk., p. 246."Aug. 7th. I701 to my wife, to a Bleicher wife at bonaley for blcitching1. 3. 4." (Scots)" Jan. 28th, 1703 to my good douchter jennie to give tibbie tomsome for herattendance 011 my wife the time of her sickness 5.16.0 (Scots). (Foulis (SirJohn) Acc~. Bk. p. 295, 314.)" Sep. I xth, 1676, pd. her (Mary Taylor) more for bakeing four days. MothersAcct. 8d. ( Fell, (Sarab) Housebold Accts. p. 309.)" Pd. Widow Lewis for gathering herbs two daies 6d. ( Sussex, Arch. Coll. xlviii.p. 120. Extracts from the Household Account Book of Herstmonccux Castle.)Paid to goodwife Stopinge for 2 bundles of Rushes at Whitsuntide for theChurch, iiijd. (Cburcbwarden's Account Book, Strood, p. 95, 1612.Churcbwarden's Account Book, Strood, p. 197. 1666.COX Q. C.) Churcbwarden's Accts., p. 309.Tmks. North Riding, Q. S. Rec., Vol. I,, p. 62, Jan. 8. 1606-7.

64 AGRICULTUREtime was well spent in spinning for the family.The flax or hemp grown on the allotment, wasstored up for shirts and house-linen. If the husbandmanhad no sheep, the children gathered scraps ofwool from the brambles on the common, and thusthe only money cost of the stuff worn by thehusbandman's househ~ld was the price paid to theweaver.The more prosperous the family, the less the motherwent outside to work, but this did not mean, as undermodern conditions, that her share in the productivelife of the country was less. Her productive energyremained as great, but was directed into channelsfrom which her family gained the whole profit. Inher humble way she fed and clothed them, like thewise woman described by Solomon.The more she was obliged to work for wages, thepoorer was her family.C. Wage-earners.In some respects it is less difficult to visualise thelives of women in the wage-earning class than in theclass of farmers and husbandmen. The narrownessof their circumstances and the fact that their destitutionbrought them continually under the noticeof the magistrates at Quarter Sessions have preserveddata in greater completeness from which to reconstructthe picture. Had this information been wantingsuch a reconstruction would have demanded no vividimagination, because the results of the semistarvationof mothers and small children are verysimilar whether it takes place in the seventeenth orthe twentieth century ; the circumstances of thewives of casual labourers and men who are out of workand " unemployable " in modern England maybe taken as representing those of almost the wholewage-earning class in the seventeenth century.The most important factors governing the lives ofwage-earning women admit of no dispute. FirstAGRICULTUREamong these was their income, for wage-earners havealready been defined as the class of persons dependingwholly upon wages for the support of theirfamilies.Throughout the greater part of the seventeenthcentury the rate of wages was not left to be adjustedby the laws of supply and demand, but was regulatedfor each locality by the magistrates at Quarter Sessions.Assessments fixing the maximum rates were publishedannually and were supposed to vary according to theprice of corn. Certainly they did vary from districtto district according to the price of corn in thatdistrict, but they were not often changed from year toyear.Prosecutions of persons for offering and receivingwages in excess of the maximum rates frequentlyoccurred in the North Riding of Yorkshire, but it isextremely rare to find a presentment for this in otherQuarter Sessions. The Assessments were generallyaccepted as publishing a rate that public opinionconsidered fair towards master and man, and outsideYorkshire steps were seldom taken to prevent mastersfrom paying more to valued serl-ants. That upon thewhole the Assessments represent the rate ordinarilypaid can be shown by a comparison with entries incontemporary account-books.The Assessments deal largely with the wages ofunmarried farm servants and with special wages forthe seasons of harvest, intended for the occasionallabour of husbandmen, but in addition there aregenerally rates quoted by the day for the commonlabourer in the summer and winter months. Evenwhen meat and drink is supplied, the day-rates forthese common labourers are higher than the wagespaid to servants living in the house and are evidentlyintended for married men with families.In one Assessment different rates are expresslygiven for the married and unmarried who are doing65

AGRICULTUREthe same work,' a married miller receiving with hismeat and drink, qd. a day which after deductingholidays would amount to C5 o o by the year, whilethe unmarried miller has only 46s. 8d. and a pair ofboots.Assessments generally show a similar differenceUbetween the day-wagesSof a common labourer and thewages of the best man-servant living in the house,and it may therefore be assumed that day labourerswere generally married persons.Day rates were only quoted for women on seasonaljobs, such as harvest and weeding. It was not expectedthat married women would work all the year round forwages, and almost all single women were employed asservants.The average wage of the common agriculturallabourer as assessed at Quarter Sessions was 33d. perday in winter, and qfd. per day in summer, in additionto his meat and drink. ActuaI wages paid confirm"A shoemaker servant of the best sorte being married, to have without m-ateand drinke for every dorin of shoesxxijd.ditto unmamed to have by the yeare with meat and drink and withowte a leveyeliijs.Millers and drivers of horses beinge batchelors then with meate and drinke andwithout a liverye and a payre of bootsxlvis viijd.Millers and drivers of horses beinge married men shall not take more by the dayethen with meate and drinkeivd. and without viijd.a man servant of the best sorte shall not have more by the yeare then with alevereyexls. and without xlvjs viiid.the same, of the thirde sorte has only with a leveryexxvjs viiid. and without xxxiijs iiijd.whire any sort of labourer, from the Annunciation of our Ladye until Michellmashas with meat and drink by the dayivd. and without viijd.From Michellmas to the Annunclationiiid. and without vijd.The best sorte of women servants shall not have more by the yeare than with aliveryexxjs. and without xxvjsviiid.while " a woman reaping of corne " shall not have " more by the daye then vd withmeat and drink."(Hertfmdshirc Assessmmt, 1591).Every man-sewant serving with any person as a Comber of Wool1 to have by theyeare 40s.Every such servant being a single man and working by ye pound to have by yepound d.Every such servant being a marryed man and having served as an apprenticethereto according to the statute to have by ye pound zd.(Assessment for Sufolk, 1630)AGRICULTUREthe truth of these figures, though it is not alwaysclear whether the payments include meat and drink.'If we accept the Assessments as representing theactual wages earned by the ordinary labourer we canestimate with approximate accuracy the totalincome of a labourer's family, for we have defined thewage earner as a person who depended wholly uponwages and excluded from this class families who possessedgardens. Taking a figure considerably higherthen the one at which the Assessment averages workout, namely gd. per day instead of qd. per day, to bethe actual earnings of a labouring man in additionto his meat and arink, and doubling that figure for thethree months which include the hay and corn harvests,his average weekly earnings will amount to 3s. zd.' Paid to a shovele man for z days to shovel1 in the cart rakes, ss. (Hertford Co.Rec., Vol. I, p. 233, 1672.) s) days'work of a labourer, 2s. 6d. (ibzd, p. 130, 1659).For one daies work for one labourer, IS. (Stro d Churcbwarden't Acc. p. 182,1662.)Pd. to James Smith for one days' work thatching about Widow Barher's house,she being in great distress by reason she could not lie down in her bed and co11ld getno help to do the same. IS. zd. (Cratford Parish Papers, p. 152, 1622.) Thatcherswere paid more than ordinary labourers, being generally assessed at the same rate asa carpenter, or a mower in the harvest.July 15, 1676. Tho. Scott for workeinge hay 2 dayes, qd.Tho. Greaves younger for workeinge hay 2 dayes, +d.May 5, 1678, Will Braithwt for threshing 6 dayes 1.00April 27, 1676, by mO. pd. him for thatching 2 days at Petties Tenemt, 8d.August 2. 1676. pd. Margt Dodgson for workinge at hay & other worke 5 weekes03.06.pd. Mary Ashbrner for workinge at hay & other worke 4 weekes & 3 dayes. 03.0.0.Scpt 4. pd. Will Nicholson wife for weedinge in ye garden & pullinge hempe 1s dayes01. 0. 0.Oct. s. pd. Issa. Atkinfion for her daughtr Swingleinge 6 dayes or. o. o.May.7, 1677. pd.Will Ashbmer for his daughter harrowing here 2 weekes 01. o. o.(Fell (Sarab), H~use Acct.)Labourers' wages qd. per day.(Hist. MSS. Comm. Var. Coll. Vol. IV. 133, 1686. Sir Jno. Earl's Inventory of goods.Weeks' work common labourer, 3s. Thos. West, I week's baying 2s. (Sussex Arch.Coll., Vol. IV, p. sq, Ewerendon Acc. Book, 1618.)Paid for a labourer 3 dayes to hoult the alees and carrying away the weedes, IS. 6d.(Cromwell Family, Bills and Recetpts, Vol. 11, p. 233, 1635.)Jan. 26. 1649. Payd. to John Wainwright for 5 days worke IS. 8d. [Yorkshire].(Eyrc (Capt. Adam) Dyurnall, p:. I 17.)Thos. Hutton, xiiij days work 11s. iiijd, his wyfe xij dayes iiijs. Thos. Hutton xiijdayes at bay vid, his wyfe q dayes xvjd. Leone11 Bell, xiij dafes about hay, vjs. vjd.Tho. Bullman the lyke. iiijs. iiijd, Thos. Hutton 4 dayes at mowing corne, xvjd.aoward Housebold Book, p. 40-41).

AGRICULTUREExcept in exeptional circumstances his wife's earningswould not amount to more than IS. a week and hermeat and drink. The more young children there were,the less often could the wife work for wages, and whennot doing so her food as well as the chidren's must bepaid for out of the family income.In a family with three small children it is unlikelythat the mother's earnings were more than whatwould balance days lost by the father for holidaysor illness, and the cost of his food on Sundays, butallowing for a small margin we may assume that 3s. 6d.was the weekly income of a labourer's family, and thatthis sum must provide rent and clothing for the wholefamily and food for the mother and children.A careful investigation of the cost of living isnecessary before we can test-whether this amount wasadequate for the familv's maintenance.There is no reason to suppose that a diet inferiorto present standards could maintain efficiency in theseventeenth century. On the contrary, the Englishrace at that time attributed their alleged superiorityover other nations to a higher standard of living.''The dietary in charitable institutions gives an idea of what was considered barenecessity.(Children's Diet in Chrzst Church Hosprtal, 1704.)For breakfast, Bread and Beer. For dinner, Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday,boiled beef and pottage Monday, mllk pottage, Wednesday, furmity. Fridayold pease & pottage. Saturday water gruel. For supper bread and cheese orbutter for those that cannot eat cheese. Sunday supper, legs of mutton. Wednesdayand Friday, pudding pies.(Stow, London, Book I, p. 182.)Dzet for Workhouse, Bashops~ote Street, London.They have Breakfaets, dinners, and suppers every day in the week. For each mea4 OZ. bread, I$ oz. cheese, I oz. butter, I pint of beer. Breakfast, four days, breadand cheese or butter and beer. Mondays a pint of Pease Pottage, with Bread and Beer.Tuesdays a Plumb Pudding Pye 9 oz. and beer. Wednesdays a pint of Furmity.On Friday a pint of Barley Broth and bread. On Saturdays, a plaln Flower SewetDumpling with Beer. Their supper always the same, 4 oz. bread,^) of cheese or I oz.of butter, and beer sufficient. (Stow, London, Bock I, p. 199).Lady Grzsell Bazllae gives her s~rzlant's dzet :Sunday they have bolld beef and broth made in the great pot, and ~lways the brothmade to serve two days. Monday, broth made on Sunday, and a Herring. Tuesday,broth and beef. Wednesday, broth and two eggs each. Thursday, broth and beef.Friday, Broth and herring. Saturday, broth without meat, and cheese, or a puddenA comparison between the purchasing power ofmoney in the seventeenth and twentieth centuries isunsatisfactory for our purpose, because the relativevalues of goods have changed so enormously. Thus,though rent, furniture and clothes were much cheaperin the seventeenth century, there was less difference inthe price of food. Sixpence per day is often givenin Assessments as the cost of a labourer's meatand drink and this is not much below the amountspent per head on these items in wage-earners'families during the first decade of the twentiethcentury.One fact alone is almost sufficient to prove theinadequacy of a labourer's wage for the maintenanceof his family. His money wages seldom exceeded theestimated cost of his own meat and drink as suppliedby the farmer, and yet these wages were to supplyall the necessaries of life for his whole family. Someidea of the bare cost of living in a humble householdmay be gained by the rates fixed for pensions and byallowances made for Poor Relief. From these itappears that four shillings to five shillings a week wasconsidered necessary for an adult's maintenance.The Cromwell family paid four shillings weekly " tothe widd. Bottom for her bord."' Pensions formaimed soldiers and widows were fixed at four shillingsper week " or else work to be provided which willmake their income up to 4s. per week. Sick andwounded soldiers under cure for their wounds tohave 4s. 8d per week.""or blood-~udenr, or a hagish, or what is most convenient. Breakfast and super, haan oatloaf ora proportion of broun bread, but better set down the loaf, and seenon is taken or wasted, and a muchkin of beer ormilk whenever there is any. Atdinner a mutchkin of beer for each. Barllie (Lady Grtsell). Housebold BookPp. 277-8. 1743.Cromwell Family, Bills and Receipts, Vol. II., p. 233, 1635.' Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum, II., p. 556. (For Maimed Soldiers andwidows of Scotland and Ireland, Sept 30, 1651.

AGRICULTUREThe Justices in the North Riding of Yorkshire drewup a scale of reasonable prices for billeted soldiers bywhich each trooper was to pay for his own meat foreach nightdd ; dragoon, 4fd ; foot soldier, 4d.l" Edward Malin, blacksmith, now fourscoreand three past and his wife fourscore, wanting aquarter " very poor and unable " to gett anythingwhereby to live," complained to the HertfordshireQuarter Sessions that they receive only IS. 6d. a weekbetween them ; " others have eighteen pence apiecesingle persons " and desire that an order be made forthem to have 3s. together which is but the allowancemade to other per~ons.~In cases of Poor Relief where payments weregenerally intended to be supplementary to othersources of income, the grants to widows towards themaintenance of their children were often absurdlysmall ; In Yorkshire, Parish officers were orderedto " pro~ride convenient habitation for a poorwoman as they shall think fit and pay her +d.weekly for the maintenance of herself and child."'In another case to pay a very poor widow 6d. weeklyfor the maintenance of herself and her three children.'The allowanceof 12d. weekly to a woman and hersmall children was reduced to 6d., " because thesaid woman is of able body, and other of her children areable to work."j On the other hand when an orphanchild was given to strangers to bring up, amountsvarying from IS. to ss. per week were paid for itsmaintenance.'Torks. North Riding, Q. S. Rec., Vol. VII., p. 106, 1690.' Hertfordshire, Co. Rec., Vol. I., p. 258, 1675.Torks. N.R. Q.S. Rcc., Vol. VI., p. 242, 1675.' Ibid, p. z I 7, I 674.Ibid, p. 260, 1674Joane Weekes . . . " hadd a maide childc placed to her to bee kept kbrought upp, the mother of which Childe was executed at the Assizes. six ~ounds perann, proporconed toyard the keepinge of the said childe . . . besides sheAGRICULTUREThus the amount paid by the Justices for maintainingone pauper child sometimes exceeded thetotal earnings of a labourer and his wife. Otherpauper children were maintained in institutions.The girls at a particularly successful Industrial Schoolin Bristol were given an excellent and abundant diet- --- -----desireth some allowance extraordinary for bringinge the said Childe to bee fitt togett her livinge." (Somerset, Q.S. Rec., Vol. 111, p. 28-9, 1647).IE 1663 a woman who was committed to the Castle of Yorke forfelony and afterwardsexecuted, was while there delivered of a male child, which was left in the gaol,and as it was not known where the woman was last an inhabitant the child couldnot be sent to the place of her settlement, Sir Tho. Gower was desired by Justicesof Assize to take a course for present maintenance of the child. He caused it to beput unto the wife of John Boswell to be nursed and provlded for with other necessarier.John Boswell and h8 wife have maintained the child ever since and have hithertoreceived no manner of allowance for the same. Ordered that the several Ridingshall pay their proportions to the maintenance past and present, after the rae ofL5 per annum. (Torks. N.R. Q.S.Rec., Vol. VI, pp. 102-7. 1666.)... -,Mamaduke Vye was only to have a year for keeping the child bornin the gaolof Ivelchester whose mother was hanged for cutting of purses. (Somerset Q.S. Rec.,Vol. I, p. IOI., 1617.)-,Item payd to the said widowe Elkyns for Dyett and keeping of a poore child leafteupon the chardge of the parish at I rd. the weecke from the 14th of August, 1599, tillthis secound of Sept., 1601, every Saturday, being two yeres and three weeckes,videlicet IT weecker in toto v') vijs. (Ch. Accs., St. Mzcbael's in Bedwendine, WW-CtStel, p. 147.)Itm pd. to Batrome's wife of Linstead for keeping of Wright's child 52 weeksE3. OS. 8d. (Cratfield Parish Papers, p. 129, 1602.)Pd to Geo. Cole to take and bring up Eliz. Wright, the daughter of Ann Wrightaccording to his bond, Aq. oa. od. More towards her apparel1 ss.(I bzd, p. 137. 1609.)Item paide Chart's Child's keeping by the week L+. I IS. 8d. Item for apparrellEr. 18s. 2d. Item paid to the surgeon for her. 3s. 6d.(Suss. Arch. Coll., Vol. xx., p. 101, Acct. Bk ofCou,den. 1627.)for apparrelling Wm: Uridge and for his keeping this yeare L5. 12s. gd.(1 bid, p. 103, 1632.)For the keep of William Kemsing 14 weeks LI. 2s.8d and 23 weeks at 2s perweek, Lz. 6s. od. and for apparrelling of him; and for his indenture8 ; and formoney given with him to put him out apprentice ; and expended in i lacing h outL1 I. 17s. gd.(Ibid, p. 107, 1650.)John Mercies wief for keeping Buckles child, weekly, IS. 6d.John Albaes wief for keeping Partickes childIs. 4d.(S.P.D. cccxlvii, 67, I. Feb, 1637. Answer of Churchwardens to Articles givenby J.P's for St. Albans).George Arnold and Jas. ~ichell late overseers of the poore of the ~arishe of Othery. . had committed a poore child to the custody, kee~inge and maintenance of. . Robert Harris promising him xijd. weekly. (Somersest, Q.S. Rec., Vol. 111,P 1, 1646.) Order for Thos. Scott, a poor, lame, impotent child, to be placed withJoanna Brandon, She to be paid 5s. a week for his maintenance. (Middlesex Co.p. 180, Srss. Book, 1698).

72 AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE 73maintain her in efficiency. Probably the womanwho was doing ordinary work while pregnant orsuckling a baby may have needed as much food as thewoman who was reaping corn ; but in the wageearner'sfamily she certainly did not get it ; thuswhen a writer1 alleges that a man's diet costs gd. a dayand a woman's IS. 6d per week, his statement may becorrect as to fact, though the babies have perished forwant of nourishr,:ent and the mother has been reducedto invalidism.Another writer gives 2s. as being sufficient toat a cost of IS. qd. per head per week.' At Stepney,the poor were maintained at 2s. rod or 3s. per week,including all incidental expenses, firing and lodging.At Strood in Kent, 2s. was paid for children boardedout in poor families, while theinmatesof the workhouseat Hanstope, Rucks, were supposed not to cost theparish more than IS. 6d. a week per head.' AtReading it was agreed " that Clayton's wief shall havexiiiid. a weeke for every poore childe in the hospital1accomptinge each childe's worke in parte of payment.'These and many other similar figures show that achild must have cost from IS. to IS. 6d. a week for foodalone, the amount varying.according to age. Aboveseven years of age, children began to contributetowards their own support, but they were not completelyself-supporting before the age of thirteen orfourteen.According to the wages assessments, a woman'sdiet was reckoned at a lower figure than a man's,but whenever they are engaged on heavy work suchas reaping corn or shearing sheep, 6d. or 8d. a day isallowed for their " meate and drinke." On other work,such as weeding or spinning, where only zd. a day isreckoned for wages, their food also is only estimated ascosting zd. to qd. As in such cases they are classed with" other impotent persons " it must not be supposedthat 2d. or 3d. represents the cost of the food neededby a young active woman; it may even have beenprolonged semi-starvation that had reduced thewoman to the level of impotency. Unfortunately,there is often a wide difference between the cost ofwhat a woman actually eats and what is necessary tol Cary, Acc. Proceedings ofthe Corporation of Bristol. 1700. "Their diets weremade up of such provisions as were very wholesome, viz. Beef, Pease, Potatoes,Broath, Pease-porridge, Milk-porridge, Bread and Cheese, . good Beer, Cabage,Carrots, Turnips, etc. it stood us (with soap to wash) in about sixteen pence per weekfor each of the one hundred girls."' Account Workhouses, 1725, p. 13, p. 37, p. 79.Guilding, Reading, Vol. II., p. 273, Jan. 16, 1625-6." keep a poor man or woman (with good husbandry)one whole week."* Certainly 2s. is the very lowestfigure that can have sufficed to keep up the mother'sstrength. The bare cost of food for a mother andthree children must have amounted to at least 5s. 6d.per week, but there were other necessaries to be pro-vided from the scanty wages.The poorest familyrequired some clothes, and though these may have beengiven by charitable persons, rent remained to be paid.Building was cheap. In Scotland, the " new house "with windows glazed with " ches Iosens " only costL4 12s. gd. to build, while a " cothouse " built forLiddas " the merchant " cost only LI o o ; othercots were built for 4s., I IS. ~d, 5s. and 14s. 4d. TheseScottish dwellings were mud hovels, but in Englandthe labourers' dwellings were not much better.Celia Fiennes describes the houses at the Land's Endas being" poor Cottages, Like Barns to Look on, muchLike those in Scotland, but to doe my own countryits right ye Inside of their Little Cottages are Clean andplaister'd and such as you might Comfortably Eat anddrink in, and for curiosity sake I dranck there and metwith very good bottled ale."4l Dunning, R. Plain and Easte Method, p. 5, 1686.Trade of England, p. 10, 168 I.Baillie (Lady Grisel), House Book, Introd. Ixiv.' Fiennes (Celia), Through England on n Stde-saddle. p. zzq.

AGRICULTUREIn some places the labourers made themselveshabitations on the waste, but this was strictly againstthe law, such houses being only allowed for theimpotent poor.Many fines are entered in Quarter Sessions Recordsfor building houses without the necessary quantityof land.By 39 Eliz. churchwardens and overseerswere ordered, for the relief of the impotent poor, tobuild convenient houses at the charges of the Parish,but only with the consent of the Lord of the Manor.43 Eliz. added that such buildings were not at anytime after to be used for other inhabitants but only forthe impotent poor, placed there by churchwardensand overseers.The housing problem was so acute that many orderswere made by the justices sanctioning or ordering theerection of these cottages. " Rob. Thompson ofBrompton and Eliz. Thompson of Aymonderbywidow, stand indicted for building a cottage inAvmonderby against the statute, etc., upon a piece ofgiound, parcell of the Rectorie of Appleton-on-thestreet, and in which the said Eliz. doth dwell by thepermission of John Heslerton, fermour of the saidRectorie, and that the same was so erected for thehabitation of the said Elizth. being a poore old womanand otherwise destitute of harbour and succour . .ordered that the said cottage shall continue . .for the space of twelve yeares, if the said Elkth. liveso long, or that the said Heslerton's lease do so longendure."' In another case, Nicholas Russell, the wifeof Thomas Waterton, and Robert Arundell, werepresented for erecting cottages upon the Lord's waste. . . at the suit of parishioners these cottages areallowed by Mr. Coningsby, lord of the manor."It was often necessary to compel unwilling over-TorRt. N.R. Q.S. Rec., Vol. I., p. 29. 1605-6.Hertfordshrre Co. Rec., Vol. I., p. 63, 1639,-41.AGRICULTUREseers to build cottages for the impotent poor, and forwidows. " A woman with three children prays leavefor the erection of a cottage in East Bedwyn, she havingno habitation, but depending upon alms ; from lyingin the street she was conveyed into the church whereshe remained some small time, but was then ejected bythe parish." The overseers are ordered to provide forher.'The overseers at Shipley were ordered to build ahouse on the waste there for Archelaus Braylsford, tocontain " two chambers floored fit for lodgings " or indefault ss. a week. At the following sessions his housewas further ordered to be " a convenient habitation12 feet high upon the side walls soe as to make 2convenient chambers."'The housing problem however could not be settledby orders instructing the overseers to build cottages'Hut., MSS. Corn. Var. Coll., Vol. I, p. 113, Wilts. Q.S.Rec. 1646.' Cox. Derbyshire Annals, Vol. 11, p: 176, 1693.The followng cares are representahve of an immense number of petitions fromwidows and the impotent poor :1608. Margaret Johns having dwelt in Naunton Beauchamp for 55 years has nowno house or room but dwells In a barn, she desires to have house room and will notcharge the parish no long as she is able to work.1620. Eleanor Williams charged with keeplng of young child is now unprovidedw~th house room for herself and her poor child, her husband having left the soilewhere they lately dwelled and is gone to some place to her unknown. She iswilling " to relieve hm child by her painful labour but wanteth a place for abode "prays to be provided with house room.(Bund, J. W. Willis, Worcestershire Co. Records, Vol. I., pp. 116-7, 337).1621. Overseers of Uggliebarbie to provide a suitable dwelling for 2 women(sisters) if they refuse them a warrant, etc.(TorRt. Nortb Rrdrng Q.S. Recs., Vol.III., p. I 18.)1672. Parish Officers of Scruton to provide a convenient habitation for MaryHutchlnson and to set her on work, and provide for her, etc., until she shall recoverthe possession of certain lands in Scruton. (Zbrd, Vol. VI., p. 175).1684. Mary Marchant . . . livinge in good estimation And repute for many yearstogether; being very Carefull to malntaine herself And family for being prejudiceto ye sd. Towne ; ye petitioners husbande beinge abrpad and driven Away ; andreturninge not backe Againe to her leaveinge ye petitioner with a little girle ; beingIn want was put into a little cottage by & with ye consent of ye sd. Towne ; ye sd.Owner of ye ad. 'Tenement comeinge when ye petitioner was gon forth to workeleavinge her little girle In ye ad. house ; ye sd. Owner get a locke And Key upp on yedoor, where as your petitioner cannot Injoy her habitation wth peace and quietncu;see yt your petitioner is likely to starve for want of A habitation and child, etc.(Cox. J. C., Derbysbrre Annals, Vol. II., pp. 175-6, P.S. Rrcs., 1684).

76 AGRICULTUREfor the impotent poor alone. Petitions were receivedas often from able-bodied labourers and for them thelaw forbade the erection of a cottage without fouracres of land attached. The magistrates had nopower to compel the provision of the land and thusthey were faced with the alternatives of breaking thelaw and sanctioning the erection of a landless cottageon the waste or else leaving the labourer's family tolie under hedges.The following petitions illustratethe way in which this situation was faced :George Grinham, Norton-under-Hambton, " inye behalfe of himselfe, his poore wife and famelye "begged for permission " for my building ye', of alittle poor house for ye comfort of my selfe, my poorewife and children betwixt those other 2 poore houseserected on the glebe . . . being a towne bornechilde ye' myselfe."'Another from William Dench, " a very poor manand having a wife and seven children all born atLongdon," who was destitute of any habitation, statesthat he was given by William Parsons of Longdon,yeoman, in charity, " a little sheep-cote which sheepcote petitioner, with the consent of the churchwardensand overseers converted to a dwelling. Afterwardshe having no licence from Quarter Sessions,nor under the hands of the Lord of the Manor so to do,and the sheepcote being on the yeoman's freehold andnot on the waste or common, contrary to Acts qgEliz. c. 2 and 31 Eliz. c. 7 he was indicted upon theStatute against cottages and sued to an outlawry. Heprays the benefit of the King's pardon and for licencein open session for continuance of his habitation." "Eliz. Shepperd of Windley alleged she " was inpossession of a Certayne cottage situate in Chevin,which was pulled downe and taken away by the' Somerset, Q.S. Rec., L'ol.!., p.41, 1609HMI. MSS. Corn. Var. Coll., Vol. I., p. 296, Worcestershrre, Q.S. Rec., 1617.AGRICULTUREInhabitants of Dooeffield, shee left without habitationand hath soe Continued Twelve months at the least,shee being borne in Windley, and hath two smallchildren " prayed the inhabitants should find her ahomestead-the case was adjourned because the overseersraised a technical objection ; that Eliz. Shepherdwas married, & a woman's petition could only proceedfrom a spinster or widow-meanwhileanother childwas born, and at the Michaelmas Sessions a jointpetition was presented by Ralph Shepherd and Eliz.his wife, with the result that " the overseers areto find him habitation or show cause."'Joseph Lange of Queene Camel1 " being an honestpoore laborer and havinge a wife and 2 smaleChildren " prayed that he " might haue libertie toerect a Cottage uppon a wast ground" . . .This was assented to " for the habitacon of himselfefor his wife and afterwards the same shall be convertedto the use of such other poore people etc."Order that Kobert Morris of Overstowey, husbandman,a very poor man having a wife and children, and noplace of habitation " soe that hee is like to fall intogreate misery for want thereof " may erect and buildhim a cottage on some part of the " wast " of the manorof Overstowey . . . (subject to the approbationof the Lord of the said Manor).""The predicament of married labourers is shownagain in the following report to the HertfordshireQuarterly Sessions : " John Hawkins hath erected acottage on the waste of my mannour of Benington,in consideration of the great charge of his wife andchildren that the said Hawkins is to provide for, Ido hereby grant and give leave to him to continue thesaid cottage during his life and good behaviour.""-- - --' Cox, J. C. Derb~shtre Annals, Vol I1 , pp. 173-4, 1649.' Somerset Q.S. Rec., Vol. III., pp. 29, 58.Hertford Co. Rec., Vol. I., p. loo, 1652.

AGRICULTURELabourers naturally were unwilling to hire cottageswhile there was a possibility of inducing the justices toprovide one on the waste rent free. The churchwardensof Great Wymondley forwarded a certificatestating " that the poor people of the said parish that areold and not able to work are all provided for and noneof the poor people of the said parish have been drivento wander into other unions to beg or ask relief, for thisthirty years last past. This Nathaniel Thrussel,which now complains, is a lusty young man, able towork and always brought up to husbandry, his wife,a young woman, always brought up to work, and knowboth how to perform their work they are hired todo, and have at present but one child, but did not careto pay rent for a hired house when he had one norendeavour to hire a house for himself when he wants."'The scarcity of cottages resulted in extortionaterents for those that existed ; Best noted that in hisdistrict " Mary Goodale and Richard Miller have acottage betwixt them ; Mary Goodale hath two roomes,and the orchard and payeth 6s. per annum ; andRichard Miller, hayth one roomestead and payeth 4s.per annum. . . . They usually lette their cottageshereaboutes, for 10s. a piece, although they have notsoe much as a yard, or any backe side belonging tothem."'The rents paid elsewhere are shown in the returnsmade in 1635 by the Justices of the Peace for theHundreds of Blofield and Walsham in Norfolk concerningcottages and inmates :Thos. Waters hath 3 inmates :Wm. Wyley pays Er. per annumAnthony Smith ,, LI. per annumRoger Goat ,, 12s. per annum" which are all poore labourers and have wifes andHertford Co. Rec., Vol. I., p. 370, 1687.Best, Rural Econ., p. 12 j.AGRICULTUREseverall children and if they be put out cannot beprovided in this towne and by reason of their chargeand poverty are not likely to be taken elsewhere."" Wm. Browne hath 2 inmates :Edmund Pitt 14s. per annumWm. Jostling 14s. per annumthat are very poor and impotent and take colleccion.Wm. Reynoldes hath 2 inmates :Anthony Durrant EI 16s. per annumWm. Yurely16s. per annumboth are very poore labourers and have wifes and smallchildren. Jas. Candle owner of a cottage [has] RobertFenn, 13s. a poore man.Anne Linckhorne I inmatePhilip Blunt that pay EI . I 7. o that is a poore man andhath wife and children."'Thus it appears that while a labourer who obtaineda cottage on the waste lived rent free, twenty orthirty shillings might be demanded from those whowere less fortunate.Whatever money was extorted for rent meantso much less food for the mother and children, for ithas been shown that the family income was insufficientfor food alone, and left no margin for rent orclothes.The relation of wages to the cost of living is seldomalluded to by contemporary writers, but a pamphletpublished in I 706 says of a labourer's family, " a poorMan and his Wife may have 4 or 5 children, 2 of themable to work, and 3 not able, and the Father and Mothernot able to maintain themselves and Families. inMeat, Drink, Cloaths and House Rent under 10s.a week."'A similar statement is made by Sir Matthew Hale,who adds " and so much they might probably get ifempl~yed."~ But no evidence has been found from' S.P.D., cccx., 104. 1635 Returns made by Justices of the Peace.' Haynes, (John.), Present State of Clotbzng, p. 5. 1706."ale, (Sir Matt). Dtscourse tmrcbzrcg Prowzszon for the Pwr, p. 6, 1683

AGRICULTUREwhich we can imagine that an agricultural labourer'sfamily could possibly earn as much as 10s. a week in theseventeenth century. Our lower estimate is confirmedby a report made by the Justices of the Peace for thehalf hundred of Hitching concerning the poor in theirdistrict ; " when they have worke the wages geven themis soe small that it hardlye sufficeth to buy the pooreman and his familye breed, for they pay 6s. for onebushel1 of mycelyn grayne and receive but 8d. for theirdays work. It is not possible to procure mayntenancefor all these poore people and their famylyes by almes+ -nor yet by taxes."'The insolvency of the wage-earning class is recognizedby Gregory King in his calculations of the incomeand expense of the several Families of England, forthe year 1680. All other classes, including artisansand handicrafts show a balance of income over expenditurebut the families of seamen, labourers and soldiersshow an actual yearly deficit."A still more convincing proof of the universaldestitution of wage earners is shown in the efforts madeby churchwardens and overseers in every countythroughout England to prevent the settlement withinthe borders of their parish of families which dependedsolely on wages.Their objection is not based generally upon theground that the labourer or his wife were infirm, oridle, or vicious ; they merely state that the family islikely to become chargeable to the parish. Eachparish was responsible for the maintenance of its own1 S.P.D. ccclxxxv., 43. Mar. 8, 1638.King (Greqory). Nut. and Political Observatrons, pp. 48-9.NO. OF FAMILIES PERSONS. >EARLY INCOME EXPENSE LOSSPER HEAD. PER HEAD. PER HEAD~o,ooo Common Seamen 150,000 167. E7. 10s. 10s.364,000 Labouring ~eople& outservants 1,275,000 E4. 10s. A4. 12s. 2s.400,000 Cottagers &Pauyers 1,300,000 kz. A2. 5s. 58.35 ow Common soldiers 70,000 A7. 47. 10s. to$.poor, and thus though farmers might be needing morelabourers, the parish would not tolerate the settlementof families which could not be self-supporting.The disputes which arose concerning these settlementscontain many pitiful stories." Anthony addams " tells the justices that he wasborn in Stockton and bred up in thesame Parish, mostof his time in service and has " taken great pains formy living all my time sinc'e I was able and of late I fortunedto marry with an honest young woman, andmy parishioners not willing I should. bring her in theparish, saying we should breed a charge amongst them.Then I took a house in Bewdley and there my wifedoth yet dwell and I myself do work in Stockton. . . and send or bring my wife the best relief I amable, and now the parish of Bewdley will not sufferher to dwell there for doubt of further charge. . . .I most humbly crave your good aid and help in thismy distress or else my poor wife and child are like toperish without the doors : . . . that by your goodhelp and order to the parish of Stockton I may ha~eahouse there to bring my wife & child unto that I mayhelp them the best I can."'Another petition was brought by Josias Stone ofKilmington . . . " shewinge that he hath binnan Inhabitant and yet is in Kilmington aforesaidand hath there continued to and fro these five yearespast and hath donn service for the said parishe andhath lately married a wife in the said parish intendingethere to liue and reside yet since his marriage is by thesaid parishe debarred of any abidinge for him and hissaid wife there in any howse or lodginge for his m~ny."~Another dispute occurred over the case of ZacharyWannell and his wife who came lately from Wilton" into the towne of Taunton where they haue beenl Hrst MSS. Com. Var. Coll.. Vol. I., p. 298, Worcestershzre Q.S. Rec., 1618.' Somerset, Q.S. Rec., Vol. III., p. 15, 1647.

82 AGRICULTURE AGRICULTUREdenyed a residence and they ly upp and downe inbarnes and hay lofts, the said Wannell's wife beinggreat with child ; the said Wannell and his wife to beforthwith set to Wilton and there to continue until thenext General Sessions. The being of the said Wannelland his wife at Wilton not to be interpreted as a settlementof them there."'There were endless examples of these conflicts oftenattended as in the above case with great cruelty.'-- - ~Somerset Q.S. Rec., Vol. III., p. 246, 1654.One Humfrey Naysh, a poore man hath ben remayning and dwellingewithin the pish of Newton St. Lowe by the space of five years or thereabouts and nowbeing maryed and like to haue charge of children, the pish~oners Do endeuor to putthe said Naishe out of their pish by setting of amcents and paynes in their Courtson such as shall give him house-roome, or suffer him to liue in their houses which hedoth or offereth to rent for his money which the court conceiveth to be vnjust andnot accordinee to lawe."~- c,Overseers ordered to provide him a house for his money.Ibid., Vol. 11, p. 19, 1626.)The eti it ion of the " overseer of the poore of the parishe of East Quantoxhead. . . ' that one Richard Kamplyn lat; of Kilve wlth his wife and three smallchildren are late come as Inmates into the Parish of East Quantoxhead which mayhereafter become very burdensome and chargeable to the said parish if tymleyprevention bee not taken therein." Ibid., Vol. 111, p. 9, 1646."John Tankens, his wife and three children . . . had lived twoe yearesin Chewstoake undisturbed and from thence came to Chew Magna and theretook part of a Cottage for their habitation for one yeare . . . whereofthe parislie of Chew Magna taking notice found themselves aggrieved thereatt, andbrought the same in question both before the next Justice of the peace of Chew Magnaand att the Leete or Lawday, and yett neither the said Tankens, his wife or children,had heene actually chardgeable to the said parishe of Chew Magna. This Court in thatrespect thinketh not fitt to disturbe the said Tankens, his wife or children duringe thesaid terme, but doth leave them to thend of the same terme to bee settled accordingeby lawe they ought. And because the parishioners of Chew Magna haue been forthe most parte of the tyme since the said Tankens, his wife and Children came to ChewMagna complayninge against them, This court doth declare that the beinge ofthem att Chew Magna aforesaid duringe the said terme shall not bee interpreted tobee a settlement there. (Ibzd., Vol. 111, pp. 94-5, 164~)." Pet. of Richard Cookesley of Ashbrettle shewing that he is married in the saidparish and the said parish endeavour to haue him removed from thence although beein no way chargeable, this court doth see noe cause but that the said Cookesley mayremaine att Ashbrittle aforesaid ; provided that his being there shall not be interpttedto bee a settlement of him there." (Ibid., Vol. III., p. 248, 1654).James Hurde a poor labourer stated that for these two years last past he had dweltin the parish of Westernemore " In a house wch he hired for his monie " and had takengreat pains to maintain himself, his wife and two children, wherewith he never yetcharged the said parish nor hopeth ever to do. And yet the parishioners and churchwardensthere, do " indeavour " and threaten to turn him out of the parish unless hewill put in sufficient sureties not to charge the said parish which he cannot by reasonhe is but a poor labourer ; he humbly requests that he may quietly inhab~t in thesaid parish so long as he doth not charge the same, otherwise he and his family arelike to perish. (Ibid., Vol. I, p. 94, 1612.)The Justices were shocked at the consequentdemoralization and generally supported the demandsof the labourers as regards their settlement andhousing. One writes to the clerk of the Peace :" I have sent you enclosed the recognizance of WilliamWorster and William Smith,of Bovindon, for contemptof an order of sessions . . . in the behalfe of one,John Yorke, formerly a vagrant, but now parishionirof Bovingdon. Yet 1. believe the rest of the inhab-itants will doe their utmost to gett him thence thoughthey force him to turn vagrant againe. Yorke will bewith you to prove that he was in the parish halfe-ayearor more before they gave him any disturbance,and that not privately, for he worked for several1substantial1 men and was at church, and paid rent."'But the Justices never suspected that the rate of wageswhich they themselves had fixed below subsistence levelwas at the root of the settlement difficulty. The overseersbelieved that all the troubles might be solved if onlyyoung people would not marry imprudently, and theypetitioned the Justices .begging that overseers ofparishes might not be compelled to provide housesfor such young persons " as will marry before theyhave provided themselves with a settling.""While the overseers were seeking to exclude all wageearners from the parish, individual farmers, perchancethe overseers themselves wanted more labourers. Tomeet this difficulty, the overseers discovered an ingeniousdevice. Before granting a settlement, they requiredthe labourer to find sureties to save the parish harmlessfrom his becoming chargeable to it. Obviously aiabourer could not himself find sureties, butathe farmerwho wished to employ him was in a position to doso, and thus the responsibility for the wage-earner'sfamily would he laid upon the prrson who profited--pp--' Hertford Co. Rec., Vol. I., p. 311. 1681. Letter from Francis Le~gh to Clcrkof Peace.'Hzrt. MSS. Corn. Var. CoU. Vol. I., p. 322 Worcestershzre Q. S. Rec., 1661.

AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE 85by his services. Petitions against this demand forsureties came before the Quarter Sessions. One fromRobert Vawter stated that he was " a poore Daylabourer about a quarter of a yere sithence came intothe said parish of Clutton, and there marryed with apoore Almesrrians Daughter, now liveing with her saidfather in the Almeshouse of Clutton aforesaid, andwould there settle himselfe with his said wife."Hewas ordered to find sureties or to go to gaol.'It was reported at Salford " Whereas Rich.Hudson is come lately into the towne with his wifeand ffoure children to Remaine that the Burrowreeveand Constables of this towne shall give noticeunto Henry Wrigley, Esq., upon whose land he stillremaynes that hee remove him and his wife and childrenout of this Towne within this moneth unlessehee give sufficient security upon the paine of ffivepou~ds.""Similar - ---- orders were made re Nathan Cauliffe, hiswife and three children, Robert Billingham with wifeand two children, Peter ffarrant and his wife, & RogerMarland and wife.Later the record continues, " andyet the said parties are not removed " order wastherefore made " that this order shalbee put inexe~ution."~ Another step in the proceedings isrecorded in the entry. " Whereas James Moores, GeorgeMoores and Adam Warmeingham stand bound untoHenry Wrigling Esq. in L20 for the secureinge theTowne from any poverty or disability which should ormight befall unto the said James, his wife, children, orfamily or any of them. And whereas it appeares thatthe said James Moores hath been Chargeable wherebythe said bond is become forfeit yet this Jury doth givethe said George Moores and Adam Warmeingham this'Somerset Q.S. Rec., Vol. II., p. 292, 1637-8.' Salford Portmote Records, Vol. II., p. rqq, 1655.'Ibid., p. 151, 1656.libtie that the said James shall remove out of this townebefore the next Court Leet."'Fines were exacted from those who harbouredunfortunate strangers without having first givensecurity for them, and no exception was made on thescore of relationship. James Meeke of Myddleton waspresented " for keeping of his daughter Ellen Meeke,having a husband dwelling in another place, and havingtwo children borne forth of the parishe."'Rules made at Steeple Ashton by the Churchwardensdeclare : " There hath much povertie happened untothis p'ish by receiving of strangers to inhabit thereand not first securing them ag7st such contingenciesand avoyding the like occasions in tyme to come,It is ordered by this vestrie that ev'ry p7son or p7sonswhatsoev'r w'ch shall lett or sett any houseinge ordwellinge to any stranger and shall not first give goodsecurite for defending and saving harmeless the saidinhabitants from the future charge as may happenby such stranger comeing to inhabite w'thin the saidp7ish and if any p'son shall doe to the contrary Itsagreed that such p'son soe receiving such stranger shalbe rated to the poor to 20s. monethlie over and abovehis monethlie tax."3The penalties at Reading were higher. " At thisdaye Wm. Porter, th7elder was questioned for harboringea straunger woman, and-a childe, vizt, the wief ofJohn Taplyn ; he worketh at Mr. Ed. Blagrave7sin Early : Confesseth. The woman saith she hathbyn there ever syns Michaellmas last, and payed rentto goodman Porter, xxs a yeare ; her kinsman Faringdondid take the house for them. Wm. Porter wasrequired to paye xs a weeke accordinge to the ordersand was willed to ridd his tenant with all speed upon' Salford Portmote Rec., Vol. II., p. 150.Torks. N.R. Q.S. Rec., Vol. I., p. 170, 1609.Wdts. Notes and Querres, Vol. VII., p. 281, 1664. Chtrrchwarden's Arci. Book.Steeple Asbton.

AGRICULTUREpayne of xs a weeke and to provide suretyes to dischargethe towne of the childe."'The starvation and misery described in QuarterSessions Records were not exceptional calamities, butrepresent the ordinary life of women in the wageearning class. ?'he lives of men were drab andmonotonous, lacking pleasure and consumed byunending toil, but they did not often suffer hunger.The labourer while employed was well fed, for thefarmer did not grudge him food, though he did notwish to feed his family. There was seldom want ofemployment for agricultural labourers, and whentheir homes sank into depths of wretchedness and thewife's attractiveness was lost through slow starvation,the men could depart and begin life anew elsewhere.The full misery of the labourer's lot was only feltby the women; if unencumbered they could havereturned, like the men, to the comfortable conditionsof service, but the cases of mothers who deserted theirchildren are rare.The hardshipssuffered by the women of the wageearningclass proved fatal to their children. GregoryKing estimated that there were on an average only 33persons, including father and mother in a labourer'sfamily though he gives 4.8 as the average number ofchildren for each family in villages and hamlet^.Ânother writer gives 3 persons as the averagenumber for a labourer's family.? The cases of disputedsettlements which are brought before Quarter Sessionsconfirm the substantial truth of these estimates. Itis remarkable that where the father is living seldommore than two or three children are mentioned, oftenonly one, though in cases of widows where the povertyis recent and caused as it were by the accidental effect ofthe husband's premature death, there are often five toten children. In Nottingham, of seventeen families,who had recently come to the town and been taken, inas tenants, and which the Council wanted to ejectfor fear of overcrowding, only one had four children,one three, and the rest only two or one child apiece.'In fact, however large the birth rate may have been,and this we have no means of ascertaining, few childrenin the wage-earning class were reared. Of those whoreached maturity many were crippled in mind orbody, forming a large class of unemployables destinedto be a burthen instead of strength to the community.This appalling loss and suffering was not due to theexcessive work of married women but to their underfeedi3gand bad housing. Probably the womenof the wage-earning class actually accomplished lesswork than the women of the husbandman class ; butthe latter worked under better conditions and werewell nourished, with the result that their sons anddaughters have been the backbone of the Englishnation.The sacrifice of the wage-earners' children wascaused by the mother's starvation ; vainly she gaveher own food to the children for then she was unableto suckle the baby and grew too feeble for her formerwork. Probably she had herself been the daughterof a husbandman and was inured to labour from childhood. " Sent abroad into service and hardship whenbut 10 years old " as Oliver Heywood wrote of afaithful servant, she met the chances which decidea servant's life. The work on farms was rough, butgenerally healthy. At first the child herded the pigsor the geese and followed the harrow and as shegrew older the poultry yard and the cows divided herattention with the housework. Sometimes she wasbrutally treated and often received little training inl Gulldlng, Readrng Records, Vol 11, p. 181, 1624a ang (Greprp) Natural and Polrrrcal Obscrvatrofls and Concluszonr, P. 447 -PP 48-9' Grasrer's Complarnt, p 60.Nottrnxbanr, Records of rbe Borougb of, Vol. IV , pp 31~-5. 1613.

AGRICULTUREher work, but generosity in meat and drink has alwaysbeen characteristic of the English farmer, and duringthe hungry years of adolescence the average girl whowas a servant in husbandry was amply nourished. Thencame marriage. The more provident waited long inthe hope of securing independence, and one of thosedesirable cottages with four acres of land, but tosome the prospect seemed endless and at last theymarried hoping something would turn up ; or perhapsthey were carried away by natural impulses andmarried young without any thought for the future.Such folly was the despair of Churchwardens andOverseers, yet the folly need not seem so surprisingwhen we consider that delay brought the youngpeople no assurance of improvement in their position.Church and State alike taught that it was the dutyof men and women to marry and bring forth children,and if for a large class the organisation of Societymade it impossible for them to rear their children,who is to blame for the fate of those children, theirparents or the community ?After one of these imprudent marriages the husbandsometimes continued to work on a farm as a servant,visiting his wife and children on Sundays and holidays.By this means he, at least, was well fed and wellhoused. The woman with a baby to care for andfeed, could not leave her home every day to work andmust share the children's food. In consequenceshe soon began to practise starvation. Her settlementwas disputed, and therefore her dwelling wasprecarious. Nominally she was transferred on marriageto the parish where her husband was bound as servantfor the term of one year, but the parish objected tothe settlement of a married man lest his childrenbecame a burden on them.No one doubted that it was somebody's duty tocare for the poor, but arrangements for relief werestrictly parochial and the fear of incurring unlimitedAGRICULTUREfuture responsibilities led English parishioners tostrange lengths of cruelty and callousness. The factthat a woman was soon to have a baby, instead ofappealing to their chivalry, seemed to them the bestreason for turning her out of her house and driving herfrom the village, even when a hedge was her onlyrefuge.The once lusty young woman who had formerly donea hard day's work with the men at harvesting wasbroken by this life. It is said of an army that it fightsupon its stomach. These women faced the grimbattle of life, laden with the heavy burden of childbearing,seldom knowing what it meant to haveenough to eat. Is it surprising that courage oftenfailed and they sank into the spiritless, dismal ranksof miserable beings met in the pages of Quarter SessionsRecords, who are constantly being forwarded fromone parish to another.Such women, enfeebled in mind and body, could nothope to earn more than the twopence a day and theirfood which is assessed as the maximum rate for womenworkers in the hay harvest. On the contrary, judgingfrom the account books of the period, they oftenreceived only one penny a day for their labour. Significantof their feebleness is the Norfolk assessmentwhich reads, " Women and such impotent personsthat weed corne, or other such like Labourers 2d withmeate and drinke, 6d without."' Such wages mayhave sufficed for the infirm and old, but they meantstarvation for the woman with a young family dependingon her for food. And what chanceof health andvirtue existed for the children of these enfeebledstarving women ?On the death or desertion of her husband thelabouring woman became wholly dependent on theParish for support.-----p-' Eng Hzst Rev, Vol XIII , p 52289

AGRICULTUREThe conduct of the magistrates in fixing maximumwages at a rate which they knew to be below subsistencelevel seems inexplicable ; is in fact inexplicableuntil it is understood that these wages were neverintended to be sufficient for the support of a family.Statute 31 Eliz. and others, show that the wholeinfluence of the Government and administration wasdirected to prevent the creation of a class of wage-earners.It was an essential feature of Tudor policy to fosterthe Yeomanry, from whose ranks were recruited thedefenders of the realm.Husbandmen were recog-nised as " the body and stay " of the kingdom.' Theymade the best infantry when bred " not in a servileor indigent fashion, but in some free and plentifulmanner."2 If the depopulation of the country-sidewent on unchecked, there would come to pass " amere sollitude and vtter desolation to the whole Realme,furnished only with shepe and shepherdes instead ofgood men ; wheareby it might be a prey to oureenymies that first would sett vppon it."3Probably the consideration of whether a familycould be fed by a labourer's wage, seldom entered theJustices' heads. They wished the family to win itsfood from a croft and regarded the wages as merelysupplementary. The Justices would like to haveexterminated wage-earners, who were an undesirableclass in the community, and they might have succeededas the conditions imposed upon the women madethe rearing of children almost impossible, had noteconomic forces constantly recruited the ranks ofwage-earners from the class above them.The demands of capital however for labour alreadyexceeded the supply available from the ranks ofhusbandmen, and could only be met by the establish-' Lipson, Economic Hist. of England, p. 153.'Bacon, Works, Vol. VI., p. 95.a Lamond (Eliz.) Discottrse of the Common weal, 1581.AGRICULTUREment of a class of persons depending wholly on wages.The strangest feature of the situation was the fact thatthe magistrates who were trying to exterminate wageearnerswere often themselves capitalists creating thedemand.The actual proportion of wage-earners in theseventeenth century can only be guessed at. Thestatement of a contemporary1 that Labourers andCottagers numbered z,oo3,ooo persons, out of a populationof only ~,ooo,ooo must be regarded as anexaggeration ; in any case their distribution was uneven.Complaints are not infrequently brought beforeQuarter Sessions from parishes which say they areburdened with so great a charge of poor that they cannotsupport it ; to other parishes the Justices are sometimesdriven to issue orders on the lines of a warrantcommanding " the Churchwardens of the townes ofScrewton and Aynderby to be more diligent in relievingtheir poore, that the court be not troubled with anyfurther claymours therein."2On the other hand there were many districts wherethe wage earner was hardly known and the authorities,like the Tithing men of Fisherton Delamere couldreport that they " have (thanks to the Almighty Godtheirfor) no popish recusants ; no occasion to levytwelvepence, for none for bear to repair to divine service;no inns or alehouses licensed or unlicensed, no drunkenperson, no unlawful weights or measures, no neglect ofhues and cries, no roads out of repair, no wanderingrogues or idle persons, and no inmates of whom theydesire inf~rmation."~ Or the Constable of Tredingtonwho declared that " the poor are weekly relieved, felonsnone known. Recusants one Bridget Lyne, the' Grasicr's Complaint, p. 60.Torks. N.R. Q.S. Rcc., Vol. I., p. 22-3, 1605.Hist. MSS. Com.Var. Coll.,Vol. I., p, 93. Wilts Q.S. Rec., 1621. A similar detailedreturn war made from the Hundred of Wilton in 1691. Many often return ' omni?bene ' and the like in brief.

AGRICULTUREwife of Thos. Lyne. Tobacco none planted. VagrantsMary How, an Irish woman and her sister were takenand punished according to the Statute and sent awayby pass with a guide towards Ireland in the County ofCork.": or as in another report " We have no bakers oralehouses within our parish. We cannot find by oursearches at night or other time that any rogues orvagabonds are harboured saving Mr. Edward Hall wholodged a poor woman and her daughter. We do notsuffer any vagrants which we see begging in our parishbut we give them punishment according as we ought."'A review of the whole position of women in Agricultureat this time, shows the existence of FamilyIndustry at its best, and of Capitalism at its worst.The smaller farmers and more prosperous husbandmenled a life of industry and independence in which everycapacity of the women, mental, moral and physicalhad scope for development and in which they couldsecure the most favourable conditions for their children-while among capitalistic farmers a tendency canalready be perceived for the women to withdraw fromthe management of business and devote themselvesto pleasure. At the other end of the scale Capitalismfed the man whom it needed for the production ofwealth but made no provision for his children ; andthe married woman, handicapped by her family ties,when she lost the economic position which enabled herthrough Family Industry to support herself and herchildren, became virtually a pauper.Bund (J. W. Willis) Worcestnrbire CO Rec., Vol. I., p. 564, 1634.' Zbid, Vol. I, p. 571, 1634.TEXTILES.(A) Introductory. Historical importance in women's economic development-Predominance of women's labour-Significance in development of ,Industrialism-Lowwages.(R) lYoollen Trade. Historical importance-Proportions of men and womenemployed-Early experiments in factory system abandoned-Declining employmentof women in management and control-Women LVeavers-Burllng-Spinning-Organization of spinning industry-Women who bought wool andsold yarn made more profit than those who worked for wages-Methods ofspinning-Class of women who span for wages-Rates of wages-Disputesbetween spinsters and employers-Demoralisation of seasons of depresslon-Association of men and women in trade disputes.(C) Linen. Chiefly a domestic industry-Introduction of Capitalism-Increaseddemand caused by printlng linens-Attempt to establish a company-Part takrn by women-weaulng-bleaching-spinning-Wages below subslstencelevel-Encouragement of spinning by local authorities to lessen poorrelief-rirmin.(D) Silk. Gold and Silver. Silk formerly a monopoly of gentlewomen-Inseventeenth century virtually one of the pauper trades. Gold and Silverfurnished employment to the poorest class of women-Factory system alreadyIn use.(E) Conclusion.FROM the general economic standpoint, the textileindustries rank second in importance to agricultureduring the seventeenth century, but in the history ofwomen's economic development they hold a positionwhich is quite unique. If the food supply of thecountry depended largely on the work of women inagriculture, their labour was absolutely indispensableto the textile industries, for in all ages and in allcountries spinning has been a monopoly of women.This monopoly is so nearly universal that we maysuspect some physiological inability on the part ofmen to spin a fine even thread at the requisite speed,and spinning forms the greater part of the labour inthe production of hand-made textile fabrics.

94 TEXTILES TEXTILESIt requires some effort of the imagination in thismechanical age to realize the incessant industry whichthe duty of clothing her own family imposed on everywoman, to say nothing of the yarn required for thefamous Woollen Trade. The service rendered bywomen in spinning for the community was comparedby contemporaries to the service rendered by themen who ploughed. " Like men that would lay nohand to the plough, and women that would set nohand to the wheele, deserving the censure of wiseSolomon, Hee that would not labour should not eat."'Textile industries fall into three groups : Woollen,Linen, and Miscellaneous, comprising silk, etc. Cottonis seldom mentioned although imported at this timein small quantities for mixture with linen.The predominance of women's labour in the textiletrades makes their history specially significant intracing the evolution of women's industrial positionunder the influences of capitalism ; for the woollentrade was one of the first fields in which capitalisticorganization achieved conspicuous success.The importance of the woollen trade as a source ofrevenue to the Crown drew to it so much attention thatmany details have been preserved concerning itsdevelopment ; showing with a greater distinctnessthan in other and more obscure trades, the steps bywhich Capitalistic Organization ousted Family Industryand the Domestic Arts. It is surely not altogetheraccidental that Industrialism developed so remarkablyin two trades where the labour of women predominated-in the woollen trade which in the seventeenthcentury was already organized on capitalistic lines, and,one hundred years later, in the cotton trade.Some characteristic features of modern Industrialismwere absent from the woollen trade in the seventeenthcentury. The work of men and women alike was carriedDccloration oftbc Estate of Clothing, p. 2, 1613.on chiefly at home, and thus the employment of marriedwomen and children was unimpeded ; nor are there anysigns of industrial jealousy between men and women,who on the contrary, stand by each other during thisperiod in all trade disputes. Nevertheless, the positionof the woman wage-earner in the textile trades wasextraordinarily bad, and this in spite of the fact thatthe demand for her labour appears nearly always tohave exceeded the supply. The evidence contained inthe following chapter shows that the wages paid towomen in the seventeenth century for spinning linenwere insufficient, and those paid for spinning wool,barely sufficient, for their individual maintenance, andyet out of them women were expected to support, orpartly support, their children.Possibly the persistence of such low wages throughoutthe country was due in a measure to the convenienceof spinning as a tertiary occupation for marriedwomen. She who was employed by day in the intervalsof household duties with her husband's businessor her dairy and garden, could spin through the longwinter evenings when the light was too bad for otherwork. The mechanical character of the movements,and the small demand they make on eye or thought,renders spinning wonderfully adapted to women whoseserious attention is engrossed by the care or trainingof their children. A comparison of spinster's wageswith those of agricultural labourers, which were alsobelow subsistence level, will show however that suchan explanation does not altogether meet the cse.The fact is that far from underselling the spinsters1who were wholly dependent on wages for their living,it seems probable that the women who only span forsale after the needs of their own households had beensupplied, received the highest rates of pav, just as thehusbandman, who only worked occasionaily for wages,' Spinster in the seventrenth century is used in its technical sense and refersequally to women who are married, unmarned or w~dows.

TEXTILESwas paid better than the labourer who worked forthem all the year round, and whose family dependedexclusively on him. Disorganization and lack of bargainingpower, coupled with traditions founded uponan earlier social organization, were responsible for thelow wages of the spinsters. The agricultural labourerwas crippled in his individual efforts for a decent wagebecause society persisted in regarding him as a householdservant. The spinster was handicapped because in asociety which began to assert the individual's right tofreedom, she had from her infancy been trained tosubjection.It must however be remembered that though a largepart of the ensuing chapter is concerned with spinstersand their wages, much, perhaps most, of the threadspun never came into the market, but was produced fordomestic consumption. Thus we find all three formsof industrial organisation existing simultaneously inthese trades-Domestic Industry, Family Industry,and Capitalistic Industry.Domestic Industry lingered especially in the LinenTrade until machinery made the spinning wheelobsolete, and Family Industry was still extensivelypractised in the seventeenth century ; but CapitalisticIndustry, already established in the Woollen Trade,was making rapid inroads on the other branches of theTextile Trades.Although Capitalism undermined the position ofconsiderable economic independence enjoyed bymarried women and widows in the tradesman andfarming classes, possibly its intoduction may haveimproved the position of unmarried women, andothers who were already dependent on wages ; butsuch improvements belong to a later date. Theironly indication in the seventeenth century is the clearlyproved fact that wages for spinning were higher in themore thoroughly capitalistic woollen trade, than in thelinen trade. Further evide'nce is a suggestion by DefoeTEXTILES97that wages for spinning in the woollen trade weredoubled, or even trebled, in the first decade of theeighteenth century, but no sign of this advance canbe detected in our period.(B.) Woollen Trade.The interest of the Government and of all those whostudied financial and economic questions, was focussedupon the Woollen Trade, owing to the fact that itformed one of the chief sources of revenue for theCrown. At the close of the seventeenth centurywoollen goods formed a third of the English exports.'Historically the Woollen Trade has a further importance,due to the part which it played in the developmentof capitalism. The manufacture of woollenmaterials had existed in the remote past as a familyindustry, and even in the twentieth century this methodstill survives in the remoter parts of the British Isles ;but the manufacture of cloth for Foreign trade wasfrom its beginning organized on Capitalistic lines, andthe copious records which have been preserved of itsdevelopment, illustrate the history of Capitalismitself.It was estimated that about one million men, womenand children were exclusir.ely employed in the clothingtrade,-" all have their dependence solely and whollyupon the said Manufacture, without intermixingthemselves in the labours of Hedging, Ditching,Quickretting, and others the works belonging toHusbandry."'In 1612 eight thousand persons, men, women and-p----' Davenant (Inspector-General of Exports and Irnrorts). An account oftbc tradebetween Greate Brztazn, Franre, Holland, Spurn, Portup Italy, Afrrca, Newfoundlandetc. wzth the zmportatzons and exportatzons of all Commodttres, partrcularly of theWoollen Manufactures, deltoered zn hzs reports made to the Commtsszoners for PubltckAccounts. 1715, p. 71. Our general exports for the year 1699 are valued atE6, 788,166, 17s 63d. Whereof the Woollen Manufacture for the same year arevalued at Lr,93z,z9z, 17s. 63d.Prozerb Crossed, p. 8, 1677. See also Case of the Woollen Manufacturers of GreatBrztnrn which states that they are " the subsistance of more than a Million of Poorof both sexes, who are employed there~n."

TEXTILESchildren were said to be employed in the clothingtrade in Tiverton alone.' While giving 933,966 handsas the number properly employed in woollen manufacture,another writer says that women and children(girls and boys) were employed in the proportion ofabout eight to one man.'Such figures must be taken with reserve, for theproportions of men and women employed variedaccording to the quality of the stuff woven, andpamphleteers of the seventeenth century handledfigures with little regard to scientific accuracy.' Butthe uncertainty only refers to the exact proportion ;there can be no doubt that the Woollen Trade dependedchiefly upon women and children for its labour supply.For the student of social organization it is noteworthythat in the two textile trades through whichcapitalism made in England its most striking advances-the woollen trade, and in later years, the cottontrade, the labour of women predominated,-a factwhich suggests obscure actions and reactions betweencapitalism and the economic position of women, worthyof more careful investigation than they have as yetreceived.The woollen trade passed through a period of rapidprogress and development in the sixteenth century. Itwas then that the Clothiers of Wiltshire and Somersetacquired wealth and fame, building as a memorialfor posterity the Tudor houses and churches which' Dunsford. Hist. Tiverton, p. 408.Short Essay upon Trade, p. 18, 1741.' The following estimates were made by different writers : out of 1187 penonssupposed to be employed for one week in making up 1200 Ibs weight of wool, gmare given as spinners. (Wearers True Case, p. 42, 1714.)One pack of short wool finds employment for 63 persons for one week, viz : 28 menand boys : 35 women and girls who are only expected to do the carding and spinning.A similar pack made into stockings would protide work for 82 men and 102 spinnersand if made up for the Spanish trade, a pack of wool would employ 52 men and 250women.(Haynes (John) Great Britain's Glory, p. 6, p. 8. 1715.)TEXTILESstill adorn these counties. Leland, writing of a typicalclothier and his successful enterprises and ambitions,describes at Malmesbury, Wiltshire " a litle chirchjoining to the South side of the Trans~ptum of thabbychirch,. . . Wevers hath now lomes in this litlechirch, but it stondith . . . the hole loggingesof thabbay be now longging to one Stumpe, an excedingriche clothiar that boute them of the king. ThisStumpes sunne hath maried Sir Edward Baynton7sdoughter. This Stumpe was the chef causer andcontributer to have thabbay chirch made a parochchirch. At this present tyme every corner of the vasrehouses of office that belongid to thabbay be fulleof lumbes to weve clooth yn, and this S tumpe entendithto make a stret or 2 for clothier in the bak vacantground of the abbay that is withyn the toune waulles."'There must have been a marked tendency at this timeto bring the wage-earners of the woollen industryunder factory control, for a description which is givenof John Winchcombe's household says that" Within one room being large and longThere stood two hundred Looms full strong,Two hundred men the truth is soWrought in these looms all in a row,By evry one a pretty boySate maklng quills with mickle joy.And in another place hard by,An hundred women merrily,Were carding hard w~th joyf~ll cheerWho singing sate with voices clear.And in a chamher close beside,Two hundred madens d~d ab~de,In petticoats of Stammell red,And m~lk-white kerchers on their head." aThese experiments were discontinued, partly becausethey were discountenanced by the Government, whichconsidered the factory system rendered the wage-earnerstoo dependent on the clothiers ; and also becausethe collection of large numbers of workpeople under one' Leland (John) Itinerary, 1535-1543 ; Part 11, pp. 131-2.%lpson, Econ. IZist. of England, p. 420.

TEXTILESroof provided them with the opportunity for combinationand insubordination.' Moreover the factorysystem was not really advantageous to the manufacturerbefore the introduction of power, because he couldpay lower wages to the women who worked at homethan to those who left their families .in order to workonhis premises. Thus the practice was dropped. In1603 the Wiltshire Quarter Sessions published regulationsto the effect that " Noe Clotheman shallkeepe above one lombe in his house, neither any weaverthat hath a ploughland shall keepe more than onelombe in his house. Noe person or persons shallkeepe any lombe or lombs goeinge in any other houseor houses beside their owne, or mayntayne any to doethe same."2Few references occur to the wives of successfulclothiers or wool-merchants who were actively interestedin their husband's business, though no doubttheir help was often enlisted in the smaller or morestruggling concerns. Thus the names of three widowsare given in a list of eleven persons who were usinghandicrafts at Maidstone. " The better sorte of thesewe take to bee but of meaneability and most of thempoore but by theire trade the poore both of the towneand country adjoyning are ymploied to ~p~nn~ng.:'~A pamphlet published in 1692 describes how informer days " the Clothier that made the cloth, sold itto the merchant, and heard the faults of his owncloth ; and forc'd sometimes not only to promiseamendment himself, but to go home and tell Joan, tohave the Wool better pick'd, and the Yarn betterspun."'A certain Rachel Thiery applied for a monopoly' See Weavers' Act, 1555.' Hirt MSS. Com. Var. Coll., Vol I., p. 75, Wilts. Q.S. Rec., 1603.S S.P.D., cxxix, 45, Ap. 10, 1622, Ret~rrn of the Mayor.' Clotbier's Complaint, etc., p. 7, 1692.TEXTILESin Southampton for the pressing of serges, and havingheard that the suit had been referred by the Queento Sir J. Czsar, the Mayor and Aldermen wrote,July 2, 1599, to let him know how inconvenient thegranting of the suit would be to the town of Southampton.I. Those strangers who have presses already wouldbe ruined.I I. Many of their men servants (English andstrangers) bred up to the trade would be idle.I I I. " The woeman verie poore and beggarlie,altogether unable to performe it in workmanshipp or. . . Againe she is verie idle, a prattlingotherwise.gossipp, unfitt to undertake a matter of so great acharge, her husband a poore man being departedfrom her and cornorant in Rochell these I I yeres at least.She is verie untrustie and approoved to have engagedmens clothes which in times past have beenputt to her for pressinge.Verie insufficient to answerof herself men's goodes and unable to procure anie goodCaution to render the owners there goodes againe,havinge not so much as a howse to putt her head in,insomuch as (marvellinge under what coullour she dothseeke to attaine to a matter of such weight) we . . .should hold them worsse than madd that would hazzardor comitt there goodes into her handes. And toconclude she is generallie held amongest us an unfittwoeman to dwell in a well governed Commonwealth."'An incident showing the wife as virtual manager ofher husband's business is described in a letter fromThomas Cocks of Crowle to Sir Robert Berkely, Kt.:in 1633. He writes complaining of a certain Carelesswho obtained a licence to sell ale " because he was asurgeon and had many patients come to him for help,and found it a great inconvenience for them to go toremote places for their diet and drink, and in that-Lansdowne, 161, fo. 127,znd July, 1599

TEXTILES TEXTILES 103respect obtained a licence with a limitation to sell aleto none but his patients. . . but now of lateespecially he far exceeds his bounds.. . . A poorfellow who professed himself an extraordinary carderand spinner . . . was of late set a work by mywife to card and spin coarse wool for blankets and whenhe had gotten some money for his work to Carelesshe goes." Having got drunk there and coming back inthe early hours of the morning he made such a noisein the churchyard " being near my chamber I wokemy wife who called up all my men to go into thechurchyard and see what the matter was."'That Mrs. Cocks should engage and direct her husband'sworkpeople would not be surprising to seventeenthcentury minds, for women did so naturally infamily industry ; but when capitalized, business tendedto drift away beyond the wife's sphere, and thus eventhen it was unusual to find women connected withthe clothing trade, except as wage-earners.Of the processes involved in making cloth, weavingwas generally done by men, while the spinning, whichwas equally essential to its production, was exclusivelydone by women and children.In earlier days weavin'g had certainly been to someextent a woman's trade. " Webster " which is thefeminine form of the old term " Webber " is used inold documents, and in these women are also specificallynamed as following this trade ; thus on the Suffolk PollTax Roll are entered the names of"John Wros, shepherd.Agneta his wife, webster.Margery, his daughter, webster.Thomas his servant andBeatrice his servant."It appears also that there were women among theweavers who came from abroad to establish the clothmaking in England, for a Statute in 1271 provides thatBund U. W. W.) Worcestershire Recordr, Vol. I., p 530.6' all workers of woollen cloths, male and female,as well of Flanders as of other lands, may safely comeinto our realm there to make cloths . . . upon theunderstanding that those who shall so come and makesuch cloths, shall be quit of toll and tallage, and ofpayment of other customs for their work until the endof five years."'Later however, women were excluded from clothweaving on the ground that their strength was insufficientto work the wide and heavy looms in use ; thusorders were issued for Norwich Worsted Weavers in1511 forbidding women and maids to weave worstedsbecause " thei bee nott of sufficient powre to werkethe said worsteddes as thei owte to be wr~~ght."~Complaint was made in Bristol in 1461 that weavers" puttyn, occupien, and hiren ther wyfes, doughters,and maidens, some to weve in ther owne lombes andsome to hire them to wirche with othour persons ofthe said crafte by the which many and divers of theking's liege people, likely men to do the king servicein his wars and in defence of this his land, and sufficientlylearned in the said craft, goeth vagrant andunoccupied, and may not have their labour to theirliving."'At Kingston upon-Hull, the weavers Compositionin 1490, ordained that " ther shall no woman workein any warke concernyng this occupacon wtin thetowne of Hull, uppon payn of xls. to be devyded informe by fore reher~ed."~A prohibition of this character could not resist theforce of public opinion which upheld the woman'sclaim to continue in her husband's trade. Widow'srights are sustained in the Weaver's OrdinancesRiley. Chronzcles of London, p 142.Tingye, Norwzch Records, Vol II., p, 378.Lzttle Red Book ofBrtstol, Vol. II., p. 127.Lambert, 2000 years of Gzld Lrfe, p. 6.

104 TEXTILESformulated by 25 Charles 11. which declare that " itshall be lawfull for the Widow of any Weaver (whoat the time of his death was a free Burgesse of thesaid Town, and a free Brother of the said Company)to use and occupy the said trade by herselfe, herApprentices and Servants, so long as shee continues aWidow and observeth such Orders as are or shalbemade to be used amongst the Company of Weaverswithin this Town of Kingston upon Hull.'Even when virtually excluded from the weaving of" cloaths " women continued to be habitually employedin the weaving of other materials. A petitionwas presented on their behalf against -an inventionwhich threatened a number with unemployment :" Also wee most humbly desire your worship that youwould have in remembrance that same develishe inventionwhich was invented by strangers and brought intothis land by them, which hath beene the utter overthroweof many poore people which heretofore havelived very well by their handy laboure which nowe areforced to goe a begginge and wilbe the utter Destruccionof the trade of weaving if some speedy coursebe not taken therein. Wee meane those looms withI 2, I 5,20, I 8, 20, 24, shuttles which make tape, ribbon,stript garteringe and the like, which heretofore wasmade by poore aged woemen and children, but nonenowe to be ~eene."~The Rules of the Society of Weavers of the " StuffscaIleci Kiddirminster Stuff es" required that care shouldbe taken to have apprentices " bound accordingto ye Lawes of ye Realme . . . for which theyshall be allowed 2s. 6d and not above,to be payd by himor her that shall procure the same Apprentice to bebound as af~resa~d."~l Lamberbzooo Tears of Gild Life, p. 210.'S.P.D., &, 155, 1621.Burton, J. R., Hist. ofKiddcminrter., p. 175, Bwwgb Ordinances, 1650.TEXTILES 105John Grove W as bound about the year 1655 to " thesaid George and Mary to bee taught and instructedin the trade of a serge-weaver," and a lamentableaccount is given of the inordinate manner in whichthe said Mary did beat him.'It is impossible from the scanty informationavailable to arrive at a final conclusion concerning theposition of women weavers. Clearly an attempt hadbeen made to exclude them from the more highlyskilled branches of the trade, but it is also evident thatthis had not been successful in depriving widows oftheir rights in this respect. Nor does the absence ofinformation concerning women weavers prove thatthey were rarely employed in such work. The divisionof work between women and men was a questionwhich aroused little interest at this time and thereforereferences to the part taken by women are accidental.They may have been extensively engaged in weaving forthey are mentioned as still numerous among the handloomweavers of the nineteenth century.Vnotherprocess in the manufacture of cloth which gave employmentto women was " Burling." The minister andMayor of Westbury presented a petition to the WiltshireQuarter Sessions in 1657 on behalf of certain poorlSomerset Q.S. Rec., Vol. III., pp. 268-9. 1655.' Report of the Commissioners on the condztron of the Handloom Weaoers, 181r xp. 323, Mr. Chapman's report."The young weaver just out of his apprenticeship is perhaps as well able to earnas he will be at any future period setting aside the domestic comforts incidental to themarried state, his pecuniary condition is in the first instance improved by unitinghimself with a woman capable of earning perhaps nearly as much as himself, andperforming for him various offices involving an actual pecuniary saving. Amarried man with an income, the result of the ea~nings of himself and wife of 20s.will enjoy more substantial comfort in every way than he alone would enjoy with anincome of 159. a week. This alone is an inducement to early marriage. In obedienceto this primary inducement the weaver almost invariably marries soon after he isput of his apprenticeship.But the improvemcnt of comfort which marriage brings18 of short duration ; . . About the tenth year the labour of the eldest childbecomes available. . . . Many men have depended on their wives & theirchildren to support themselves by their own earnings, independent of his wages.The wives and children consequently took to the loom, or sought work in thefactoriea ; and now that there is little or no work in the district, the evil is felt,and the husband is obliged to maintain them out of his wages."

TEXTILES TEXTILES'07people who had obtained their living by the " Burlingof broad medley clothes," three of whose daughtershad now been indicted by certain persons desirousto appropriate the said employment to themselves ;they show " that the said employment of Burlinghath not been known to be practised among usas any prentice trade, neither hath any been apprenticeto it as to such, but clothiers have ever putt theyrclothes to Burling to any who would undertake thesame, as they doe theyr woolles to spinning. Also thatthe said imployment of Burling is a common good tothis poore town and parish, conducing to the reliefeof many poore families therein and the setting ofmany poore children on work. And if the said imploymentof Burling should be appropriated by any particularpersons to themselves it would redound much tothe hurt of clothing, and ro the undoing of manypoore families there whoe have theyre cheife mainteynancetherefrom."'It was not however the uncertain part they playedin the processes of weaving, burling or carding, whichconstituted the importance of the woollen trade inregard to women's industrial position. Their employmentin these directions was insignificant comparedwith the unceasing and never satisfied demand whichthe production of yarn made upon their labour. It isimpossible to give any estimate of the quantity of woolspun for domestic purposes. That this was considerableis shown by a recommendation from the Commissionappointed to enquire into the decay of theCloth Trade in 1622, who advise " that huswyvesmay not make cloth to sell agayne, but for the provisionof themselves and their famylie that the clothiersand Drapers be not dis-coraged."'The housewife span both wool and flax for domesticHist. MSS. Corn. Yar. CoU., Vol. I., p. 135, Wilts. Q.S. Rec., 1657.' Report of Commission of Decay of Clothug Trade, 1622, Stowe, 554, fo. @b.use, but this aspect of her industry will be consideredmore fully in connection with the linen trade, attentionhere being concentrated on the condition of thespinsters in the woollen trade.Their organizationvaried widely in different parts of the country. Sometimesthe spinster bought the wool, span it, and thensold the yarn, thus securing all the profit of the transactionfor herself. In other cases she was suppliedwith the wool by the clothier, or a " market spinner "and only received piece wages for her labour. Thesystem in vogue was partly decided by the customof the locality, but there was everywhere atendency to substitute the latter for the formermethod.Statute I. Edwad VI. chap. 6 recites that " thegreatest and almost the whole number of thepoor inhabitants of the county of Norfolk and thecity of Norwich be, and have been heretofore for agreat time maintained and gotten their living, byspinning of the wool growing in the said county ofNorfolk, upon the rock [distaff] into yarn, and by allthe said time have used to have their access to commonmarkets within the said county and city, to buy theirwools, there to be spun as is aforesaid, of certain personscalled retailers of the said wool by eight penny worthand twelve penny worth at one time, or thereabouts,and selling the same again in yam, and have not used tobuy, ne can buy the said wools of the breeders of thesaid wools by such small parcels, as well as for thatthe said breeders of the said wools will not sell theirsaid wools by such small parcels, as also for that themost part of the said poor persons dwell far off fromthe said breeders of the said wools."'During a scarcity of wool the Corporation at Norwichcompelled the butchers to offer their wool fellsexclusively to the spinsters during the morning hours' Jarnec (John) Hut. of Worsted, p. 98.

108 TEXTILES TEXTILES 109until the next sheep-shearing season, so that the tawersand others might not be able to outbid them.'It is suggested that nearly half the yarn used in thegreat clothing counties at the beginning of the seventeenthcentury was produced in this way : " Yarn isweekly broughte into the market by a great number ofpoor people that will not spin to the clothier for smallwages, but have stock enough to set themselves onwork, and do weekly buy their wool in the market byvery small parcels according to their use, and weeklyreturn it in yarn and make good profit, having thebenefit both of their labour and of their mer-chandize and live exceeding well. . . . So manythat it is supposed that more than half the cloth ofWilts., Gloucester and Somersetshire is made bymeans of these yarnmakers and poor clothiers thatdepend wholly on the wool chapman which serves themweekly for wools either for money or c red it."Âpparently this custom by which the spinstersretained in their own hands the merchandize of theirgoods still prevailed in some counties at the beginningof the following century, for it is said in a pamphletwhich was published in 1741 " that poor People, chieflyDay Labourers, . . . . whilst they are employedabroad themselves, get forty or fifty Pounds of Woolat a Time, to employ their Wives and Children at homein Carding and Spinning, of which when they have10 or 20 pounds ready for the Clothier, they go toMarket with it and there sell it, and so return homeas fast as they can. . . the common way the poorwomen in Hampshire, Wiltshire, and Dorretrhire, andI believe in other counties, have of getting to Market(especially in the Winter-time) is, by the Help of someFarmers' Waggons, which carry them and theiryarn ; and as soon as the Farmers have set down theirTingye. Nonuicb, Vol 11. xcvii, 1532.a S.P.D. l xu , 1 3., Jan.1615. General Conditions of Wool and Clotb Trade,corn in the Market, and baited their Horses, they returnhome.. . . During the Time the waggons stop,the poor Women carry their Yarn to the Clothiers forwhom they work ; then they get the few Things theywant, and return to the Inn to be carried home again.. . . Many of them ten or twelve miles . . .there will be in Market time- 3 or 400 poor People(chiefly Women) who will sell their Goods in about anHour."'According to this writer other women worked for the" rich clothier " who " makes his whole year's provisionof wool beforehand . . . in the winter time hasit spun by his own spinsters . . . at the lowestrate for wages," or they worked for the " marketspinner" or middleman who supplied them withwool mixed in the right proportions and sold theiryarn to the clothiers. In either case the return fortheir labour was less than that secured by the spinsterswho had sufficient capital to buy their wool and sellthe yarn in the dearest market. When the Staplerstried to secure a monopoly for selling woo1,the Growersof wool, or Chapmen petitioned in self-defenceexplaining " that the clothier's poor are all servantsworking for small wages that doth but keepe themalive, whereas the number of people required to workup the same amount of wool in the new Drapery ismuch larger. Moreover, all sorts of these peopleare masters in their trade and work for themselves,they buy and sell their materials that they work upon,so that by their merchandize and honest labour theylive very well. These are served of their wools weeklyby the wool-buyer."'Opinion was divided as to whether the spinsterfound it more advantageous to work direct for theClothier or for the Market Spinner. A proposal inRemarks +on Mr. Webber's scbemc, pp. 21-2, 174s.'S.P.D., h., 15-16., Jan, 1615.

I 10 TEXTILES TEXTILES I111693 to put down the middle man, was adirised againstby the Justices of Assize for Wiltshire, on the groundthat it was " likely to cause great reduction of wagesand employment to the spinners and the poor, and aloss to the growers of wool, and no advantage in thequality of t& yarn."The Tustices say in their report : " We finde themarket; spinner &ho setts many spinners on workespinnes not the falce yarn, but the poorer sorte ofpeople (who spinne theyr wool in theyr owne howses)for if the markett spinners who spinne greate quantitysand sell it in the markett should make bad yarne,they should thereby disable themselves to maynetaynetheyre creditt and livelyhood. And that the morespinners there are, the more cloth will be made and thebetter vent for Woolls (which is the staple commodityof the kingdome) and more poor will be set on worke.The markett spinners (as is conceived) are as well to beregulated by the lawe, for any falcity in mixing oftheyr woolles as the Clothier is, who is a great markettspinner himselfe and doth both make and sell as falceyarne as any market spinner . . . We finde themarkett spinner gives better wages than the Clothier,not for that reason the Clothier gives for the falcityof the yarne, but rather in that the markett spinnersvent much of their yarne to those that make thedyed and dressed clothes who give greater prizes thanthe white men do."'The fine yarn used by the Clothiers requiredconsiderable skill in spinning, and the demand for itwas so great in years of expansion that large sumsof money were paid to persons able to teach themysteriesof the craft in a new district. Thus the Earl ofSalisbury made an agreement in 1608 with WalterMorrell that he should instruct fifty persons of theparish of Hatfield, chosen by the Earl of Salisbury, inlS.P.D.,culiii., 23, July 23, 1633.the art of clothing, weaving, etc. He will providework for all these persons to avoid idleness and for theteaching of skill and knowledge in clothing will payfor the work at the current rates, except those who areapprentices. The Earl of Salisbury on his part willallow Walter Morrell a house rent free and will payhim LIOO per annum "for instructing the fifty persons,to be employed in :-the buying of wool, sorting it,picking it, dying it, combing it, both white andmingle colour worsted, weaving and warping andquilling both worsted of all sorts, dressing bothwoollen and stuffes, spinning woollen (wofe andwarpe), spinning all sortes of Kersey both highwheel and low wheel, knitting both woollen andworsted."lA similar agreement is recorded in 1661-2 betweenthe Bailiffs and Burgesses of Aldeburgh and " EdmundBuxton of Stowmarket, for his coming to set up histrade of spinning wool in the town and to employ thepoor therein, paying him Lso-for 5 years and LI~forexpense of removing, with a house rent free and thefreedom of the town."=The finest thread was produced on the distaff, butthis was a slow process, and for commoner workspinning wheels were in habitual use -" There are, to speed their labor, who prefer'. Wheels double spol'd, which yield to either hand" A sev'ral line ; and many, yet adhere" T o th' ancient distaff, at the bosom fix'd," Carting the whirling spindle as they walk."3The demands made on spinning by this ever expandingtrade were supplied from three sources : (I) the wivesof farmtrs and other well to do people, (b) the wives ofhusbandmen and (c) women who depended wholly-'S.P.D., xxxviii., 72, 73, Dec. 1608.'Htst. MSS. Corn. Var. Coll., Vol. IV , p 31 r.a Dyer John., Pbe Rlecce, 1757.

TEXTILESon spinning for their living, and who are thereforecalled here spinsters. The first care of the farmers'wives was to provide woollen stuffs for the use oftheir families, but a certain proportion of their yarnfound its way to the market. The clothiers at Salisburywho made the better grades of cloth were said to" buy their yarn of the finer kinds that come to themarket at from 17d the lb. to 2s. qd, made all of thefiner sortes of our owne Welshire wool, and is spun byfarmers' wives and other of the better sorte of peoplewithin their owne houses, of whose names wee keepdue Register and do write down with what cardes theypromise us their several bundles of yarne are carded, anddo find such people just in what they.tel1 us, or canotherwise controule them when wee see the proofeof our cloth in the mill, . . . and also some veryfew farmers' wives who maie peradventure spinnesometimes a little of those sortes in their own housesand sell the same in the markett and is verie currentwithout mixture of false wool1 grease, etc."'Probably a larger supply of yarn came from thefamilies of husbandmen where wife and childrendevoted themselves to spinning through the longwinter evenings. Children became proficient in theart at an early age, and could often spin a good threadwhen seven or eight years old. This subsidiary employmentwas not sufficient to supply the demand foryarn, and in the clothing counties numbers of womenwere withdrawn from agricultural occupations todepend wholly upon their earnings as spinsters.The demand made by the woollen trade on the labourof children is shown by a report from the Justicesof the Peace of the Boulton Division of the Hundredof Salford, . . . "for appreI +ices there hathbeene few found since our last cer,ificate by reasonof the greate tradeing of fustians and woollen clothl S.P.D., cclxvii , 17, May z, 1634. Certificate from Anth~ny~Wither, Commissioneror reiormation of clothing.TEXTILESwithin the said division, by reason whereof the inhabitantshave continual1 employment for their childrenin spinning and other necessary labour about thesame."'Those who gave out the wool and collected the yarnwere called market spinners, but the qualifying term" market " is sometimes omitted, and when men arereferred to as spinners it may be assumed that they areorganising the work of the spinsters, and not engagedthemselves in the process of ~pinning.~ Though thedemand for yarn generally exceeded the supply, wagesfor spinning remained low throughout the seventeenthcentury. A writer in the first half of the eighteenthcentury who urges the establishment of a nurseryof spinners on the estate of an Irish landlord admitsthat their labour is " of all labour on wools the mostsparingly paid for."3Wages for spinning are mentioned in only three ofthe extant Quarter Sessions' Assessments, and itis not specified whether the material is wool orflax :1654. Devon. 6d. per week with meat and drink,or IS. qd. without them.488. Bucks. Spinners shall not have by the day morethan qd. without meat and drink.1714. Devon. IS. per week with meat and drink,2s. 6d. without them.These rates are confirmed by entries in account' S.P.D., ccclxiv., 122, July, 1637.' Somerset Q.S. Rec., Vol. III., p. 56, 1648. Complaint . . . by . . . lhosChambers, Randall Carde, Dorothy Palmer, Staphen Hodges and Wm. Hurman, personsymployed by Henry Denmeade servant to Mr. Thos. Cooke, Clothier for the spinning ofcerten wool and convertingc it into yarn6 and twzstinge it thereof for the benefitt of the saidMr. Cooke that theire wages for thesame spinninge and twistrnge bad been deteyned fromthem by the said Mr Cookc . . . it is ordered that the said Mr. C. doe forthwithPay to the said 460s. Chambers the some of dowerteene shillings to the said RandallCarde the some of nync shillings and fown pence, to the said Dorothy Palmer tbe some ofeighteen shillings and one penny to the said Stephen Hodges the some of nyne shillingsand four pence and to the said Wm. Human the some ofnync shillings."chcme toprevent the runmug 4f Zrub wwh to France, p. 19.

I 14 TEXTILES TEXTILES 115books,' but it was more usual to pay by the piece.Though it is always more difficult to discover thepossible earnings per day of women who are workingby a piece rate in their own homes, it so happens thatseveral of the writers who discuss labour questionsin the woollen trade specially state that their estimatesof the wages of spinners are based on full time.John Haynes quoted figures in I 71 g which work out atnearly IS. 6d. per week for the spinners ofwool into stuffsfor the Spanish Trade, and about 2s. I d. for stockings,'another pamphlet gives 24s. as the wages of9 spinsters for a week,3 while in 1763 the author ofthe "Golden Fleece" quotes 2s. gd. a week forSpanish Another pamphlet says that thewages in the fine woollen trade " being chieflywomen and children, may amount, one with anotherto L6 per ann~m."~ A petition from the weavers,undated, but evidently presented during a season ofbad trade, declares that " there are not less than aMillion of poor unhappy wbjects, aloman and childrenonly, who . . are employed in Spinning Yarnfor the Woollen Manufacturers ; Thousands -of thesehave now no work at all, and all of them have sufferedan Abatement of Wages ; so that now a Poor Woman,perhaps a Mother of many Children, must work-veryhard to gain Three Pence or Three Pence Farthing perDay."'l(Hoeoard Household Book, p. 63, 1613.) " Widow Grame for spinning ij stone and5' of wool1 vjs. To the wench that brought it iijd To Ellen for winding yarn iijweekes xviijd.(Fell, Sarah; Household Accounts, Nov. 28, 1677, p. 439.) Pd. Agnes Holme ofHawxhead for spininge woole here 7 weeks 02.04Haynes, Great Britain's Glory, pp. 8, 9.Weavers' True Case, p. 43, 1719.James, John, Hisv of the Worsted Manufacture, p. 239.Further considerations for encouraging the FFoollen Manufactures.Second Humble Address from tbe Poor Weavers.Though these wages provided no margin for thesupport of children, or other dependants, 'it was*ossible for a woman who could spin the better qualityyarns to maintain herself in independence.John Evelyn describes " a maiden of primitivelife, the daughter of a poore labouring man, who hadsustain'd her parents (some time since dead) by herlabour, and has for many years refus'd marriage, or toreceive any assistance from, the parish, besides ye littlehermitage my lady gives her rent free : she lives onfourepence a day, which she gets by spinning ; says sheabounds and can give almes to others, living in greatehumility and content, without any apparent affectationor singularity ; she is continualy working, praying,or reading, gives a good account of her knowledge inreligion, vlsites the sick ; is not in the least given totalke ; very modest, of a simple not unseemly behaviour,of a comely countenance, clad very plaine,but cleane and tight. In sum she appeares a saintof an extraordinary sort, in so religious a life as isseldom met with in villages now-a-daies."'It is probable that thk wages for spinning wereadvanced soon after this date, for Defoe writes in1728 that " the rate for spinning, weaving and all otherManufactory-work, I mean in Wool, is so risen, thatthe Poor all over England can now earn or gain neartwice as much in a Day, and in some Places, morethan twice as much as they could get for the same worktwo or three Years ago . . . the poor fiomen nowget ~zd. to 15d. a Day for spinning, the men more inproportion, and are full of work."' " The Wenches. . . . wont go to service at 12d. or 18d. a weekwhile they can get 7s. to 8s. a Week at spinning ; theMen won't drudge at the Plow and Cart &C., and perhapsget L6 a year . . . . when they can sit' Evelyn (John) Diary, Vol. III., p. 7, 1685' Defoe, Bebaoiour, p. 83.

TEXTILESstill and dry within Doors, and get 9s. or 10s. aWeek at Wool-combing or at Carding.' " Wouldthe poor Maid-Servants who choose rather to spin,while they can gain 9s. per Week by their Labourthan go to Service at I 2d. a week to the Farmers Housesas before ; I say would they sit close to their work,live near and close, as labouring and poor People oughtto do, and by their Frugality lay up six or sevenshillings per Week, none could object or blame themfor their Choice.02 Defoe's statement as to the highrate of wages for spinning is supported by an accountof the workhouse at Colchester where the children's" Work is Carding & Spinning Wool for the Baymakers; some of them will earn 6d. or 7d. a Day.""But there is no sign of these higher wages in theseventeenth century.Continual recriminations took place betweenclothiers and spinsters, who accused one anotherof dishonesty in their dealings. A petition of theWorsted Weavers of Norwich and Norfolk, and theBayes and Sayes makers of Essex and Suffolk, to theCouncil proposes : " That no spinster shall winde orreele theire parne upon shorter reeles (nor fewerthriddes) than have bene accustomed, nor ymbessellaway their masters' goodes to be punished by thenext Justices of the Pea~e."~And again in 1622 the Justices of the Peace ofEssex inform the Council : " Moreover wee understandthat the clothiers who put forthe their woolleto spinne doe much complaine of the spinstersthat they use great deceit by reason they doe wynde theiryarne into knottes upon shorter reeles and' fewerthreedes by a fifth part than hath beene accustomed.l Defoe, Bcbaviour, pp. 84-5.' Ibid, p. 88.a Acr. ofseveral Workboures, p. 59, 1725.' S.P.D., civ. 97, 1618. Petition for regulation.TEXTILES"7The which reeles ought to be two yardes about andthe knottes to containe fowerscore threedes apeece."lOn the other hand in Wiltshire the weavers , S p i nnersand others complained that they " are not able bytheir diligent labours to gett their livinges, by reasonthat the Clothiers at their will have made their workesextreme hard, and abated wages what they please. Andsome of them make such their workfolkes to doe theirhoushold businesses, to trudge in their errands, spooletheir chains, twist their list, doe everv commandwithout giving them bread, drinke or money for manydays labour^."^Report was made to the Council in 1631-2 that thereele-staffe in the Eastern Counties " was enlarged bya fift or sixt part longer than have bene accustomed andthe poores wages never the more encreased." Whereuponthe magistrates in Cambridge agreed " that allspinsters shall have for the spinning and reeling of sixduble knots on the duble reele or 12 on the singlereele, a penny, which is more by 2d. in the shilling thanthey have had, and all labourers and other artificershave the like increase. Essex and Suffolk are readyto make the same increase provided that the samereel and rate of increase is used in all other countieswhere the trade of clothing and yarn-making is made,otherwise one county will undersell another to theruin of the clothiers and the poor dependent on them.Therefore the Council order that a proportionalincrease of wages is paid according to the increase ofthe reel and the officers employed for keeping aconsta~lt reel to give their accounts to the Justices ofthe Assi~e."~Other complaints were made of clothiers whoforced their work-people to take goods instead of'S.P.D., m,, 65, May 13, 1662.h. MSS. Corn. Tar. M,, Vol., I., p. 94, Wilts.Q.S. Rer., 1623.a~ormcil Register, 2nd March, 1631-2.

118 TEXTILES TEXTILES 119money in payment of wages. At Southampton in1666 thirty-two clothiers, beginning with JosephDelamot, Alderman, were presented for forcing theirspinners " to take goods for their work whereby thepoor were much wronged, being contrary to the statute,for all which they were amerced severally." Therecords however do not state that the fine was exacted.'Low as were the spinster's wages even in seasons ofprosperity, they, in common with the better paidweavers endured the seasons of depression, which werecharacteristic of the woollen industry. The Englishcommunity was as helpless before a period of tradedepression as before a season of drought or flood.Employment ceased, the masters who had no sale fortheir goods, gave out no material to their workers,and men and women alike, who were without land as aresource in this time of need, were faced with starvationand de~pair.~ The utmost social demoralisationensued, and family life with all its valuabletraditions was in many cases destroyed.Complaints from the clothing counties state" That the Poor's Rates are doubled, and in somePlaces trebbled by the Multitude of Poor Perishing andStarving Women and Children being come to theParishes, while their Husbands and Fathers not ableto dear the cries which they could not relieve, are fledinto France . . . to seek their Bread."aThese conditions caused grave anxiety to theDavies U. S.) Southampton, p. 272.B A report to the council from the High Sheriff of Somerset says : " Yet I thinckeit my duty to acquaynt your Lordshipps that there are such a multytude of poorscottages builte upon the highwaies and odd corners in every countrie parishewithin this countye, and soe stufte with poore people that in many of those parishesthere are three or fower hundred poore of men and women and children that did gettmost of their lyvinge by spinnyng, carding and such imployments aboute wooll andcloath. And the deadness of that trade and want of money is such that they are forthe - - -- most -. narte without worke, and knowe not how to live. This isa great grievanceamongst and tendeth much to mutinye."(S.P.D., cxxx , 73, May 14, 1622, High Sheriff of Somereershire to the Coundl.)a Second Humble Addrcsr from the poor Weavers.Government who attempted to force the clothiersto provide for their work-people.'Locke reported to Carleton, Feb. 16th, 1622 : '' Inthe cloathing counties there have bin lately somepoore- people (such chieflie as gott their living byworking to Clothiers) that have gathered themselvestogether by Fourty or Fifty in a company and goneto the houses of those they thought fittest to relievethem for meate and money which hath bin given moreof feare than charitie. And they have taken meateopenly in the markett without paying for it. TheLords have written letters to ten Counties wherecloathing is most used, that the Clothier, shall not putoff his workemen without acquainting the Councill,signifying that order is taken for the buying off theircloathes, and that the wooll grower shall afford themhis wooll better cheape but yet the cloathiers stillcomplaine that they can not sefi their cloath in Black-well Hall. . . .792The Justices of Assize for Gloucester reportedMarch 13, 1622, that they have interviewed theClothiers who have heen forced to put down loomsthrough the want of sale for their cloth. The Clothiersmaintain that this is due to the regulations and practicesof the Company of Merchant Adventurers. Theysay that they, the Clothiers, have been working at aloss since the deadness of trade about a year ago,66 their stocks and credits are out in cloth lying upontheir hands unsold, and that albeit they have boughttheir wcdlles at very moderate prices, being such as dovery much impoverish the grower, yet they cannot sell' The Council ordered the Justices of the Peace for the counties of Wilts, SomersetDorset, Devon, Glocester, Worcester, Oxford, Kent and Suffolk, to summonclothiers and " deale effectually with them for the employment af such weavers,upinners anb other persons, ns ire now out of work. . . . . We may not in?t,rethat the cloathiero . . . should ntt their pleasure, and without giving L-nowledgethereof unto this Boardr, dismisse their workefolkes, who being many in numberand most a~f them of the po xer sprt are in s11ch casea l~kely by their clamo-.r to disturbthe quiet and government of thse partes wherein they live." (C.R., 9th Feb., 1621-2.)'S.F.D, ~xxvii , 102, Feb. 16, 1622.

120 TEXTILES TEXTILESthe cloth made thereof but to their intolerable losses,and are enforced to pawne theire clothes to keepetheire people in work, which they are not able toindure. . . . that there are at the least 1500loomes within the County of Gloucester and in . .. the Citie and that xxs. in money and sixteeneworking persons and upwards doe but weekly mainteyneone loome, which doe require I 5ooli. in money,by the weeke to mainteyne in that trade 24000 workingpeople besides all others that are reieeved thereby,and so the wages of a labouring person is little abovexiid. the week being much too little."'In June of the same year the Justices of Gloucesterwrote to the Council : " The distress of those dependingon the Cloth trade grows worse and worse. OurCounty is thereby and through want of money andmeans in these late tymes growne poore, and unableto releeve the infynite nomber of poore peopleresidinge within the same (draane hither by meanesof clothing) . . . therefore very many of themdoe wander, begg and steale and are in case to starveas their faces (to our great greefes) doe manifest. . . .The peace is in danger of being broken."'The distress was not limited to the rurd districts ;the records of the Borough of Reading describe effortsmade there for its alleviation. " At this daye thecomplainte of the poore Spynners and Carders wasagayne heard etc. The Overseers and Cldthiersapoynted to provide and assigne them worke apearedand shewed their dilligence therein, yett the complaintfor lacke of worke increaseth ; for a remedye is agreedto be thus, viz : every Clothier according to his pro-. . .shall weekly assigne and put to spyn-portion ofning in the towne his ordinarye and course wooffewooll, and shall not send it unto the country and if1 s.P.D., CUVL ,49, March 13> 1622.s.P.D., cxxxi., 4., June 1, 1622.I21sufficient be in the towne to doe it1." At anothertime it is recorded that " In regard of the greatof divers poore people lackinge worke andemployment in spynninge and cardinge in this Towne,yt was this daye thought fitt to convent all the undertakersof the stocke given by Mr. Kendricke, and uppontheir appearaunce it was ordered, and by themselvesagreed, that every undertaker, for every 3001i. shallput a woowf a weeke to spyninge within the Towne,as Mr. Mayour shall apoynt, and to such spynners asMr. Mayour shall send to them2 . . . 7 7In these times of distress and in all disputes concerningwages and the exactions of the employers,men and women stood together, supporting each otherin their efforts for the improvement of their lot.Thus the Justices of the Peace of Devonshire reportedthat " complaints were made by the most parte ofthe clothiers weavers, spinsters and fullers betweenPlymouth and Teignm~uth."~. and the Council isinformed that at the last Quarter Sessions in Wilts,many " weavers, spinners, and fullers for themselvesand for manie hundreds more. . . complainedof distress by increasing want of work. . .Clothiers giving up their trade, etc."'Sometimes the petitions, though presented on behalfof spinners as well as weavers, were actually signedonly by men. This was the case with the Weavers,Fullers and Spinners of Leonard Stanley and KingStanley in Gloucestershire, who petitioned on behalfof themselves and others, 800 at the least, young andold, of the said parishes, " Whereas your poore petitionershave heretofore bene well wrought and implayedin our sayd occupations belonging to the trade of\'Guilding, Reading, Vol. II., p. 159, 1623.'16id, Vol. III., p. 7, Mar. 3, 1629-30.a S.P.D.,xcvii., 85, May 25, 1618. J.P.s of Devonshire to Council.cm., 20, May 11, 1620. J.P.s of Wiltsllire to Council.

122 TEXTILES TEXTILES 123clothing whereby we were able in some poore measureand at a very lowe rate to maintaine ourselves andfamilies soe as hitherto they have not suffered anyextreme want. But now soe it is that we arelikely for the time to come 'never to be imployedagaine in our callinges and to have out trades becomenoe trades, whereunto we have bene -trained up andserved as apprentices according to the lawe, andwherein we have always spent our whole time and arenow unfitt for . . . other occupations, neithercan we be received into worke by any clothiers in thewhole countrey."'At other times women took the lead in demandingthe redress of grievances from which all were suffering.When the case of the say-makers abating the wages ofthe spinsters, weavers and combers of Sudbury wasexamined by the Justices, the Saymakers alleged thatall others did the same, but that they were content togive the wages paid by them if these were extended byproclamation or otherwise throughout the kingdom." But if the order is not general it will be theirundoing . . ." Whereupon the Justices orderedthe Saymakers to pay spinsters " for every seavenknottes one penny, the reel whereon the yarne isreeled to be a yard in length-nolonger," and to payweavers " 12d. a lb. for weaving thereof for whitesayes under 5 lbs. weight."'Shortly afterwards the Council received a etitionfrom the Mayor asking to be heard by the Eouncilor Commissioners to answer the complaint madeagainst them. " by Silvia Harber widow set on workeby Richard Skinnir of Sudbury gent . . . forabridging and wronging of the spinsters and weaversof the said borough in their wages and for some otherwrongs supposed to bee done to the said Silvia Harber,"'S.P.D., ccxliv, I. Aug. I, 1633.' S.P.D., clxxxix., 40, Ap. 27, 1631. J.P.8 of Essex to Council.followed by an an affidavit stating " Wee whosenames are hereunder written doe testifye as followethwith our severell handes to our testification.r. That one Silvia Harber of our Towne of Sudburycornonly called Luce Harbor did say that shee had neverundertaken to peticion the Lordes of the Counsel1in the Behalfe of the Spinsters of Sudbury aforesaidbut by the inducement of Richard Skinner gentlemanof the Towne aforesaid who sent for her twoe or threetimes before shee would goe unto him for thatpurpose, and when shee came to him hee sent her toLondon and bare her charges. Witness, Daniel BiatClement Shelle~.2. That having conference with Richard Skinneraforesaid Gentleman, hee did confesse that hee wouldnever have made any stir of complaint against thesaymakers in behalf of weavers and spinsters, but thatone Thomas Woodes of the towne abovesaid hadgiven him Distaystfull wordes." Witness, VincentC0cke.lNo organisation appears to have been formed bythe wage-earners in the woollen Trade. Theirdemonstrations against employers were as yet localand sporadic. The very nature of their industryand the requirements of its capitalistic organisationwould have rendered abortive on their part the attemptto raise wages by restricting the numbers of personsadmitted into the trade; but the co-operation in tradedisputes between the men and women engaged in thisindustry, forms a marked contrast to the conditionswhich were now beginning to prevail in the apprenticetrades and which will be described later. Though"itbout immediate result in the woollen trade, it maybe assumed that it was this habit of standing shoulderto shoulder, regardless of sex jealousy, which ensuredthat when Industrialism attained a further development' S.P.D., cxcvii., 72, July, 1631. Affidavit about Saymakers in County of Suffolk.

124TEXTILES TEXTILESin the closely allied cotton trade, the union which wasthen called into being embraced men and women onalmost equal terms.The broad outline of the position of women in thewoollen trade as it was established in the seventeenthcentury shows them taking little, if any, part in themanagement of the large and profitable undertakingsof Clothiers and Wool-merchants. Their industrialposition was that of wage-earners, and though thedemand for their labour generally exceeded the supply,yet the wages they received were barely sufficient fortheir individual maintenance, regardless of the fact thatin most cases they were wholly or partly supportingchildren or other dependants.The higher rates of pay for spinning appear to havebeen secured by the women who did not dependwholly upon it for their living, but could buywool, spin it at their leisure, and sell the yarn in thedearest market ; while those who worked all theyear round for clothiers or middlemen, were oftenbeaten down in their wages and were subject toexactions and oppression.C. Linen.While the woollen trade had for centuries been developingunder the direction of capitalism, it was onlyin the seventeenth centuiy tbat this influence beginsto show itself in the production of linen. Following theexample of the clothiers, attempts were then made tomanufacture linen on a large scale.For example,Celia Fiennes describes Malton as a " pretty largetown built of Stone but poor; . . . there was cneMr. Paumes that marry'd a relation of mine, LordEwers' Coeheiress who is landlady of almost all yetown. She has a pretty house in the place. There isthe ruins of a very great house wWh belonged to yefamily but they not agreeing about it Caused ye defaceingof it. She now makes use of ye roornes off yeout-buildings and gate house for weaving and Linningcloth, haveing set up a manuffactory for Linnen wh&does Employ many poor people."'In spite of such innovations the production of linenretained for the most part its character as one of the" yet left of that innocent old world." Thehousewife, assisted by servants and children span flaxand hemp for household linen, underclothes, children'sfrocks and other purposes, and then took her threadto the local weaver who wove it to her order. ThusRichard Stapley, Gent., enters in his Diary: " Aweaver fetched 11 pounds of flaxen yarn to make abedticke ; 2nd he brought me ten yds of ticking forye bed, 3 yds and $ of narrow ticking for ye bolster& for ye weaving of which I paid him 10s. and yeflax cost 8d. per pound. My mother spun it for me,and I had it made into a bed 'by John Dennit, a tailor,of Twineham for 8d. on Wednesday, July 18th, and itwas filled on Saturday, August 4th by Jonas Humphreyof Twineham for 6d. The weavcr brought it homeJuly 6th.' Similarly Sarah Fell enters in her Householdbook : " Nov. 18th, 1675, by m". pd. Geo. Bellweaver for workeinge 32 : ells of hempe tow cloth ofMothrs. at Id+ ell. ooo.04.00 "3By the industry and foresight of its female membersthe ordinary household was supplied with all itsnecessary linen without any need for entering themarket, the expenses of middlemen and salesmen beingso avoided. Nevertheless, it is evident that a considerablesale for linen had always existed, for the linendrapers were an important corporation in manytowns. This sale was increased through aninventi~nmade about the middle of the century : By printingpatterns on linen a material was produced which' Fiennes (Celia) p. 74.Pbrougb England on a S&-saddle.'Suss Arch. Col1 , Vol. I1 ,p. rzr. Extracts frmtbeDaaryofRicbard Stapley, Gent.,1682-1~2%a ell (Sarah) Hmuebold Accts., p. 233.

126 TEXTILES TEXTILESclosely imitated the costly muslins, or calicoes asthey were then called, imported from India ; but atso reasonable a price that they were within the reach ofa servant's purse. Servants were therefore able to goout in dresses scarcely distinguishable from theirmistresses', and the sale of woollen and silk goods wasseriously affected. The woollen trade became alarmed ;riots took place ; weavers assaulted women who werewearing printed linens in the streets, and finally,Parliament, always tender to the woollen trade,which furnished so large a part of the national revenue,prohibited their use altogether. The linen printersrecognising that " the Reason why the English Manufactureof linnen is not so much taken notice of as theScotch or Irish, is this, the Englzsh is mostly consumedin the Country, . . . whereas the Scotch and Irishmust come by sea and make a Figure at our custom'shouse,"' urged in their defence that " the linensprinted are chiefly the Growth and Manufacture ofNorth Britain pay gd. per Yard to the Crown, . . .and Employ so many Thousands of British poor, aswill undoubtedly entitle them to the Care of a BritishParliament.""But even this argument was unavailing against thepolitical influence of the woollen trade. The spiritof the time favouring the spread of capitalistic enterprisefrom the woollen trade into other fields of action,an attempt was now made to form a Linen Company.Pamphlets written for and against this project furnishmany details of the conditions then prevailingin the manufacture of linen. " How," it was said,will the establishment of a Linnen Company "affectthe Kingdom in the two Pillars that support it, thatof the Rents of Land and the imploying our Shipsand Men at Sea, which are thought the Walls of the1 Case of Brrtzsb and Zrrrb Manujacturc of Lznncn.Case of tbe Lznen Drapers.Nation.127For the Rents of Land they must certainlvfall, for that one Acre of Flax will inlploy as manyHands the year round, as the Wool1 of Sheep thatgraze twenty Acres of Ground. The Linnen Manufactoryimploys few men, the Woollen most, Weaving,Combing, Dressing, Shearing, Dying, etc. These Eatand Drink more than Women and Children ; and soas the Land that the Sheep gaze on raiseth the Rent.so will the Arable and Pasture that bears Corn, andbreeds Cattle for their Subsistence. Then for theEmployment of our Shipping, it will never be pretendedthatwe can arrive to Exportation of Linnen ; thereare others and too many before us in that. . . . ThatProjectors and ourt tiers shoulil be inspired withNew Lights, and out of love to the Nation, createnew Methods in Trades, that none before found out ;and bp inclosing Commons the Liberty of Trade intoShares, in the first place for themselves, and then forsuch others as will pay for both, is, I must confess,to me, a Mystery I desire to be a Stranger unto . . .The very Name of a Company and Joint-Stock inTrade, is a spell to drive away, and keep out of thatplace where they reside, all men of Industry. . . .The great motive to Labour and Incouragement ofTrade, is an equal Freedom, and that none may besecluded from the delightful Walks of Liberty . . .a Subjection in Mnnufactories where a People areobliged to one Master, rho' they hale the full Valueof their Labour, is not pleasing, they think themselvesin perpetual Servitude, and so it is obserk ed in I?rlnnd,where the 1rt.h made a Trade of Linnen Yarn, noMan could ingage them, hut thev would go to theMarket and be better satisfied with a less price, thanto be obliged to one master. . . . There wasmuch more Reason for a Company and Joint-stock'0 set up the Woollen Manufa~tor~, in that ignorantAge, than there is for this of the Linnen Manufactorv ;that of the Woollen was a new Art not known in this

TEXTILESKingdom, it required a great Stock to manage, therewas required Foreign as well as Native Commoditiesto carry it on. . . . and when the Manufactorywas made, there must be Skill and Interest abroad tointroduce the Commodity where others had the Tradebefore them ; but there is nothing of all this in theLinnen Manufactory ; Nature seems to design itfor the weaker Sex. The best of Linnen for Serviceis called House Wife's Cloth, here then is no needof the Broad Seal, or Joint-Stock to establish theMethods for the good Wife's weeding her Flax-garden,or how soon her Maid shall sit to her Wheel afterwashing her Dishes ; the good Woman is Lady ofthe Soil, and holds a Court within herself, throwsthe Seed into the Ground, and works it till she bringsit there again, I mean her Web to the bleachingGround.. . . To appropriate this which thepoorest Family may by Labour arrive unto, that is,finish and bring to Market a Piece of Cloth, to meseems an irfallible Expedient to discourage univhsalIndustry, . . . . The Linnen Manufactory aboveany Trade I know, if (which I must confess I doubt)it be for the Good of the Nation, requires more Charitythan Grandeur to carry it on, the poor Spinner comesas often to her Master for Charity to a sick Child, ora Plaister for a Sore, as for Wages ; and this she cannothave of a Company, but rather less for her labour,when they have beat all private Undertakers out.These poor Spinners can now come to their Master'sDoors at a good time, and eat of their good tho' poormaster's Chear ; they can reason with him, if anymistake, or hardship be put upon them, and thispoor People love to do, and not be at the Dispose ofServants, as they must be where their Access can onlybe by Doorkeepers, Clerks, etc., to the Governorsof the Company."'A* Linnen uld Woollen Manufactory, p. 4-8,1691.TEXTILES129On the other side it was urged that " All the Argumentsthat can be offer'd for Encouraging the woollenmanufacture in England conclude as strongly in proportionfor Enc~uraging the linnen manufacture inScotland. 'Tis the ancient Staple Commodity there,as the Woollen is here."'The part taken by women in the production oflinen resembled their share in woollen manufactures.Some were weavers ; thus Oliver Heywood says thathis brother-in-law, who afterwards traded in fustians,was brought up in Halifax with Elizabeth Roberts,a linen ~eaver.~ Entries in the Foulis Account Bookshow that they were sometimes employed in bleachingbut spinning was the only process which dependedexclusively on their labour.The rates of pay for spinning flax and hemp wereeven lower than those for spinning wool. Fit~herbertexpressly says that in his time no woman couldget her living by spinning linen.3 The marketprice was of little moment to well-to-do womenwho span thread for their family's use and whovalued the product of their labour by its utilityand not by its return in money value ; but the womenwho depended on spinning for their living werevirtually paupers, as is shown by the terms in wllichreference is made to them :--" shee beeinge very poore,gettinge her livinge by spinninge and in the natureof a wiclowe, her husband beeinge in the service ofHis Majesty."*Yet the demand for varn and thread was so greatthat if spinners had bien paid a living wage therewould have been scarcely any need for poor relief.The relation between low wages and pauperism washardly even suspected at this time, and though the--True case of the Scots Lznen i2ianufacture.' iIeytvood (Rev. Oliver) Autobzography, Vol. I , p. 36..'lnte, p. 43.S.P.D., cccclvii., 3. Juoe 13, 1640.

1 30TEXTILESspinsters' maximum wages were settled at QuarterSessions, no effort was made to raise them to a subsistencelevel Instead of attempting to do so ParishAuthorities accepted pauperism as "the act of God,"andconcentrated their attention on the task of reducingrates as far as possible by forcing the pauper womenand children, who had become impotent or viciousthrough neglect and underfeeding, to spin the threadneeded by the community. Schemes for thispurpose were started all over the country; a fewexamples will show their general scope. At Nottinghamit was arranged for Robert Hassard to "Receave porechildren to the number of viij. or more, . . and tohaue the benefitt of theire workes and labours forthe first Moneth, and the towne to allowe him towardstheir dyett, for everie one xijd. a Weeke, and theireparents to fynde them lodginge ; and Robert Hassardto be careful1 to teache and instructe them speedylyin the spyninge and workinge heare, to be fitt to makeheare-cloth, and allsoe in cardinge and spyninge ofhards to make candle weeke, and hee to geue themcorreccioa, when need ys, and the greate wheelesto be called in, and to be delivered for the vse ofthese ymployments.'A few years later in the scheme " for setting thepoore on worke " the following rates of pay wereestiblished :--6d. per pound for cardinge and spinning finest wool.d. , ,, for ye second sort.4d.ob. (= oholus,%d.) for ye third sorte.d. per Ley [skein] for ye onely spinninge all sorterof linen, the reele beeing 4 yards.ob per pound for cardinge candleweake.~ d *,, ,? for pulling midling [coarser part] outof It.rd. ,, ,, for spininge candleweake.'l Nottqham Records, Vol. V., pp. 174-5, 1636.Ibtd, pp. 259-60, 161.9.TEXTILESOrders for the Workhouse at Westminster in 1560,read that " old Women or middle-Aged that mightwork, and went a Gooding, should be Hatchilers ofthe Flax ; and one Matron over them. That commonHedges, and such-like lusty naughty Packs, should beset to spinning ; and one according to be set overthem. Children that were above Six and not twelveYears oi Age should be sent to winde Quills tothe Weavers."'At a later date in London " Besides the relievingand educating of poor friendless harborless childrenin Learning and in Arts, many hundreds of poorFamilies are imployed and relieved by the said Corporationin the Manufactory of Spinning and Weaving :and whosoever doth repair either to the Wardrobenear Black-friars, or to Heiden-house in the Minories,may have materials of Flax, Hemp, or Towe to spinat their own houses. . . . leaving so much moneyas the said materials cost, until it be brought againin Yarn ; at which time they shall receive money fortheir work. . . . every one is paid according tothe fineness or coarseness of the Yarn they spin. . .so that none are necessitated to live idly that aredesirous or willing to work. And it is to be wishedand desired, that the Magistrates of this city wouldassist this Corporation.. . . in supressing ofVagrants and common Beggars . . . that so aboundto the hindrance of the Charity of many pious peopletowards this good work."2The Cowden overseers carried out a scheme ofwork for the poor from 1600 to 1627, buying flaxand having it spun and woven into canvas. The workgenerallv paid for itself ; only one year is a loss of7s. 8d. entered, and during the first seventeen yearsthe amount expended early in cash and relief did' Stow, London, Book VI., p. 60.'~oor Out-cast Cbzldrm's Song and Cry.

132 TEXTILES TEXTILESnot exceedl6 11s. rising then in 1620 to L28 5s. IO~.,aftet which it fell again. The scheme was finallyabandoned in 1627, the relief immediately rising toL43 7s. 6d.lRichard Dunning describes how in Devon " forEmploying Women, . . . We agreed with one Person,who usually Employed several Spinrtcrs, . . . hewas to employ in Spinning, Carding, etc., all suchWomen as bv direction of the Overseers should applyto him for work, to pay them such Wages as theyshould de~erve."~" Mary Harrison, daughter of Henry Harrison, wascomited to the hospital1 at Reading to be taught tospyn and earne her livinge."' Similarly at Dor-chester " Sarah Handcock of this Borough havingthis day been complayned of for her disorderlycarriage and scolding in the work house . . . .. . . . among the spinsters, is now ordered tocome no more to the work house to work there,but is to work elsewhere and follow her work, orto be further delt withal1 according to thela~e."~At Dorchester a school was maintained for someyears in which poor children were taught spinning :"This day John Tarrenton . . . . is agreedwithall to vndertake charge and to be master of theHospitall to employ halfe the children at presentat burlinge,' and afterwards the others as they arewilling and able, To have the howse and Tenne perannum : wages for the presente, and yf all the Childrencome into burlinge, and ther be no need of the womenthat doe now teach them to spinne, then the Towne1 Sus. Arch. Call., Vol. xx., pp. 99-roo, Acct. Book of Cowdon.Dunning, Plain and Easie Method, p. 8, 1686.Guilding, Readrng, Vol. II., p. 294.Mayo (C.H) Municipal Records of Dorcbestez, p. 667, 1635.To burl, " to dress cloth as fullers do."to consyder of Tarrington to giue him either partor all, that is ix pownd, the women now hath.' . . .Another entry, February 3rd, 1641-5, records thatMr. Speering doth agree to provide spinning workfor such poore persons that shall spin with thoseturnes as are now there [in the hospital house] . . .and to pay the poore for their spinning after the vsualrates for the worke they doe.2In 1649 it is entered " This day Thos. Clenchwas here, and demanded 10 li. per ann. mo.rethan the stocke of the Hospital, which is 150 li.lent him for the furnishing of the house with workefor spinners, and for the overlooking to the children. . . the spinners shall have all the yeare 33d. a li.for yearne . . . . and that there be as manychildren kept aworke as the roomes will hold . . .wee shall take into consideracion the setting of thepoore on worke in spinning of worsted, and knittingof stockins, and also of setting vp a trade of makingsackcloth.'Schemes for teaching spinning were welcomedwith enthusiasm by the economists of the period,because in many districts the poor rates had risen toan alarming height. They believed that if onlythe poor would work all would be well. One writerurged " That if the Poor of the Place do not know howto spin, or to do the Manufacture of that Place, thatthen there be Dames hired at the Parish-Charge toteach them ; and Men may learn to spin as well asWomen, and Earn as much money at it as they canat many other empl~yments."~ Another writer calculatedthat if so employed " ixcl children whch daieliewas ydle may earne one W' another vjd. a weke wVhl Mayo (C. H.), Municipal Records ofL)orcberter, p. 515, 1638.Ibid, p. 521.Ibid, pp. 517-8.Trade of England, p. ro, 1681.

TEXTILESa mownte in the yere t o jMiijcxxxv! Also thatjciiijxx women . . ar hable to earne at lest somexijd., some xxd., and some ijs. vjd. a weeke."'This zest for teaching spinning was partly due tothe fact that the clothiers were represented on thelocal authorities, and often the extending of theirbusiness was hampered by the shortage of spinsters.But the flaw in all these arrangements was the factthat spinning remained in most cases a grant in aid,and could not, owing to the low wages paid, maintaina family, scarcely even an individual, on the levelof independence.Children could not live on 6d. a week, or grownwomen on IS. or IS. 8d. a week. And SO the women,when they depended wholly upon spinning flax fortheir living, became paupers, suffering the degradationand loss of power by malnutrition which that conditionimplies.In a few cases this unsatisfactory aspect of spinningwas perceived by those who were charged with relievingthe poor. Thus, when a workhouse was opened inBristol in 1654, the spinning scheme was soon abandonedas unprofitable.' Later, when girls were againtaught spinning, the managers of the school " soonfound that the great cause of begging did proceedfrom the low wages for Labour; for after abouteight months time our children could not get halfso much as we expended in their provisions. Themanufacturers . . . . were always complainingthe Yarn was spun couarse, but would not advanceabove eightpence per pound for spinning, and we musteither take this or have no work." Finally the Governortook pains therefore to teach them to producea finer yarn at 2s. to 3s. 6d. per pound. This paidbetter, and would have been more profitable still ifl Tingey, Nonoicb, Vol. 11, p. 355.' Latimcr, Annals of Bristol, p. 249.TEXTILES'35the girls as they grew older hdd not been sent toser~ice or put into the kitchen.'Thomas Firmin, after a prolonged effort to helpthe poor in London, came to a similar conclusion.He explains that " the Poor of this Parish, tho' many,are yet not so many as in some others ; yet, evenhere there are many poor people, who receive Flaxto spin, tho' thev are not all Pensioners to the Parish,nor, I hope, ever will be, it being my design to preventthat as much as may be ; . . . . there are above500 more out of other Parishes in and about theCity of London ; some of which do constantly followthis Employment, and others only when they haveno better; As, suppose a poor Woman that goesthree dayes a Week to Wash or Scoure abroad, or onethat is employed in Nurse-keeying three or fourMonths in a Year, or a poor Market-woman, whoattends three or four Mornings in a Week with herBasket, and all the rest of the time these folkshave little or nothing to do; but by means of thisspinning are not only kept within doors . . . .but made much more happy and chearf~l."~Firmin began his benevolent work in an optimisticspirit, " had you seen, as I have done many a time,with wKat joy and satisfaction, many Poor Peoplehave brought home their Work, and received theirmoney for it, you would think no Charity in the Worldlike unto it. Do not imagine that all the Pdor Peoplein England, are like unto those Vagrants you find upand down in the Streets. No, there are many Thousandswhose necessities are very great, and yet do whatthey ran by their Honest Labour to help themselves ;and many times they would do more than they dobut for want of Employment. Several that I havenow working to me do spin, some fifteen, some sixteen,-Cary,(John) Proceedzngs of Corporatzon ofBristo1, p. 13, 1700.' Flrrnin, Some Proposals, p. 19, 1678.

TEXTILES TEXTILES I37hours in four and twenty, and had much rather doit than be idle.'The work developed until " He enlyloyed in thismanufacture some times 1600, some times 1700Spinners, besides Dressers of flax, Weavers and others.Because he found that his Poor must work sixteenhours in the day to earn sixpence, and thought theirnecessities and labour -were not sufficiently suppliedor recompensed by these earnings ; therefore he waswont to distribute Charity among them . . .without which Charity some of them had perishedfor want, when either they or their children fell ill. . . . Whoever of the Spinners brought in twopound of Yarn might take away with 'em a Peckof Coals. Because they soiled themselves by carryingaway Coals in their Aprons or Skirts . . . . hegave 'em canvass bags. By the assistance and orderof his Friends he gave to Men, Women and Children3,000 Shirts and Shifts in two years."'laid out the last Year, reckning" In above E~OOO,I-louse-rent, Servants wages, Loss by Learners, withthe interest of the Money, there was not above E200lost, one chief reason of which was the kindness ofseveral Persons, who took off good quantities . at the price they cost me to spin and weave . . . .and . . . . the East India Co., gave en-couragement to make their bags."But the lossincreased as time went on . . . . " In 1699 hisdesign of employing the poor to spin flax was takenup by the Patentees of the Linen Manufacture,who made the Poor and others, whom they employed,to work cheaper ; yet that was not sufficient toencourage them to continue the manufacture . .The poor spinners, being thus deserted, Mr. Firminreturned to 'em again; and managed that trade asl Firmin, Thomas, L*, pp. 31-32? 1698.' Ibid, pp 31-2, 1698.he was wont ; But so, that he made it bear almostits own Charges. But that their smaller Wagesmight be comfortable to them he was more Charitableto 'em, and begged for 'em of almost all Persons ofRank with whom he had intimacy, or so much asFriendship. He would also carry his Cloth to divers,with whom he scarce had any acquaintance, telling'em it war the Poor's cloth, which in conscience theyought to buy at the Price it could be aforded."' . . .Finally, " he was persuaded by- some, to make trialof the Woollen Manufactz~re; because at this, the Poormight make better wages, than at Linen-work.But the price of wool advancing very much, and theLondon-Spinsters being almost wholly unskilful atDrawing a Woollen-Thread, after a considerable. . . . and 29 months trial he gave offlossthe proje~t."~Firmin's experiment, corroborating as it does theresults of other efforts at poor relief, shows that atthis time women could not maintain themselves bythe wages of flax spinning; still less could they,when widows, provide for their children by thismeans.But though the spinster, when working for wagesreceived so small a return for her labour, it must notbe forgotten that flax spinning was chiefly a domesticart, in which the whole value of the woman's labourwas secured to her family, unaffected by the rateof wages. Therefore the value of women's labourin spinning flax must not be judged only accordingto the wages which they received, but was more trulyrepresented by the quantity of linen which theyproduced for household use.' Firmin (Thomas) Life, pp. 33-6.Ibid, pp. 39-10.

'38 TEXTILES TEXTILESD. Silk, and Gold and Silver.THE history of the Silk Trade differs widely fromthat of either the Woollen or Linen Trades. The con-ditions of its manufacture during the fifteenth centuryare described with great clearness in a petition presentedto Henry V1. by the silk weavers in 1455, which" Sheweth unto ioure grete wisdoms, and also prayenand besechen the Silkewymmen and Throwestres ofthe Craftes and occupation of Silkewerk within theCitee of London, which be and have been Craftesof wymmen within the same Citee of tyme that noomynde renneth unto the contrarie. That whereit is pleasyng to God that all his Creatures be set invertueux occupation and labour accurdyng to theirdegrees, and convenient for thoo places where theirabode is, to the nourishing of virtue and eschewyngof vices and ydelness. And where upon the same Crafres,before this tyme, many a wurshipfull woman withinthe seid Citee have lyved full hounourably, and therwithmany good Housholdes kept, and many Gentilwymmenand other in grete noumbre like as there nowe bemoo than a M., have been drawen under theym inlernyng the same Craftes and occupation full vertueusly,unto the plesaunce of God, whereby afterward theyhave growe to grete wurship, and never any thingof Silke brought into yis lande concerning the sameCraftes and occupation in eny wise wrought, but inrawe Silk allone unwrought " ; but now wrought goodsare introduced and it is impossible any longer to obtainrawe material except of the worst quality . . . ." the suff eraunce whereof, hath caused and is like tocause, grete ydelness amongs yange Gentilwymmenand oyer apprentices of the same Craftes within yesaid Citee, and also leying doun of many good and notableHousholdes of them that have occupied the sameCraftes, which be convenient, worshipful1 and accordyngfor Gentilwymmen, and oyer wymmen of wurship, aswelewithin ye same Citee as all oyer places within thisReaume." The petitioners assumed that " Everywele disposed persone of this land, by reason and natural1favour, wold rather that wymmen of their nation bornand owen blode hadde the occupation thereof, thanstrange people of oyer landes."'The petition received due attention, Statute 33,Henry V1 enacting that " W-hereas it is shewed toour Sovereign Lord the Ring in his said parliament,by the grevous complaint of the silk women andspinners of the mystery and occupation of silk-working, within the city of London, how that diversLombards and other strangers, imagining to destroythe said mystery, and all such virtuous occupationsof women in the said Realm, to enrich themselves. . . . have brought . . . . such silk somade, wrought, twined, ribbands, and chains falselyand deceitfully wrought, all manner girdels and otherthings concerning the said mystery and occupation,in no manner wise bringing any good silk unwrought,as they were wont." Therefore the importation of"any merchandise . . . . . . touching orconcerning the mystery of silk women, (girdelswhich come from ~enoa only excepted,)" isf~rbidden.~This statute was re-enacted in succeeding reignswith the further explanation that " as well men aswomen " gained their living by this trade.Few incidents reveal more clearly than do thesepetitions the gulf separating the conception of women'ssphere in life which prevailed in mediaeval London, fromthat which governed society in the first decade ofthe.twentieth century. The contrast is so great that itbecomes difficult to adjust one's vision to the implicationswhich the former contains. Other incidentsl Rolls ofParliament, V., 325. A Pettition ofsilk Weavers, 34 Henry VI., c. 55.Statutes, II., p. 374, 33 Henry VI., c. 5.

---P-I 4OTEXTILEScan be quoted of the independence, enterprise, andcapacity manifested by the prosperous women ofthe merchant class in London during the MiddleAges. Thus Rose de Burford, the wife of a wealthyLondon merchant, engaged in trading transactionson a large scale both before and after her husband'sdeath. She lent money to the Bishop in 1318, andreceived IOO Marks for a cope embroidered with coral.She petitioned for the repayment of a loan made byher husband for the Scottish wars, finally proposingthat this should be allowed her off the customs whichshe would be liable to pay on account of wool aboutto be shipped from the Port of London.'It is, however, a long cry from the days of Rosede Burford to the seventeenth century, when" gentilwymmen and other wymmen of worship " nolonger made an honourable living by the silktrade; which trade, in spite of protecting statutes,had become the refuge of paupers.To obviate thedifficulties of an exclusive reliance on foreign suppliesfor the raw material of the silk trade, James I. orderedthe planting of ~o,ooo mulberry trees so that " multitudesof persons of both sexes and all ages, suchas in regard of impotence are unfitted for otherlabour, may bee set on worke, comforted andreleved."'The unsatisfactory state of the trade is shown ina petition from the merchants, silk men, and otherstrading for silk, asking for a charter of incorporationbecause "the trade of silke is now become greatwhereby . . . . customes are increased andmany thousands of poore men, women and childrensett on worke and mayntayned. And forasmuchas the first beginning of this trade did take its beingfrom women then called silkwomen who brought1 Bp kind permiation of Mios Eilecn Power.' S.P.D., xxvi., 6. Jan. I*.TEXTILES141upp men servants, that since have become free ofall or moste of the several1 guilds and corporationsof London, whose ordinances beeing for other particulartrades, meet not with, nor have power to reprovesuch abuses and deceipts as either have or are likelystill to growe upon the silk trade."'A petition from the Master, Wardens and Assistantsof the Company of SilkThrowers, shows that bythis " Trade between Forty and Fifty thousand poorMen, Women and Children, are constantly Imployedand Relieved, in and about the City of London. . . . divers unskilful Persons, who never werebred as Apprentices to the said Trade of Silk-throwing,have of Late yearr intruded into the said Trade, andhave Set up the same ; and dwelling in Places beyondthe Bounds and Circuit of the Petitioners Search bytheir Charter, do useDivers Deceits in the Throwingand Working of the Manufacture of Silk, to the greatWrong and Injury of the Commonwealth, and thegreat Discouragement of the Artists of the said Trade."'An act of Charles 11. provided that men, women andchildren, if native subjects, though not apprentices,might be employed to turn the mill, tie threads, anddouble and wind silk, " as formerl~."~" There are here and there," it was said, " a SilkWeaver or two (of late years) crept into some citiesand Market Towns in England, who do employsuch people that were never bound to the Trade . .. . in all other Trades that do employ the poor,they cannot effect their business without employingsuch as were never apprentice to the Trade . . .the Clothier must eqnploy the Spinner and Stockcarder,that peradventure were never apprenticesto any trade, else they could never accomplish their' S.P.D., clxxv., 102, Nov. 25, 1630.' Humble Petrtion of the Master, Wardens and Assrstants of the Company of SzlkThrowers.Statutes 13 and 14, Charles II., c. 15.

142TEXTILES TEXTILES '43end. And it is the same in making of Buttons andBone lace, and the like. But it is not so in this Trade ;for they that have been apprentices to the Silk-weavingTrade, are able to make more commodities than canbe easily disposed of , , . . because there hathnot been for a long time any other but this, to placeforth poor men's Children, and Parish Boyes unto ;by which means the poor of this Trade have beenvery numerous."'During this period all the references to silkspinningconfirm the impression that it had becomea pauper trade. A pamphlet calling for the impositionof a duty on the importation of wrought silksexplains that " The Throwsters, by reason of thisextraordinary Importation of raw Silk, will employseveral hundred persons more than they did before,as Winders, Doublers, and others belonging to thethrowing Trade, who for the greatest part arepoor Seamen and Soldier's wives, which by thisIncrease of Work will find a comfortable Subsistencefor themselves and Families, and thereby take off aBurthen that now lies upon several Parishes, whichare at a great charge for their S~pport."~ The" comfortable subsistence " of these poor seamen'swives amounted to no more than IS. 6d. or IS. 8d.per week.'There seems here no clue to explain the transitionfrom a monopoly of gentlewomen conducting aprofitable business on the lines of Family Industryto a disorganised Capitalistic Trade, resting on thebasis of women's sweated labour. The earlier monopolywas, however, probably favoured by the expensivenature of the materials used, and the necessity' Trade $England, p. 18.' Answer to a Paper of Rejecttons, on the Project for laying a Dnty on EnglrsbWrought Stlks.' Casr ofthe Manufacturers $Gilt and Silver Wire, 1714.for keeping in touch with the merchants who importedthem, while social customs secured an equitabledistribution of the profits. With the destructionof these social customs and traditions, competitionasserted its sway unchecked, till it appeared asthough there might even be a relation betweenthe costliness of the material and the wretchednessof the women employed in its manufacture ; for thewomen who span gold and silver thread were inthe same stage of misery.Formerly women had been mistresses in this classof business as well as in the Silk Trade, but a Proclamationof June ~ ~ t 1622, h , forbade the exercise ofthe craft by all except members of the Company ofGold Wire Drawers.Under this proclamation the Silver thread of oneAnne Twiseltor was confiscated by Thomas Stockwood,a constable, who entered her hause and found herand others spinning gold and silver thread. " Thesaid Anne being since married to one John Bagshawehath arrested Stockwood for the said silver upon anaction of LIO, on the Saboth day going from Church,and still prosecuteth the suite against him in GuildHall with much clamor."' Bagshawe and his wifemaintained that the silver was sterling, and thereforenot contrary to the Proclamation. Stockwood refusedto return it unless he might have some of it. Thereforethey commenced the suit against him.Probably few, if any, women became members of theCompany of Gold Wire Drawers, and henceforward theywere employed only as spinners. Their poverty is shownby the frequency with which they are mentionedas inmates of tenement houses, which thrcugh overcrowdingbecame dangerous to the public health.It was reported to the Council for example, thatKatherine Barnaby " entertayns in her housc in GreatC.R., June 16, 1624.

'44 TEXTILES TEXTILESWood Streate, divers women kinde silver spinners."'These poor women worked in the spinning shedsof their masters, and thus the factory systemprevailed already in this branch of the textileindustry; the costliness of the fabrics produced forbadeany great expansion of the trade, and thereforethe Masters were not obliged to seek for labouroutside the pauper class.The Curate, Churchwardens, Overseers and Vestrymenof the parish of St. Giles, Cripplegate, drew upthe following statement : " There are in the saidParish, eighty five sheds for the spinning Gilt andSilver Thread, in which are 255 pair of wheels.The Masters with their Families amount unto 581These imploy poor Parish-Boys and Girls to thenumber ofI275There are r 18 master Wire-Drawers, who withtheir wives, Children and Apprentices, make 826Master weavers of Gold and Silver Lace and Fringes 106Their Wives, Children, Apprentices and JourneyMen amount unto 2120Silver and Gold Bone-Lace makers, and Silver andGold Button makers with their Families 1000Windsters, Flatters of Gold and Silver and EngineSpinners with their Families 300Total 6208They continue : " The Poor's ,Rate of the Parishamounts to near Four Thousand Pounds perannum. . . . The Parish. . . . at thispresent are indebted One Thousand Six Hundred andFifty Pounds. Persons are daily removing out ofthe Parish, by Reason of this heavy Burthen, emptyHouses increasing. If a Duty be laid on the manufactureof Gold and Silver wyres the Poor mustnecessarily be in~reased."~l S.P.D., cccllx , Returns to Councll . . of houses, etc, 1637.' Care of tbc Parrsh of St. Gtlcs, Crzpplegate.Such a statement is in itself proof that Gold andSilver Thread making ranked among the paupertrades in which the wages paid must needs be suplementedout of the poor rates.E. CONCLUSION.IT has been shown that in textile industries all spinningwas done exclusively by women and children, whilethey were also engaged to some extent in other processes,such as weaving, burling, bleaching, fulling,etc. The fact that the nation depended entirelyupon women for the thread from which its clothingand household linen was made must be rememberedin estimating their economic position. Even if noother work had fallen to their share, they can hardlyhave been regarded as mere dependants on theirhusbands when the clothing for the whole familywas spun by their hands ; but it has been explainedin the previous chapter that in many cases the mother,in addition to spinning, provided a large proportionof the food consumed by her family. If the fatherearned enough money to pay the rent and a fewother necessary expenses, the mother could and did,feed and clothe herself and her children by herown labours when she possessed enough capital toconfine herself wholly to domestic industry. Thevalue of a woman's productive capacity to her familywas, however, greatly reduced when, through poverty,she was obliged to work for wages, because then, farfrom being able to feed and clothe her family, herwages were barely adequate to feed herself.This fact indicates the weakness of women's positionin the labour market, into which they were beingforced in increasing numbers by the capitalistic organisationof industry. In consequence of this weakness,a large proportion of the produce of a woman's labourWas diverted from her family to the profit of thecapitalist or the consumer ; except in the most skilled

TEXTILESbranches of the woollen industry, spinning was apauper trade, a " sweated industry," which did notprovide its workers with the means for keepingthemselves and their families in a state of efficiency,but left them to some extent dependent on othersources for their maintenance.Comparing the various branches of textile industrytogether, an interesting light is thrown uponthe reactions between capitalistic organisation oflabour and wornep's economic position.Upper class women had lost their unique positionin the silk trade, and the wives of wealthy clothiersand wool merchants appear to have seldom takenan active interest in business matters. Thus it wasonly as wage-earners that women were extensivelyemployed in the textile trades.Their wages were lowest in the luxury tradesi.e., silk, silver and gold, and in the linen trade. Theformer were now wholly capitalistic, but the demandfor luxuries being limited and capable of littla expansion,the labour available in the pauper classeswas sufficient to satisfy it. The situation was differentin the linen and allied trades, where the demand forthread, either of flax or hemp, appears generally tohave been in excess of the supply. Although thelarger pqt of the linen manufactured in England wasstill produced under the conditions of domesticindustry, the demand for thread for trade purposeswas steady enough to suggest to Parish Authoritiesthe value of spinning as a means of reducingthe poor rates. It did not occur to them, however,that if the wages paid for spinning were higherthe poor would have been as eager to learn spinningas to gain apprenticeship in the skilled trades,and thus the problem of an adequate supply ofyarn might have been solved at one stroke with theproblem of poverty itself ; no attempt was made toraise the wages, and the production of thread forTEXTILEStrade purposes continued to be subsidised out ofthe poor rates. The consequent pauperisationof large numbers of women was a greater disasterthan even the burthen of the poor rates. Insteadof the independence and self-reliance which mighthave been secured through adequate wages, motherswere not only humiliated and degraded, but theirysical efficiency and that of their children wasowing to the inadequacy of the grudgingassistance given by the Churchwardens andOverseers.The woollen trade, in which capitalistic organisationhad attained its largest development, presentsa more favourable aspect as regards w~~men's wages.Already in the seventeenth century a spinster couldearn sufficient money to maintain her individual self.In spite of periodic seasons of depression, the woollentrade was rapidly expanding ; often the scope ofthe clothiers was limited by the quantity of yarnavailable, and so perforce they must seek for labouroutside the pauper class. Possibly a rise was alreadytaking place in the spinsters' wages at the close ofthe century, and it is interesting to note thatduring this period the highest wages were earned,not by the women whose need for them was greatest,that is to say the women who had children dependingexclusively on their wages, but rather by the well-todowomen who could afford to buy the wool for theirspinning, and hold the yarn over till an advantageousopportunity arose for selling it.Spinning did not present itself to such womenas a means of filling up vacant hours which they wouldotherwise have spent in idleness, but as an alternativeto some other profitable occupation, so numerousWere the opportunities offered to women for productiveindustry within the precincts of the home.Therefore to induce women of independent positionto work for him, the Clothier was obliged to offer

TEXTILEShigher wages than would have been accepted bythose whose children were suffering from hunger.Somewhat apart from economics and the rateof wages, is the influence which the developmentsof the woollen trade exercised on women's socialposition, through the disintegration of the socialorganisation known as the village community. TheEnglish village had formed a social unit almostself-contained, embracing considerable varieties ofwealth, culture and occupation, and finding selfexpressionin a public opinion which provided adequatesanction for its customs, and determined allthe details of manners and morals. In the formationof this public opinion women took an activepart.The seasons of depression in the Woollen Tradebrought to such communities in the " ClothingCounties " a desolation which could only be rivalledby Pestilence or Famine. Work came to a standstill,and wholesale migrations followed. Many fathersleft their starving families, in search of work elsewhereand were never heard of again. The traditions offamily life and the customs which ruled the affairsof the village were lost, never to be again restored,and with them disappeared, to a great extent, therecognised importance of women in the life of thecommunity.The social problems introduced by the wagessystem in its early days are described in a contemporarypamphlet. It must be remembered that theterm " the poor " as used at this time signified thepauper class, hard-working, industrious families whowere independent of charity or assistance from thepoor rates being all included among the " commonpeople." " I cannot acknowledge," the writer says," that a Manufacture maketh fewer poor, but ratherthe contrary. For tho' it sets the poor on workwhere it finds them, yet it draws still more toTEXTILESI49the lace ; and their Masters allow wages so mean,that they are only preserved from starving whilstthey can work; when Age, Sickness, or Deathcomes, themselves, their wives or their children aremost commonly left upon the Parish; which is thereason why those Towns (as in the Weald of Kent)whence the clothing is departed, have fewer poorthan they had before."'--l Reasons for a Lrmrted Eqortahon of WOO~, 1677

CRAFTS AND TRADESCHAPTER V.--CRAFTS AND TRIZDES.(A) Crafts. Influence of Gilds-Inclusion of women-Position of craftsman'swife-Purposes of Gilds-The share of women in religious, social and tradingprivileges-Admission chiefly by marriage-Stationer's Company-Carpenter'mCompany-Rules of other Gllds and Companies-Apprenticeship to women-Exclusion of women did not originate in sex jealousy-Position of women in opentrades-Women's trades.(B), Retarl Trades. Want of technical training incl~ned women towardsreta11in~-Impediments in their way-Apprenticeship of girls to shopkeepers-Prosecution of unauthorised traders-Street and market trading-Pedlars,Regraters, Badgers-Opposition of shopkeepers.(C) Prwtsion Trades.1. Bakers. Never specially . - a woman's trade-Widows-Share ofmarried women.z. Mzllers. Occasionally followed by women.3. Butchers. Carried on by women as widows and by married womenalsoindependently-Regrating.4. Fzshwietes. Generally vcry poor.5. Brewers. Originally a special women's trade-Use of feminine formBrewster-Creation of monopoly-Exclusion of women by the tradewhen capitalised-retailing still largely in hands of women.6. Vzntners.AGRICULTURE and the textile industries having beenconsidered separately, owing to their importance andthe very special conditions obtaining in both, the otherforms of industry in which women were employedmay be roughly divided into three classes, accordingto certain influences which made them more or lesssuitable for women's employment.-(a) Skilled Trades.(b) Retail Trades. (c) Provision Trades.(a) The Skilled Trades. Most characteristic ofthe skilled trades are those crafts which became moreor less highly organised and specialised by meansof Gilds ; though girls mere seldom apprenticed tothe gild trades, yet her marriage to a member of theGild conferred upon a woman her husband's rightsand privileges; and as she retained these after hisdeath, she could, as a widow, continue to controland direct the business which she inherited fromher husband. In many trades the gild organisationbroke down, and though the form of apprenticeshipwas retained its observance secured few, if any,privileges. Some skilled trades were chiefly if notwholly, in the hands of women, and these appearnever to have been organised, though long apprenticeshipswere served by the girls who entered them.(b) The Retail Trades. The classification of retailtrades as a group distinct from the Skilled Trades andthe Provision Trades is somewhat arbitrary, becauseunder the system of Family Industry, the maker ofthe goods was often his own salesman; or the rniddlemenwho sold the goods to the consumers werethemselves organised into gilds. Nevertheless, fromthe woman's point of view retailing deserves separateconsideration, because, whether as a branch of FamilyIndustry or as a trade in itself, the employment ofselling was so singularly adapted to the circumstancesof women, that among their resources it may almosttake rank with agriculture and spinning.(c) The Provision Tmdes also, whether concernedwith the production or only with the sale of Provisions,occupy a special position, because the provisioningof their households has been regarded from timeimmemorial as one of the elementary duties fallingto the share of women, and it is interesting to notehow far skill acquired by women in such domesticwork was useful to them in trade.In all three classes of industry women were employedas their husbands' assistants or partners, but in themiddle ages married women also engaged in businessfrequently on their own account. This was sousual that almost all the early Customs of the Boroughsenable a woman, when so trading, to go to lawas though though she were a femme sole, and providethat her husband shall not be responsible for her

1 52 CRAFTS AND TRADESdebts. For example, the Customs of the City ofLondon declare that : " Where a woman covertede baron follows any craft within the said city byherself apart, with which the husband in no wayintermeddles, such woman shall be bound as a singlewoman in all that concerns her said craft. And ifthe wife shall plead as a single woman in a Court ofRecord, she shall have her law and other advantagesby way of plea just as a single woman. And if sheis condemned she shall be committed to prison untilshe shall have made satisfaction ; and neither thehusband nor his goods shall in such case be chargedor interfered with. If a wife, as though a singlewoman, rents any house or shop within the said city,she shall be bound to pay the rent of the said house orshop, and shall be impleaded and sued as a singlewoman, by way of debt if necessary, notwithstandingthat she was coverte de baron, at the time of suchletting, supposing that the lessor did not know thereof.. . . Where plaint of debt is made againstthe husband, and the plaintiff declares that the husbandmade the contract with the plaintiff by the hand ofthe wife of such defendant, in such case the saiddefendant shall have the aid of his wife, and shallhate a day until the next Court, for taking counselwith his wife."'The Customal of the Town and Port of Sandwichprovides th~t " if a woman who deals publickly infish, fruit, cloth or the like, be sued to the amount ofgoods delivered to her, she ought to answer eitherwith or without her husband, as the plaintiff pleases.But in every personal plea of trespass, she can neitherrecover nor plead against any body, without herhusband. If she be not a public dealer, she cannotanswer, being a covert baron."' Similarly at Rye,CRAFTS AND TRADES '53if any woman that is covert baron be impleadedin plea of debt, covenant broken, or chattels withheld,and she be known for sole merchant, she oughtto answer without the presence of her baron."'In Carlisle it was said that " where a wife thathaith a husband use any craft within this citie or theliberties of the same besides her husband crafte oroccupation and that he me1 not wth her saydcraft this wife shalbe charged as woman sole. Andif the husband and the wife be impledit in such casethe wife shall plead as woman sole. And if she becondempned she shall goe to ward unto she hauemayd agrement. And the husband nor his gudsshal not in this case be charged. And if the womanrefuse to appeare and answere the husband or servandto bryng her in to answer."'Though examples of the separate trading of womenoccur frequently in the seventeenth century, no doubtthe more usual course was for her to assist her husbandin his business. When this was transacted at homeher knowledge of it was so intimate that she couldsuccessfully ,carry on the management during herhusband's absence. How complete was the reliancewhich men placed upon their wives under thesecircumstances is illustrated by the story of JohnAdams, a Quaker from Yorkshire, who took a longjourney " in the service of Truth " to Holland andGermany. He describes how a fearful being visitedhim by night in a vision, telling him that he had beendeceived, and not for the first time, in undertakingthis service, and that all was in confusion at home.66 The main reason why things are so is, thy wife,that used to be at the helm in thy business, is dead."Thoroughly alarmed, he was preparing to hurryhome when a letter arrived, saying that all was well,-----p--' Lyon, Dover, Vol. II., p. 359.Lyon. Ewer, Vol. II., p. 295. S Ferguson, Carlzslc p. 79 ; from Dormont Book.- -- -- - -

CRAFTS AND TRADES CRAFTS AND TRADES I55" whereby I was relieved in mind, and confirmed 1was in my place, and that it was Satan, by his transformation,who had deceived and disturbed me."'The understanding and good sense which enabledwomen to assume control during the temporaryabsence of their husbands, fitted them also to bearthe burden alone when widowed. Her capacitywas so much taken for granted that public opinionregarded the wife as being virtually her husband'spartner, leases or indentures were made out in theirjoint names, and on the husband's death the wifewas left in undistufbed possession of the stock,apprentices and goodwill of the business.A. Skilled Trades or Crafts.The origin of the Craft Gilds is obscure. Theywere preceded by Religious Gilds in which menand women who were associated in certain tradesunited for religious and social purposes. Whetherthese Religious Gilds developed naturally into organisationsconcerned with the purpose of trade,or whetherthev were superseded by new associations whosefirst object was the regulation and improvementof the craft and with whom the religious and social ceremonieswere of secondary importance is a disputedpoint, which, if elucidated, might throw some lighton the industrial history of women. In the obscuritywhich envelopes this subject one certain fact emerges ;the earlier Gilds included sisters as well as brothers,the two sexes being equally concerned with thereligious and social observances which constitutedtheir chief functions.As the Gilds become more definitely trade organisationsthe importance of the sisters diminishes,and in some, the Carpenters for example, they appearto be virtually excluded from membership though' Irtsh Frtend, Vol. IV., p. 150.this exclusion is only tacitly arrived at by custom,and is not enforced by rules. In other Gilds, suchas the Girdlers and Pewterers, it is evident thatthough women's names do not occur in lists of wardensor assistants,. yet they were actively engaged in thesecrafts and, like men, were subject to and protectedby the regulations of their Gild or Company.Very little is yet known of the industrial positionof Englishwomen in the middle ages. Poll-tax returnsshow, however, that they were engagecl in manymiscellaneous occupations. Thus the return for Oxfordin 1380 mentions six trades followed by women,viz.-37 spinsters, 11 shapesters (tailors), 9 tapsters(inn keepers), 3 sutrices (shoemakers,) 3 hucksters,5 washerwomen, while in six others both men andwomen were employed, namely butchers, brewers,chandlers, ironmongers, netmakers and kempsters(wool combers). 148 women were enrolled as ancillaeor servants, and 81 trades were followed by only men.A similar return for the West Riding of Yorksin 1379 declares the women employed in differenttrades to be as follows :--6 chapmen, I I inn keepers,I farrier, I shoemaker, 2 nurses, 39 brewsters, 2 farmers,I smith, I merchant, I 14 domestic servants and farmlabourers, 66 websters, (30 with that surname), 2listers or dyers, 2 fullers or walkers, and 22 seamstresses.'In every case these would be women whowere carrying on their trade separately from theirhusbands, or as widows. During the followingcenturies women's names are given in the returnsmade of the tradesmen working in different Boroughs,occurring sometimes in trades which would seem tomodern ideas most unlikely for them. Thus Swidows and 35 men's names are given in a list of thesmiths at Chester for the year 1574.~* By kind permiseion of M~sa Eileen Power.Harl, MSS., 2054. fo. 22 , The Sm itbs Book ?f Arrts. Chester, 1574.

I 56 CRAFTS AND TRADES CRAFTS AND TRADESIt must be remembered that, except those who areclassed as servants, all grown-up women were eithermarried or widows. It was quite usual for a marriedwoman to carry on a separate business from herhusband as sole merchant, but it was still more customaryfor her to share in his enterprise, and only afterhis death for the whole burden to fall upon hershoulders. How natural it was for a woman to regardherself as her husband's partner will be seen whenthe conditions of family industry are considered.Before the encroachments of capitalisnl the membersof the Craft Gilds were masters, not of other men,but of their craft. The workshop was part of thehome, and in it, the master, who in the course of along apprenticeship had acquired the technical masteryof his trade, worked with his apprentices, one or twojourneymen and his wife and children. The numberof jouineymen and apprentices was strictly limitedby the Gild rules ; the men did not expect to remainpermanently in the position of wage-earners, buthoped in course of time to marry and establish themselvesas masters in their craft. Apart from theapprentices and journeymen no labour might beemployed, except that of the master's wife and children;but there are in every trade processes which do notrequire a long technical training for their performance,and thus the assistance of the mistress became importantto her husband, whether she was skilled inthe tiade or not, for the work if not done by hermust fall upon him. Sometimes her part was manual,but more often she appears to have taken charge ofthe financial side of the business, and is seen in therole of salesman, receiving payments for which herreceipt was always accepted as valid, or even actingas buyer. In either case her services were so essentialto the business that she usually engaged a servantfor household matters, and was thus freed from theroutine of domestic drudgery. Defoe, writing inthe first decades of the eighteenth century, notes thatwomen servants are now so scarce that from thirtyand forty shillings a Year, their Wages are increasedof late to six, seven and eight pounds per Annum,and upwards. . . . an ordinary Tradesman cannotwell keep one ; but his Wife, who might be usefulin his Shop, or Business, must do the Drudgery ofHousehold Affairs ; And all this, because ourServant Wenches are so puff'd up with Pridenow-a-Days that they never think they go fineenough."'The position of a married woman in the tradesmanclass was far removed from that of her husband'sdomestic servant. She was in very truth mistress ofthe household in that which related to trade as well asin domestic matters, and the more menial domesticduties were performed by young unmarried personsof either sex. To quote Defoe again, " it is butfew Years ago, and in the Memory of many now living,that all the Apprentices of the Shop-keepers and Ware-house-keepers. . . . submitted to the most servileEmployments of the Families in which they serv'd ;such as the young Gentry, their Successors in thesame Station, scorn so much as the Name of now;such as cleanzng their Masters' Shoes, bringing Waterinto the Houses from the Conduits in the Street,which they carried on their Shoulders in long Vesselscall'd Tankards ; also waiting at Table, . . . . buttheir Masters are oblig'd to keep Porters or Footmento wait upon the apprentices."'The rules of the early Gilds furnish abundantevidence that women then took an active part intheir husbands's trades ; thus in I 297 the Craft ofFullers at Lincoln ordered that " none [of the craft]shall work at the wooden bar with a woman, unlessl Defoe, Everybody's Busrncss ;S IVo-Body's Buszness, p. 6, 1725a Defoe, Behavronr of Servants, p. 12,. 1724.

I 58CRAFTS AND TRADESwith the wife of a master or her handmaid,"' andin I 372, when articles were drawn up for the Leathersellersand Pouch-makers of London, and for Dyersserving those trades, the wives of the dyers ofleather were sworn together with their husbands" to do their calling, and, to the best of their power,faithfully to observe the things in the said petitioncontained ; namely John Blakthorne, and Agnes,his wife ; John Whitynge, and Lucy, his wife ; andRichard Westone, dier, and Katherine, his wife."2The craft Gilds had either disappeared before theseventeenth century or had developed into Companies,wealthy corporations differing widely from the earlierassociations of craftsmen. But though the Companieswere capitalistic in their tendencies, they retainedmany traditions and customs which were characteristicof the Gilds. The master's place of businesswas still in many instances within the precincts ofhis home, and when this was the case his wife retainedher position as mistress. Incidental references oftenshow the wife by her husband's side in his shopThus Thomas Symonds, Stationer, when called as awitness to an inquest in I 514 describes how " withina quarter of an hower after VII. a clock in the morning,Charles Joseph came before him at his stall and said' good morow, goship Simondes,' and the said Simondssaid ' good morow ' to hr.m againe, and thewife ofthe said Simons was by' him, and because of thedeadly countenance and hasty goinge of Charles,the said Thomas bad his wife looke whether Charlesgoeth, and as she could perceue, Charles went intoan ale house."'Decker describes a craftsman's household in " AShoemaker's Holiday." The mistress goes in and out' Rlley (H. T.), Memorrals oflorrdm, p. 365.Arber, Statzonerr, Vol III., Intro, p. 19.CRAFTS AND TRADESof the workshop, giving advice, whether it is wantedor not.Firk : " Mum, here comes my dame and my master.She'll scold, on my life, for loitering thisMonday ; . . . . , 9Hodgc :" Master, I hope you will not suffer mydame to take down your journeyman. . . 99Eyre: "Peace, Firk ; not I, Hodge; . . . she. . . away,shall not meddle with youqueen of clubs ; quarrel not with me andmy men, with me and my fine Firk; 1'11firk you, if you do."'But the meddling continues to the end of the play.The same sort of scene is again described in " TheHonest Whore," where Viola, the Linen Draper'swife, comes into his shop, and says to the tm7o Prenticeaand George the serr ant, who are at work,66 Come, you put up your wares in good order,here, do you not, think you r One piececast this way, another that way! You hadneed have a patient master indeed."George replier (aside) " Ay, I'll be sworn, for wehave a curst mistre~s."~Comedy is concerned with the foibles of humanity,and so here the faults of the mistress are reflected,but in real life she is often alluded to as her husband'sinval~able lieutenant. There can be no doubt thatadmission to the world of business and the responsibilitieswhich rested on their shoulders, often developedqualities in seventeenth century women which thenarrower opportunities afforded them in modernsocietyhave left dormant. The wide knowledge of lifeacquired by close association with their husbands' affairs,qualified mothers for the task of training their children ;but it was not only the mother who benefited by the-' Decker (7 hos.), Best Plays, p. 29.Ibrd, p. 108.

160 CRAFTS AND TRADES CRAFTS AND TRADES I 61incorporation of business with domestic affairs, forwhile she shared her husband's experiences he becameacquainted with family life in a way which is impossiblefor men under modern conditions. The father wasnot separated from his children, but they played aroundhim while he worked, and his spare moments could bedevoted to their education. Thus the associationof husband and wife brought to each a wider, deeperunderstanding of human life.Returning to the position of women in the CraftGilds and the later Companies, it must be rememberedthat originally these associations had a three-foldpurpose, (a) the performance of religious ceremonies,(b) social functions, (c) the protection of trade interestsand the maintenance of a high standard oftechnical efficiency.Women are not excluded from membership byany of the earlier charters, which, in most casesexpressly mention sisters as well as brothers, but referencesto them are more frequent in the provisionsrelating to the social and religious functions of theGild than in those concer~in~ technical matters.Though after the Reformation the performanceof religious ceremonies fell into abeyance, socialfunctions continued to be an important feature ofthe Companies.Entrance was obtained by apprenticeship, patrimony,redemption or, in the case of women, by marriage.The three former methods though open to women,were seldom used by them, and the vast majorityof the sisters obtained their freedom through marriage.During the husband's life time their position is notvery evident, but on his death they were possessedof all his trade privileges. The extent to whichwidows availed themselves of these privileges variedin different trades, but custom appears always tohave secured to the widow, rather than to the sonthe possession of her husband's business.Hitherto few records of the Gilds and Companieshave been printed in extenso ; possibly when othersare published more light may be shed on the positionwhich they accorded to women. The Stationersand the Carpenters are selected here, not becausethey are typical in their dealings with women, butmerely because their records are available in a morecomplete form than the others.The Stationers' Company included Stationers,Booksellers, Binders and Printers ; apprenticeshipto either of these trades conferred the right of freedomin the company, but the position of printer was aprize which could not be attained purely by apprenticeship; before the Long Parliament this privilegewas confined to twenty-two Printing Housesonly besides the Royal Printers, vacancies being filledup by the Court of Assistants, with the approvalof the Archbishop of Canterbury. Any stationerwho had been made free of his Company mightpublish books, but printing was strictly limitedto these twenty-two houses. A vacancy seldomoccurred, because, according to the old English custom,on the printer's death his rights were retained by hiswidow, and in this Company they were not evenalienated when she married again, but were sharedby her second husband ; thus a printer's widow,whatever her age might be, was regarded as a mostdesirable " partie." The widow Francis Simsonmarried in succession Richard Read and GeorgeElde, the business following her, and Anne Bartonmarried a second, third and fourth time,' none ofthe later husbands being printers.Though amongst the printers the line of descentappears to have been more often from husband towife and wife to husband than from father to son,a list, giving the names of the master printers as theyl Arber, Stataoners, Vol. V., Intro. xx~x-xxx.

CRAFTS AND TRADES CRAFTS AND TRADES 163succeeded each other from 1575 to 1635 shows thatthe business was acquired by marrying the printer'swidow, bv purchase from her, and also by descent,Four women are mentioned :-William Ellis boundto Mrs. East, a printer's widow who, having left thetrade many years was brought up in the art of printingby Mr. Fletcher upon composition. Mrs. Griffynhad two apprentices, Mrs. Dawson had three apprenticesand Mrs. Purslow two apprentices.' Anotherlist made in 1630 of the names of the Master Printersof London gives twenty-one men and three women,namely-Widdow Alde, Widdow Griffin,and " WiddowSherleaker lives by printing of picture^."^ In 1634the names of twenty-two printers are given, amongwhom are the following women-''Mr. WilliamJones succeeded Rafe Blore and paies a stipend tohis wife . . . . neuer admitted.Mistris [ ] Alde, widdowe of Edward Alde[who] deceased about 10 yeeres since, (but shekeepes her trade by her sonne who was Ra[lph]joyners sonne) neuer Admitted, neither capable ofAdmittance.Mistris [ ] Dawson widow of John Dawsondeceased about a yeere since [he] succeeded his vnkleThomas Dawson about 26 yeers since . . . neveradmitted neither capeable, (she hath a sonne aboutrg yeares old, bredd to ye trade).Mistris [ ] Pursloe widdow of George Pursloewho succeeded Simon Stafford about 5 yeeres since[she was] never admitted neither capeable. (haviland,Yo[u]ng and fletcher haue this.)Mistris [ ] Griffin widdow of Edward Griffin[who] succeeded Master [Melchisedeck] Bradwoodabout 18 yeeres since [she was] never admitted neither- - - -- - _ _- _ - -_ __-_ _IS P D., cccxiv., 127., I'eb. 1636.2 ILld, clxuv , 45, NOV. 12, 163c.capable. (she hath a sonne.) (haviland, Yo[u]ngand fletcher have this yet).'Men as well as women in the list are noted as" never admitted neither capable of admittance."Whether these women took an active part in themanagement of the business which they thus acquiredor whether they merely drew the profits, leaving themanagement to others, is not clear. From the notesto the above list it would appear that they oftenfollowed the latter course, but elsewhere women arementioned who are evidently taking an active partin the printing business. For example, an entryin the Stationers Register states at a time when Marshand Vautrollier had the sole printing of school books" It is agreed that Thomas Vautrollier his wife shallfinish this present impression which shee is in handwithal1 in her husband's absence, of Tullie7s Epistleswith Lambini's annotation^."Âfter his death Vautrollier's widow printed one bookbut immediately after, on March 4th, 1587-8, theCourt of Assistants ordered that " Mrs. Vautrollier,late wife of Thomas Vautrollier deceased, shall nothereafter print any manner of book or books whatsoever,as well by reason that her husband was noeprinter at the time of his decease, as alsoe by the decree'ssette downe in the Starre Chamber she is debarredfrom the same." This order is inexplicable, as otherprinters7 widows exercised their husbands' business,and Thomas Vautrollier's name is duly given in theorder of succession from Master Printers. Possiblythe business had been transferred to her daughter,who married Field, their apprentice. Field diedin 1625, his widow continuing the bu~iness.~' Arber, Transcrzpt, Vol. 111, add, 701.' Stopes (Mrs. C. C.) Shakespeare's Warwrckshrre Contemporarter, p. 7.S Ibtd, p. 8. (Some authorit~es state that I;leld married the ~v~dow, others thedaughter of Vautrollier.)

164 CRAFTS AND TRADESAmong thirty-nine printing patents issued byJames I. and Charles 11. is one to " Hester Ogden,als ffulke Henr. Sibbald et Tho. Kenithorpe forprinting a book called The Sincire and True Translationof the Holy Scripture into the Englishe tounge."It appears as though Hester Ogden was no merefigure head, for His Majesty's Printers appealedagainst this licence on the grounds that it infringedtheir rights, protesting that " Mistris Ogden a mariedwoman one of Dr. Fulkes daughters did lately [sue]his Majesie to haue ye printing of her fathers workes,which his[Majestie] not knowing ye premisesgranted, and ye same being first referred [to the]Archbishop of Canterbury . . . their lordships. . . . deliuered their opinion against her,since which she hath gotten a new reference tothe Lord Chancellor and Master Secretary Nanton,who not examining ye title vpon oath and the Stationersbeing not then able to produce those material1 proofeswhich now they can their honors certified for her,wherevpon her friends hath his Majestie's grantfor ye printing and selling of the sayed book for. . . . Mistris Ogdenxxi. years to her vsehath gotten by begging from ye clergy and othersdiuers great somes of money towards ye printingof her fathers workes. Master Norton and myselfhaue for many E~ooo bought ye office of hisMajesties printer to which ye printing of ye translaconsof the Bible or any parts thereof sett furth by theState belongs. Now the greatest parte of Dr.Fulkes worke is the new testament in English settforth by authoritie."'Another patent was granted to Helen Masonfor " printing and selling the abridgment ofthe book of martyres,"l while Jane, wifeof Sir Thomas Bludder, petitions ArchbishopArber, Tranrcript, Vol. III., p. 39.CRAFTS AND TRADESLaud, showing that " She with John Bill an infanthave by grant from the King the moiety of the oficeof King's Printer and amongst other things the printingof Bibles. This is infringed by a printer in Scotland,who printed many Bibles there and imported theminto England . . . . she prays the Archbishopto hear the case him~elf."~Many of the books printed at this time bear thenames of women printer^,^ but though women mightown and direct the printing houses, there is no indicationthat they were ever engaged in the manualprocesses OF printing. The printers' trade does infact furnish rather a good example of the effect uponwomen's economic position of the transition fromfamily industry to capitalistic organisation. It is truethat many links in the evolution must be suppliedby the imagination. We can imagine the masterprinter with his press, working at home with thehelp of his apprentice, his wife and children; thenas his trade prospered he employed journeymenprinters who were the real ctaftsmen, and it becamepossible for the owner of the business to be a man orwoman who had never been bred up to thetrade.Apprenticeship was still exacted for the journeymen.A Star Chamber decree in 1637 providesthat no " master printer shall imploy either to workeat the Case, or the Presse, or otherwise about hisprinting, any other person or persons, then suchonly as are Free-men, or Apprentices to the Tradeor mystery of Printing."' While in I 676 the Stationers'Company ordained that " no master-printer, or' Arber, Transcript, Vol. V., Ivili.S.P.D., cccxxxix., p. 89.e.g. An Essay L$ Drapery . . . by Wlliiam Scott, printed by Eliz. Aldefor S. Pennell, London, 1635 Calvin, Initrtutron of Cbrrstaan Rrltgron. Pr~ntedby the iv~dowe of R Wolfe, London, 1574. The fourtile ed~tron of Porta Lznbuarum1s printed by E. Grlffln for .M. Sparke. London, 1639.

CRAFTS AND TRADES. . . . shall teach,other printer or workmandirect or instruct any person or persons whatsoever,other than his or their own legitimate son or sons,in this Art or Mystery of Printing, who is not actuallybound as an Apprentice to some lawful authorisedPrinter."'From the omission here of any mention ofdaughters it is clear that the Master Printers'women folk did not concern themselves with thetechnical side of his trade ; but some attempt wasevidently made to use other girls in the unskilledprocesses, for on a petition being presented in 1635by the younger printers, concerning abuses whlchthey wished removed, the Stationers' Companyadopted the following recommendation, " That noMaster Printer shall hereafter permit or suffer bythemselves or their journeyman any Girles, Boyes,or others to take off anie sheets from the tinpin ofthe presse, but hee that pulleth at the presse shalltake off every sheete him~elf."~The young printers were successful in their effortsto preserve the monopoly value of their position,and formed an organisation amongst themselves toprotect their interests against the masters; but inthis association the wives of the young printersfound no place. They could no longer helptheir husbands who were working, not at home,but on the master's premises; and as girls were notusually apprenticed to the printing trade women werenow virtually excluded from it.Some imagination is needed to realise the socialresults of the change thus effected by capitalisticorganisation on the economic position of marriedwomen, for no details have been discovered of thel Arber, Transcript, Vol. IV., p. 534.'Ibid, Vol. I, p. 16.' S.P.D., ccci., 105, Kov. 16, 1635./CRAFTS AND TRADES~rinters' domestic circumstances; but as the wifewas clearly unable to occupy herself with her husband'strade, neither she nor her daughters could sharethe economic privileges which he won for himselfand his fellows by his organising ability. If hiswages were sufficiently high for her to devoteherself to household affairs, she became his unpaiddomestic servant, depending entirely on hisgoodwill for the living of herself and her'children;otherwise she must have conducted a business on her ownaccount, or obtained work as a wage earner, in neithercase receiving any protection from her husband in thecompetition of the labour market.The wives and widows of the Masters were meanwhileactively engaged in other branches of theStationers' Company. In a list of Publishers coveringthe years I 553-1640, nearly ten per cent. of the namesgiven are those of women, probably all of whom werewidows.' One of these, the widow of Francis Coldock,married in 1603 Isaac Binge, the Master of the Company." She had three husbands, all Bachelors andStationers, and died 1616, and is buried in St. AndrewUndershaft in a vault with Symon Burton her father.2The names of these women can be found also in thebooks they published.For example " The TrueWatch and Rule of Life " by John Brinsley the elder,printed by H. Lownes for Joyce Macham, 7th ed.1615, the eighth edition being printed for herbv T. Beale in I 61 g, and " an Epistle . . . . uponthe present pestilence " by Henoch Clapham, wasprinted by T.C. for the Widow Newber~, London,1603. A woman who was a Binder is referred toin an order made by the Bishop of London in 1685" to damask . . . . counterfeit Primmirs'seized at Mrs. Harris's Binder, "l and Women are-- -' Arber, Transcript, Vol. V., p. Ixxxi-cxi.' Ibrd, Vol. V., p. Ixiii.

CRAFTS AND TRADESalso met with as booksellers. Anne Bowlersold the book " Catoes Moral1 Distichs " . . . .printed by Annes Griffin. The Quakers at HorsleyDown paid to Eliz. ffoulkes 3s. for their minute book,'while Pepys' bookseller was a certain Mrs. Nicholls."The death of Edward Croft, Bookseller, is recordedin Smyth's Obituary, " his relict, remarried sinceto Mr. Blagrave, an honest bookseller, who livehapily in her house in Little Britain."4The trade of a bookseller was followed by womenin the provinces as well as in London, the Howardspaying " For books bought of Eliz. Sturton iijs.and Sir John Foulis enters in his account book" To Ard. Hissops relict and hir husband for 3 paperbookes at 10 gr. p. peice and binding other 4 bookes,18. 14. o [Scots money], to them for a gramer anda salust to the bairns, 1.2.0. She owes me 6/8. ofchange."'Presumably all the women who were engagedin either of these allied trades in London were freeof the Stationers' Company, and in most cases theywere widows. Many apprentices were made freeon the testimony of a woman,7 and though thesel Arber, Transcript, Vol. V., p. lv.' Monthly Meeting Minutes. Horsleydown, 13 I"'" 167;.' Pepys, Diary, Vol. I., p. 26.' Smyth's Obttuary, p. 77.Howard, Household Books, p. 161, 1622.' Foulis, Sir John, Acct. Book, p. 22, 1680.'" Mistres Gosson. Stephan Coxe, Sworne and Admytted a Freeman of thisCompanie iijs, iiijd. Note that master Warden White Dothe Reporte, for mistre,Gosson's Consent to the makinge of this prentice free. (Arbers, Transcrzpt, Vol. IIvp. 727, 1600.) Alice Gosson Late wyfe of Thomas Gosson. Henry Gosson sworne andadmitted A ffreeman of this company per patrimonium iijs. iiijd, (Ibid, p. 730, 1601.)Mistries Woolff. John Barnes sworne and admitted A freeman (Ibid, p. 73011601. Ja-e proctor, Wydowe of Willlam proctor. Humfrey Lympenny sworneand admitted A ffreeman of this Companye iijs. iiijd. (Ibid: p. 73"'1601.) Mystris Conneway Nicholas Davyes sworn and admitted A freeman of,this company per patrimonium iijs. iiijd, (Ibid, p. 7:2, 1602.)CRAFTS AND TRADES'69in some cases may have almost completed their servitudebefore the death of their master, " MistrisWoolff " gives testimony for one apprentice in 1601,and for another in 1603, showing that she at leastcontinued the management of her husband's businessfor some years, and as she received a new apprenticeduring this time,' it is evident that she had nointention of relinquishing it.When on her husband's death the widow transferredan apprentice to some other master we may inferthat she felt unable to take the charge of businessupon her. This happened not infrequently, " RobertJackson late apprentise with Raffe Jackson is puttouer by consent of his mystres unto master Burby toserve out the Residue of his terms of apprentishoodwith him, the Last yere excepted.Tomson. . . Anthony. . . . hathputt himself anapprenticeto master Gregorie Seton . . . . for 8 yeres. . . . . Eliz. Hawes shall haue the servicesand benefit of this Apprentise during her wydohedor marrying one of the Company capable of him."2" John leonard apprentise to Edmond Bolifantdeceased is putt ouer by- the consent of the said maryBolyfant unto Richard ~radocke . . . . to serueout the residue of his apprenti~hip."~ But whetherthe widow wished to continue the business as a " goingconcern " or not, she, and she only, was in possessionof the privileges connected therewith, for she wasvirtually her husband's partner, and his dearh didnot disturb her possession. The old rule of copyrightrecognised her position, providing " that copies-' Johne Adams of London (stationer's son) apprenticed to Alice Woolff of citie ofLondon widowe for 8 years 2s. 6d. (Arber, Transnipt, Vol. 11, p. 253, 1601.) OtherInstances of apprentices being bound to women occur as for example " Wm. Walk;F'prenticed to Elizabeth Hawes Widow for S years (Ibtd, Vol. 11, ,p. 287, 1604.)Thornas Richardson of York apprenticed to Alice Gosson, of cit~c of LondonVdowe for 7 years, 2s. 6d. (Zbrd, Vol. II., p. 249, 1600).a Ibid, p. 260, 1602.)Ibid, p. 262, 1602.

I 70 CRAFTS AND TRADES CRAFTS AND TRADES171peculiar for life to any person should not be grantedto any other but the Widow of the deceased, shecertifying the title of the book to the Master andWardens, and entering the book in the " bookesof thys Company."'The history of the Carpenters' Company resemblesthat of the Staticners' in some respects, thoughthe character of a carpenter's employment, which wasso often concerned with building operations, carriedon away from his shop, did not favour the continuanceof his wife in the business after his death. The" Boke " of the ordinances of the Brotherhood of theCarpenters of London, dated 1333, shows the Societyto have been at that time a Brotherhood formed " ofgood men carpenters of men and women " for commonreligious observances and mutual help in povertyand sickness, partaking of the nature of a BenefitSociety rather than a Trade Union. The Brotherhoodwas at the same time a Sisterhood, and Brethrenand Sisters are mentioned together in all but two ofits articles. In the later code of ordinances, of whicha copy has been preserved dated 1487, sisters are buttwice mentioned, when tapers are prescribed at theburying of their bodies and prayers for the restingof their souls.2 Women's names seldom occur inthe Records, apart from entries connected with thosewho were tenants, or charitable grants to widowsfallen into poverty, or with payments to the Bedell'swife for washing tablecloths and napkins.3 In oneinstance considerable trouble was experienced becausethe Bedell's wife would not turn out of their house afterl Arber Transcript, Vol. V., p. I I, r 560.' Records of the Worsbzpful Company of Carpenters, Vol. II., Intro., p. ix.For example " Itm payd to the bedells wyffe for kepyng of the gardyn vij'Ibrd, Vol. IV.. p. 2. Warden's Acct. Book, 1546. She had besides iiijs. "for he:hole yeres wasschyng the clothes " (p. 11) an+ ilijd. " for skoryn~ of the vessell,(p. I 3) this payment was later increased to x~jd. and she had " for bromes for OrHall every quarter a jd. (p. 33) in Reward for her attendance ijs, (p. 114). Burdonewyffe for dressing your dinner xiiijd. (p. 129).the Bedell's death. In September, 1567, "it is agreedand fulliedetermyned by the M' wardeins & assystaunceof this company that Syslie burdon wydowe late wifeof Richard burdon dwelling wthin this house at thewill & pleasure of the foresaid M' & wardeins shallpyetlye & peaceablye dept out of Pc from her nowdwellinge at Xpistmas next or before & at her departureto have the some of Twentie six shillinges & eightpence of Lawful1 money of England in reward."'Syslie Burdon however did not wish to move, and inthe following February another entry occurs " atthis courte it is agreed further that Cysley burdonwydowe at the feast daye of thannunciacon of orLadie St marye the virgin next ensueng the dateabovesayd shall dept. & goe from her nowe dwellingehouse wherein she now dwelleth wth in this hall & atthe same tyme shall have at her deptur if she doetheof her owne voyd wthout anye further troublyngeof the M' and wardeins of this house at thatp'sent tyme the some of Twentie six shillinges eightpensein reward."2 Cyslie Burdon may have believedthat as a widow she had a just claim to the house,for leases granted by the Company at this time wereusually for the life of the tenant and his wife.3Women accompanied their husbands to the Companydinners as a matter of course. In 1556 " theclothyngV are ordered to pay for " ther dynner atRecords of the Worshtpful Company of Carpenters, L'ol. III., Court Book, p. 97.Ibrd, p. 103.a Ibrd, 1'01 111, pp. 10-11, March 15, 1544-5. "agreyed and cod~ssendyd thattfrances pope and hys uyffe schall have and hold a gardyn plott lyeng be oure hall inthe prysche of alhallouns at london Wall for the tyme of the longer lever of thembothe payelng vi~js be the yere . . . the sayd [ ]pope nor hys wyffe schall not takedowene no ~alles nor pale postes nor Raylles In the garden nor no tres nor busschesschall nott ~lucke upe be the Rootes nor cutte theme downe nor no maner of erbys. . wtowt the lycens of the Master and Wdrdyns of the mystery of CarpentersAug. 10. 1564, " agreed and condissendid that Robart masckall and Elyzabeth hisWffe sh~ll have and hold the Howse lvhich He now occu~ieth duryng his lyffe andafter the deseese of the said Robart to Remayne to El~zabeth his wylie duryng herVddohed pay~ngyerlye xis of lawfull mony of England " etc, Ibrd, Vol. III., p. 78.

172 CRAFTS AND TRADES CRAFTS AND TRADES I73the Dynner day ijs. vjd. a man whether ther wyffesor they themselves come or no."' But the entriesdo not suggest that the position of equal sisters whichthey held in the days of the old " Boke " was main-'tained. Women made presents to the Company." Mistrys ellis," the wife of one of the masters ofthe Company, presented " a sylii pott psell gyltthe qter daye at candylmas wayeing viij ozes &a qter."' This apparently was in memory of herdeceased husband, for in the same year she "turned over"an apprentice, and in 1564 a fine was paid by RichardSmarte " for not comyng at ye owre appoynted tomistris Ellis beriall-~ijd."~ Neither the existenceof these two instances, which show a lively interestin the Company, nor the absence of other referencescan be taken as conclusive evidence one way or anotherconcerning the social position of the sisters in theCompany. Among the many judgments passedon brothers for reviling each other, using " ondecentwords," etc., etc., only once is a woman fined for thisoffence, when in 1556 the warden enters in his accountbook " Resd of frances stelecrag a fyne for yll wordesthat his wyffe gave to John Dorrant ijs-Resd of JohnDorrant for yll wordes that he gave to Mystris francesxvjd-Resd of Wyllam Mortyik a fyne for callyngof Mystris frances best ijs ."4It is certain that the wives of carpenters, like thewives of other tradesmen, shared the businessanxieties of their husbands, the help they renderedbeing most often in buying and selling. Thisactivity is reflected in some rules drawn up to regulatel Records of Worshipful Company of Carpenters, Vol. III., p. 58.Ibid, Vol. IV., p. 99, Wardens Acct. Book, 1558S In 1563 xxs. was " Resd of Wyllym barnewell at ye buryall of his wiffe 7' shedyd wyll to be gyven to ye C5pany. (Ibid, Vol. IV., p. 117) Payd at the buryall ofbarnewell's wyffe at ye kyges hedd. xiiijs. iiijd. Paid to the bedle for Redyng of yewyll viijd. (Ibrd, Vol. IV., p. 149. )Ibid, Vol. IV., p. 84.the purchase of timber. In I 554 " yt was agreydbe the Master & wardyns and the moste parte of theassestens that no woman shall come to the watersto by tymber bourde lath ijters ponchons gystes &Raffters ther husbandes beyng in the town upponpayne to forfyt at evrp tyme so fownd."' TheCompany's decision was not readily obeyed, foron March 8th, 1547, " the Master and the Wardynswt partt of the Assestens went to the gyldehall tohave had a Redresse for the women that came to thewatersyde to by stuffe,""nd on March 10th " wascalled in John Armestrong, Wyllyam boner, WyllyamWatson, John Gryffyn and Henry Wrest there havingamonyssion to warne ther wyffes that they schuldenot by no stuffe at the waters syd upone payneof a fyne."'On her husband's death the carpenter's wife generallyretired from business, transferring her apprentices fora consideration to another master. That thispractice was not universal is shown in the case ofa boy who had been apprenticed to JosephHutchinson and was " turned over to Anne Hayward,widow, relict of Richard Hayward Carpentar.""Mrs. Hayward must clearly have been actively prosecutingher late husband's business. The womenwho " make free " apprentices seem generally tohave done so within a few months of their husband'sdeaths. That the Company recognised the rightof women to retain apprentices if they chose is shownby the following provision in Statutes dated Novemberloth, 1607. " If any Apprentice or ApprenticesMarry or Absent themselves from their Master orMistress During their Apprenticehood, then within-- -l Records of Worshipful Company of Carpenters, Vol. III., p. 15, Court Book,a Ibid, Vol. III., p,. 30.Ibid, Vol. III., p. 31.' Ibrd, Vol. I., p. 136.

CRAFTS AND TRADESone month the Master or Mistress is to Bring theirIndentures to the hall to be Registered and Entered,etc " " None to Receive or take into their serviceor house any Man or Woman's Apprentice CovenantServant or Journeyman within the limits aforesaid,-4.- 771CLL.When a carpenter's widow could keep her husband'sbusiness together, no one disputed her right toreceive apprentices. Several instances of their doingso are recorded towards the end of the ~entury.~ Theright to succeed her husband in his position as carpenterand member of the worshipful company was immediatelyallowed when claimed by a widow ; thus thecourt " agreed. . . . that Johan burton wydowelate wife of [ ] burton citezein and Carpenter ofLondon for that'warninge hathe not ben goven untoher from tyme to tyme at the Quarterdaies heretoforeFrom henseforthe shall have due warninge goven untoher everye Quarterdaye and at the next Quarterdaiel Records of the Worshipful Company of Carpenters, Vol. l., Intro. vii-viii.Ibid, p. 137, May 2, 1671. Richardus Read filius Thome Read de ChartMagna in Com. Kanc. Shoemaker po : se appren Josepho Hutchinson Bedello HujusSocietat pro Septem Ann a die dat Indre Dat die et ann ult pred (AssignimmediateSusanne Catlin vid nuper uxor. Johannis Catlin nuper Civis et Carpenter Londondefunct uten etc).Ibid, p. 153. Dec. 5, 1676. Johannes Keyes filius Willi. Keyes nuper deHampsted in Com. Middx. Milwright ed Elizabetham Davis vid. willi Davis nuperCivi & Carpentar de London a die date pred etc (sic)Ibrd, p. 158. July I, 1679. Samuell Goodfellow filius Johanni of Rowell inCom. Northton Corwayner pon se Martha Wildey relict of Robert pro septem annlsa dat etc.Ibid, p. 161. Ap. 5, 1681. Georg Thomas filius Thome nuper de Carlyon in CornMonmouth gent pon se Apprenticum Elizabeth Whitehorne of Aldermanburyvid. Johis. pro septem Annis a dat.Ibtd, p. 164. Oct. 4, 1681. Richard Lynn sonn of William Lynn decd. pon seApprent~com Marie Lynn widdow Relict of the said William C : C: pro septema& a dat.Ibrd, p. 165. March 7, 1681-2. John Whitehorne son of John Whitehorne C : CLd, pon se apprenticum Elizabethe Relict. ejusdem Joh's Whitehnrne pro septemannis a dat.Ibrd, p. 171. Apr. 5. 1686. Richard S'evensonsonne of Robt Stevenson late of- Dl~hlin --.. . in the Kineedome of Ireland Pavier bound to Anne Nicholson Widowe theRelict of Anthony Nicholson. for eight yeares.Ibid, p. 189. June 7, 1692. Rohert Harper sonne of William Harper ofNotchford in the county of Chesheire, bound to Abigail Taylor for Seaven YeareS.CRAFTS AND TRADESshe shall paye in discharge of tharrerages behind Twelvepence & so shall paye her Quateridge (pd xijd.) "l ;a year later " burtons widow" makes free anapprentice Mighell Pattinson.'Curiously enough, during the period 1654 to 1670,twenty-one girls were bound apprentice at Carpenters'Hall. Probably none of these expected to learn thetrade of a carpenter.' Nine were apprenticed toRichard Hill and his wife, who lived first near St.Michae17s, C~rnehill,~ and afterwards against TrinityMin~ries.~ They were apprenticed for seven yearsto learn the trade of a sempstress, and probably ineach case a heavy premium was paid, a note beingmade against the name of Prudentia Cooper, who wasbound in 1664 " (obligatur Pater in 50' pro ventuteapprenticij).""Richard Hill's wife's name is included in the Indenturesthree times, and in 1672 a boy was apprenticedto " Ric. Hill Civi et Carpenter London necnon delittle Minories Silk Winder."' We map infer thatMrs. Hill had founded the business before or afterher marriage with the carpenter, and that hers provingprofitable the husband had been satisfied with workingfor wages, while retaining the freedom of the Company,or had transferred his services to his wife's business,adding that of a Silk winder to it. One girl originallyapprenticed to Henry Joyse was " turned over toAnne Joyse sempstress & sole merchant withoutThomas Joyse her husband,"' five were apprenticedRecords of Worshrpful Company ofcarpenters, Vol. III., p. 102, Court Book, I 567.a Ibtd, Vol. III., p. zoo.Ib~d, Vol. I.. Intro. p. X-xi. Apprentice Entry Book.a Ibld, Vol. I., p. 62.Ibld, Vol. I., p. 125.lbtd,Vol. I., p. 78.Ibid. Vol. I., p. 145.ihri, Vol. I., p. 136

176 CRAFTS AND TRADESto Henry Joyce to learn the trade of a milliner. Nomention is made of his wife, but as he received boyapprentices also,' it may be supposed that in factthe two trades of a carpenter and a milliner werecarried on in this case simultaneously by him and hiswife. The blending of these two trades is notedagain in the case of Samuel Joyce ; the trade theother girls were to learn is not generally specified,but Rebecca Perry was definitely apprenticed toWilliam Addington " to learne the Art of a Sempstressof his wife."3 Two girls were apprenticed to " ThomeClarke. . . . London Civi et Carpenter addiscend artem de Child's Coate seller existen. art.uxoris sue pro septem annis.""Elizabeth Lambert, the daughter of Thomas Lambert,formerly of London, silkeman, was apprenticedin 1678 to Rebecca Cooper, uidow of Thomas Cooper," Civis Carpenter London," for seven years.6 Anothergirl who had been apprenticed to this same womanin 1668 applied for her freedom in 1679, which wasgranted, though apparently her request was an unusualone, the records stating that " Certaine Indenturesof Apprentiship were made whereby RebeccaGyles, daughter of James Gyles of Staines, . . . .was bound Apprentice to Rebecca Cooper of theparish of St. Buttolph without Aldgate widdow forseaven yeares . . . . this day att a Court ofassistants then holden for this Company came RebeccaGylles Spinster sometime servant to Rebecca Coopera free servant of this Company, and complained thatl Rrrords of the Worshtpful Cdmpany of Carpenters, Vol. l., p. 65, e.g. c re winRadford (obligatur Maria Radford de Perpole in Com Dorsett vid. in 100' Protentut apprentice).Ibtd, Vol. I., p. 149, 1674. " Edmundus Wilstead filius Kenrici Wilstead de Thetfordin Corn NorIolcie yeoman po : se appren. Samuel1 Joyse Civi et Carpenter Londonnecnon de Exambia Regali London miliner pro septem anni8 " etc.a Ibrd, Vol. I., p. 162.Vbtd, Vol. I., p. 148.Ibtd, Vol. I., p. 156.CRAFTS AND TRADEShaveing served her said Mistres faithfully a Termeof seaven years wh" expired the twenty-fourth dayof June, 1675, and often desired of her said MistrisTestimony of her service to the end shee might beemade free, her said Mistres had hitherto denyed thesame ; & then presented credible persons withinthis Citty to testifie the truth of her said service,desireing to bee admitted to the freedome of thisCompany, which this Table thought reasonable,vnlessethe said Rebecca Cooper, her said Mistres on noticehereof to bee given, shall shew reasonable cause tothe contrary, etc."' Encouraged by the success ofthis application, two other girls followed RebeccaGyles' example, one being presented for her freedomat Carpenters' Hall by Thomas Clarke in 1683 andanother by Henry Curtis in 1684.~Thus it may be presumed that apprenticeshipto a brother or sister of the Carpenters' Companyconferred the right of freedom upon any girls whbchose to avail themselves of the privilege, even whenthe trade actually learnt was not that of carpentry.Amongst the girl apprentices only one other wasdirectly bound to a woman, namely " Elizabethafilia Hester Eitchus ux. Geo. Eitchus nuper Civiet Carpentar. pon se dict Hester matri pro septemann a dat etc."3Although Hester Eitchus is herecalled " uxor " she must really have been a widow, forher name would not have appeared alone on theindenture during her husband's lifetime ; boy ayprenticeshad previously been bound to him, and no doubtas in the other cases husband and wife had beenprosecuting their several trades simultaneously, thewife retaining her membership in the Carpenters'Company when left a widow. An independentJupp. Carpenters, p. 161, 1679.Records of Worshipful Company of Carpenters, Vol. I., p. 198.' Ibid, Vol. I., App. Entry Book, p. 159, Feb. 3, 1679.

178 CRAFTS AND TRADES CRAFTS AND TRADES '79business must have been very necessary for the wifein cases where the husband worked for wages, and noton his own account, for in I 363 carpenter's wageswere fixed " be my lorde mayors commandement . . .yf they dyd fynde themselves meat and drynkeat xiiij9he day and their servants xijd. Itm otherwisesthe sayd carpynters to have viijd the day waygesmeat & drynke & their servants vjd meat & drynke."'These wages would have been inadequate for themaintenance of a family in London, and thereforeunless the carpenter was in a position to employapprentices and enter into contracts, in which casehe could find employment also for his wife, she musthave traded in some way on her own account.It is difficult to say how far the position of womenin the Stationers? and Carpenters7 Companies wastypical of their position in the other great LondonCompanies and in the Gilds and Companies whichflourished or decayed in the provinces. All theseorganisations resembled each other in certain broadoutlines, but varied considerably in, details. Allseem to have agreed in the early association of brothersand sisters on equal terms for social and religiouspurposes.Thus the Carpenters7 was " establishedone perpetual brotherhood, or guild . . . . toconsist of one master, three wardens, and commonaltyof freemen, of the Mystery of Carpentry . . . .and of the brethren and sisters of freemen of thesaid mystery."' The charter granted by Henry VI.to the Armourers and Braziers provided " that thebreihren and sisters of that ffraternity or guild, should be of itself one perpetual community . . . .and have perpetual sucession. And that the brothersand sisters of the same ffraternity or guild, . . . .might choose and make one Master and two Wardensfrom among themselves ; and also elect and make anotherMaster and other Wardens into the office aforesaid,according to the ordinances of the better and worthierpart of thesame brethren and sisters . . . . . "l Inthis case the sisters were regarded as active andresponsible members but of the Merchant TaylorsClode says " It is clear that women were originallyadmitted as members and took apprentices ; that itwas customary in later years for women to dine or bepresent at the quarterly meetings is evidenced by anotice of their absence in 1603, ' the upper table nearto the garden, commonlv called the Mistris Table,was furnished with swbrd bearer and gentlemenstrangers, there being no gentlewomen at this QuarterDay.' In many of the wills of early benefactors,sisters as well as brethren are named as ' devisees.'Thus in Sibsay's (1404) the devise is ' to the Masterand Wardens and brethren and sisters' . . . . .When an Almsman of the Livery married with theCompany's consent his widow remained during herlife an almswoman, and was buried by the Company.In that sense she was treated as a sister of thefraternity, but she probably exercised no rights as amember of it."2The sisters are often referred to in the rules relating tothe dinners, which were such an important featureof gild life. The " Grocers " provided that " Everyone of the Fraternity from thenceforward, that hasa wife or companion, shall come to the feast, and bringwith him a lady if he pleases ; [et ameyne avec luyune dernoiselle si luy plest] if they cannot come, forthe reasons hereafter named, that is to say, sick,big with child, and near deliverance, without anyother exception ; and that every man shall pay forhis wife 20d. ; also, that each shall pay ss., that isRecords of the Worshfpful Company of Carpenters, Vol. III., p. 75, Corrrt Book.Jupp. Carpenters, p. 12.l Armourers and Brazzers. Charter and By-lams ofthe Company, p. 4.Clode. Hastory of the Merchant Taylors, London, Vol. I., p. 42.

180 CRAFTS AND TRADES CRAFTS AND TRADESto sap, 20d. for himself, zod. for his companion, and20d. for the priest. And that all women who arenot of the Fraternity, and afterwards should bemarried to any of the Fraternity, shall be entered andlooked upon as of the Fraternity for ever, and shallbe assisted and made as one of us ; and after the deathof her husband, the widow shall come to the dinner,and pay 40d. if she is able. And if the said widowmarries any one not of the Fraternity, she shiill notbe admitted to the said feast, nor have any assistancegiven her, as long as she remains so married, be whomshe will ; nor none of us ought to meddle or interferein anything with her on account of the Fraternity,as long as she remains unmarried."'The Wardens of the Merchant Gild at Beverleywere directed to make in turn yearly " one dinnerfor all his bretherne and theire wieves."' The Pewterersdecided that " every man and wif that comythto the yemandries dynner sholde paye xvjd. Andevery Jorneyman that hath a wif . . . . xvjd.And every lone man beinge ahowsholder thatcomyth to dynner shall paye xijd. and everyJorneyman having no wif and comyth to dynnershall paye viijd. . . . . every man that hathbynne maryed wthin the same ij years shall geve hiscocke or eHe paye xijd . . . . Provided alwaysthat none bringe his gest wth him wthowt he paye forhis dynner as moch as he paith for hymself and thatthey bring no childerne W'" them passing one & nomore."Vn 1605 it was agreed that " ther shalbecalled all the whole clothyng and ther wyves andthe wydowes whose husbandes have byne of theclothynge and that shalbe payed ijs. man & wyffe andthe wydowes xijd. a peece.,j4 In 1672, the expensel Heath, /1crt. of the Worshipf~il Compuny of Grocers, p. 53, memo. 1348.Leach, BcwcrZq~ 7o:un Documents, p. 95, 1582.Welch, Htstorv of Pewtcrers Computry, \ 01. I., p. 201, I j59.' Ibld, Vol. II., p. 57.of entertaining becoming irksome, " an order ofCO" for ye abateing extraordinary Feasting " wasmade, requiring the " Master & Wardens . . . .to deposit each I zli & spend ye one half thereof uponthe Masters 8c Wardens ffeast this day held, and theOther moyety to be and remain to ye Compa use.Now this day the sd Feast was kept but by reason ofthe women being invited ye Charge of ye Feast wassoe extream that nothing could be cleered to v"house according to ye sd order. There being spe;tnear qoli."'~isfers are also remembered in the provisionsmade for religious observances and assistance in timesof sickness. The ordinances of the Craft of theGlovers at Kingston-upon-Hull required that " everybrother and syster of ye same crafftt be at everyofferyng within the sayd town with every brotheror syster of the same crafftt as well at weddyngesas at beryalles."Brethren and sisters were to havelights at their decease, and if in poverty to have themfree1y.l The " yoman taillours " made application" that they and others of their fraternity of yomenyearly may assemble . . . . near to Smithfieldand make offerings for the souls of brethren and sisteretc."3 In the city of Chester, when a charter wagiven to joiners, carvers and turners to become aseparate Company, not part of the Carpenters'as formerly, to be called the Company of the Joiners,it is said " Every brother of the said occupacionsshall bee ready att all times. . . . to comeunto . . . . the burial of every brother andsister of the said occupa~ions."~Sisters must have played an important part in thel Welch, Hist. of Pewtcrers'Company, Vol. II., p. 145.Lambert, Two lhonsand Tears $Gild Llfe, p. 217, 1499.a Ibid, p. 229, 1415.' Harl. MSS. 2054, fo.5. Charter of the Joiner's Co.

182 CRAFTS AND TRADES CRAFTS AND TRADESfunctions of the Merchant Taylors of Bristol, for anorder was made in 1401 that " the said maister andiiii wardeyns schall ordeyne every yere good andconvenient cloth of oon suyt for all brothers and sistersof the said fraternity . . . ."l The Charterof this Company provided that " ne man ne womanbe underfange into the fraternite abovesaid withouteassent of the Keper and maister etc. . . . . andalso that hie be a man or woman y knowe of goodconversation and honeste. . . . Also yf enybrother other soster of thys fraternite above saydethat have trewly y payed hys deutes yat longeth toye fraternite falle into poverte other into myschefand maie note travalle for to he be releved, he schalhave of ye comune goodes every weke xxid of monei. . . . and yf he be a man yat hath wyfe and chyldehe schal trewly departe alle hys goodes bytwyneheir and hys wyfe and children; and ye partle thatfalleth to hym he schal trewly yeld up to ye mayster andto ye wardynes of the fraternite obove sayde, in yemaner to fore seide. . . . . " The brothers andsisters shall share in the funeral ceremonies, etc.," also gif eny soster chyde with other openly in thestrete, yat eyther schalle paye a pounde wex to yelighte of the fraternite ; and gif they feygte eytherschall paie twenty pounde wex to ye same lyte uponperryle of hir 0th gif thei be in power. And gifeny soster by y proved a commune chider among herneygbourys after ones warnyng other tweies at the(delit) ye thridde tyme ye maister and ye wardeynesof ye fraternite schulle pute her out of ye compaynyefor ever more."'Chiding and reviling were failings common to allgilds, and were by no means confined to thesisters. The pnishments appointed by the Merchant'83Gild at Beverley for those " who set up detractions,or rehearse past disputes, or unduly abuse "l are forbrothers only. And though it was " Agreed by theM' Wardens and Assystaunce " of the Pewterers that" Robert west sholde bringe in his wif vpon ffrydayenext to reconsile her self to M' Cacher and othersof the Company for her naughty mysdemeanor ofher tonge towarde them, "' the quarrelling amongthe Carpenters seems to have been almost confined tothe men.There can be no doubt that the sisters shared fullyin the social and religious life of the Gilds ; it is alsoperfectly clear that the wife was regarded by theGild or Company as her husband's partner, and that,after his death she was confirmed in the possessionof his business with his leases and apprentices at leastduring the term of her widowhood.But the extent to which she really worked withhim in his trade and was qualified to carry it on asa going concern after his death is much more difficultto determine, varying as it did from trade to tradeand depending so largely in each case upon the naturalcapacity of the individual woman concerned. Theextent to which a married woman could work withher husband depended partly upon whether histrade was carried on at home or abroad. It hasbeen suggested that the carpenters who often wereengaged m building operations could not profitmuch by their wives' assistance, hut many tradeswhich in later times have become entirely closed towomen were then so dependent on their labour thatsisters are mentioned specifically in rules concerningthe conditions of manufacture. Thus the charterof the Armourers and Brasiers was granted in theseventeenth year of James I. " to the Master and' Fox (F. F.) Merchant Taylors, Brzsiol, p. 31.l Leaeh, Brverlcy Town Dorvments, p. 78, 1494.Welch, Charles, Hzrt. ofPrwterers Cornpan), iiol. I., p. zoo, I j58.

CRAFTS AND TRADESWardens and Brothers and Sisters of the ffraternity. . . . that from thenceforth All & all mannerof brass and copper works . . . . edged tools. . . . small guns . . . . wrought by anyperson or persons being of the same ffraternity . . .should be searched and approved . . . . byskilful Artificers of the said ffraternity."' Ruleswhich were drawn up at Salisbury in 1612 provide thatno free brother or sister shall " rack, set, or causeto be racked or set, any cloth upon any tenter, on theSabbath day, under the forfeiture of 2s."The Wardensof the Company of Merchants, Mercers, Grocers,Apothecaries, Goldsmiths, Drapers, Upholsterers, andEmbroiderers were ordered to search the wares,merchandise, weiqhts and measures of sisters as wellas brothers.' " No free brother or sister is at any timeto put any horse leather into boots or shoes or anyliquored calves leather into boots or shoes, to besold between the feast of St. Bartholomew the Apostleand the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary . . . .No free brother or sister is to keep or set up any standingin the market place, except in fair times. Nobrother or sister is to set open his or her shop, or todo any work, in making or mending of boots andshoes on the Sabbath day, on pain of twelve pencef~rfeit."~Rules which specifically permit the employmentof the master's wife or daughter in his trade whileexcluding other unapprenticed persons, are in themselvesevidence that they were often so employed.l Armorrrers and Braszers, Charter and Bye lows of Company of. p. 5. See alsoJohnson, Ordinances of the Drapers of London, Vol. I., p. 280, I 524)." (it shall not be laaful unto any brother or sister freed in this fellyshipto take rno. apprentices than may stand in good order for their degree) . . .every brother being in the master's livery shall pay 6s. 8d. and every sister whosehusband has been of the aforesaid livery shall pay for every apprentice 6s. 8d. andevery other brother or sister not being of the master's livery shall pay for everyapprentice 3s. +d.a Honre, Sir R. C., Hist. of Modern Wilts, Vol. VI., p. 34~.Zbid, Vol. VI., p. 343.CRAFTS AND TRADESThus the Glovers allowed " noe brother of thisffraternity " to " take an apprentice vnder the fullend and tearme of seaven years ffuly to be compleat. . . . exceptingbrothers sonor daughter . . ,,INo leatherseller might " put man, child or woman towork in the same mistery, if they be not boundapprentice, and inrolled in the same mistery ; exceptingtheir wives and children."' Similarly the Girdlersin 1344 ordered that " no one of the trade shall getany woman to work other than his wedded wife ordaughter while by a rule of the Merchant Taylors,Bristol " no person. . . shall cutt make or sellany kynde of garment, garments, hose or breecheswithin ye saide cittie . . . unles he be franchisedand made free of the saide crafte (widdowes whosehusbandes were free of ye saide crafte duringethe tyme of their wyddowhedd vsinge ye samewith one Jorneyman and one apprentice onlyexcepted) "'The association of women with their husbands inbusiness matters is often suggested by the presenceof both their names on indentures. Walter Beemer,for example, was apprenticed to John Castle of Markeand Johane his wife to be instructed and broughtup in the trade of a tanner. Vometimes it isshown by the indifference with which moneytransactions are conducted either with husband orwith wife. When the Corporation at Dorchesterpurchased a new mace in 1660, Mr. Sam White'swife appears to have acted throughout in the matter.An entry in the records for 1660 states that " the silver' Ferguson, Carlisle, p. 212, Glourr's Gzld, 1665.Black, W. H., .Irticles ofthe Lcathcrsrllers, p. 21, 1398.Smythe, W. D., Hsst. cf Worshipful Co. ofGirdlers, London, p. 63.FOX, F. F., Merchant Taylorr, Bristol, pp. 64-65.Somerset Quarter Sessions Records, Vol. III., p. 165, 16j2.

I 88 CRAFTS AND TRADES CRAFTS AND TRADESEdward Fish, late member of this Comp" decd, andsince marryed to one Moore, a fforeignir, now alsodecd, desired to be admitted into the ffreedome ofthis Compa. After some debate the Court agreedand soe Ordered that she shall be received into theffreedom of the Compa Gratis, onely paying usual1ffees and this Condition that she shall not bind anyapp'ntice by virtue of the sd Freedom."'Instances occur in which an apprentice was dischargedbecause " the wife, after the death of her Husband,taught him not."' The apprentice naturally broughtforward this claim if by so doing there was a chanceof shortening the term of his service, but he was notalways successful. The Justices dismissed a casebrought by Edward Steel, ordering him to serveElizabeth Apprice, widow, the remainder of histerm. He was apprenticed in 1684 to John AppricePainter-Stainer for nine years ; he had served sevenyears when his master died, and he now declares thatElizabeth, the widow, refuses to instruct him.Sheinsists that since her husband's death she has providedable workmen to instruct this apprentice, andthat he was now capable of doing her good service.'When the " widowe Holton prayed that she[being executor to her husband] maye have the benefittof the service of Roger Jakes, her husband's apprenticeby Indenture, for the residue of the years to come,which he denyeth to performe, it was ordered thatth'apprentice shall dwell and serve his dame duringethe residue of his terme, she providing for him aswell work as other things fitt for him." ' TheGirdlers having accused Richard Northy of havingmore than the just number of apprentices, he statedWelch, Hist. of Pewterers' Company, Vol. IT., p. 153.Stow, London, Book V., p. 33 j.,llrddlescx Scsstons Book, p. 47, 169 I.Guilding, Readq Records, Vol. II., p. 362.in his defence that the apprentice " was not anythat was taken or bound by him, but was left untohim by express words in the will of his deceasedmother-in-law whch will, the probate thereof,he now produced in ~ourt."'The occurrence of widows' names among the caseswhich came before the Courts for infringementsof the Company's rules is further evidence that theywere actively engaged in business. " Two bundlesof unmade girdles were taken from widows Mayburyand Bliss, young widows " they were ordered topay SS. each by way of fine for making and selling unlawfulware^."^ Richard Hewatt, of Northover inGlastonbury, fuller, when summoned to appear beforethe Somerset Quarter Sessions as a witness, refersto his dame Ursula Lance who had " lost 2 larrowsworth five shillings and that Robert Marsh, one ofthe constables of Somerton Hundred, found in thehouse of William Wilmat the Larrows cloven in piecesand put in the oven, and the Rack-hookes that werein the larrows were found in the fire in the said h~use."~Widows were very dependent upon the assistanceof journeymen, and often chose a relation for thisresponsible position. At Reading " All the fremanBlacksmiths in this Towne complayne that one EdwardNitingale, a smith, beinge a forreynour, useth the tradeof a blacksmith in this Corporacion to the greatdammage of the freemen : it was answered that he is ajourney-man to the Widowe Parker, late wife toHumfrey Parker, a blacksmith, deceased, and workethas her servant at ss. a weeke, she being his aunt, andwas advised to worke in noe other manner but as ajo~rne~-rnan."~ The connection often ended inSmythe, Company of Girdlers, p. 133, 1635.' Ibld, p. 87, 1627.Sumerset Q.S. Rec., Vol. III., pp. 365-6, 1659.Guilding, Reading Records, Vol. III., p. 502, 1640.

P-I9OCRAFTS AND TRADESmarriage ; it was brought to the notice of one ofthe Quaker's Meetings in London that one of theirMembers, "Will Townsend . . . card maker proposesto take to wife Elizabeth Doshell of ye sameplace to be his wife, and ye same Elizabeth dothpropose to take ye said Will to be her husband, theyonge man liveing with her as a journey-man hadthought and a bcliefe that she would come to owneye truth and did propose to her his Intentionstowards her as to marige before she did come toowne the truth which thinge being minded to himby ffriends. . . . he has acknowledged it soe andsayes it had been beter that he had waited till hehad had his hope in some measure answered."'Such marriages, though obviously offering manyadvantages, were not always satisfactory. A lamentablepicture of an unfortunate one is given in thepetition of Sarah Westwood, wife of Robert Westwood,Feltmaker, presented to Laud in 1639, showing that"your petitioner was (formerly) the wife of one JohnDavys, alsoe a Feltmaker, who dying left her a howsefurnished with goodes sufficient for her use thereinand charged with one childe, as yet but an infant,and two apprentices, who, for the residue of theirtermes . . . could well have atchieved sufficientfor the maynetenance of themselves and alsoe ofyour petitioner and her child. That being thus leftin good estate for livelyhood, her nowe husbandbecame a suitor unto her in the way of marriage,being then a journeyman feltmaker. . . .,)Soon after their marriage, " Westwood followinglewde courses, often beate and abused your petitioner,sold and consumed what her former husband left her,threatened to kill her and her child, turned themout of dores, refusing to afford them any means ofsubsistance, but on the contrary seekes the utterruin of them both and most scandelously has traducedHorsleydown Monthly Meeting Minute Book, 19 II~O., 1675.CRAFTS AND TRADESyour petitioner giving out in speeches that she wouldhave poysoned him thereby to bring a general1disgrace upon her, . . . and forbiddes all peoplewhere she resortes to afford her entertaignment, andwill not suffer her to worke for the livelyhood ofher and her child, but will have accompt of thesame.. . . Albeit he can get by his labour20/- a weeke, yet he consumes the same in idlecompany . . . having lewdlie spent all he hadwith your petitioner."'Though their entrance to the Gilds and Companieswas most often obtained by women through marriage,it has already been shown that their admission byapprenticeship was not unknown, and they alsooccasionally acquired freedom by patrimony ; thus" Katherine Wetwood, daughter of Humphrey Wetwood,of London, Pewterer, was sworn and made freeby the Testimony of the Master and Wardens ofthe Merchant Taylors' Co., and of two Silk Weavers,that she was a virgin and twenty-one years of age.She paid the usual patrimony fine of gs.zd."' Morethan one hundred years later Mary Temple was madefree of the Girdlers' Company by patrimony. Nojealousy is expressed of the wGmen who were members ofthe Companies, but all others were rigorously excludedfrom employment. Complaints were brought before theGirdlers' that certain Girdlers in London " set onworke such as had not served 7 years at the art,and also for setting forreigners and maids on ~orke."~Rules were made in Bristol in 1606, forbidding womento work at the trades of the whitawers (white leatherdressers), Point makers and Glovers."' S.P.D., ccccxxxv. 42, Dec. 6, 1639.Welch, Paotercrs, Vol. II., p. 92, 1633-4.Smythe, Company of Girdlers, p. 128, 1747.' Zbid, p. 88, 1628.Latimer, Annals of Bristol, p. 26, 1606.

192 CRAFTS AND TRADESIn the unprotected trades where the Gild organisationhad broken down, and the profits of the smalltradesmen had been reduced to a minimum by unlimitedcompetition, the family depended upon thelabour of mother and children as well as the father forits support. Petitions presented to the King concerninggrievances under which they suffer, generallyinclude wives and children in the number of thoseengaged in the trade in question. On a proposalto tax tobacco pipes, the makers show " that allthe poorer sort of the Trade must be compelled tolay it down, for want of Stock or Credit to carry iton ; and so their Wives and Children, who help toget their Bread, must of necessity perish, or becomea Charge to their respective Parishes. That whena Gross of Pipes are made, they sell them for IS. 6d.and IS. ~od., out of which zd. or 3d. is their greatestProfit. And they not already having Stock, or canmake Pipes fast enough to maintain their Families,how much less can they be capable, when half theStock they have, must be paid down to pay theKing his Duty ? "lThe Glovers prepared a memorandum showingthe great grievances there would be if a Duty be laidon Sheep and Lamb Skins, Drest in Oyl etc. " TheGlovers," they say, " are many Thousands in Number,in the Counties of England, City of London andLiberties thereof, and generally so Poor (the saidTrade being so bad and Gloves so plenty) that mearNecessity doth compel them to Sell their Goods dailyto the Glove-sellers, and to take what Prises they willgive them, to keep them and their Children and Familiesat Work to maintain them, or else they mustperrish for want of Bred."2Humble Pctrtzon and Case of the Tobacco P+pe Makers of ihe CftysWestmrnster, 1695.Reasons humbly ojered by the Leather-Dressers afrd Glor'ers, &c.London a dCRAFTS AND TRADESThe Pin-makers say that their company "consistsfor the most part of poor and indigent People, whohave neither Credit nor Money to purchase Wyre ofthe Merchant at the best hand, but are forced for wantthereof, to buy only small Parcels of the second orthird Buyer, as they have occasion to use it, and tosell off the Pins they make of the same from Weekto Week, as soon as they are made, for ready money,to feed themselves, their Wives, and Children, whomthey are constrained to imploy to go up and downevery Saturday Night from Shop to Shop to offer theirPins for Sale, otherwise cannot have mony to buybread."*A similar picture is given in the " Mournfull Cryesof many thousand Poore tradesmen, who are readyto famish through decay of Trade."" Oh that thecravings of our Stomacks could bee heard by theParliament and City ! Oh that the Teares of ourpoorefamishing Babes were botled ! Oh that their tenderMothers Cryes for bread to feed them were ingravenin brasse . . . . 0 you Members ofParliament and rich men in the City, that are atease, and drink Wine in Bowles. . . . you thatgrind our faces and Flay off our skins . . . . isthere none to Pity . . . . Its your TaxesCustomes and Excize, that compels the Country toraise the price of Food and to buy nothing fromus but meere absolute necessaries ; and then youof the City that buy our Worke, must have yourTables furnished . . . . and therefore willgive us little or nothing for our Worke, even what youplease, because you know wee must sell for Monyesto set our Families on worke, or else wee famish. . . . and since the late Lord Mayor Adams,you have put into execution an illegall, wickedDecree of the Common Counsel1 ; whereby you haveCase or Petrtron of the Corporatzon of Prn-makers.

CRAFTS AND TRADEStaken our goods from us, if we have gone to the Innesto sell them to the Countrimen; and you have murderedsome of our poor wives, that have gone to Innesto find countrimen to buie them."'In each case it will be noticed that the wife'sactivity is specially mentioned in connection withthe sale of the goods. Women were so closely connectedwith industrial life in London that when the Queenproposed to leave London in 1641 it was the womenwho petitioned Parliament, declaring, " that yourPetitioners, their Husbands, their Children and theirFamilies, amounting to many thousand soules ; havelived in plentiful1 and good fashion, by the exerciseof several1 Trades and venting of divers workes . . .All depending wholly for the sale of their commodities,(which is the maintenance and very existence andbeeing of themselves, their husbands, and families)upon the splendour and glory of the English Court,and principally upon that of the Queenes Majesty."'In addition to these Trades, skilled and semiskilled,in which men and women worked together,certain skilled women's trades existed in London whichwere sufficiently profitable for considerable premiumsto be paid with the girls who were apprenticed tothem.3 These girls probably continued to exercisetheir own trade after marriage, their skill serving theminstead of dowry, the Customs of London providingthat " married women who practise certain craftsin the city alone and without their husbands, maytake girls as apprentices to serve them and learn theirtrade, and these apprentices shall be bound by theirindentures of apprenticeship to both husband andwife, to learn the wife's trade as is aforesaid, and suchi%Iournfull Cryts of many Thousand Poore Tradesmen, 1647Humble Petztzon of many thousands ofTmdamens Wrver, &C.S Ante. p. 175.Courtzers, Cztzzens, GentlmensCRAFTS AND TRADESI95indentures shall be enrolled as well for women asfor men."' The girls who were apprenticed toCarpenters were evidently on this footing.References in contempbrary documents to womenwho were following skilled or semi-skilled tradesin London are very frequent. Thus ThomasSwan is reported to have committed thefts " on hismistress Alice Fox, Wax-chandler of Old Bailey."'Mrs. Cellier speaks of " one Mrs. Phillips, an uphol-~terer,"~ while the Rev. Giles Moore notes in hisdiary " payed Mistress Cooke, in Shoe Lane, for a newtrusse, and for mending the old one and altering theplate thereof, LI 5 o ; should shee dye, I am in futureto inquire for her daughter Barbara, who may do thelike for mee."4 Isaac Derston was "put an app.to Anthony Watts for the term of seven years, butturned over to the widow-dwelling near : palls : whobottoms cane chaires, L2 10 0."' That the bottomingof cane chairs was a poor trade is witnessed by themeagreness of the premium paid in this case.No traces can be found of any organisation existingin the skilled women's trades, such as upholstery,millinery, mantua-making, but a Gild existedamong the women who sorted and packed woolat Southampton. A Sisterhood consisting of twelvewomen of good and honest demeanour was formedthere as a company to serve the merchants in theoccupation of covering pokes or baloes [bales]. Twoof the sisters acted as wardens. In 1554 a court washeld to adjudicate on the irregular -attendance ofsome of the sisters. The names of two wardens' Eileen Power, by kind permission, 1419.C.S.P.D. CV. 53, Jan. 19, 1619.a Cellier (Mra.) Malrce Defeated. p. 25.'Suss. Arch. Col1 , Vol. I., p. 123, JournaIRev., 1676."enthly Meetrng Mznute Book, Peelc, Nov. 24, 1687.

CRAFTS AND TRADESand eleven sisters are given ; no one who was absentfrom her duties for more than three months was permittedto return to the Sisterhood without theMayor's licence. " Item, Y' is ordered by the saydeMaior and his bretherne that all suche as shall benomynated and appoynted to be of the systerydshall make a brekefaste at their entrye for a knowlegeand shal bestowe at the least xxd or ij', or more asthey lyste."'Possibly when more records of the Gilds and Companieshave been published in a complete form, someof the gaps which are left in this account of the positionof women in the skilled and semi-skilled trades maybe filled in ; but the extent to which married womenwere engaged in them must always remain largelya matter of conjecture, and unfortunately it is preciselythis point which is most interesting to the sociologist.Practically all adult women were married, andthe character of the productive work which aneconomic organisation allots to married women andthe conditions of their labour decide very largelythe position of the mother in society, and therefore,ultimately, the fate of her children. The fragmentaryevidence which has been examined shows that, whilethe system of family industry lasted, it was so usualin the skilled and semi-skilled trades for women toshare in the business life of their husbands that theywere regarded as partners. Though the wife hadrarely, if ever, served an apprenticeship to his trade,there were many branches in which her assistancewas of great value, and husband and wife naturallydivided the industry between them in the way whichwas most advantageous to the family, while unmarriedservants, either men or women, performed the domesticdrudgery. As capitalistic organisation developed,many avenues of industry were, however, graduallyclosed to married women. The masters no longer -l Davies. W., S.) Hast of Southampton, p. 279.CRAFTS AND TRADESdepended upon the assistance of their wives, whilethe journeyman's position became very similar tothat of the modern artisan ; he was employed on thepremises of his master, and thus, though his associationwith his fellows gave him opportunity for combination,his wife and daughters, who remained at home, didnot share in the improvements which he effected inhis own economic position. The alternatives beforethe women of this class were either to withdrawaltogether from productive activity, and so becomeentirely dependent upon their husband's goodwill,or else to enter the labour market independently andfight their battles alone, in competition not only withother women, but with men.Probably the latter alternative was still most oftenfollowed hy married women, although at this time theidea that men " keep " their wives begins to prevail :but the force of the old tradition maintained amongstwomen a desire for thefeeling of independence whichcan only be gained through productive activity, andthus married women, even when unable to work withtheir husbands, generally occupied themselves withsome industry, however badly it might be paid.B. Retail Trades.The want of technical skill and knowledge which sooften hampered the position of women in the SkilledTrades, was a smaller handicap in Retail Trades,where manual dexterity and technical knowledgeare less important than general intelligence and alively understanding of human nature. Quick perceptionand social tact, which are generally supposedto be feminine characteristics, often proved usefuleven to the craftsman, when his wife assumed thecharge of the financial side of his business ; it istherefore not surprising to find women taking aprominent part in every branch of Retail Trade.In fact the woman who was left without other

1g8CRAFTS AND TRADESresources turned naturally to keeping a shop, or to thesale of goods in the street, as the most likely meansfor maintaining her children, and thus the womanshopkeeper is no infrequent figure in contemporarywritings. For example, in one of the many pamphletsdescribing the incidents of the Civil War, we read that" Mistresse Phillips was sent for, who was foundplaying the good housewife at home (a thing muchout of fashion) . . . . and committed closeprisoner to castle." Her husband having been drivenbefore from town, " She was to care for ten children,the most of them being small, one whereof she atthe same time suckled, her shop (which enabled herto keep all those) was ransacked," L14 was taken, andthe house plundered, horse and men billetted with herwhen she could scarce get bread ,enough for herselfand her family without charity. She was tried, andcondemned to death, when, the account continues," Mistress Phillips not knowing but her turne wasnext, standing all the while with a halter about herneck over against the Gallowes, a Souldier would haveput the halter under her Handkerchiefe, but she wouldnot suffer him, speaking with a very audible voice,' I am not ashamed to suffer reproach and shame inthis cause,' a brave resolution, beseeming a nobler sex,and not unfit to be registered in the Book of Martyrs."The woman shop-keeper is found also among thestock characters of the drama. In " The Old Batch-elor " Belinda relates that " a Country Squire, withthe Equipage of a Wife and two Daughters, came toMrs. Snipwel's Shop while I was there . . . . theFather bought a Powder-Horn, and an Almanack,and a Comb-Case ; the Mother, a great Fruz-Towr, anda fat Amber-Necklace ; the Daughters only tore twoPair of Kid-leather Gloves, with trying 'em on."'1 Congreve (Wm.). The Old Batchelcr, Act IV., Sc., VIII.CRAFTS AND TRADES'99after his marriage " had a Concern to visit Friendsin the counties of Surrey, Sussex and Kent, whichI performed in about two Weeks Time, and camehome and followed my calling, and was industrioustherein ; and when I had gotten something to bearmy expenses, and settled my Wife in some littleBusiness I found an Exercise on my Spirit to go overto Ireland."' Another Quaker describes how heapplied himself " to assist my Wife in her Businessas well as I could, attending General, Monthlyand other Meetings on public Occasions forthree year^."^ The provision of the little stockneeded for a shop was a favourite method of assistingwidows.The frequency with which payments to women areentered in account books3 is further evidence of theextent to which they were engaged in Retail Trades, butthis occupation was not freely open to all and any whoneeded it. It was, on the contrary, hedged about withalmost as many restrictions as the gild trades. Thecraftsman was generally free to dispose of his owngoods, but many restrictions hampered the Retailer,that is to say the person who bought to sell again.The community regarded this class with somejealousy, and limited their numbers. Hence, the poorwoman who sought to improve her position by openingChalkley, Joutnnl, pp. 30-31, 1690.Bownas, Samuel, Lt!e of, p. 135.The Churchwardens of St. Marparet's, Westminster, paid 6d. to " GoodwyfeWells for salt to destroy the fleas In the Churchwarden's pew." (Cox. ChurchwardensAccts , p. 321, 1613.). Among the Cromwell fam~ly recelpts 1s one In 1624"from ye R~ght woe ye Lady Carr by the hands of Henry Hanby, the somme oftwenty and one pounds in frill p-yment of all Reckon~ngs from the bepnninge ofthe world . . . . . by me ellen Sadler X (Cromwell Farttrly Bzl andReceipts,p. I C.) " A bill for Mrs. W~ll~e of Ramsie the 14 of Apnl 1636tor matena: and making your daughter petecoategrogram coate,, ,, your s~lk9, ,, your daughter's gason shute77 ,, your daughter's silke moheare wascote,, ., your damask coateTotal 7. 17. g. (Ibad, p. 26;).

200 CRAFTS AND TRADES CRAFTS AND TRADESalittle shop, did not always find her course clear.In fact there were many towns in which thebarriers between her and an honest independencewere insurmountable. Girls were, however,apprenticed to shop-keepers oftener than to the gildtrades, and licences to sell were granted to freewomenas well as to freemen. At Dorchester, girls who hadserved an apprenticeship to shopkeepers were duly admittedto the freedom of the Borough; we find enteredin the Minute Book the names of Celina Hilson,apprenticed to Mat. Hilson, Governor, haberdasher,and Mary Goodredge, spinster, haberdasher of smallwares ; also of James Bun (who had married ElizabethWilliams a freewoman) haberdasher of smallwares ; Elizabeth Williams, apprenticed seven years toher Mother, Mary W., tallow chaundler, and ofWilliam Weare, apprenticed to Grace Lacy, widow,woolen draper.' An order was granted by theMiddlesex Quarter Sessions to discharge Mary Jemmettfrom apprenticeship to Jane Tyllard, widow, fromwhom she was to learn " the trade of keeping a linenshop,"' and an account is given of a difference betweenSusanna Shippey, of Mile End, Stepney, widow, andAnn Taylor, her apprentice, touching the dischargeof the said apprentice. It appears that Ann hasThe Rev. Giles Moore boughr " of Wlddow Langley z more fine sheets. of GoodwyfeSeamer 9 ells. an? a halfe of hempen cloath. (Suss. '4r;b Coll. Vol., I. p. 681656. Rev. G~les Moore's Journal).Foul~s paid, in Scots money, Jan. 22, 1692 "to Mrs. Pouries lad for aniseed.carthamums BC. 11s." (p. and on Aug. 3. 1696 he " received from Ehr. Ludgatelast Whits mall' for ye shop at fosters Wyndhead 25 l'"." (p. 195). Jan. 14,. 1704" to my douchter Jesn be Xfra. Cuthbertsons pavmt tor q ell & r flowered csllro toIvne myn;ghtgowne7. 13. o. (p. 339) Mav 23, 1704 " receaved from Agne:. philpWhitsvn. mail1 for the shopat fosters wyndhead and ye key therot, and giy en ~t tothe Candlemakers wife who has taken the sh~p 25 'lb (p. 146). (Fqulis Acci Book).Similar entrles are in the Howard Household Book, 1619. To Mrs. Smith for lining!linen] for m). Lord, had in Easter t-arm, 5'1 xS. Mrs. Swith for napry had in Mavvjll iiS (Hmla-d Household Book, pp. to$ and 161.).Mayo, Municipal Records ?f Dorch~ster, p. 428 g.' Middleser County Rtrordr, p. 180, 1698.often defrauded her mistress of her goods and soldthem for less than cost price.'Little mercy was shown to either man or womanwho engaged in the Retail Trade without havingservedan apprenticeship. A warrant was only issued torelease " Elizabeth Beaseley from the Hospital ofBridewell on her brother John Beaseley's having enteredinto bond that she shall leave off selling tobaccoin the town of Wigan."2 Mary Keeling was presentedat Nottingham " for falowing ye Treaid of a Grocerand Mercer and kepping open shope for on monthlast past, contra Statum, not being aprenticc.""tCarlisle it was ordered that " Isaack Tully shallsubmit himself to pay a fine to this trade if theyshall think it fitting for taking his sister to keep &sell waires for him contrary to our ~rder,"~and whenit was reported that " Mrs. Studholme hath employedJames Moorehead Scotsman to vend and sell goodsin her shop contrary to an order of this companywee doe order that the wardens of our company shallfourthrvith acquaint Mrs. Studholme yt. she mustnot be admitted to entertain him any longr in heremploymt but that before our next quarter day shetake some other course for keeping her shop and yt.he be noe longer employed therein till yt. time."jAt a later date Mrs. Sybil Hetherington, Mrs. MaryNixon, Mrs. Jane Jackson, widow, and four men,were dealt with for having shops or retailery of goodscontrary to the statute.'l Mzddlesex County Records, p. 2, 1690.* C. R. 18th, August, 1640.lVottzngham R~cords, Vol. V., p. 331, 1686.rerguson, Municipal Records, Carlr,le, p. r 10, 1651.Ihtd, p. 112, 1669.11 rd, p. 115, 1710.

CRAFTS AND TRADESThere were fewer restrictions on retailing in Londonthan in the provinces, and trading was virtually freein the streets of London. An act of the CommonCouncil, passed in 1631, deals with abuses rising fromthis freedom, declaring " that of late it is come topasse that divers unruly people, as Butchers, Bakers,Poulters, Chandlers, Fruiterers, Sempsters, sellersof Grocery wares, Oyster wives, Herbe wives, Tripewives, and the like ; who not contented to enjoy thebenefit and common right of Citizens, by holdingtheir market and continual Trades in their severalShops & houses where they dwell, doe . . . . bythemselves, wives, children and seruants enter into,and take up their standings in the said streets andplaces appointed for the common Markets, untowhich the country people only have in former timesused to resort to vend and utter their victual1 andother commodities ; in which Markets the said Freemendoe abide for the most part of the day and thatnot only upon Market dayes, but all the weeke longwith multitudes of Baskets, Tubs, Chaires, Boards& Stooles, . . . . the common Market placesby these disordered people be so taken up, that countrypeople when they come with victual and provisionhave no roome left them to set down their . . . .baskets."lIn provincial towns, stalls in the market placewere leased to tradesmen by the Corporation, therents forming a valuable revenue for the town ; infringementsof the monopoly were summarily dealtwith and often the privilege was reserved for " free "men and women. Thus at St. Albans RichardMorton's wife was presented because she " dothordinarilie sell shirt bands and cuff es, hankerchers,coifes, and other small lynenn wares openlie in themarkett,"' not being free. It was as a special favourl Act of Common Councilfor reformation, etc.2 Gtbbs, Corporation Records of St. Albanr, p. 62, 1613.CRAFTS AND TRADESthat leave was given to a poor woman to sell shoesin Carlisle market. The conditions are explainedas follows :-" Whereas Ann Barrow the wife ofRichard Barrow formerly one that by virtue of theColdstream Act brought shoes and exposed them tosell in Carlisle market he being long abroad and hissaid wife poor the trade is willing to permit the saidAnn to bring and sell shoes provided always they bethe work of one former servant and noe more and forthis permission she owns the trades favour and isthankful for it . . . . agreed and ordered thatevery yeare she shall pay zs."lThe Corporation at Reading was occupied for awhole year with the case of the " Aperne woman."The first entry in the records states that " StevenFoord of Newbery the aperne woman's husband,exhibited a lettre from the Lord of Wallingford forhis sellerman to shewe and sell aperninge g in towne,in Mr. Mayor's handes, etc. And thereupon tolleratedto doe as formerly she had done, payeing yerely 10s.to the Hall."3 Next year there is another entry tothe effect that " it was agreed that Steven Foorde'swief shall contynue sellinge of aperninge, as heretofore,and that the other woman usinge to sell suche stuffesat William Bagley's dore shalbe forbidden, and shallnot hencefourth be permitted to sell in the borougheetc., and William Bagley shall be~arned."~ The otherwoman proving recalcitrant, " at Steven Foorde'swive's request and complaynte it was grannted thatWilliam Bagley's stranger, selling aperninge in contemptof the government, shalbe questioned."' FinallyStuff for Aprons.S Gulld~nq. Readzn~ Rrcords Vol. II., p. 171, 1624.' Ibid, Vol. II., p. 249, 1625.Ibid, Vol. II., p. 2 j2.

CRAFTS AND TRADES CRAFTS AND TRADES205it was " agreed that Steven Foorde's wife shall henceforthkeepe Markett and sell onely linsey woolseyof their own making in this markett, according tothe Lord Wallingforde's lettre, she payeing xs. perannum, and that noe other stranger shall henceforthkeepe markett or sell lynsey and woolsey in thismarkett."'At this time, when most roads were mere bridletracks, and few conveniences for travel existed, wheneven in towns the streets were so ill-paved that inbad weather the goodwife hesitated before going tothe market, the dwellers in villages and hamlets wereoften fain to buy from pedlars who brought goodsto their door and to sell butter and eggs to anyone whowould undertake the trouble of collection. Theirneed was recognised by the authorities, who granteda certain number of licences to Badgers, Pedlars andRegraters, and probably many others succeeded intrading unlicensed. This class of Dealers wasnaturally regarded with suspicion by shopkeepers. Apamphlet demanding their suppression, points out that" the poor decaying Shopkeeper has a large Rent topay, and Family to Support ; he maintains nothis own Children only, but all the poor Orphans andWidows in his Parish ; nay, sometimes the Widowsand Orphans of the very Pedlar or Hawker, who hasthus fatally laboured to starve him." As for theHawkers, " we know they pretend they are shut outof the great Trading Cities, Towns and ~or~drationsby the respective Charters and all other settled Privilegesof those Places, but we answer that tho' forwant of legal Introduction they may not be able to setup in Cities, Corporations, etc., yet there are very manyPlaces of very great Trade, where no CorporationPrivileges would obstruct them . . . . if anyof them should be reduc'd and . . . . be broughtto the Parish to keep ; that is to say, their Wives andGuilding, Readzng Records, Vol. II., p. 267.Children, the Manufacturers, the Shopkeepers who confessedlymake up the principal Numbers of those corporations,and are the chief Supporters of the Parishes,will be much more willing to maintain them, thanto be ruin'd by them."'The terms Badging, Peddling, Hawking and Regratingare not very clearly defined, and were used insenses which somewhat overlap each other ; but theBadger seems to have been a person who " dealt 'in a wholesale way. A licence was granted in 1630to " Edith ~oddin~ton of Hilbishopps, widdowe,to be a badger of butter and cheese and to carry thesame into the Counties of Wiltes, Hamsher, Dorsttand Devon, and to retourne againe with corne andto sell it againe in any faire or markett within thisCounty during one whole yeare now next ensueing ;and she is not to travel1 with above three horses,mares or geldings at the most part."'The author-ities, fearing lest corners and profiteering shouldresult from interference with the supply of necessaries,made " ingrossing " or anything resembling anattempt to buy up the supply of wheat, salt, etc., anoffence. Amongst the prosecutions which were ,madeon this account are presentments of " John Whaydonand John Preist of Watchett, partners, for ingrossof salt, Julia Stone, Richard Miles, Joane Miles als.Stone of Bridgwater for ingross of salte." of " JohannStedie of Fifehead, widdow, . . . . for ingrossingeof corne contrary et^,"^ of ",Edith Bruerand Katherine Bruer, Spinsters, of Halse . . . .for ingrossinge of corne,"' and of '' Johann Thornel Brq'State of the Inland and Home Trade. pp. 59 and 63, 1730.Somerset Q. S. R~cordc, Vol. II., p. 119, 1630.Ibid, Voi. II., p. 153, 1631.Ibid, Vol. II., p. 161.[bid, Vol. II., p. 165.

206 CRAFTS AND TRADES CRAFTS AND TRADES207. . . . widow . . . . for ingrossinge ofwheate, Barley, Butter and Cheese."'Pedlars and hawkers carried on an extensive tradeall over the country. At first sight this would seema business ill suited to women, for it involved carryinga heavy pack of goods on the back over long distances ;and yet it appears as though in some districts thetrade was almost their monopoly. The success thatattended Joan Dant7s efforts as a pedlar has been toldel~ewhere.~ How complete was the ascendency whichwomen had established in certain districts over thisclass of trade is shown bp the following definitionof the term " Hawkers " :-" those that profer theirWares by Wholesale which are called Hawkers, andwhich are not only the Manufzcturers themselves,but others besides them, viz. the Women in London,in Exceter and in Manchester, who do not only ProferCommodities at the Shops and Ware houies, butalso at Inns to Countrey-Chapmen. Likewise theManchejter-men, the Sherborn -men, and many others,that do Travel from one Market-Town to another ;and there at some Inn do profer their Wares to sellto the Shopkeepers of the place."3Though peddling might in some cases be developedinto a large and profitable concern, more often itafforded a bare subsistence. The character of awoman engaged in it is given in a certificate broughtbefore the Hertford Quarter Sessions in 1683 by theinhabitants of Epping, which states that " Sarah,wife of Richard Young, of Epping, cooper, who wasaccused of pocket-picking when she was about herlawful1 and honest imploy of buying small wares andwallnuts " at Sabridgworth fair, is " a very honestand well-behaved woman, not given to pilfer orSomerset Q. S. Records, Vol. II., p. 223.Ante, p. 33.Tradr of Englarrd p. 21, 1681.steale," and that they believe her to be falselyaccused.'While the Pedlar dealt chiefly in small wares andhaberdashery, Regraters were concerned with themore perishable articles of food. In this they wereseriously hampered by bye-laws forbidding thebuying and selling of such articles in one day. Thelaws had been framed with the object of preventinga few persons buying up all the supplies in the marketand selling them at exorbitant prices, but their applicationseems to have been chiefly directed in theinterests of the shopkeepers, to whom the competitionof women who hawked provisions from door todoor was a serious matter, the women being contentedwith very small profits, and the housewivesfinding it so convenient to have goods brought totheir very doorstep. The injustice of the persecutionof these poor women is protested against by thewriter of a pamphlet, who points out that " Weprovide Men shall not be cheated in buying a pennyworthof Eggs, but make no provision to secure themfrom the same Abuse in a hundred pounds laid outin Cloaths. The poor Arti~an shall not be oppressedin laying out his penny to one poorer than himself,but is without Remedy, shortened by a Companyin his Penny as it comes in. I have heard Complaintsof this Nature in greater matters of the publik Salesof the Ea~t India Company, perhaps if due considerationwere had of these great Ingrossers, therewould be found more Reason to restrain them, thana poor Woman that travels in the Country to buy upand sell in a Market a few Hens and Chickens."'Even in the Middle Ages the trade of Regrating wasalmost regarded as the prerogative of women. Gowerwrote " But to say the truth in this instance, the tradeof regratery belongeth by right rather to women.Hertjordrhzre County Records, Vol. I., pp. 347-8.= Llnnen ai~d FVoollen Munufug fury, p. 7. 168..

CRAFTS AND TRADESBut if a woman be at it she in stinginess useth muchmore machination and deceit than a man ; for shenever alloweth the profit on a single crumb to escapeher, nor faileth to hold her neighbour to paying hisprice ; all who beseech her do but lose their time, fornothing doth she by courtesy, as anyone who drinkethin her house knoweth well."'In later times the feminine form of the word isused in the ordinances of the City of London, clearlyshowing that the persons who were then carrying onthe trade were women ; thus it was said " Let noRegrateress pass London Bridge towards Suthwerk,nor elsewhere, to buy Bread, to carry it into theCity of London to sell ; because the Bakers of Sutbwerk,nor of any other Place, are not subject to the Justiceof the City." And again " Whereas it is common formerchants to give Credit, and especially for Bakerscommonly to do the same with Regrateresses . . . .. . . . we forbid, that no Baker make the benefirof any Credit to a Regrateress, as long as he shallknow her to be involved in her Neighbour's Debt."2Moreover a very large proportion of the prosecutionsfor this offence were against women. " We AmerceThomas Bardsley for his wife buyinge Butter Contraryto the orders of the towne in xijd.""'KatherineBirch for buyinge and selling pullen [chicken] both ofone day 3s. Thos. Ravald wife of Assheton of Mercybancke for sellinge butter short of waight.""' ThomasMassey wife for buyinge a load of pease and sellingethem the same day. Amerced in IS."' " KatharineHall for buyinge and sellinge Cheese both of one day1 Gower. Lc mrrour de l'omme (trans. from French rerse by F~leen Power)Stow, London, Book V., p. 313.Assue of Bread.iManrhester Co~trt Leet Records, Vol. IV., p. 110, 16j3.Ibtd, p 212, 1657Ibtd p. 244, 1658.CRAFTS AND TRADES2096d. Anne Rishton for buyinqe and sellinge butterthe same day Amercd in 3. 0."'As the Regrater dealt chiefly in food, her businessis closely connected with the provision trades, butenough has been said here to indicate that of allretailing this was the form which most appealed topoor women, who were excluded from skilled tradesand whose only other resource was spinning. Thenumber of women in this unfortunate position waslarge, including as it did not only widows, whosefamilies depended entirely upon their exertions,but also the wives of most of the men who were inreceipt of day wages and had no garden or grazingrights. It has already been shown that wages, exceptperhaps in some skilled trades, were insufficient forthe maintenance of a family. Therefore, when themother of a young family could neither work in herhusband's trade nor provide her children with foodby cultivating her garden or tending cows and poultry,she must find some other means to earn a little money.By wages she could seldom earn more than a penny ortwopence a day and her food. Selling perishablearticles of food from door to door presented greaterchances of profit, and to this expedient poor womenmost often turned. In proportion as the trade wasa convenience to the busy housewife, it became anunwelcome form of competition to the establishedshopkeepers, who, being influential in the Boroughs,could persecute and suppress the helpless, disorganisedwomen who undersold them.(C) Proviszon Trader.Under this head are grouped the Bakers, Millers,Butchers and Fishwives, together with the Brewers,Innkeepers and Vintners, the category embracing boththose who produced and those who retailed theprovisions in question.Manchester Court Test Records, p. 243, 1658.

CRAFTS AND TRADESA large proportion both of the bread andbeer consumed at this time was produced bywomen in domestic industry. The wages assessmentsshow that on the larger farms the chief womanservant was expected both to brew and to bake, butthe cottage folk in many cases cannot have possessedthe necessary capital for brewing, and perhapswere wanting ovens in which to bake. Certainly inthe towns both brewing and baking existed as tradesfrom the earliest times. Though in many countriesthe grinding of corn has been one of the domesticoccupations performed by women and slaves, in Englandwomen were saved this drudgery, for the toll of cornground at the mill was an important item in thefeudal lord's revenue, and severe punishments wereinflicted on those who ground corn elsewhere. Thecommon bakehouse was also a monopoly of thefeudal lord's,' but his rights in this case were notcarried so far as to penalize baking for domesticpurposes.It might be supposed that industries such as brewingand baking, which were so closely connected with thedomestic arts pertaining to women, would be moreextensively occupied by women than trades such asthose of blacksmith or pewterer or butcher ; but itwill be shown that skill acquired domestically wasnot sufficient to establish a woman's position inthe world of trade, and that actually in the seventeenthcentury it was as difficult for her to become a bakeras a butcher.Raking.--After the decay of feudal privileges thetrade of baking was controlled on lines similar tothose governing other trades, but subject to an evencloser supervision by the local authorities, owing to the1 Petronilla, Cauntess of Leicester, granted to Petronilla, daughter of ~ichardRoger's son of Leicester and her heirs " all the suit of the men outside theSouthgateaforesaid to bake at her bakehouse with all the librrties and free customs,saving my customary tenants who are bound to my bakehouses within the town ofLeicester." Bateson, (M,) Records, Lercester, Vol. l., p. 10.CRAFTS AND TRADESfact that bread is a prime necessity of life.On thisaccount its price was fixed by " the assize of bread."The position of women in regard to the trade wasalso somewhat different, because while in othertrades they possessed fewer facilities than men foracquiring technical experience, in this they learntthe art of baking as part of their domestic duties.Nevertheless, in the returns which give the names ofauthorised bakers, those of women do not peatlyexceed in numbkr the names which are given forother trades ; of lists for the City of Chester, onegives thirty names of bakers, six being women, allwidows, while another gives thirty-nine men and nowomen,' and a third twenty-six men and three women.The assistance which the Baker's wife gave to herhusband, however, was taken for granted. At Carlisle,the bye-laws provide that " noe Persons . . . .shall brew or bayk to sell but only freemen and tharewife^."^ and a rule at Beverley laid down that " nocommon baker or other baker called boule baker,their wives, servants, or apprentices, shall enter thecornmarket any Saturday for the future before I p.m.to buy any grain, nor buy wheat coming on Saturdaysto market beyond 2 bushels for stock for their ownhouse after the hour aforesaid.""A writer, who was appealing for an increase in theassize of bread, includes the wife's work among thenecessary costs of making a loaf ; " Two shillings wasallowed by the assize for all maner of charges in bakinga quarter of wheate over and above the second priceof wheate in the market," but the writer declaresthat in Henry VII.'s time " the bakers . . . . .might farre better cheape and with lesse charge ofseruantes haue baked a quarter of Wheate, then nowl Harl. MSS., 2054, fo. 44 and 45, 2105, fo. 301.a Ferguson, Cadrslc, Dormnt Book, p. 69, 1561.Beererlq, Town Documents, pp. 39-40.

2 12 CRAFTS AND TRADES CRAFTS AND TRADES213they can." It was then allowed for " everie quarterof wheate baking, for furnace and wood vid. the Millerfoure pence, for two journ~rnen and two pages fivepence,for salt, yest, candle & sandbandes two pence,for himselfe, his house, his wife, his dog & his catteseven pence, and the branne to his advantage."'The baker's wife figures also in account books, astransacting business for her husband. Thus theCarpenters' Company " Resd of I.ewes davys wyffethe baker a fyne for a license for John Pasmore theforren to sette upe a lytyll shed on his backsyde."'Although conforming in general to the regulationsfor other trades, certain Boroughs retained the rightsover baking which had been enjoved by the FeudalLord, the Portmote at Salford ordering that" Same11Mort shall surcease from beakinge sale bread by thefirst of May next upon the forfeit of 51s except heebeake at the Comon beakehouse in Salford."Vnother towv the bakers were sufficiently powerfulto enforce their own terms on the Borough. In York,for instance, the Corporation of Bakers, which becamevery rich, succeeded in excluding the country, or" boule bakers, " from the market, undertaking tosell bread at the same rates ; hut the monopoly oncesecured they declared it war impossible to producebread at this price, and the magistrates allowed anad~ance.~ In some cases bakers were required totake out licences, these being granted only to freemenand freewomen ; in others they were formed intoCompanies, with rules of apprenticeship. " Theyshall receive no man into their saide company ofbakeres, nor woman unles her husband have benea free burges, and compound with Mr. Maior andPowell. Asslze of Bread. 1600.a Records of JYorshlpful Company of Carpenters, Vo!. IV., p. 69, 1554.Salford Portmote Rerords, Vol. II., p. 188.' S.P.D. cxxxiv., 36. November 27,i622.the warden of the company."' At Reading in 1624," the bakers, vizt., William Hill, Abram Paise, AlexanderPether, complavne against bakers not freemen,vizt., Izaak Wracke u'seth the trade his wief did usewhen he marryed. Michaell Ebson saith he wasan apprentice in towne ard having noe worke doth alittle to gett bread.James Arnold will surceasse. . . . Wydowe Bradbury alwayes hath usedto bake.""That women were members of the Bakers' Companiesis shown by rules which refer to sisters as well asbrothers. In 1622 the Corporation at Salisburyordained that " no free brother or free sister shall a-tany time hereafter make, utter, or sell bread, madewith butter, or milk, spice cakes, etc . . . . ex-cept it be before spoken for funerals, or upon theFriday before Easter, or at Christmas . . . Nofree brother or free sister shall sell any bread in themarket. No free brother or free sister shall hereafterlend any money to an innholder or victualler, to theintent ,or purpose of getting his or their c~stom"~It is not likely that m.my women served an apprenticeship,hut the frequency with which they arecharged with offences against the Bye-Laws is someclue to the numbers engaged in the trade. Forinstance, in Manchester, Martha Wriglev and ninemen were presented in 1648 " for makkinge breadabove & vnder the size & spice bread."' In 1650,twenty-five men and no women were charged witha similar offence,?n 165 I eleven men and no women6l Lambert, Two Thousand Tears of Gild Life, p. 307. Composicion of Bakery,Hull., I 598.Guilding, Readme Records, Vol. II., p. 181.Hoare, (Sir. R. C.). Hzst. of Wzltshzre, Vol. VI., p. 342,Manctester Court Leet Records, Vol. IV., p. 31.Ibid, p. 47.' Ibzd, p. 51.

214CRAFTS AND TRADES CRAFTS AND TRADESand in 1652 are entered the names of five men andten women1,The constant complaints brought against peoplewho were using the trade " unlawfully " show howdifficult it was to enforce rules of apprenticeship ina trade which was so habitually used by women fordomestic purposes.Information was brought that" divers of the inhabts of 'I'hirsk do use the trade ofbaking, not having been apprentices thereof, buttheir wives being brought up and exercised thereinmany yeares have therefore used it . . . . andthe matter referred to the Justices in Q' Sessionsto limitt a certain number to use that trade withoutfuture trouble of any informers and that such asare allowed by the said Justices, to have a tollerationto take apprentices . . . . the eight persons,viz., Ja" Pibus, Anth. Gamble. John EIarrison, WidowWatson, Jane Skales, Jane Rutter, Tho. Carter andJohn Bell, shall onlie use and occupie the said tradeof baking, and the rest to be re~tra~ned."~ Theinsistence upon apprenticeship must have beensingularly exasperating to women who had learnt tobake excellent bread from their mothers, or mistresses,and it was natural for them to evade, when possible,a rule which seemed so arbitrary ; but they could notdo so with impunity. Thus the HertfordshireQuarter Session was informed " One Andrew Tomson'swife doth bake, and William Everite's wifedoth bake bread to sell being not apprenticed norli~ensed."~ How heavily prosecutions of this characterweighed upon the poor, is shown by a certificatebrought to the same Quarter Sessions nearly a hundredyears later, stating that " William Pepper, of Sabridgworth,is of honest and industrious behaviour, butl Manchester Court Leet Records, p. 70.a Atlrkuon, U. C.), rorks. N. R. Q. S. Recr&, Vol. J., p. 81. July 8, 1607.a H~tlwd Co. Records, Vol. I, p, 32, 1600.in a poor and low condition,and so not able to supportthe charge of defending an indictment against himfor baking for hire (he having once taken a halfpennyfor baking a neighbour's loaf) and has a great chargeof children whom he has hitherto brought up tohard work and industrious labour, who otherwisemight have been a charge to the parish, and willbe forced to crave the relief of the parish, to defraythe charge that may ensue upon this trouble given himby a presentment."'The line taken by the authorities was evidentlyintended to keep the trade of baking in a fewhands. The object may have been partly to facilitateinspection and thereby check short measure andadulteration ; whatever the motive the effect mustcertainly have tended to discourage women fromdeveloping the domestic art of baking into a trade.Consequently in this, as in other trades, the woman'scontribution to the industry generally took the formof a wife helping her husband, or a widow carryingon her late husband's business.M7llers :-It was probably only as the wifeor widow of a miller that women took part in thebusiness of milling. An entry in the Carlisle Recordsstates " we amercye Archilles Armstronge for keepinghis wief to play the Milner, contrary the orders ofthis cyttie."' But it is not unusual to come acrossreferences to corn mills which were in the hands ofwomen ; a place in Yorkshire is described as being" near to Mistress Lovell's Milne."3 " Margaret Page,of Hertingfordbury, widow," was indicted for " erectinga mill house in the common way there,"' andat Stockton " One water corne milne . . . .Hertfmd County Rrcrdr, VoL I., p. 365, 1686.' Fergv~on, CarlkZe. p. 278. April 21, 1619.' J. C. Atkinson, Tmkt. N. R. 9. S. Rt-cords, Vol. II., p. 8, 1612.Hrrt md County Rccord~, Vol. II., p. 25, 1698.

CRAFTS AND TRADESis lett by lease unto Alice Armstrong for 3lives."'Such instances are merely a further proof of theactivity shown by married women in the familybusiness whenever this was carried on within theirreach.Butchers :-Theposition which women took in theRutchers' trade resembled very closely their positionas bakers, for, as has been shown, the special advantageswhich women, by virtue of their domestic training,might have enjoyed when trading as bakers, werecancelled by the statutes and bye-laws limiting thenumbers of those engaged in this trade. As wife orwidow women were able to enter either trade equally.Both trades were subject to minute supervision inthe interests of the public, and as a matter of fact,from the references which happen to have been preserved,it might even appear that the wires of butcherswere more often interested in the family businessthan the wives of bakers. An Act of Henry VIII." lycensyng all bochers for a tyme to sell vytell ingrosse at theyr pleasure " makes it lawful for anyperson "to whom any complaynt shuld be made uponany Boucher his wyff servaunte or other his mynystersrefusing to sell the said vitayles by true and lawfullweight . . . . to comytt evry such Boucherto warde,"' shows an expectation that the wifewould act 2s her husband's agent. But the wife'sposition was that of partner, not servant. During thefirst half of the century, certainly, leases were generallymade conjointly to husband and wife ; for example," Phillip Smith andElizabeth, his wife" appeared beforethe Corporation at Reading " desiringe a new leaseof the Butcher's Shambles, which was granted."3Brewster, Stockton-on-Tees, p. 42.' Statutes 27 H-erg VIIT. c. 0.B Guilding, Rcadrng Records, Vol. IV., p. 122.CRAFTS AND TRADESCustoms at Nottingham secured the widow's possessionof her husband's business premises even without alease, providing that " when anie Butcher shall dyethatt holds a stall or shopp from the towne, thattthen his wyefe or sonne shall hould the same stallor shopp, they vsinge the same trade, otherwaiesthe towne to dispose thereof to him or them thattwill give moste for the stall or shopp : this order tobeelpkewise to them thatt houlds a stall in the Spicechamber^."^The names of women appear in lists of butchersin very similar proportions to the lists of bakers.Thus one for Chester gives the names of twenty menfollowed by three women,' and in a return of sixteenbutchers licensed to sell meat in London during Lent,there is one woman, Mary Wright, and her partner,William W~odfield.~ Bye-laws which control thesale of meat use the feminine as well as the masculinepronouns, showing that the trade was habituallyused by both sexes. The " Act for the Settlementand well ordering of the several Public Markets withinthe City of London " ~rovides that " all and everyCountry butcher . . . . Poulterer . . . .Country Farmers, Victuallers Laders or Kidders. . . . may there sell, utter and put to openshew or sale his, her or their Beef, Mutton, etc., etc.'It may be supposed that these provisions relate onlyto the sale of meat, and that women would not oftenbe associated with the businesses which includedslaughtering the beasts, but this is not the case.Elizabeth Clarke is mentioned in the DorchesterRecords as " apprenticed 7 years to her father aNot'rngham Recm,lr, Vol. V., p. 284 1654.' Harl. MSS., trog to., 300 b.,r565.S. P. D. cxix. IW. February 24. 1621' Act for the Settlement and well Oricring of tbe Scvtral Publick Markets witbin tbrClty of Lonkn, 1674.

218 CRAFTS AND TRADES CRAFTS AND TRADES 219butcher,"' and other references occur to women whowere clearly engaged in the genuine butcher's trade.For example, a licence was granted " to Jane Fouchesof the Parish of St. Clement Danes, Butcher to killand sell flesh during Lent,"2 and among eighteenpersons who were presented at the Court Leet,Manchester, " for Cuttinge & gnashing of Rawhidesfor their seuerall Gnashinge of evry Hyde," two werewomen, " Ellen Jaques of Ratchdale, one hyde, Widdownamely Stott of Ratchdale, two hydes."3Beside these women, who by marriage or apprenticeshiphad acquired the full rights of butchers and wereacknowledged as such by the Corporation underwhose governance they lived, a multitude of poorwomen tried to keep their families from starvationby hawking meat from door to door. They are oftenmentioned in the Council Records, because thevery nature of their business rendered them continuallyliable to a prosecution for regrating. Thusat the Court Leet, Manchester, Anne Costerdynewas fined IS. " for buyinge 4 quarters of Mutton ofWm. Walmersley & I Lamb of Thomas Hulme both wchshee shold the one & slme day."4 Their positionwasthe more difficult, because if they did not sell themeat the same day sometimes it went bad, and theywere then prosecuted on another score. ElizabethChorlton, a butcher's widow, was presented in1648 " for buieing and sellinge both on one day"and was fined 3s. 4d.5 She was again fined withMary Shalcross and various men in 1650 for sellingunlawful meat and buying and selling on one day.'Mayo, Municipal Relord, of Dorcbester, p. 428, 1698.' S P. D. I. clxxxviii. Jamee I., undated.Manctfltw Court Leet Rac,~rh, Vol. V., p. 236, '671.' Ibid, p. 221, 1674.Manrb

CRAFTS AND TRADES CRAFTS AND TRADES 221in this, as in other trades, they shared to some extentin their husband's enterprises, is shown by the presentmentof " John Frank of New Malton, and Alice hiswife, for forestalling the markett of divers paniersof fishe, buying the same of the fishermen of Runswickor Whitbve. . . . before it came into themarkett."'The ~osition of the sisters of the Fishmongers' Company,London, was recognised to the extentof providingthem with a livery, an ordinance of 1426 ordainingthat every year, on the festival of St. Peter, " alle thebrethren and sustern of the same fratrnite" shouldgo in their new livery to St. Peters' Church, Cornhill.'An ordinance dated 1499 however, requires that nofishmonger of the craft shall suffer his wife, or servant,to stand in the market to sell fish,unless in his absence."An entry in the Middlesex Quarter Sessions Recordsnotes the " discharge of Sarah, daughter of FrancesHall.Apprenticed to Rebecca Osmond of the Parishof St. Giles' Without, Cripplegate, ' fishwomanA member of the important Fishmongers' Companywould hardly be designated in this way, and RebeccaOsmond must be classed among the " Fishwives "who are so often alluded to in accounts of London.Their business was often too precarious to admitof taking apprentices, and their credit so low that awriter in the reign of Charles I., who advocated theestablishment of " Mounts of Piety " speaks of thehigh rate of interest taken by brokers and pawnbrokers" above 400 in the hundred " from " fishwives,oysterwomen and others that do crye thinges up anddowne the street^."^ It was in this humble class of1 Atkinson, J. C. Tds. N. R. Q. S. Rrcords, Vol. I., p. 121, 1698.a Herbert, Livery Companks of hndon, Vol. II., p. eq.Ibid, Vol. II., p. 35.Middlrstx County Records, p. 160, 1696.6 A Prqrct for Mounts Pf Piety. Lansdowne MSS., 351 fo., 18b.trade rather than in the larger transactions of fishmongers,that women were chiefly engaged. InLondon no impediments seem to have beenin the way of their business, but in the pro~rincesthey, like the women who hawked meat, were persecutedunder the bye-laws against regratinp. AtManchester, the wife of John Wilshawe was amerced" for buyinge Sparlings [smelts] and sellinge themthe same day in 6d."' while at the same court otherswere fined for selling unmarketable fish.Brewers :-It has been shown that the position whichwomen occupied among butchers and bakers did notdiffer materially from their position in other trades ;that is to say, the wife generally helped her husbandin his business, and carried it on after his death ;but the history of brewingpossesses a peculiar interest,for apparently the art of brewing was at one timechiefly, if not entirely, in the hands of women. Thisis indicated by the use of the feminine term brewster.Possibly the use of the masculine or feminine formsmay never have strictly denoted the sex of the personindicated in words such as brewer, brewster, spinner,spinster, sempster, sempstress, webber, webster, andthe gradual disuse of the feminine forms may havebeen due to the grammatical tendencies in the Englishlanguage rather than to the changes which weredriving women from their place in productive industry; but the feminine forms would never havearisen in the first place unless women had been engagedto some extent in the trades to which they refer,and it often happens that the use of the femininepronoun in relation to the term " brewster " and even" brewer " shows decisively that female persons areindicated. At Beverley a bye-law was made in1364 ordaining that " if any of the community abusethe aff eerers of Brewster-gild for their aff eering,1 .l.:anchetter Court I-eet Rerords, Vol. I\'., p. 112, 1654.

222 CRAFTS AND TRADES CRAFTS AND TRADES. . . . to thein words or otherwise, he shall paycommullnity 6s. Sd."' In this case Brewster mightno more imply a woman's trade than it does in themodern term " Brewster-Sessions," but in 1371 agallon of beer was ordered to " be sold for 13d.. . . . and if any one offer 13d. for a gallon ofbeer anywhere in Beverley and the ale-wife will nottake it, that the purchaser come to the Gild Halland complain of the brewster, and a remedy shallbe found,"' while a rule made in 1405 orders that" no brewster or female seller called tipeler " shall" permit strangers to remain after 9 p.m.""imilarreferences occur in the Records of other Boroughs.At Bury the Customs provided in 1327 that " if awoman Brewer (Braceresse) can acquit herself withher sole hand that she has not sold contrary to theassize [of ale] she shall be quit " ; at Torksey " whenwomen are asked whether they brew and sell beeroutside their houses contrary to the assize or no, ifthey say no, they shall have a day at the nextcourt to make their law with the third hand,with women who live next door on either side orwith others.""It was ordered at Leicester in 133s that " no breweress,sworn inn-keeper or other shall be so bold as tobrew except (at the rate of) a gallon of the best for~d,"~ and though the feminine form of the noun hasbeen dropped, the feminine pronoun is still usedin I532 when " hytt is enacteyd ya' no brwar yat brwysto sell, sell aboffe iid the gallan & sche schall typill--l Bererle) Town D?cuments. p. 41.Ibid, p. 41.Ibid, p. lv.Bateson, (M,), Borough Customs, Vol. I., p. 185zbid, VOL I., p. l8$, 1345.Bateson, (M.), Records of Leicester, Vol. II., p. z~be no mesure butt to sell be ye dossyn & ye halfedossyn." lThe exclusive use of the feminine in these byelawsdiffers from the expressions used in regard toother trades when both the masculine and femininepronouns are habitually employed, suggesting thatthe trade of brewing was on a different basis.It must be remembered that before the introductionof cheap sugar, beer was considered almostequally essential for human existence as bread. Beerwas drunk at every meal, and formed part of theordinary diet of even small children. Large householdsbrewed for their own use, but as many familiescould not afford the necessary apparatus, brewing wasnot only practised as a domestic art, but becamethe trade of certain women who brewed for theirneighbours. It is interesting to note the steps whichled to their ultimate exclusion from the trade, thoughmany links in the chain of evidence are unfortunatelymissing. In 1532 brewers in Leicester arereferred to as " sche," but an Act published in1574 shows that the trade had already emerged frompetticoat government.It declares that " No in-habitantes what soeuer that nowe doe or hereaftershall in theire howsses vse tiplinge and sellinge ofale or beare, shall not brewe the same of theare owne,but shall tunne in the same of the common brewarstherfore appoynted ; and none to be common brewarsbut such as nowe doe vse the same, . . andnon of the said common brewars to sell, or . .to tipple ale or beare by retayle . . . . theBrewars shall togeyther become a felloweship. etc."'This separation of brewing from the sale of beer wasa policy pursued by the government with the objectof simplifying the collection of excise, but it wasBateson, (M.), Records of Leicester, Vol. III., p. 33.2 Itid, Vol. 111- p. 153.

CRAFTS AND TRADESalso defended as a means for maintaining the qualityof the beer brewed. It was ordayned in the Assize forBrewers, Anno 23, H. 8, that " Forasmuch as the misterieof brewing as a thing very needful1 and necessariefor the common wealth, hath been alwaies by auncientcustom & good orders practised & maintained withinCitties, Corporate Boroughs and market Townesof this Realm, by such expert and skilfull persons,as eyther were traded and brought up therein, by thespace of seuen yeares, and as prentizes therin accepted :accordingly as in all other Trades and occupations,or else well knowne to be such menof skill and honestie,in that misterie, as could and would alwaie yeeld untoher Maiesties subiects in the commonwealth, suchgood and holsome Ale and Beere, as both in thequalitie & for the quantitie thereof, did euer agreewith the good lawes of the Realme. And especiallieto the comfort of the poorer sort of subiectes, whomost need it, until1 of late yeares, sondrie persons. . . . rather seeking their owne private gaine,then the publike profite of their countrie, haue notonelie erected and set uppe small brewhouses at theirpleasures : but also brew and utter such Ales and Beere,for want of skill in that misterie as both in the prices& holesomnes thereof, doth utterlie disagree withthe good lawes and orders of this Realm ; therebyalso ouerthrowing the greater and more auncientbrewhouses." It is therefore recommended thatthese modern brewhouses should be suppressed inthe interest of the old and hetter ones.'The argument reads curiously when one reflectshow universal had been the small brewhouses in formerdays. The advantages from the excise point ofview which would be gained by the concentrationof the trade in a few hands is discussed in a pamphletwhich remarks that " there is much Mault made inPowell, John. The Assize of Bread,CRAFTS AND TRADESprivate Families, in some Counties half, if not twothirds of the Maults spent, are privately made, andundoubtedly as soon as an Imposition is laid upon it,much more will, for the advantage they shall gainby saving the Excise . . . . if Mault couldbe forbidden upon a great penalty to be made by anypersons, but by certain publick Maulsters, this mightbe of availe to increase the Excise."' The actualconditions prevailing in the brewing industry at thistime are described as follows in another pamphlet.Brewers are divided into two classes, " The Brewerwho brews to sell by great measures, and wholly servesother Families by the same ; which sort of Brewersare only \in some few great Cities and Towns, notabove twenty through the land . . . . TheBrewers who brews to sell by retail . . . . thissort of Brewers charges almost only such as drinkthesame in those houses where the same is brewed andsold . . . . and therefore supplies but a smallproportion of the rest of the land, being that in almostall Market Towns, Villages, Hamlets, and privatehouses in the Countrey throughout the land, all theInhabitants brew for themselves, at least by much thegreatest proportion of what they use."'In order to extend and strengthen their monopolythe " Common Brewers " brought forward a schemein 1620, asking for a certain number of commonbrewers to be licensed throughout the kingdom, tobrew according to assize. All other inn-keepers,alehouse keepers and victuallers to be forbidden tobrew, " these brew irregularly without control," andcc offering to pay the King qd. on every quart ofmalt brewed." The scheme was referred to the Councilwho recommended " that a proclamation be issuedforbidding ' taverners, innkeepers, etc. to sell any beerConsiderations 7oucbing th Excise, p. 7.' Roddey, Francis.

CRAFTS AND TRADES CRAFTS AND TRADES 227but such as they buy from the brewers."' To theobjections " that brewers who were free by serviceor otherwise to use the trade of brewing would refuseto take a licence, and when apprentices had servedtheir time there would be many who might do so,"it was replied that it was " not usual for Brewersto take any apprentices but hired servants and thestock necessary for the trade is such as few apprenticescan furnish."' Thus the rise of the " common brewer"signalises the complete victory of capitalistic organisationin the brewing trade. In 1636 Commissionerswere appointed to " compound with persons whowished to follow the trade of common Brewers throughoutthe Kingdom."' The next year returns werereceived by the Council, giving the names and otherparticulars of those concetned in various districts.The list for the " Fellowshipp of Brewers now livingin Newcastle-upon-Tyne with the breath and depthof their several1 mash tunns " gives the names of fiftythreemen and three women, wido~s.~ A list ofsuch brewers in the County of Essex " as hale paidtheir fines and are bound to pay their rent accordingly "'(i.e. were licensed by the King's Commissioners forbrewing) includes sixty-three men and four women,while the names of one hundred and twenty-fourmen and eight women are ghen in other tablescontaining the amounts due from brewers andmaultsters in certain other c~unties,~ showingthat the predominance of women in the brewingtrade had then disappeared, the few namesappearing in the lists being no doubt those ofbrewers' widows.l S. P. D., cxii., 75. Februarp g, 1620.C. R. November 9, 1636.a S. P. D. ccclxxvii., 62, 1637.S. P. D. ccclxxvii., 64, 1637.The creation of the common brewers' monopolywas very unpopular. At Bury St. Edmunds a petitionwas resented by " a great no. of poor people" tothe Justices of Assize, saying that for many yearsthey had been relieved " by those inn-keepers whichhad the liberty to brew their beer in their own houses,not only with money and food, but also at the severaltimes of their breGing (being moved with pity andcompassion, knowing our great extremities and necessities)with such quantities of their small beer ashas been a continual help and comfort to us with ourpoor wives and children : yet of late the commonbrewers, whose number is small and their benefits tous the poor as little notwithstanding in their estatethey are wealthy and occupy great offices of malting,under pretence of doing good to the commonwealth,have for their own lucre and gain privatelycombined themselves, and procured orders fromthe Privy Council that none shall brew in this townbut they and their adherents."' At Tiverton theCouncil was obliged to make a concession to popularfeeling and agreed that " every person being a freemanof the town and not prohibited by law might usethe trade of Common Brewer as well as the fourpersons formerly licensed by the Commissioners, "but the petition that the ale-house keepers and innkeepersmight brew as formerly they used was refused," they might brew for their own and families use;otherwise to buy from the Common Brewers.""The monopoly involved the closing of many smallbusinesses. Sarah Kemp a widow, petitioned theCouncil because she had " been forced to give upbrewing in Whitefriars, and had been at loss bothin removing her implements and in her rents,"asking " that in consideration of her loss she mightl Hist. MSS. Corn., 14 Rep. App., VIII., p. 142.6 S. P. D. ccclxxxvii., 66. a C. R. June 12, 1640. Order concerning the Brewers of Tiverton.

CRAFTS AND TRADESstrong Ale 10 gallons good 2nd ale and four puntionsof Beer. 14s."'Naturally the women who brewed for domesticpurposes sometimes wished to turn an honest pennyby selling beer to thirsty neighbours at Fairs andon Holidays, but attempts to do so were severelypunished. Annes Nashe of Welling, was presented" for selling beer by small jugs at Woolmer Greneand for laying her donng in the highway leading fromStevenage to L~ndon."~ A letter to a SomersetMagistrate pleads for another offender :-" GoodMr. Browne, all happiness attend you. This poorwoman is arrested with Peace proces for sellingale without lycense and will assure you shee hathreformed it and that upon the first warning of ourofficers ever since Easter last, which is our fayre tyme,when most commonly our poore people doeoffend in that kinde ; I pray you doe her what lawfulkindness you may, and hope she will recompense youfor your paynes, and I shall be ready to requite itin what I may, for if she be committed she is absolutelyundone. Thus hoping of your favour I leave you toGod and to this charitable work towards this poorwoman. Your unfeined friend, Hum. Ne~man."~Though with the growth of capitalism and theestablishment of a monopoly for " Common Brewers "women were virtually excluded from their old tradeof brewing, they still maintained their position in theretail trade, their hold upon which was favouredby the same circumstances which turned their energiesto the retail side of other businesses.A tendency was shown by public opinion to regardlicences as suitable provision for invalids and widowswho might otherwise require assistance from the rates.' Baillie, Lady Gizell, Hor~sehold Book. p. 91. 1714.Hertford County Records, Vol. I., p. 68. 1641.a Somerset Q. S. Records, Vol. II., pp. 40-1, 1627.CRAFTS AND TRADESThus an attempt made at Lincoln in 1628 toreduce the numbers of licences was modified, " forthat it appeareth that divers poor men and widows,not freemen, have no other means of livelihoodbut by keeping of alehouses, it is agreed that such asshall be approved by the justices may be re-admitted,but that none hereafter be newly admitted until1they be first sworn freemen."' According to a pamphletpublished early in the next century, " Ale-houseswere originally Accounted Neusances in the Parish'swhere they were, as tending to Debauch the Subject,and make the People idle, and therefore Licencesto sell Beer and Ale, where allow'd to none, but AncientPeople past their Labours, and Invalides to keep themfrom Starving, there being then no Act of Parliamentthat Parishes should Maintain their own Poor. Butthe Primitive Intention in granting Licences beingnow perverted, and all sorts of People Admittedto this priviledge, it is but reason the Publickshouldhave some Advantage by thepriviledges it grants. . ."2Many examples of this attitude of mind can be observedin the Quarter Sessions Records. For instance,Mary Briggs when a widow was licensed by theHertfordshire Quarter Sessions to sell drink, and bythe good order she kept in her house and the goodnessof the drink she uttered and sold she got a good livelihood,and brought up three children she had bya former husband. She married John Briggs, woodardand servant to Lord Ashton, she continuing her businessand he his. Her husband was returned as a papistrecusant, and on his refusing to take oaths the courtsuppressed their alehouse. Mrs. Briggs appealed onthe ground that her business was carried on separatelyand by it she maintained her children by her formerhusband. Her claim was supported by a petitionl Hirt. MSS. Com., 14 Rep., app. viii., p. 99, 1629.a Phipps, (Thomac), Proposal for raising ~~,ooo,om Sterling yearly.

CRAFTS AND TRADESfrom her fellow parishioners, declaring that JohnBriggs was employed by Lord Ashton and " meddlesnot with his wife's trade of victualling and sellingdrink."' Other examples may be found in an orderfor the suppression of Wm. Brightfoot's licence whohad " by surprize " obtained one for selling beer . .showing that he was a young man, and capable tomaintain his family without keeping an alehou~e,~and the petition of John Phips, of Stondon, labourer,lately fallen into great need for want of work. Hecan get very little to do among his neighbours, " becausethey have little for him to do, having so many poorelaborious men besides within the said parish." Heasks for a licence to sell beer " for his better livelihoodand living hereafter, towards the mayntenance ofhimself, his poor wife and ~hildren."~ Licences wererefused at Bristol to " John Keemis, Cooper, notfit to sell ale, having no child ; he keeps a tapsterwhich is no freeman that have a wife and child," andalso to " Richard Rooke, shipwright, not fit to sellale, having no child, and brews themselves." A BarberSurgeon was disqualified, having no child, " and alsofor entertaining a strange maid which is sick."*Very rarely were doubts suggested as to the proprietyof the trade for women, though a bye-law was passedat Chester ordaining that " no woman between theage of xiii & xl yeares shall kepe any taverne or aleh~wse."~At times complaints were made of the conductof alewives, as in a request to the lustices ofNottingham " that your Worshipps wyll' take someorder wythe all the alewyfes in this towne, for we thinkethat never an alewyfe dothe as hir husband is bownd1 Hertford County Records, Vol. I., p. 289, 1678.Middlesex Sessions Book, p. 23, 1690.Hertford County Records, Vol. I., p. 174, 1665.Latimer, Bristol, p. 359. 1670. Court Leet for St. Stephen's Parisb.6 Harl. MSS., 2054 (4)) fo., 6.CRAFTS AND TRADESto,"' but there is no evidence of any marked differencein the character of the alehouses kept by men andthose kept bv women. The trade included womenof the most 'diverse characters. One, who receivedstolen goods at the sign of the " Leabord's Head " inWare, had there a " priviye place " for hiding stolengoods and suspicious persons " at the press forsoldiers she hid five men from the constables, andcan convey any man from chamber to chamber intothe backside. There is not such a house for thepurpose within a hundred mile^."^ In contrast toher may be quoted the landlady of the Inn at Truro,of whom Celia Fiennes wrote, " My Greatest pleasurewas the good Landlady I had, she was but an ordinaryplaine woman but she was understanding in the bestthings as most-ye Experience of real1 religion and herquiet submission and self-Resignation to ye will ofGod in all things, and especially in ye placeing her ina remoteness to ye best advantages of hearing, and beingin such a publick Employment wch she desired andaimed at ye discharging so as to adorn ye Gospel ofher Lord and Saviour, and the Care of her children.""Yzntners :-The trade of the Vintner had no connectionwith that of the Brewer. Wine was sold inTaverns. In London the Vintners' Company, likethe other London Companies, possessed privilegeswhich were ccntinued to the wife upon her husband'sdeath, but women were probably not concerned inthe trade on their own account. A survey of all theTaverns in London made in 1633 gives a total of211, whereof six are licensed by His Majesty, 203by the Vintners' Company and two are licensedby neither, one is unlicensed, " inhabited by AnTither, whoe lately made a tavern of the stair onNottingham Records, Vol. IV., p. 325, 1614.Hertford County Records, Vol. I., p. 59, 1626.a Fiennes, (Celia), p. 226Through England on a 2ide-Saddle.

234 CRAFTS AND TRADES CRAFTS AND TRADESTower Hill where shee also keepes a victualling houseunlicensed." One licensed by the Earl of Middlesex.Amongst those duly licensed are the names of a fewwidows. In Cordwainer Street Ward, there wasonly one Tavern, " kept by a widdowe whose deceasedhusband was bound prentice to a Vintener and sokept his taverne by vertue of his freedome of thatcompanye after his termes of apprentizhood expired."'Conclusion.The foregoing examination of the relation of womento the different crafts and trades has shown themoccupying an assured ~osition wherever the systemof family industry prevailed. While this lasted thedetachment of married women from business isnowhere assumed, but they are expected to assisttheir husband, and during his absence or after hisdeath to take his placeas head of the family and managerof the business.The economic position held by women dependedupon whether the business was carried on at home orelsewhere, and upon the possession of a small amountof capital. The wives of men who worked as journeymenon their masters' premises could not share theirhusbands' trade, and their choice of independentoccupations was very limited. The skilled women'strades, such as millinery and mantua-making, wereopen, and in these, though apprenticeship was usual,there is no reason to suppose that women who workedin them without having served an apprenticeship,were prosecuted; but as has been shown theapprenticeship laws were strictly enforced in otherdirections, and in some cases prevented women fromusing their domestic skill to earn their living.While women could share their husbands'trades they suffered little from these restrictions,but with the development of capitalistic organisationthe numbers of women who could find no outlet fortheir productive activity in partnership with theirhusbands were increasing and their opportunities forestablishing an independent industry did not keeppace ; on the contrary, such industry became evermore difficult. The immediate result is obscure, butit seems probable that the wife of the prosperouscapitalist tended to become idle, the wife of the skilledjourneyman lost her economic independence andbecame his unpaid domestic servant, while the wivesof other wage earners were driven into the sweatedindustries of that period. What were the respectivenumbers in each class cannot be determined, but itis probable that throughout the seventeenth centurythey were still outnumbered by the women whocould find scope for productive activity in theirhusbands' business.l S.P.D. ccl., zz, November 6, 1633.Lord Mayor and others to the Council.

PROFESSIONS 237PROFESSIONSIntroductory-Tendencies similar to those in Industry.-Army-Church-Lawclosed to women. Teaching-Nursing-Medicine chiefly ~ractised by womenas domestic arts. Midwifery.(A): Nursinp. The sick poor nursed in lay institutions-LondonHospitals-Dublin-Supplied by low class women-Women searchers forthe plague--Nurses for small-pox or plague-Hired nurses in private families.(B) Medrcrrie. Women's skill in Middle ages- Medicine practised extensivelyby women in seventeenth century in their families, among their friendsand for the poor-Also by the village wise woman for pay-Exclusiveness ofassociations of physicians, surgeons and apothecaries.(C) MidwifPry. A woman's profession-Earlier history unknown-Raynold's translation of " the byrthe of n1ankynd."-Relative dangers ofchild-birth in seventeenth and twentieth centuries-Importance of midwives--Character of their training-Jane Sharp-Nicholas Culpepper-Peter Chamberlain-Mrs.Cellier's scheme for training-Superiority of French training-Licences of Midwives-Attitude of the Church to them-Fees-Growkgtendency to displace midwives by Doctors.Conclusion. Women's position in the arts of teaching and healing lost as thesearte became profescional.Introductory.SIMILAR tendencies to those which affected theindustrial position of women can be traced in theprofessions also, showing that, important as was theinfluence of capitalistic organisation in the history ofwomen's evolution, other powerful factors were workingin the same direction.Three professions were closed to women in theseventeenth century, Arms, the Church and the Law.The Law.-Itmust be remembered that the mass ofthe" common people " were little affected by " the law"before the seventeenth century. " common law "was the law of the nobles,' while farming people andl Holdswortb, Vol. III., p. 408.artizans alike were chiefly regulated in their dealingswith each other by c;stoms depending for interpretationand sanction upon a public opinion whichrepresented women as well as men. Therefore thechanges which during the seventeenth century wereabrogating customs in favour of common law, didin effect eliminate women from what was equivalentto a share in the custody and interpretation of law,which henceforward remained exclusively in the handsof men. The result of the elimination of the feminineinfluence is plainly shown in a succession of laws,which, in order to secure complete liberty to individualmen, destroyed the collective idea of the family, anddeprived married women and children of the propertyrights which customs had hitherto secured to them.From this time also the administration of the lawbecomes increasingly perfuncto~y in enforcing the fulfilmentof men's responsihilities to their wives andchildren.Chzrrch.-According to modern ideas, religionpertains more to women than to men, but this conceptionis new, dating from the scientific era.Science has solved so many of the problems whichin former days threatened the existence of mankind,that the " man in the street " instinctively relegatesreligion to the region in which visible beauty, poetryand music are still permitted to linger ; to the ornamentalsphere in short, whither the Victorian gentlemanalso banished his wife and daughters. Thisattitude forms a singular contrast to the ideas whichprevailed in the Middle Ages, when men believedthat supernatural assistance was their sole protectionagainst the " pestilence that walketh in darkness "or from " the arrow that flieth by day." Religion wasthen held to be such an awful power that there weremen who even auestioned whether women could.properly speaking: be considered religious at all:Even in the seventeenth century the practice of

238 PROFESSIONS PROFESSIONS 239religion and the holding of correct ideas concerningit were deemed to be essential for the maintenanceof human existence, and no suggestion was thenmade that religious observances could be adequatelyperformed by women alone.Ideas as to the respective appropriateness ofreligious power to men and women have differedwidely ; some races have reserved the priesthood formen, while others have recognised a special powerenduing women ; in the history of others again nouniform tendency is shown, but the two influences canbe traced acting and reacting upon each other.This has been the case with the Christian religion,which has combined the wide-spread worship of theMother and Child with a passionate splitting of hairsby celibate priests in dogmatic controversies concerningintellectual abstractions. The worship ofthe Mother and Child had been extirpated in Englandbefore the beginning of the seventeenth century ;pictures of this subject were denounced because theyshowed the Divine Son under the domination of awoman. One writer accuses the Jesuits of representingChrist always " as a sucking child in hismothers armes "-" nay, that is nothing they makehim an underling to a woman," alleging that " theJesuits assert (I) no man, but a woman did helpeGod in the work of our Redemption, (2) that Godmade Mary partaker and fellow with him of hisdivine Majesty and power, (3) that God hath dividedhis Kingdom with Mary, keeping Justice to himselfe,and yielding mercy to her."He complains thzt" She is always set forth as a woman and a mother,and he as a child and infant, either in her armes,or in her hand, that so the common people mighthave occasion to imagine that looke, what power ofoverruling and commanding the mother hath overher little child, the same hath she over her son Jesus. . . . the mother is compared to the son, notas being a child or a man, but as the saviour andmediator, and the paps of a woman equalled withthe wounds of our Lord, and her milke with hisblood . . . . But for her the holy scripturesspeake no more of her, but as of a creature, a woman. . . . saved by Faith in her Saviour Jesus. . . . and yet now after 1600 yearesChristshe must still be a commanding mother and mustshow her authority over him . . . . she must besaluted as a lady, a Queen, a goddesse and he as a child."'The ridicule with which Peter Heylin treated theworship of the Virgin Mary in France seems to havebeen pointed more at the notion of honouringmotherhood, rather than at the distinction givento her as a woman, for he wrote " if they will worshipher as a Nurse with her Child in her arms, or at herbreast, let them array her in such apparel as mightbeseem a Carpenter's Wife, such as she might besupposed to have worn before the world had takennotice that she was the Mother of her Saviour.If they must needs have her in her state of gloryas at Amiens; or of honour (being now publikelyacknowledged to be the blessedness among Women)as at Paris : let them disburden her of her Child.To clap them thus both together, is a folly equallyworthy of scorn & laughter."'The reform which had swept away the worshipof divine motherhood had also abolished the enforcedcelibacy of the priesthood ; but the priest's wifewas given no position in the Church, and a tendencymaj be noted towards the seculaiisatio~ of all women'sfunctions. Convents and nunneries were abolished,and no institutions which might specially assistwomen in the performance of their spiritual, educationalor charitable duties were established in' C. W. 1641. 7be Bespotted Jcsuitc.a Heylin (Peter), Tbc Voyage of France, p. 29, 1673.

24O PROFESSIONS PROFESSIONStheir There was, in fact, a deep jealousyof any influence which might disturb the authorityand control which the individual husband exercisedover his wife, and probably the seventeenth centuryEnglishman was beginning to realise that nothingwould be so subversive to this authority as the associationof women together for religious purposes.If a recognised position was given to women in theChurch, their lives must inevitably receive anorientation which would not necessarily be identicalwith their husband's, thus creating a danger ofconflicting loyalties. Naturally, therefore, womenwere excluded from any office, but it would be amistake to suppose that their subordination to theirhusbands in religious matters was rigidly enforcedthroughout this period. Certainly in the first halfof the century their freedom of thought in religionwas usually taken for granted, and possibly amongstthe Baptists, certainly amongst the Quakers, fullspiritual equality was accorded to them. Womenwere universally admitted to the sacraments, andtherefore recognised as being, in some sort, membersof the Church, but this was consistent with the viewof their position to which Milton's well knownlines in " Paradise Lost " give perfect expression,the ideal which, in all subsequent social and politicalchanges, was destined to determine women's positionin Church and State :-U Whence true authoritie in men, though bothNot equal, as their sex not equal seem'd,For contemplation hee and valour form'dFor softness shec, and sweet attractive Grace,Hee for God only, shee for God in him :To whom thus Eve with perfect beauty adorndMy Author and Disposer, what thou bidstUnargu'd I obey ; so God ordains,God is thy Law, thou mine ; to know no morewoman's happiest knowledge and her praise.''Nevertheless, though excluded from any positionin the hierarchy of recognised servants of the Church,it must not be supposed that the Church was independentof women's service. To their handsnecessity rather than the will of man had entrusted aduty, which when unfulfilled makes all the complicatedorganisation of the Church impotent ; namely, thebending of the infant mind and soul towards religiousideals and emotions. The live.; of the reformersof the seventeenth century bear witness to thefaithfulness with which women accomplished thistask.In many cases their religious labours wereextended beyond the care of their children, embracingthe whole household for their field of service. Thelife of Lettice, Viscountess Falkland, gives an exampleof the sense of responsibility under whichmany religious women lived. Lady Falklandpassed about an hour with her maids, early everymorning " in praying, and catechizing and instructingthem; to these secret and private prayers, thepublick morning and evening prayers of the Church,before dinner and supper ; and another form (togetherwith reading Scriptures and singing Psalms) beforebedtime, were daily and constantly added . . . .neither mere these holy ofices appropriate to hermenial servants, others came freely to joyn withthem, and her Oratory was as open to her neighboursas her Hall was . . . . her Servants were allmoved to accompany her to the Sacrament, and theywho were prevailed with gave up their names to her,two or three dayes before, and from thence,she applied. . . andherself to the instructing of then1after the Holy Sacrament she called them togetheragain and gave them such exhortations as wereproper for them."'The quarrel between Church and State over theteaching profession is an old story which does notFalkland. Lady Letrce2 Yr-countess, Ltfe and Death of.

PROFESSIONS PROFESSIONS 243concern this investigation. It is sufficient to notethat in England neither Church nor State consideredthat the work of women in training the young entitledthem to a recognised position in the general socialorganisation, or required any provision apart from thecasual arrangements of family life.Teachmg. --The question of the standard andcharacter of the education given to girls is too largea subject to be entered into here ; it .I only beremarked that the number of professional paid womenteachers was small. The natural aptitude of theaverage woman for training the young, however,enabled mothers to provide their children, both boysand girls, with a very useful foundation of elementaryeducation.The professions of medicine, midwifery and nursingare very closely allied to each other ; for neither wasthere any system of instruction on a scientific basisavailable for women, whose practice was thus empirical ;but as yet science had done little to improve the skilleven of the male practitioner.Nursing.-Nursing was almost wholly a domestic art.Medzcine. -Though we find many references towomen who practised medicine and surgery as professions,in the majority of cases their skill was usedonly for the assistance of their family and neighbours.MidwzfEry.-Midwifery was upon a different footing,standing out as the most important public functionexercised by women, and being regarded as theirinviolable mystery till near the beginning of theseventeenth century. The steady process throughwhich in this profession women were then supplantedby men, furnishes an example of the way in whichwomen have lost their hold upon all branches ofskilled responsible work, through being deprivedof opportunities for specialised training.The relative deterioration of woman's capacityin comparison with the standard of men's efficiencycannot be more clearly shown than in the history ofmidwifery. Even though the actual skill of midwivesmay not have declined during the seventeenthcentury men were rapidly surpassing them in scientificknowledge, for the general standard of women'seducation was declining, and they were debarredfrom access to the higher branches of learning.As the absence of technical training kept women outof the skilled .rades, so did the lack of scientific educationdrive them from the more profitable practiceof midwifery, which in former times tradition andprejudice had reserved as their monopoly.Whatever arrangements had been made by thereligious orders in England for the care of the sickpoor were swept away by the Reformation. Theprovision which existed in the seventeenth centuryfor this purpose rested on a lay basis, quite unconnectedwith the Church. /Amongst the most famous charitableinstitutions were the four London Hospitals ;Christ's Hospital for children under the age of sixteen,St. Bartholomew's and St. Thomas's for the sick andimpotent poor, and Bethlehem for the insane.There is no evidence that the women of the upperclasses took any part in the management of thesehospitals. The squalor and the ugly and disgustingdetails which are associated with nursing the Jiseasedand often degraded poor, was unredeemed by theradiance with which a mystic realisation of the DivinePresence had upheld the Catholic Saints, or by thepassionate desire for the service of humanity whichinspired Florence Nightingale. Thus it was onlythe necessity for earning their daily bread whichinduced any women to enter the profession of nursingduring this ~eriod, and as the salaries offered wereconsiderably lower than the wages earned by a competentservant in London, it may be supposed that

244 PROFESSIONS PROFESSIONS 245the class attracted did not represent the most efficienttype of women.The rules appointed for the governance of nursesshow that the renunciations of a nun7slifewere requiredof them, but social opinion in Protestant England setno seal of excellence upon their work, however faithfullyperformed, and the sacrifices demanded from thenurses were unrewarded by the crown of victory.During the reign of Edward VI. there were amatron and twelve sisters at St. Bartholomew's whoreceived in wages L26 6s. 8d. In addition the matronreceived IS. 6d. per week for board wages and thesisters IS. qd. per week, and between them L6 per yearfor livery, while the matron received 13s. qd. for thispurpose.' The rules for the governance of the sisterswere as follows :-" Your charge is, in all Things todeclare and shew yourselves gentle, diligent, andobedient to the Matron of this House, who is appointedand authorised to be your chief Governess and Ruler.Ye shall also faithfully and charitably serve andhelp the Poor in all thdr Griefs and Diseases, as wellby keeping them sweet and clean, as in giving thcmtheir Meats and Drinks, after the most honest andcomfortable Manner. Also ye shall use unto themgood and honest Talk, such as may comfort and amendthem ; and utterly to avoid all light, wanton, andfoolish Words, Gestures, and Manners, using yourselvesunto them with all Sobriety and Discretion, and aboveallThings, see that ye avoid, abhor, and detest Scoldingand Drunkenness as most pestilent and filthy Vices.Ye shall not haunt or resort to any manner of Personout of this House, except ye be licensed by the Matron ;neither shall ye suffer any light Person to haunt oruse unto you, neither any dishonest Person, Man orWoman ; and so much as in you shall lie, ye shall avoidand shun the Conversation and Company of all Men.Ye shall not be out of the Woman's Ward after theHour of seven of the Clock in the Night, in the Winter,Time, nor after Nine of the Clock in the Night in theSummer : except ye shall be appointed and commandedby the Matron so to be, for some great and specialcause that shall concern the Poor, (as the presentD~nger of Death or extreme Sickness), and yet sobeing commanded, ye shall remain no longer withsuch diseased Person than just Cause shall require.Also, if any just Cause of Grief shall fortune unto anyof you, or that ye shall see Lewdness in any Officer,of other Person of this House, which may sound orgrow to the Hurt or Slander thereof, ye shall declarethe same to the Matron, or unto one or two of theGovenours of this House, that speedy Remedy thereinmay be had; and to no other Person neither shall yetalk or meddle therein any farther.This is yourCharge, and with apy other Thing you are notcharged."'The Matron was instructed to " receive of theHospitaler of this House all such sick and diseasedPersons as he . . . . shall present unto you,"and to " have also Charge, Governance &Order of all theSisters of this House. . . .that every of them. . . .do their Duty unto the Poor, as well in making oftheir Beds, and keeping their Wards,as also in washingand purging their uncleanCloaths, and other Things.And that the same Sisters every night after the Hourof seven of the Clock in the Winter, and nine of theClock in the Summer, come not out of the Woman'sWard, except some great and special Cause (as thepresent Danger of Death, or needful Succour of somepoor Person). And yet at such a special time it shallnot belawful for every Sister to go forth to any Person orPersons (no tho7 it bein her Ward) but only for such asyou shall think virtuous, godly, and discreet. And thel Stow, London, I., pp., 185-186. ' Stow, London, ,pp., p. 58.

246 PROFESSIONSsame Sister to remain no longer with the same sickPerson then needful Cause shall require. Also atsuch times as the Sisters shall not be occupied aboutthe Poor, ye shall set them to spinning or doing someother Manner of Work, that may avoid Idleness, andbe profitable to the Poor of this House. Also yeshall receive the Flax . . . . the same beingspun by the Sisters, ye shall commit to the said Governors. . . . You shall also . . . . havespecial Regard to the good ordering & keeping of allthe Sheets, Coverlets, Blankets, Beds, and otherImplements committed to your Charge, . . . .Also ye shall suffer no poor Person of this House tosit and drink within your House at no Time, neithershall ye so send them drink into their Wards, thatthereby Drunkenness might be used and continuedamong them."'In Christ's Hospital there were two Matronswith salaries of L2 13s. 4d. per annum and forty-twowomen keepers with salaries of 40s. per annum.Board wages were allowed at the rate of IS. qd.per week for the " keepers " and IS. 6d. for theMatrons. There was one keeper for fifteen persons.2The Matron was advised " Your office is an office ofgreat charge and credite. For to yow is committedthe Governance and oversight of all the women andchildren within this Hospital. And also to yow isgiven Authoritie to commaunde, reprove, and rebukethem or any of them . . . . Your charge isalso to searche and enquire whether the women dotheir Dutie, in washing of the children's sheets andshirts, and in kepeing clean and sweet those that arecommitted to their Charge ; and also in the Beddes,Sheets, Coverlets, and Apparails (with kepeing cleanWards and Chambers) mending of such as shall bel Stow, London, App. pp. 57-58.a Ibzd, I. pp. 175 6.PROFESSIONSbroken from Time to Time. And specially yow shallgive diligent Hede, that the said Washers and Nursesof this Howse be alwaies well occupied and not idle ;. . . . you shal also once every Quarter of theYear examine the Inventorie."'The nurses were instructed that they must " carefullyand diligently oversee, kepe, and qoverne allthose tender Babes & yonglings that shal be committedto your Charge, and the same holesomely, cleanelyand swetely nourishe and bring up . . . . kepeyour Wardes and every Part thereof swete and cleane. . . . avoid all Idleness when your Charge andCare of keping the Children is past, occupie yourselvesin Spinning, Sewing, mending of Sheets andShirts, or some other vertuous Exercise, such as youshal be appointed unto. Ye shal not resort or sufferany Man to resort to you, before ye have declaredthe same to the almoners or Matron of this Howseand obtained their Lycense and Favour, so to do. . . . see that all your children, before they bebrought to Bed, be washed and cleane, and immediatelyafter, every one of yow quietly shal go to yourBed, and not to sit up any longer ; and once everynight arise, and see that the Children be covered, fortaking of C01de."~Some idea of the class of women who actuallyundertook the important duties of Matron for theLondon Hospitals may be gathered from a petitionpresented by Joane Darvole, Matron of St. Thomas'sHospital, Southwark, to Laud. She alleged " thatshe was dragged out of the Chapel of the Hospitalat service and dragged along the streets to prison fordebt, to the hazard of her life, " she being a " very weaksickly and aged woman," clothes torn from her backand cast into a swoon. She petitions against the' Stow, London, app., p. 42.a Stow London, app., p. 4;.

PROFESSIONS PROFESSIONS 249profanation of God's house and the scandal to thecongregation.'Sick and wounded soldiers were tended at theSavoy, where there were thirteen Sisters, whosejoint salaries amounted to 952 I 6s. 8d. per annum.'Among the orders for the patients, nurses and widowsin the Savoy and other hospitals in and about Londonoccur the following regulatjons ;--4t'11' " That everysoldier or nurse . . . . that shall profanelysweare " to pay I ad. for the first offence, I zd. for thesecond, and be expelled for the third. gthly " Thatif any souldier shall marye any of the nurses of thesaid houses whilst hee is there for care or (recov)erythey both shall be turned forth of the House. I INo soldier under cure to have their (wiv)es lodgewith them there except by the approbation of thePhisicion. 12~~~5' NO nurse to be dismissed withoutthe approval of 2 of the Treasurers for the relief ofmaimed soldiers at least. Nurses to be chosen fromamong the widows of soldiers if there are amongthem those that be fit, and those to have ss. perweeke as others usually have had for the service.lqth'y soldiers, wounded and sick, outside the hospitalsnot to have more than 4s. per week.Those in St.Thomas's and Bartholomew's hospital 2s. a week,those in their parents', masters' or friends' houses,according to their necessities, but not more than4s. per week. lgthly Soldiers' widows to receiveaccording to their necessities, but not more than4s. a week. lgthly If any of the nurses . . . . .shalbee negligent in their duties or in giving dueattendance to the . . . . sicke souldiers by dayeor night or shall by scoulding, brawlinge or chidingemake any disturbance in the said hospitall, she shallforfeite 12d. for 1st offence, week's pay for second,l S.P.D., cccclv., 87. May foth, 1640.Stow, London I., p. 2x1.be dismissed for the third. 2othlY If any widowafter marriage shall come and receive weekly pensionsas a soldier's widow contrary to the ordinance ofparlt he which hath married her to repay it, & if heis unable she shall be complained of to the nearestJ.P. and be punished as a de(ceiver)."'There was one nurse for every ten patients in theDublin hospitals, and the salary was CIO per annum,out of which she had td find her board.2The opportunity which the hospitals afforded fortraining in the art of nursing was entirely wasted.The idea that the personal tending of the sick andforlorn poor would be a religious service of specialvalue in the sight of God had vanished, and theircare, no longer transformed by the devotion of religiousenthusiasm, appeared a sordid duty, only fit forthe lowest class in the community. Well-to-do menrelieved their consciences by bequeathing money forthe endowment of hospitals, but the sense of socialresponsibility was not fostered in girls, and the expressionof charitable instincts was almost confinedin the case of women to their personal relations.Outside the hospitals employment was given to aconsiderable number of women in the tending ofpersons stricken with small-pox or the plague, andin searching corpses for signs of the plague. Londonconstables and churchwardens were ordered in 1570" to provide to have in readiness Women to be Provyders& Deliverers of necessaries to infected Howses,and to attend the infected Persons, and they to bearreed Wandes, so that the sick maie be kept'from thewhole, as nere as maie be, needful attendance ~ e~ed."~In the town records of Reading it is noted " atthis daye Marye Jerome Wydowe was sworn to beS. P. D., dxxxix, 231. November I g, 1691.a S. P; D., Interreg : 1. 6% p. 633. 17 Aug., 1649.Stow, Lnd.n, V., p. 433.

250 PROFESSIONSa viewer and searcher of all the bodyes that shalidye within this boroughe, and truly to report andcertifye to her knowledge of what disease they dyed,etc. ; and Anne Lovejoy widowe, jurata, 4" weekea peice, allowing iiijs. a moneth after."' " MaryHolte was sworne to be a searcher of the dead bodyeshencefovrth dyeinge within the boroughe (beingthereunto required) having iiijs. a weeke for herwages, and iiid a corps carryeing to buryall, and iiijsa weeke a monetb after the ceassinge of the plag~e."~In 1637 it was " agreed . . . . with oldFrewyn and his wief, that she shall presentlye goeinto the house of Henry Merrifeild and be aidinge& helpinge to the said Merrifeild and his wief, duringthetime of their visitacion [~lague] . . . . Sheshall have dyett with them, and six weekes after theirvisitacion ended. And old Frewin to have 2s. a weekduringe all that tyme paid him, and 2s. in hand.And she shall have 2" weeke kept for her & paidher in th'end of the sixe weekes after."' Later " itwas thought fitt the Woman keeper and Merifielde'swenche in the Pest-house, it beinge above vj weekespast since any one dyed there, should be at libertieand goe hence to her husbande's house, she havingedone her best endevour to ayre and cleanse all thebeddes & beddinge & other things in both the houses.. . . for her mayntenance vj weekes after theceassinge of the sicknes, she keepinge the wenchewith her, they shalbe paid 3s. a weeke for and towardestheir mavntenance duringe the vj weekes.""n1639 the council "Agree to geve the Widowe Lovejoyein full satisfaccion for all her paynes taken in andabout the visited people in this Towne in this lastl Guildinp, Readrne Records, \'ol. II., p. 241, 1625.a Ibrd, Vol. II., p. 244, 162;.a Ibtd, Vol. 111. p. 371.' Ibrd, Vol. III., p. 384, 1637.PROFESSIONSvisitacion xls. in money, and cloth to make her akirtle and a wascote, and their favour towards hertwo sonnes-in-lawe (beinge forreynours) about theirfredome."'On a petition in 1641 from WidowLovejoy " for better allowance & satisfaction for herpaines aboute the visited people ; . . . . it wasagreed that she shall have xxxs. soe soone as the taxefor the visited people is made ~ppe."~In rural districts where hospitals were seldom withinreach, entries are not infrequently found in the parishaccount books of payments made to women fornursing the poor. " Item. To Mother Middletonfor twoe nights watchinge with Widow Coxe's childbeing sick."' " To Goody Halliday, for nursinghim & his family 5 weeks EI 5 ; to Goody Nye,for assisting in nursing, 2s. 6d.4 . . . . to GoodyPeckham for nursing a beggar, 5s. For nursingWickham's boy with the small pocks ~zs."' AHertfordshire parish paid a woman 15s. for herattendance during three weeks on a woman and herillegitimate child.' A Morton man was ordered topay out of his next half-year's rent for the groundshe farmed of Isabelle Squire " zos to Margt. Squire,who attended and looked to her half a year duringthe time of her distraction."'Sometimes nurses were provided for the poor byreligious and charitable ladies, who, like Lettice,Viscountess Falkland, " hired nurses to serve them."8Sick nurses were also engaged by well-to-do people toattend upon themselves or their servants. Thus the Rev.Guilding, Reading Records, V;1. III., p. 459.a Ibid, Vol. IV., p. 8.a ~u&~rcb Coll., Vol. XXIII., p. 90. Hadhgs Documents. 1601.4 Sussex Arcb. Coll., Vol. XX., p. "7. Acc. Bwk of Cmodcn. 1704.Ihid, p. 118.Herford County Records, Vol. I., p. 435, 1698.Atkinson, J. C., Torks. N. R Q. S. Recmds, Vol. VII., p. 91. 168P.Fokhland, Lady Letice, Vi-countess, L+ and Deatb of.

252PROFESSIONSGiles Moore enters in his journal " My mayde beingsicke I payd for opening her veine qd. to the WiddowRugglesford, for looking to her, I gave IS. and tcroldBess for tending her 3 days and 2 nights I gave I' ; inall 2"d."1 A little later, when the writer himselfwas " in an ague. Paid Goodwyfe Ward for beingnecessary to me IS."^ Though his daughter waswith him, a nurse watched in the chamber whenColonel Hutchinson died in the prison at D~ver.~11 few extracts from account books will supplyfurther details as to the usual scale of remunerationfor nurses ; no doubt in each case the money givenwas in addition to meat and drink. Sarah Fell enters" by mO given Ann Daniel1 for her paines about~achell Yeamans when she died 05.00."~ TimothyBurrell " pd. Gosmark for tending Mary 3 weeks6s."' Lady Grisell Raillie engaged a special nursefor her daughter Rachy at a fee of At HerstmonceuxCastle they " pd Hawkin's wife for tendingthe sick maiden 10 days 3s. Pd. Widdow Weeksfor tending sick seruants a fortnight 4s."' Sir JohnFoulis in Scotland paid " to Ketherin in pt paymt& till account for her attendance on me the time ofmy sickness 12. o. o "[scots].''' TO Katherine tueddiein cornpleat pa,ymt for her attendance on me W" Iwas sick 20. 0. 0." [scot~].~" To my good douchterjennie to give tibhie tomsone for her attendanceon my wife the time of her sickness 5. 16. o. [s~ots]."'~l Susscr Arcb. Coll., Vol. I., p. 72. Rev. Gales Moore's Journal.Ibid, Vol. l., p. 100. 1667.Memoirs of Col. Hutchinson, p. 377.4 Fell (Sarah), Housebold Accounts, p. 285. June 20, 1676,6 SWSCX Atcb. Coll., Vol. III., p. 123. Journal of Timotby BrrreU. 1688.6 Baillie, Lady Grisell, Housebold Book. Intro. Ixvii.7 Sussex Arch. Coll., Vol. XLVIIl., p. 121. 1643-1649.8 Foulis, Sir John, Account Book, p. 346. May 23, 1704.Ibid, p. 396. August 22, 1705.l0 Ibid, p. 314. January 28, ~703.PROFESSIONS 253All the above instances refer to professional nursing ;that is to say to the tending of the sick for wages, butnuqing was more often of an unprofessional character.Sickness was rife in all classes, and for the most partthe sick were tended by the women of their householdor family. The claim for such assistance was feltbeyond the limits of kinship, and in the village communityeach woman would render it to her neighbourwithout thought of reward. The solidarity of thecommunity was a vital tradition to the village matronof the early seventeenth century, and it was onlyin cases of exceptional isolation or difficulty, or wherethe sick person was a stranger or an outcast that theservices of a paid nurse were called in. Probablythe standard of efficiency was higher in domesticthan in professional nursing, because professionalnurses received no systematic training. Their rateof remuneration was low, the essential painfulness oftheir calling was not concealed by the glamour ofa religious vocation, still, less was it rewarded by anysocial distinction. Therefore the women who tookup nursing for their livelihood did so from necessity,and were drawn from the lower classes.Illness was so frequent in the seventeenth centurythat few girls can have reached maturity without theopportunity of practising the art of nursing at home ;but amongst the " common people," that is to sayall the class of independent farmers and tradesmen,the housewife can hardly have found time to perfecther skill in nursing to a fine art. Probably the highestlevel was reached in the households of the gentry,where idleness was not yet the accepted hall-mark ofa lady, and the mistress felt herself to be responsiblefor the training of her children and servants inevery branch of the domestic arts, amongst whichwere reckoned both medicine and nursing.(B). Surgery and Medicine.The position held by mediaval women in the arts

=S4 PROFESSIONSof healing is shown in such books as Mallory's " Morted7Arthur." \hen wounds proved intractable tothe treatment of the rough and ready surgeons whoattended in the vicinity of tourneys, knights soughthelp from some high-born lady renowned for herskill in medicine.It is true that popular beliefassigned her success to witchcraft rather than to theknowledge and understanding acquired by diligentstudy and experience, hut a tendency to faith in theoccult was universal, and the reputation of the ladiesprobably bore some relation to their success in thecures aitempted, for, according to the author of" The Golden Bough," science is the lineal descendantof witchcraft. The position of pre-eminence as consultantswas no longer retained by women in the seventeenthcentury. Schools and Universities had beenfounded, where men could study medicine andanatomy, and thus secure for themselves a higherstandard of knowledge and efficiency; but, thoughwomen were excluded from these privileges they werenot yet completely ousted from the medical profession,and as a domestic art medicine was still extensivelypractised by them.Every housewife was expected to understand thetreatment of the minor ailments at least of her household,and to prepare her own drugs. Commonplacebooks of this period contain recipes for making mulberrysyrup, preserving fruit and preparing meats, mingledwith, for example, prescriptions for plague water,which is " very good against the plague, thesmallpox, the measles, surfeitts . . . . and isof a sovereign nature to be gi~en in any sickness"" An oyle good for any ach-and ointments forsore eyes or breasts, or stone in the kidney er bladder."And in addition, " my brother Jones his way of makinginks."' " The Ladies Dispensatory " contains " theNatures, Vertues and Qualities of all Herbs, and SimplesL Add. MSS. 36308.PROFESSIONSuseful1 in Physick. Reduced into a Methodical Order,"the diseases to be treated including those of men,as well as women and children.'As was the case in other domestic arts, girls depended fortheir training in medicine chiefly on the tradition theyreceived from their mothers, but this was reinforcedfrom other sources as occasion offered. " The LadiesDispensatory " was not the only handbook publishedfor their use ; sometimes, though schools were closedto women, an opportunity occurred for private coaching.Thus Sarah Fell entered in her account book," July Ye 5' 1674 by m" to Bro : Lower yt hee gaveThomas Lawson for comeinge over hither to Instructhim & sistrs, in the knowledge of herbs. 10.00,"~and when Mrs. Hutchinson's husband was Governorof the Tower she allowed Sir Walter Raleigh and Mr.Ruthin during their imprisonment to make experimentsin chemistry *' at her cost, partly to comfort and divertthe poor prisoners, and partly to gain the knowledgeof their experiments, and the medicines to help suchpoor people as were not able to seek physicians.By these means she acquired a great deal of skill,which was very profitable to many all her life."3Neither did ladies confine their services to theirown household, but extended their benefits to alltheir suffering neighbours.The care of the sick poorwas considered to be one of the duties of a " Person ofQuality," whose housekeepers were expected " to havea competent knowledge in Physick and Chyrurgery,that they may be able to help their maimed, sick andindigent Neighbours ; for Commonly, all good andcharitable Ladies make this a part of their Housekeepersbu~iness."~ The " Good Woman " is des-' Sowerby (Leonard) ?be ladies' Dispematoy. 1651.' Fell, (Sarah). Housebold Accounts, p. 95. July g, 1679.3 Memoirs of Col. Hutcbinron, p. 12.Compkat Servant-waid, p. +o.

PROFESSIONScribed as one who " distributes among the Indigent,Money and Books, and Cloaths, and Physick, astheir several1 Circumstances may require," torelieve " her poorer Neighbours in sudden Distress,when a Doctor is not at Hand, or when they haveno Money to buy what may be necessary for them;and the charitableness of her Physick is often attendedby some cure or other that is remarkable. God givesa peculia, Bles~iny to the Practice of those Womenwho have no other design in this Matter, but thedoing Good : that neither prescribe where theymay have the Advice of the Learned, nor at any timegive or recommend any thing to try Experiments,but what they are assured from former Tryals is safeand innocent ; and if it do not help cannot hurt."'The protieion made by Lady Falkland of " antidotesagainst infection and of Cordials, and other severalsorts of Physick for such of her Neighbours as shouldneed them, amounted yearly to very considerableher ski1 indeed was more thansummes . . .ordinary, and her wariness too . . . . Booke:of spiritual exhortations, she carried in her hand tothese sick persons."2 Mrs. Elizabeth Bedell " wasvery famous and expert in Chirurgery, which shecontinually practised upon multitudes that flock'dto her, and still gratis, without respect of persons,poor or rich. It hapned occasionally that somewould return like the heald Samaritan, with sometoken of thankfulness ; though this was seldom.But God did not fail to reward them with (thatwhich in Scripture is most properly call'd his reward)children, and the fruit of the womb. 3 sons and 4daughter^."Êxpressions of gratitude to women for these medicalservices occur in letters and diaries of the time. Thel Rogen, Timothy. Character 51 a Good Woman, p. qz 43.Falkland, Lady Lettice, Vi-countess, Tbe Life and Death of.3 Uedfll, (Wm.), Life and Dcarb of, p. 8.PROFESSIONSRev. R. Josselin enters January ~7th~ 1672, " MyL. Honeywood sent her coach for me : yr I staydto March 10, in time my Lady was my nurse &Phisitian & I hope for much good : . . . . theyconsidered ye scurvy. I tooke purge & other thingsfor it ;"lMarmaduke Rawdon met with a carriageaccident, in which he strained his " arme, but commingeto Hodsden his good cossen Mrs. Williams, with hirarte and care, quickly cured itt, and in ten dayeswas well againe.'2Nor was the practice of medicine confined to Gentlewomen; many a humble woman in the country,the wife of farmer or husbandman, used her skill forthe benefit of her neighbours. In their case, thoughmany were prompted purely by motives of kindnessand goodwill, others received payment for theirservices. How much the dependence of the commolipeople on the skill of these " wise women " was takenfor granted is suggested by some lines in " TheAlchemist," where Mammon assures Do1 Common" This nook, here, of the Friers is no ClimateFor her to l~ve obscurely in, to learnePhysick, and Surgery, for the Constable's wifeOf some odde Hundred in Essex "3Though their work was entirely unscientific, experienceand common sense, or perhaps mere luck,often gave to their treatment an appearance of successwhich was denied to their more learned rivals. ThusAdam Martindale describing his illness says thatit was " a vehement fermentation in my body. . . ugly dry scurfe, eating deep and spread-ing broad.Some skilfull men, or so esteemed, beingconsulted and differing much in their opinions, we wereleft to these three bad choices . . . . in this greateJosselin, (R.), Diary, pp. 163-4.Ranudon. (Wamnduke), Ltfe of p 85.l" jomon, (Ben : 7br Alrbemrst. Act IV.. Sc. 1.

258 PROFESSIONS PROFESSIONS 259straite God sent us in much mercie a poore woman,who by a salve made of nothing but Celandine anda little of the Mosse of an ashe root, :hred and boyledin May-butter, tooke it cleare away in a short time,and though after a space there was some new breakingsout, yet these being annointed with the same salve. . . . . were absolutely cleared away."'The general standard of efficiency among themen who professed medicine and surgery was verylow, the chief work of the ordinary country practitionerbeing the letting of blood, and the wise womanof the village may easily have been his superior inother forms of treatment. Sir Ralph Verney, writingto his wife advises her to cc give the child no phisick butsuch as midwives and old women, with the doctorsapprobation, doe prescribe ; for assure yourselfethey by experience know better than any phisitionhow to treate such infant^."^ Of Hobbes it was saidthat he took little physick and preferred " an experiencedold woman " to the " most learned andinexperienced physician."3Dr. Turbeville, a noted oculist in the WestCountry, was sent for to cure the Princess ofDenmark, who had a dangerous inflammationof the eyes. On his return he is reported to havesaid that " he expected to learn something of theseCourt doctors, but, to his amazement he found themonly spies upon his practice, and wholly ignorantas to the lady's case ; nay, farther, he knew severalmidwives and old women, whose advice he wouldrather follow than theirs.'j4 He died at Sarumin 1696, and his sister, Mrs. Mary Turbeville,practised afterwards in London " with good-Martindale (Adam), Life of, p. 21. 1532.a Verncy Family, Vo!. z, p. 27C. 1647.a Dactlonary of National Siograpb.4 Hoarr, Slr R. C., History of Modern Waltr. Vol. V1. p 465reputation and success. She has all her brother'sreceipts, and having seen his practice, during manyyears, knows how to use them. For my part, I haveso good an opinion of her skill that should I again beafflicted with sore eyes, which God forbid ! I wouldrely upon her advice rather than upon any pretendersor professors in London or elsewhere."'Events, however, were taking place which would sooncurtail the practice of women whose training was confinedto personal experience, tradition and casualstudy. The established associations of physicians,surgeons and apothecaries, although of recent growth,demanded and obtained, like other companies, exclusiveprivileges. Their policy fell in with theGovernment's desire to control the practice of medicine,in order to check witchcraft. Statute 3, Henry VIII.,enacted that " none should exercise the Faculty ofPhvsick or Surgery within the City of London or within~e;en Miles of the same, unless first he were examined,approved and admitted by the Bishop of London,or the Dean of St. Paul's, calling to him or themFour Doctors of Physick, and for Surgery otherexpert Persons in that Faculty, upon pain of Forfeitureof E5 for every Month they should oc~upyPhysick or Surgery, not thus admitted " because" that comnlon Artificers, as Smiths, Weavers,and Women, boldly and accustomably took upon themgreat Cures, and Things of great Difficulty, in thewhich they partly used Sorceries and Witchcraft,and partly applied such Medicines unto the Diseased,as were very noyous, and nothing meet theref~re."~The restrictions were extended to the provinces.A Charter given to the Company of Barber-Surgeonsat Salisbury in 1614 declared that '' No surgeon orbarber is to practise any surgery or barbery, unlessHoare, Sir R C., History of Modan Wilts, Vol. V1., p. 467.' Stow, LOW~OR 1.9 p. 132.

PROFESSIONS PROFESSIONS 261first made a free citizen, and then a free brother ofthe company. Whereas, also, there are divers womenand others within this city, altogether unskilled inthe art of chirurgery, who do oftentimes take cureson them, to the great danger of the patient, it istherefore ordered, that no such woman, or any othe;shall take or meddle with any cure of chirurgery,wherefore they, or any of them shall have or takeany money, benefit or other reward for the same,upon pain that every delinquent shall for every cureto be taken in hand, or meddled with, contrary tothis order, unless she or they shall be first allowed bythis Company, forfeit and lose to the use of thisCompany the sum of ten shillings."'The Apothecaries were separated from the Grocersin 1617, the charter of their company providing thatc

262 PROFESSIONS PROFESSIONS 263the energy of the parties interested, it is difficult todetermine what was their actual and immediate effecton the medical practice of women. Statute 3, HenryVIII., must have been enforced with some severity,for a later one declares " Sithence the making of whichsaid Act the companie & felowship of surgeons ofI,ondon, minding oonly their own lucres, and nothingthe profit or ease of the diseased or patient, have sued,troubled and vexed divers honest persons as well menas women, whom God hath endued with the knowledgeof the nature, kind, and operation of certain herbes,roots and waters, and the using & ministering ofthem to such as been pained with customable diseases,as women's breasts being sore, a pin and the web in theeye, &C., &C., and yet the said persons have not takenany thing for their pains or cunning."'Not only the Surgeons but the Apothecaries also,enforced observance of the privileges which the Kinghad granted to them, and in consequence a Petitionof many thousands of citizens and inhabitants in andabout London was presented on behalf of Mr. WilliamTrigg, Practitioner of Physick, saying that he " didabundance of good to all sorts of people in and aboutthis City: when most of the Colledge Doctorsdeserted us, since which time your Petitioners havefor above twenty yeares, in their several1 times ofSicknesses, and infirmities taken Physick from him. . . . in which time, we doe verily believe inour consciences, that he hath done good to abovethirty thousand Persons; and that he maketh allhis Compositions himselfe, not taking anythingfor his Physick from poor people ; but ratherreleiving their necessities, nor any money from anyof us for his advice ; and but moderately for hisPhysick : his custome being to take from the middlesort of Patients 12d., 18d., 2s., 2s. 6d. as they pleasetogive, very seldom five shillngs unlesse from such as takeStatutes at Large. 34 Henry VIII. C.8.much Physick with them together into the Countrey.. . . . there is a good and wholesome law madein the 34th year of King Henry 8 C. 8. Permittingevery man that hath knowledge and experience inthe nature of Herbs, Root's and waters, to improvehis Talent for the common good and health of thepeople," and concluding that unless Dr. Trigg isallowed to continue his practice " many poorepeople must of necessity perish to death . . . . .for they are not able to pay great fees to Doctorsand Apothecaries bills which cost more then hisadvice and Physick ; nor can we have accesse untothem when we desire, which we familiarly have toDr. Trigg to our great ease and comfort."'Prudence Ludford, wife of William Ludford ofLittle Barkhampton, was presented in 16S3 " forpractising the profession of a chyrurgeon contraryto law,"2 but many women at this time continuedtheir practice as doctors undisturbed ; for example,Mrs. Lucy Hutchinson casually mentions that oneof her maids went to Colson, to have a sore eye curedby a woman of the town.3 While Mrs. D'ewes wastravelling from Axminster to London by coach, herbaby boy cried so violently all the way, on accountof the roughness of the road that he ruptured himself,and was left behind at Dorchester under the careof Mrs. Margaret Waltham, " a female pra~titioner."~The account books of Boroughs and Parishes showthat the poor received medical treatment from menand women indiscriminately. A whole series of suchpayments occur in the minute book of the DorchesterCorporation. " It is ordered that the V' tobe paid to Peter Salanova for cutting of Gilesl Humble Petition ofmany tbowands ofLondon' Hdford Co. Records, Vol. I. p. 328.Memoirs of Col. Hutcbinson, p. 427.' Yange, Walter, Diary, Intro., xxii.Citizens, and Inbabitanrs in and about

264 PROFESSIONSGarrett's leg shall be paid out of the X1'yearly paiableout of the Hospitall for pious vses. . . . tohave the one halfe having cutt of his leg already,and the other halfe when he is thoroughly cured.'. . . . Unto the Widdow Foote xs. for thecuring of the Widow Huchins' lame leg at present ;and xs. more when the cure is finished2. . . . Mr.Losse should be payed by the Steward of the Hospitalthe somme of viij li for his paynes and fee as Phisitianin taking care of the poore of the Towne for the, last yeare as it hath bin formerly accustomed. . . . Vnto Mr. Mullens the sommeof thirty shillings for curing Hugh Rogers ofdangerous fi~tula."~ Three pounds more (three havingalready been paid) was ordered to be given to" Cassander Haggard for finishing the great cure onJohn Drayton otherwise Ke~se."~ In another casethe Council tendered to Mr. Mullens, " the chirurgeon,the some of xxxs for curing of Thomas Hobbs, but heanswered hee would consider of it next weeke [Hede~lined]."~At Cowden the overseers paid to Dr. R7illettfor " reducing the arm of Elizth Skinner, and forointment, cerecloths and journeys, L2 ; three yearslater a further sum of Ioa. was given " to GoodwifeWells for curing Eliz Skinner's hand."' " MaryOlyve was paid 6s. 8d. " for curing a boye that waslame" at Ma~field,~ and 15s. was given to " WidowThurston for healing of Stannard's son," by thechurchwardens at Cratfield.8 In Somerset Lj wasMayo, C. H., Municipal Recmdr of Dwcbcster, p. 516, 1640.lbrd, p. 518. 1651a Ibid, p. 518, 1649-50.Zbzd, pp. 518-9. 1652-1654.p. 519.6 Sussex Arch. CoU., Vo:. XX., p. 1x4. Account Book of Corodn, 1690.' Ibid, Vol. XVIII., p. 196. Accounts of Parish of Mayfield.B Cratficld Parish Papers, p. 179. 1640.aPROFESSIONS 265paid to " Johane Shorley towards the cure of ThomasDudderidge. Further satisfaction when cure is don."'Such entries show that though women may havepractised surgery and medicine chiefly as domestic arts,nevertheless their skill was also used professionally, theirnatural aptitudein this direction enabling them to maintaintheir position throughout the seventeenth centuryeven when deprived of all opportunities for systematicstudy and scientific experiments, and in spite of thedetermined attacks by the Corporations of physiciansand surgeons ; but their success was owing to the factthat Science had as yet achieved small results in thestandard of medical efficiency.(C). Midwifery.It has been shown that the employment of womenin the arts of medicine, nursing and teaching waschiefly, though not entirely, confined to the domesticsphere ; midwifery, on the other hand, thoughoccasionally practised by amateurs, was, in the majorityof cases, carried on bv' women who, whether skilledor unskilled, regardedWit as the chief business of theirlives, and depended upon it for their maintenance.Not only did midwifery exist on a professionalbasis from immemorial days, but it was formerlyregarded as a mystery inviolably reserved for women ;and though by the seventeenth century the barriervvhich excluded men had broken down, the extentto which the profession had in the past been a woman'smonopoly is shown by the fact that the men whonow began to practise the art were known as menmidwives.The midwife held a recognised position in Societyand was sometimes well-educated and well-paid.Nothing is known as to the medizval history of midwiferyin England ; and possibly nothing ever will be' h s c t Q. S. Records, Vol. III., p. 21%1653.

PROFESSIONS PROFESSIONS 267known concerning it, for the Englishwoman of thatperiod had no impulse to commit her experienceand ideas to writing. All the wisdom which touchedher special sphere in life was transmitted orally frommother to daughter, and thus at any change, likethe Industrial Revolution, which silently underminedthe foundations of society, the traditional womanlywisdom could vanish, leaving no trace behind it.Even in the Elizabethan period and during the seventeenthcentury, when most women could read andmany could write, they show little tendency to recordinformation concerning their own affairs. But theprofession of midwifery was then no longer reserved exclusirelyfor women. The first treatise on the subjectpublished in England was a translation bp Raynoldof " The Byrth of Mankpnd." He says in his prefacethat the book had already been translated into " DutcheFrenche, Spanyshe and dyvers other languages. Inthe which Countries there be fewe women that canreade, but they wyll haue one of these bookes alwayesin readinesse . . . . it beinge lykewyse sette foorthin our Englyshe speeche . . . . it may supplythe roome and place of a good Mydwyfe, . . . .and truly . . . . there be syth the fyrstsettynge forth of this booke, right many honourableLadyes, & other Worshj~pfull Gentlewomen, whichhave not disdayned the oftener by the occasion ofthis booke to frequent and haunt women in theyrlabours, caryinge with them this booke in theyrhandes, and causyng such part of it as doth chiefelyconcerne the same pourpose, to be read before themydwyfe, and the rest of the women then beyngpresent ; whereby ofttymes, then all haue beenput in remembraunce of that, wherewith the laboryngwoman hath bene greatly comforted, and alleuiatedof her thronges and travayle : . . . But herenow let not the good Mydwyves be offended with that,that is spoken of the badde. For verily there is noscience, but that it hath his Apes, Owles, Beares andAsses . . . . at the fyrst commvng abroadeof this present booke, many of this sorte-of mydwyves,meuyd eyther of envie, or els of mallice, or both,diligented . . . . to fynde the meanes to suppresse. . . . the same ; makyng all wemen oftheyr acquayntaunce . . . . to beleeue, thatit was nothyng woorth : and that it shoulde be aslaunder to women, forso muche as therein was descriedand set foorth the secretes and priuities of women,and that euery boy and knaue hadd of these bookes,readyng them as openly as the tales of Robinhood &C."'It is sometimes supposed that childbirth was aneasier process in former generations than it has becomesince the developments of modern civilisation. Thequestion has a direct bearing on the profession ofmidwifery, but it cannot be answered here, norcould it receive a simple answer of yes or no, for itembraces two problems for the midwife, the ease andsafety of a normal delivery and her resources in faceof the abnormal.No one can read the domestic records of the seventeenthcentury without realising that the dangers ofchildbed were much greater then than now ; neverthelessthe travail of the average woman at that time mayhave been easier. There was clearly a great differencein this respect between the country woman, inuredto hard muscular labour, and the high born lady orcity dame. The difference is pointed out by contemporarywriters. McMath dedicated " the ExpertMidwife "to the Lady Marquies of Douglas because" as it concerns all Bearing Women . . . . sochiefly the more Noble and Honourable, as being moreExcellent, more Tender, and Delicate, and readilymore opprest with the symptoms." Jane Sharp confirmsthis, saying that " the poor Country people,' Raynold, 7be Byrth cf Mankvnd, Prologue.

268 PROFESSIONSwhere there are none but women to assist (unless itbe those that are exceeding poor and in a starvingcondition, and then they have more need of meatthan Midwives) . . .' . are as fruitful and assafe and well delivered, if not much more fruitful,and better commonlf. in Childbed than the greatestLadies of the Land."'Rich and poor alike depended upon the midwife tobring them safely through the perils of childbirth,and it is certain that women of a high level of intelligenceand possessing considerable skill belonged to theprofession. The fees charged by successful midwiveswere very high, and during the first half of the centurythey were considered in no way inferior to doctorsin skill. It was natural that Queen Henrietta Mariashould send for one of her own country women toattend her, French midwives enjoying an extra-ordinarily high reputation for their skill at this time.The payment in 1630 of LIOO to Frances Monnhadice,Nurse to the Queen, " for the diet & entertainmentof Madame Peron, midwife to the Queen," and furtherof a "Warrant to pap Madame Peron L300 of theKing's gift "2 shows the high value attached to herservices.That English midwives were often possessed ofample means is shown by a deposition made by" Abraham Perrot, of Barking parish, Gentleman,"who " maketh oath that a month before the fire. . . . he . . . . paid unto Hester ShawWidow, . . . . the summe of L953.6. the saidMrs. Shaw being described as a midwife ; butrelations who were members of this professionare never alluded to in letters, diaries or memoirs.From this absence of any social reference it is difficultSharp (Jane), Tbe Midwives Bwk, p. 3.P S. P. D. 1630. Sign Manual Car. I., Vol. VIl. No. 11.S Mrs. Sbaw's Zn~cency Restored. 1653.PROFESSIONSto determine from what class of the communitythey were drawn, or what were the circumstanceswhich led women to take up this responsible andarduous profession. No doubt necessity led manyignorant women to drift into the work when they weretoo old to receive new ideas and too wanting in ambitionto make any serious effort to improve theirskill, but the writings of Mrs. Cellier and Mrs. JaneSharp prove that there were others who regardedtheir profession with enthusiasm, and who possessedan intelligence acute enough to profit by all theexperience and instruction which was within theirreach.The only training available for women who wishedto acquire a sound knowledge of midwifery was byapprenticeship ; this, if the mistress was skilled inher art, was valuable up to a certain point, but as noorganisation existed among midwives it was not possibleto insist upon any general standard of efficiency,and many midwives were ignorant of the most elementarycircumstances connected with their profession.In any case such an apprenticeship could not supplythe place of the more speculative side of training,which can only be given in connection with schoolsof anatomy where research work is possible, and fromthese all women were excluded.As has been said, many women who entered theprofession did not even go through a form of apprenticeship,but acquired their experience solely, touse Raynold's words, " by haunting women in theirlabours." In rural England it was customary whentravail began, to send for all the neighbours who wereresponsible women, partly with the object of securingenough witnesses to the child's birth, partly becauseit was important to spread the understanding ofmidwifery as widely as possibie, because any womanmight be called upon to render assistance in anemergency.

PROFESSIONS PROFESSIONS 271Several handbooks on Midwifery were written inresponse to the demand for opportunities for scientifictraining by the more intelligent members of the profession.One of the most popular of these books,which passed through manv editions, was publishedin 1671 by Jane Sharp " Practitioner in the art ofMidwifery above jo years." The preface to the fourthedition says that " the constant and unweariedIndustry of this ingenious and well-skill'd midwife,Mrs. Jane Sharp, together with her great Experienceof Anatomy & Physick, by the many years of herPractice in the art of Midwifery hath . . . . .made them . . . . much desired by all thateither knew her Person . . . . or ever read thisbook, which of late, by its Scarceness hath been somuch enquired after . . . . as to have manyafter impressions." The author says that she has" often sate down sad in the Consideration of themany Miseries Women endure in the Hands of unskilfulMidwives ; many professing the Art (withoutany skill in anatomy, which is the Principal parteffectually necessary for a Midwife) meerly for Lucressake.I have been at Great Cost in Translationsfor all Books, either French, Dutch or Italian of thiskind. All which I offer with my own Experience.'"Jane Sharp points out that midwives must be bothspeculative and practical, for " she that wants theknowledge of Speculation, is like one that is blindor wants her sight : she that wants the Practice, islike one that is lame & wants her legs, . . . . .Some perhaps may think, that then it is not properfor women to be of this profession, because they cannotattain so rarely to the knowledge of things as men may,who are bred up in Universities, Schools of Learning,or serve their Apprenticeship for that end and purpose,,where anatomy Lectures being frequently read theU*Sharp, Mm. Jane,ducovmcd.7be Midwives BOOR, or tbe dole Art of Mzdwzfsysituation of the parts both of men and women . . .are often made plain to them.But that objection iseasily answered, by the former example of the Midwivesamongst the Israelites, for, though we womencannot deny that men in some things may come to agreater perfection of knowledge than women ordinarilycan, by reason of the former helps that womenwant ; yet the Holy Scriptures hath recorded Midwivesto the perpetual honour of the female Sex.There not being so much as one word concerning menmidwives mentioned there . . . . it being thenatural propriety of women to be much seeing intothat art ; and though nature be not alone sufficientto the perfection of it, yet further knowledge may begain'd by a long and diligent practice, and he communicatedto others of our own sex. I cannot denythe honour due to able Physicians and Chyrurgions,when occasion is, Yet . . . . where there isno Men of Learning, the women are sufficient toperform this duty . . . . It is not hard wordsthat perform the work, as if none understood the Artthat cannot understand Greek. Words are butthe shell, that we oftimes break our Teeth with themto come at the kernel, I mean our brains to know whatis the meaning of them ; but to have the same in ourmother tongue would save us a great deal of needlesslabour. It is commendable for men to employ theirspare time in some things of deeper Speculation thanis required of the female sex ; but the art of Midwifery chiefly concerns us."'Though the schools of Medicine and Anatomy wereclosed to women, individual doctors were willing toteach the more progressive midwives some of thescience necessary for their art ; thus Culpeperdedicated his " Directory " to the midwives of Englandin the following words :-" Worthv Matrons, You are of' S*Mn. Jane .7bc Midroivcr Book, pp. 1-q.

PROFESSIONS PROFESSIONS 273the number of those whom my soul loveth, and of whomI make daily mention in my Prayers : . . . . If youplease to make experience of my Rules, they are very. . . . If you make' plain, and easie enough;use of them, you wil find your work easie, you neednot call for the help of a Man-Midwife, which is adisparagement, not onIy to yourselves, but also toyour Profession : . . . . All the Perfections thatcan be in a Woman, ought to be in a Midwife ; thefirst step to which is, To know your ignorance in thatpart of Physick which is the Basis of your Act . . . .If any want Wisdom, let him ask it of God (not ofthe Colledg of Phyritians, for if they do, they mayhap to go without their Errand, unless they bringMoney with them)."'Efforts made by Peter Chamberlain to secure somesystematic training for midwives drew upon himselfthe abuse, if not persecution, of his jealous contemporaries.In justifying the course he had taken hepleads " Because I am pretended to be Ignorant orCovetous, or both, therefore some ignorant Women,whom either extream Povertie hath necessitated, orHard-heartedness presumed, or the Game of Venus intrudedinto the calling of Midwifry (to have the issuesof Life & Death of two or three at one time in theirhands, beside the consequence of Health and Strengthof the Whole Nation) should neither be sufficientlyinstructed in doing Good, nor restrained from doingEvil ? . . . . . The objection infers thus much.Because there was never any Order for instructing andgoverning of Midwives, therefore there never mustbe . . . . It may be when Bishops are restoredagain, their Ordinaries will come in to plead theircare. Of what ? Truly that none shall do goodwithout their leave. That none shall have leave,but such as will take their Oath and pay Money. ThatCulpeper, Nich., Gent.,Midwk.Student in Phvsick and Aatrologie, Directory fortaking this Oath and paying their Money with thetestimonie of two or three Gossips, any may have leaveto be as ignorant, if not as cruel as themselves, . . . .but of Instruction or Order amongst the Midwives,not one word."'The danger which threatened midwives by theexclusion of womerr from the scientific trainingavailable for men, did not pass unnoticed by the leadingmembers of the Profession. They realised that thequestion at stake did not concern only the honourof their Profession, but involved the suffering, and inmany cases even the death, of vast numbers of womenand babies who must always depend on the skill of midwivesand urged that steps should be taken to raise thestandard of their efficiency. Mrs. Cellier2 pointed outChamberlain (Peter), A Voice in Rbama, or the Crie of Women and Cbildren. 1646.' Cellier (Mrs.). A scbeme fw rbe foundation of a Royal Hospital, HarleianMiscellany, Vol. IV. pp. 142-147.The scheme was well thought out, and some details from it may be given hereas showing the aspirations of an able woman for the develupment of her profession.Mrs. Cellier proposed that the number of midwives admitted to the first rank shouldbe limited to 1000, and that these should pay a fee of on admittance and the likesum annually. All the midwives entering this first rank should be eligible for theposition of Matron, or assistant to the Govenment.Other midwives may be admitted to the second thousand on payment of half theabove fees.The money rpised bv these fees is to be used for the purpooe of erecting "one good,large an3 ronvenient House, or Hospital," . . . . for the Receiving and Takingin of exposed Ch~ldren, to be subject to the Care, Conduct and Management of oneGoverness, one female Secretary, and twelve Matron Assistants, subject to thevisitation of such Persons, as to yovr Maiesty's Wisdom shall be thought necessary. . . . the children to be afterwards educated in proper Learning, Arts andMysteries according to their several capacities. As a further endowment for thisinstitution, Mrs. Cellier asks for one fifth part of the voluntary charity collectedin the Parishes comprised within the Limits of the weekly Bills of Mortality, and thatin addit~on collecting Boxes may be placed iu every Church, Chapel, or publ~ck Placeof l'ivine Service of any Religion whatsoever within their limits. The schemefurther provides "that such Hospital may be allowed to establish twelve lesserconvenient houses, in twelve of the greatest parishes, each to be governed by one ofthe twelve Matrons, Assistants to the Corporation of the Midwives, which Housesmay be for the taking in, delivery and month's Maintenance, at a price certain ofany woman, that any of the parishes within the limits aforesaid, shall by the overseersof the poor place in them ; such women being to he s~ibject, with the Children bornof them, to the future care of that parish, whose overseers place them there to bedelivered, notwithstanding such House shall not happen to stand in the properParish." , . . .

---PROFESSIONS PROFESSIONS 275" That, within the Space of twenty years last past,above six thousand women have died in child-bed,more than thirteen thousand children have been bornabortive, and above five thousand chrysome infantshave been buried, within the weekly bills of mortality ;above two-thirds of which, amounting to sixteenthousand souls, have in all probability perished, forwant of due skill and care, in those women who practisethe art of midwiferyit is humbly proposed, that your Majesty will begraciously pleased to unite the whole number ofskilful midwives, now practising within the limitsof the weekly bills of mortality, into a corporation,under the government of a certain number of the mostable and matron-like women among them, subject tothe visitation of such person or persons, as pour Majestyshall appoint ; and such Rules for their good government,instruction, direction, and administration asare hereunto annexed.". . . . To remedy which, 'Then follow proposals for the care of the children, requiring that they may be privilegedto take to themselves Sirnames and to be made capable, by such names, of anyhonour or employment, without being liable to reproach, for their innocent misfortune,and that the chiIdren so educated may be free members of every city andcorporation.After the first settlement, no married woman shall "be admitted to be eithergoverness, secretary, or any of the twelve principal assistants to the Governmentand .~ ---. that ...~ ..-- no married Derson of either sex shall be suffered to inhabit within the said~AHospital, to avoid such inconveniences as may arise, as the children grow to mat-urity ; . . . . if any of these Persons do marry afterwards, then to clear theiraccounts and depart the house, by being expeller1 the society."Among many interesting rules for governing the Hospital, Mrs. Cellier appoints" That a woman, sufficiently skilled in writing and accounts, be appointed secretaryto the governess and company of midwives, to be present at all controversies aboutthe art of midwiferg, to register all the extraordinary accidents happening in thepractise, which all licensed midwives are, from time to time, to report to the society ;that the female secretary be reckoned an assistant to the government, next to thegoverness and capable of succeeding in her stead."" That the principal physician or man-midwife, examine all extraordinary accidentsand, once a month at least, read a publick Lecture to the whole society of licensed midwives,who are all to be obliged to be present'at it, if not employed in theirThe lectures to be kept for future reference by the midwives."That no men shall be present at such public lectures, on any pretence whatsoever,except such able doctors and surgeons, as shall enter themselves studentsin the said art, and pay, for such their admittance, ten pounds, and ten pounds ayear." The physicians and surgeons so admitted were to be " of Council withthe principle man-midwife and be capable of succeeding him, by election of theRovernew, her secretary, twelve assistants$ and the twenty-four lower ass~stante."Mrs. Cellier succeeded with her proposal, in so farthat His Majesty agreed to unite the midwives intoa Corporation by Royal Charter, but there the matterrested."'In France women were more fortunate, for a notedschool of midwifery had already been establishedat the Hotel Dieu in Paris, at which every six weeksdissections and anatomies were especially made for theapprentices of the institution, both past and present.'Before entering on their profession the French midwiveswere required to pass an examination before thechirurgeons. Their professional reputation stood sohigh that Pechey alludes to one of them as " thatmost Famous Woman of the World, Madam LouiseBurgeois, late Midwife to the Queen of France. Thepraises that we read of all those that ever heard of herare not so much a flourish as truth ; for her reasons aresolid experiences, and her witnesses have been allof the most eminent Persons of Franra ; and not onlyof her, but as we have already exprest, of the mostexcellent known Men and Women of this Art ofother C~untries."~According to Mrs. Cellier, English midwives werefor a time examined by the College of Surgeons, butas their records for the years jn question are missingthere is no means of ascertaining the numbers of thosewho presented themselves for examination. Shesays that Bishops did not " pretend to License Midwivestill Bp. Bonner's time, who drew up theForm of the first License, which continued in fullforce till 1642, and then the Physicians and Chirurgeonscontending about it, it was adjudged a Chyrurgicaloperation, and the Midwives were Licensedat Chirurgions-Hall, but not till thay had passed three' Cellier, (Eliz.). To Dr. -, an answer to his Queries concerning theColledg of Mzdwives, p. 7.' Carrier (Henriette.) Origine de la Maternit6 de Paris.a Pechep, Cornpleat Mzdwife, Preface.

PROFESSIONSexaminations, before six skiEful Midwives, and asmany Chiru?gions expert in the Art of Midwifny.Thus it continued until the Act of Uniformity passed,which sent the Midwives back to Doctors Commons,where they pay their money (take an oath which itis impossible for them to keep) and return home as sllfulas they went thither. I make noreflections on thoselearned Gentlemen, the Licensers, but refer thecurious for their further satisfaction to the YearlyBills of Mortality, from 42 to 62 ; Collections of whichthey may find at Clerkshall. Which if they pleaseto compare with these of late Years, they will find theredid not then happen the eight part of the Casualitieseither to Women or Children, as do now."'In granting licences to midwives the Bishops weresupposed to make some enquiry as to their professionalattainments. Among the " articles to be enquiredof " during Diocesan visits was one " whether any manor woman within your Parish, hath professed or practisedPhysick or Chyrurgery ; by what name or namesare they called, and whether are they licensed by theBishop of the Diocesse, or his Vicar Generall, and uponwhom have they practised, and what good or harmhave they done ? "2 And again, " whether any inyour Parish do practise Physicke or chirurgery, or thatthere be any mid-wife there, or by what authorityany of them do practise, or exercise that profession."3But the interest of the Bishops was concerned morewith the orthodoxy of the midwife than with herprofessional skill.A midwife's licence was drawn up as follows :beginning :-" Thomas Exton, knight, doctor oflaws, commisary general, lawfully constituted ofthe right worshipful the dean & chapter of St.l Cellier (Eliz.). to Dr. - an answer to b:s Queries conccrnrng tbc Collcdg'of Madwaves, p. 6.Exeter, Artrcles to be etqutred ofby tbe Cburcbwardcns. 1646.a Canterbury, Artrck~ to be :ngu:red. 1636.PROFESSIONSPaul's in London ; to our beloved in Christ, AnneVoule, the wife of Jacob Voule, of the parish of StGile's Cripplegat, sendeth greeting in our Lord Godeverlasting : Whereas, by due examination of diverse,honest, and discreet women, we have found you aptand able, cunning and experte, to occupy & exercisethe office, business & occupation of midwife," andcontinuing after many wise and humane rules for herguidance with an exhortation " to be diligent, faithfuland ready to help every woman travelling of child,as well the poor as the rich, and you shall not forsakethe poor woman and leave her to go to the rich ;you shall in no wise exercise any manner of witchcraft,charms, sorcery, invocation, or other prayers, thansuch as may stand with God's laws, and the king's,"concluding thus :-" Item, you shall not be privyto or consent that any priest or other party shall inyour absence, or your company, or of your knowledgeor sufferance, baptize any child by any mass, Latinservice, or prayers than such as are appointed by thelaws of the Church of England ; neither shall youconsent that any child borne by any woman, who shallbe delivered by you, shall be carried away withoutbeing baptized in the parish by the ordinary ministerwhere the said child is born."lThe Bishops' interest in midwives may have beencaused partly by a praiseworthy desire to secure anadequate supply for the assistance of women in eachparish. But from the Church's point of view, themidwife's chief importance was not due to the factthat the life of mother and child might depend onher skill, but to her capacity for performing the ritesof baptism. The reasons for granting her this authorityare explained as follows :-" in hard Laboursthe Head of the Infant was sometimes baptizedbefore the whole delivery. This Office of Baptizing' Surstx Arcb. Call., Vol. IV., pp., ypgn Extracb from Parirh Regicten.

278 PROFESSIONS PROFESSIONS 279in such Cases of Necessity was commonly performedby the Midwife ; and 'tis very probable, this gavefirst Occasion to Midwives being licensed by theBishop, because they were to be first examined by theBishop or his delegated Officer, whether they couldrepeat the Form of Baptism, which they were inHaste to administer in such extraordinary Occasion.But we thank God our times are reformed in Sense,and in Religion."' Though the midwife was onlyexpected to baptize in urgent cases she might strainher privilege, and baptize even a healthy infantinto the Roman Church. Her power in this respectwas regarded with suspicion and jealousy by EnglishProtestants, not only because she might inadvertentlyadmit the infant to the wrong fold, but because itresembled the conferring of office in the Church uponwomen ; however, as no man was usually present atthe birth of a child, and it was fully believed that delaymight involve che perpetual damnation of the dyinginfant's soul, no alternative remained. Peter Heylyn,,in writing of Baptism, comments on the difficulty,,saying that " the first Reformers did not only allowthe administration of this Sacrament [Baptism] inprivate houses, but permitted it to private persons,even to women also." He continues that when KingJames, in the Conference at Hampton Court, seemedoffended because ofthis liberty to women andlaicks, Dr. Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury, deniedthat the words gave this liberty, and Dr. Babingtonalledged " that the words were purposely madeambiguous as otherwise the Book might not havepassed Parliament. To whom it was replied by theBishop of London that there was no intent to deceiveany, but the words did indeed " intend a permissionof private persons to Baptize in case of necessity.""The fear of secret baptisms into the Catholic' Watson, Clergyman's Law, p. 318.' Heylyn (Peter), Cypn'anus Anzlicus, p. 27.Church is shown in a letter which states that " thewief of Frances Lovell esqr of West ~ e ris 6 noted ~ fora recusant. And the said Frances had a childe aboutthree yeares past christianed by a midwief sent thitherby the La. Lovell, and the midwief's- name cannotbe learned."'It was this danger which led to the prosecution ofwomen who practised without licences. The Church-wardens at Lee presented " the Widow Goney and thewife of Thomas Gronge being midwives & not sworne."In Hadingham they report " We have two poorewomen exercising the office of midwives, one AviceRax and the wife of one John Sallerie,"' and elsewhere" Dorothye Holding tvief of Jo. Holding & DorothyeParkins wief of W" Parkins" were presented " forexercising the office of midwives without License."'The fees charged by mi'dwives varied from E300 inthe case of the French Midwife who attended theQueen, to the sum of IS. 6d. paid by the Parish ofAspenden to the midwife who delivered a woman66 received by virtue of a warrant from the justice^."În most cases the amount paid by the parents wassupplemented by gifts from the friends and relationswho attended the ~hristening.~ Thus the baby'sBacon, (Sir Nat.). Oficial Papers, p. 176. 1591.S. P. D., ccxcvi., 17. August 21, 1635. Visitation presentments by tbeChurchwardens.a S. P. D., ccxcv., 6. August 19, 1636.' Hertford County Rccordr, Vol. I., p. 435. 1698.The Rev. Giles Moore "gave Mat [his adopted daughter] then answering forEdwd. Cripps young daughter 5s. whereof shee gave to the mydwyfe 2s & IS. to theNurse. Myself gave to the mydwyfe in the drinking bowle IS. (Sussex Arcb. CoU.,Vol. I., p. 113. Rev. Gales Moore, Journal.)Later IS entered in the lournal, he being god-father " 1674. Mat was brought tobed of a daughter. Gave the mydwyfe, goodwyfe & Nurse 5s. each." (Ihrd, p. I 19.)After Lady Darce's confinement at Herstmonceux Castle, is entered In the accountr"paid my Lord's benetolence to Widdow Craddock the midwife of Rattle As. 0.0.(Sussex Arrb. Coil., Vol. xlvii~. 1643-1649.)Entries in a similar book of the Howard family give " To my yoiinq ladye's midwyfexxS (p. 22--8) TO Mrs. Fairfax her Midwifc by my Lord &. . . . bymy Ladie xxS. More to Mrs Fairefax her midwite by my Ladie's commaund iij'l "(Howard IiourebolJ lio~k. p. 26% 1629.)

PROFESSIONS PROFESSIONS 281death meant a considerable pecuniary loss to themidwife. An example of her payment in such a caseis given in Nicholas Assheton's diary ; he enters onFeb. 16, 1617. " My wife in labour of childbirth.Her delivery ws with such violence as the childdyed within half an hour, and, but for God's wonderfulmercie, more than human reason could expect, sheehad dyed, . . . . divers mett and went withus to Downham ; and ther the child was buried . . my mother wth me laid the child in the grave . . .Feb. 24, the midwyfe went from my wyffe to CoozBraddyll's wyffe. She had given by my wyffe xxsand by me vs."'The Churchwardens at Cowden entered in theiraccount book 1627 " Item, paide for a poore woman'slying in 3. 0." 1638. " to John Weller's wife for herattendance on the widow Smithe when she lay in 2. o."~The account book of Sir John Foulis of Ravelstonegives many details of the expenses incurred at confine-. ments in Scotland. His wife appears to have beenattended by a doctor, as well as a midwife, and thelatter's fee was the higher of the two. The paymentsare in Scots money.3 " Mar. 26 1680, to the doctorSteinsone for waiting on my wife in her labour Xguines at 33 P. sterl. p.piece, 27. 16. o, to Elspiedicksone, midwife, 40. 12. o, to her woman 2. 18. 0."On November 26, 1692 there is another paymentSarah Fell records the presents given to her aister's midwife -fan 1st 1675by m0 Lent Bro. Lower to give Jane Chorley his wifes midwife I. 00.00by m0 Mother gave to sd midwife 5-by m" Sist' Sus : sistr Rach : & I gave her5- O0(Dec. 6. 1676. By MO Given ffran. Laite Sister Lowera middwife by ffather &Mother ss. by sistr Sus : 2s. by sistr Rach : zs. myselfe 4s. Dec. 10, 1677by rnO Mother gave ffrances Layte when she was middwife to Sistr Lower of litleLove-day Lowe' 02.06, by m" sistr Susannah gave her then 01.00 by m0 sister Rachellgave her then 01.00 (Fell, Sarah, Housebold ACCOU~~J).Assheton (Nicholas), Journal, p. 81.a Sussex Arcb. C&., Vol. XX., p. IOI and p. 104. Account Bwk of Cwuden.' One pound Scoh-zod. sterling." to my wife to give doctor Sibbald for his attendanceon her in childbed and since to this day S guineas66. o. o." Jan. 31, 1704 " to my son W" to give themidwife when his wife was brought to bed of hersone Ton 3 guineas 42. 12. 0. to my douchterCrichtoune to give the midwife for me halfe aguinie.7. 2. o.The sjze of the gratuities given to the midwife bythe friends and acquaintances who gathered at asociety christening in London may be judged fromPepys, who enters in his diary when he was Godfatherwith Sir W. Pen to Mrs. Browne's child " I did givethe midwife 10s."' His gratuities to people of lowerrank were smaller, and of course the gifts made bythe " common peo~le " and those of the gentry in theprovinces were much more modest.In the latter part of the century thereareindicationsof a growing tendency among the upper classes toreplace the midwife by the doctor. The doctorsencouraged the tendency. Their treatises on midwifery,of which several were published during thistime, deprecate any attempt on the midwife's partto cope with difficult cases.Dr. Hugh Chamber-lain points out " nor can it be so great a discreditto a Midwife . . . . to have a Woman or Childsaved by a Man's assistance, as to suffer either to dieunder her own hand."2 In making this translationof Mal~rice's work on Midwifery, Chamberlain omittedthe anatomical drawing?, " there being already several1in English ; as also here and there a passage thatmight offend a chast English eye ; and being notabsolutely necessary to the purpose ; the rest I have,as carefully as I could, rendered into English for thebenefit of our mid~ives."~ This line of thought isPepy'o Dicrry, Vol. I., p. 308. 1661.a Chamberlain (Dr. Hugh).a Ibid.Accmpliabt Midwife : Epistle to tbc Reader.

282 PROFESSIONS PROFESSIONS 283carried yet further by McMath, who says in the prefaceto " The Expert Midwife " that he has " of purposeomitted a Description of the parts in a woman destinedto Generation, not being absolutely necessary to thispurpose, and lest it might seem execrable to themore chast and shamfaced through Baudiness andImpurity of words ; and have also endeavoured to keepall Modesty, and a due Reverence to Nature: nor amI of the mind with some, as to think there is noDebauchery in the thing, except it may be in theabuse."'The notion that it was indecent for a woman tounderstand the structure and functions of her ownbody fitted in with the doctors' policy of circumscribingthe midwife's sphere ; McMath continues" Natural Labour, where all goes right and naturally,is theproper work of the Midwife, and which she alonemost easily performs aright, being only to sit and attendNature's pace and progress . . . . and performsome other things of smaller moment, which Physiciansgave Midwifes to do, as unnecessary & indicentfor them, and for the Matronal chastity (tho someof Old absurdly assigned them more, and made italso their office to help the Delivery, and not byMedicaments only and others, but Inchantmentsals~.)."~Clearly in a profession which often holds in itshands the balance between life and death, thosemembers who are debarred from systematic study andtraining must inev;tably give way sooner or laterto those who have access to all the sources of learning,but the influences which were prejudicing women'sposition in midwifery during the seventeenth centurywere not wholly founded on such reasonablegrounds ; they were also affected by much moreMcMath (Mr. James, M.D.). 7be Expert Mid-wife.P Ibid.general, undefined and subtle causes. It may evenbe doubted whether the superior knowledge of theseventeenth century doctor actually secured a largermeasure of safety to the mother who entrusted herselfto his management than was attained by those whoconfided in the skill of an experienced and intelligentmidwife. Chamberlain admits that the practice ofdoctors " not onely in England but thoughoutEurope; . . . . hath very much caused thereport, that where a-man comes; one or both [motheror child] must necessarily dye ; and makes many forthat reason forbear sending, until1 either be dead ordying."* He continues " my Father, Brothers andmyself (though none else in Europe that I know) haveby God's blessing, and our industry, attained to,and long practised a way to deliver a woman in thiscase without any prejudice to her or her Infant."The discovery to which Chamberlain refers wasthe use of forceps, which he and his family retainedas a profound secret. Therefore this invention didnot rank among the advantages which other doctorspossessed over midwives at this period. Even when,a century later, the use of forceps became generallyunderstood, the death rate in childbed was notmaterially reduced, for it was only with the discoveryof the value of asepsis that this heavy sacrifice wasdiminished. We must therefore look for the explanationof the growing ascendancy of male practitionersto other causes beside the hypothetical standardof their greater efficiency. Their prestige restedpartly on an ability to use long words which con-vinced patients of their superior wisdom ; it wasdefended by what was fast becoming a powerfulcorporation; and more potent in its effect wasthe general deterioration in the position of womenwhich took place during the century.A lessening- - -- -Chamberlain (Hugh). Accomplkkt Midwifa : Epistk to Readcr.

284 PROFESSIONS PROFESSIONSof confidence in womanly resourcefulness and capacityin other walks of life, could not fail to affect popularestimation of their value here too ; and added to thiswere the morbid tendencies of the increasing numbersof oversexed society women who were devoted toa life of pleasure. The fact that similar tendencieswere visible in France, where an excellent scientifictraining was open to women, shows that the captureof the profession by men was not only due to .superiorskill.The famous French Midwife, Madame Bourgeois,told her daughter " There is a great deal of artificeto be used in the pleasing of our Women, especiallythe young ones, who many times do make election ofMen to bring them to bed. I blush to speak of them,for I take it to be a great peice of impudence to haveany recourse unto them, unless it be a case ofvery great danger. I do approve, I have approvedof it, and know that it ought to be done, so that itbe concealed from the Woman all her life long ;nor that she see the surgeon any more."'Whatever may have been the explanation, midwiferyhad ceased to be a monopolv for wcmen when the" man-midwife " made his appearance in the sixteenthcentury, but it is only in the latter half of the seventeenthcentury that the profession passes definitelyunder the control of men.The doctors who thensecured all the more profitable class of work, were unitedin a corporation which was often directed by menpossessed of a disinterested enthusiasm for truth,and considerable proficiency in their art, even thoughmany in their ranks might regard their professionmerely as a means for acquiring personal fame or wealth.But the interest of the corporations of physiciansand surgeons was centred more upon their professionthan upon the general well-being of the community,.' ~ech&, CompIr(~t Midwrfc, p.349. Secrets of Madame Louyse Bourgeoic,midwife to the Queen of France, whch rhe left to her Daughter u a guide for her.and they did not regard it as part of1t eir duty tosecure competent assistance in childbi h for everywoman in the community. They took a keenprofessional interest in the problems of midwifery,but the benefits of their research were only availablefor the wives or mistresses of rich men who could affordto pay high fees. Far from making any effort toprovide the same assistance for the poor, the policyof the d>octors, with some exceptions, was to witholdinstruction from the midwives on whom the poordepended, lest their skill should enable them tocompete with themselves in practice among thewealthy.Conclusion.The foregoing examination of the character andextent of women's professional services has broughtseveral interesting points to light. It has been shownthat when social organisation rested upon the basisof the family, as it chiefly did up to the close of theMiddle Ages, many of the services which are nowranked as professional were thought to be speciallysuited to the genius of women, and were accordinglyallotted to them in the natural division of labourwithin the family. The suggestions as to the characterand conditions of these services during the MiddleAges,rest upon conjectures drawn from the comparisonof a few generally accepted statements concerningthe past, with what appears at the opening of theseventeenth century to be a traditional attitudeto women, an attitude which was then. undergoingrapid modifications. A more thorough and detailedexamination of their position in the preceding centuriesmay show that it was far less stable than is generallysupposed, but such a discovery need not disturb theexplanation which is here given of the. tendenciesdeciding the scope of women's professional activitywithin in the seventeenth century.

286 PROFESSIONS PROFESSIONS 28 7\ ationFirst among these was the gradual emergence ofthe arts of teaching and healing, from the domestic orfamily sphere to a professional organisation. Withinthe domestic sphere, as women and men are equallymembers ofthe family, no artificial impedimentcould hinder women from rendering the serviceswhich nature had fitted them to er form ; moreover,the experience and training which family life providedfor boys, were to a large extent available for girlsalso. Coincident with a gradual curtailment ofdomestic activities may be observed a mzrked tendencytowards the exclusion of women from all interestsexternal to the family. The ~olitical theories ofthe seventeenth century regarded the State as anorganisation of individual men only or groups of men, notas a commonwealth of families ; in harmony withthis idea we find that none of the associations whichwere formed during this period for public purposes,either educational, economic, scientific or political,include women in their membership. The orient-of ideas in the seventeenth century was drawinga rigid line between the State, in which the individualman had his being, and family matters. The thirdtendency was towards the deterioration of wqmen'sintellectual and moral capacity, owing to the narrowingof family life and the consequent impoverishmentof women's education. The fourth tendency wastowards an increasing belief in the essential inferiorityof women to men.It will be seen that these tendencies were interdependent.Their united effect was revolutionary, gaduallyexcluding women from work for which in former days,nature, it was sopposecl, had specially designed them.Thus the teaching of young children, both girls andboys, had been generally entrusted to women, manymen acknowledging in later life the excellence of thetraining which they had received from their mothers,and it cannot be doubted that women were upon thewhole successful in transmitting to their children thebenefit of the education and experience which they hadthemselves received. But no amount of didactic skillcan enable persons to teach what they do not themselvespossess, and so the scope of the training givenby woinen depended upon the development of theirown personalities. When family traditions and familyorganisation were disturbed, as perhaps they wouldhave been in any case sooner or later, but as they were toa more marked extent during the Civil War, the sourcesfrom which women derived their mental and spiritualnourishment were dried up, and without access toexternal supplies their personality gradually becamestunted.Women were virtually refused access to sourcesof knowledge which were external to th family, .and hence, with a few exceptions they wereconfined in the teaching profession to the mostelementary subjects. Women were employed inthe. " dames schools " attended by the commonpeople, or, when they could read and write themselves,mothers often instructed their children in these arts ;but the governesses employed by gentlefolks, or theschoolmistresses to whom they sent their daughtersfor the acquisition of the accomplishments appropriateto young ladies, were seldom competent to undertakethe actual teaching themselves ; for this masters weregenerally engaged, because few women had gonethrough the training necessary to give them a soundunderstanding of the arts in question. Women werenot incapable of teaching, but as knowledge becamemore specialized and technical, the opportunities whichhome life provided for acquiring such knowledgeproved inadequate ; and consequently women weresoon excluded from the higher ranks of the teachingprofession.The history of their relation to the arts of Healingis very similar. Other things being equal, as to some

288 PROFESSIONSextent they were when the greater part of humanlife was included within the family circle, the psychicand emotional female development appears to makewomen more fitted than men to deal with preventiveand remedial medicine. The explanation ofthis fact offers a fascinating field for speculation,but involves too wide a digression for discussion here,and in its support we will only point out the factthat in the old days, when no professional. serviceswere available, it was to the women of the family,rather than to the men, that the sick and woundedturned for medicine and healing. Yet in spite of thisnatural affinity for the care of suffering humanity,women were excluded from the sources of learningwhich were being slowly organised outside the familycircle, and were thus unable to remain in professionsfor which they were so eminently suited.The suspicion that the inferior position which womenoccupied in the teaching profession and their exclusionfrom the medical profession, was caused rather by theabsence of educational opportunities than by a physiologicalincapacity for the practice of these arts, isstrengthened by the remarkable history of Midwifery ;which from being reserved exclusively for women andpractised by them on a professional basis from timeimmemorial, passed in its more lucrative branches intothe hands of men, when sources of instruction wereopened to them which were closed to women. Justas the amateur woman teacher was less competentthan the man who had made art or the learned languageshis profession, so did the woman who treatedher family and neighbours by rule of thumb, appear lessskilful than the professional doctor, and the uneducatedmidwives brought their professioninto disrepute.The exclusion of women from all the sources ofspecialised training was bound to re-act unfavourablyupon their characters, because as family lifedepended more and more upon professional sepvicesforPROFESSIONSeducation and medical assistance, fewer opportunitieswere offered to women for exerting their facultieswithin the domestic sphere and the general incompetenceof upper class women did in fact becomemore pronounced.

CONCLUSION 291CONCLUSIONGreat productive capacity of women under conditions of Family and DomesticIndustry-no difference between efficiency of labour when applied for domesticpurposes or for trade.Rate of wages noguide to real value of goods produced-married womenunlikely to work for wages when possessing capital for domestic industy-Women's oroductiveness in textile industries-Agriculture-Other industries-Professional services.Capitalism effected economic revolution in women's position-Ry (a) substitutionof individual for family . wazes-(b) - , employment - of wage-earners onmaster's premises-(c) rapid increase of master's wealth.Exclusion of women from skilled trades not originally due to sex jealousy-Women's lack of specialised training due, (a) to its being unnecessary ; (b)the desire to keep wife in subjection to husband-Reduction in the valueto her family of woman's productive capacity by substitution ofwage-earning for domestic industry-Effect of her productive energy onher maternal functions and her social influence.THE preceding chapters have demonstrated the greatproductive capacity which women possessed whensociety was organised on the basis of Family andDomestic Industry. There was then no hard andfast line dividing domestic occupations from otherbranches of industry, and thus it has not been possibleto discover how much of women's labour was givento purposes of trade and how much was confined tothe service of their families ; but as labour was at thistime equally productive, whether it was employedfor domestic purposes or in Trade, it is not necessaryto discriminate between these two classes of productionin estimating the extent to which the communitydepended upon women's services. The goods producedand the services rendered to their families by wivesand daughters, must if they had been idle haveemployed labour otherwise available for Trade ; orto put the position in another way, if the labour ofwomen had been withdrawn from the domesticindustries and applied to Trade,more goods would havebeen produced for the market, which goods the saidwomen's families would then have obtained by purchase ;but while by this means the trade of the countrywould be greatly increased, unless the efficiency ofwomen's labour had been raised by its transferencefrom domestic to other forms of industry, the wealthof the community would remain precisely the same.Nevertheless, in estimating a country's prosperitydomestic production is generally overlooked, because,as the labour devoted to it receives no wages and itsresults do not enter the market, there is no mechanicalstandard for estimating its value. For similarreasons Home Trade is commonly considered to beof less importance than Foreign Trade, because,as the latter passes through the Customs, its moneyvalue can be much more readily computed, and becausethe man in the street, like King Midas, has imaginedthat gold is wealth. But we are-here consideringthe production of goods and services, not of gold,and from this point of view, the woman who spinsthread to cloths her family, and she who furnishesby her industry milk and cheese, eggs and pork,fruit and vegetables for the consumption of herfamily, has produced exactly the same goods, nomore and no less, than if she had produced themfor the market, and whether these goods areconsumed by her own family or by strangers makesabsolutely no difference to their real value.Neither can the value of a woman's productiveactivity be judged by the wages she receives, becausethe value of a pair of sheets is the same, whetherthe flax has been spun by a well-to-do farmers' wifewho meanwhile lives in affluence, or by a poor womanearning wages which are insufficient to keep bodyand soul together. The labour required for spinningthe flax was the same in either case, for there wasno difference in the type of spinning wheel she used,

CONCLUSIONor in her other facilities for work ; it was only later,when organisations for trading purposes had enormouslyincreased productive capacity by the introductionof power and the sub-division of labour,that the same productive capacity, devoted to domesticpurposes, became relatively inferior in results. Thischange between the relative efficiency of domestic andindustrial labour could not fail, when it took place, toexert a marked influence on the economic positionof married women, because while their husbandsearned sufficient money to pay rent and a few outgoingexpenses, they had no inducement to work forwages, their labour being more productive athome. Women who fed and clothed themselvesand their children by means of domestic industrygratified in this way their sense of independenceas effectively as if they had earned the equivalentmoney by trade or wages. Considering the low ratespaid to women, it may be supposed that few workedfor wages when possessed of sufficient stock to employthemselves fully in domestic industries ; on the otherhand there were a considerable number who were ina position to hire servants, and who, having learnta skilled trade, devoted themselves to business,either on their own account or jointly with theirhusbands.If the general position of women in the wholefield of industry is reviewed, it will be seen that,beyond question, all the textile fabrics used at thistime, with the exception of a few luxuries, were madefrom the thread which was spun by women and children,the export trade in cloth also depending entirely ontheir labour for spinning and to some extent forthe other processes. In agriculture the entire managementof the milch cows, the dairy, poultry, pigs,orchard and garden, was undertaken by the women,and though the mistress employed in her departmentmen as well as women servants, the balance was re-CONCLUSIONdressed by the fact that women and girls were largelyemployed in field work. The woman's contributionto farming is also shown by the fact that twice asmuch lalid was allowed to the colonists who weremarried as to those who were single. The expectationthat the women and children in the husbandmanclass would produce the greater part of their own foodis proved by the very low rate of wages whichQuarter Sessions fixed for agricultural labour, and bythe fact that when no land was available it was recognisedthat the wage earner's family must be dependenton the poor rate.Though the part which women played in agricultureand the textile industries is fairly clear, a greatobscurity still shrouds their position in other directions.One fact however emerges with some distinctness ;women of the tradesman class were sufficiently capablein business, and were as a rule so well acquainted withthe details of their husband's concerns, that a mangenerally appointed his wife as his executrix, whilecustom universally secured to her the possession ofhis stock, apprentices and goodwill in the event ofhis death. That she was often able to carry on hisbusiness with success, is shown by incidental references,and also by the frequency with which widow's namesoccur in the lists of persons occupying various trades.How much time the wives of these tradesmenactually spent over their hu~band's business is a pointon which practically no evidence is forthcoming,but it seems probable that in the skilled trades theywere seldom employed in manual processes for whichthey had received no training, but were occupiedin general supervision, buying and selling. It is nottherefore surprising to find women specially activein all branches of the Retail Trade, and girlswere apprenticed as often to shop-keepers as tothe recognised women's trades such as millinery andmantua-making.

294 CONCLUSIONThe assistance of the wife was often so importantin her husband's business, that she engagedservants to free her from household drudgery, her ownproductive capacity being greater than the cost of aservant's wages. Apart from exceptional cases ofillness or incompetence, the share which the wifetook in her liusband's business, was determined ratherby the question whether he carried it on at home orabroad than by any special appropriateness of the saidbusiness to the feminine disposition. Thus, thoughwomen were seldom carpenters or masons, they figureas pewterers and smiths. In every business there arecertain operations which can conveniently be performedby women, and when carried on at home within thecompass of the family life, the work of a trade wasas naturally sorted but between husband and wife,as the work on a farm. No question arose as to therelative value of their work. because the uroceedsbecame the joint property of the family, in'stead ofbe in^ divided between individuals.~7th regard to the services which are now classedas professional, those of healing and teaching wereincluded among the domestic duties of women.Illness was rife in the seventeenth century, for thecountry was devastated by recurrent epidemics ofsmall-pox and the plague, besides a constant liabilityto ague and the other ordinary ailments of mankind;thus the need for nursing must have been very great.The sick depended for their tending chiefly upon thewomen of their own households, and probably themajority of English people at this time, receivedmedical advice and drugs from the same source.Women's skill in such matters was acquired by experienceand tradition, seldom resting upon a scientificbasis, for they were excluded from schools and universities.Acquired primarily with a view to domesticuse, such skill was extended beyond the familycircle, and women who were wise in these matterssometimes received payment for their services.Midwifery alone waxreally conducted on professionallines, and though prattised in former days exclusivelyby women, it was now passing from their handsowing to their exclusion from the sources of advancedinstruction.It is difficult to estimate the respective shares takenby men and women in the art of teaching, for whilethe young were dependent on home training, theyreceived attention from both father and mother,and when the age for apprenticeship arrived the taskwas transferred to the joint care of master and mistress.With regard to learning of a scholastic character,reading was usually taught by women to both boysand girls, who learnt it at home from their mothers, orat a dame's school ; but the teaching of more advancedsubjects was almost exclusively in the hands of men,although a few highly educated women were engagedas governesses in certain noble families where theTudor tradition still lingered. Generally speaking,however, when a girl's curriculum - included suchsubjects as Latin and Arithmetic her instruction,like her brothers, was received from masters, and thiswas equally true in the case of accomplishments whichwere considered more appropriate to the understandingof young ladies. Women rarely, if ever, undertookthe teaching of music, painting or dancing. Fromthese branches of the teaching profession they weredebarred by lack of specialised training.Thus it will be seen that the history of women'sposition in the professions, follows a very similar courseto that of the developments in the world of Industry ;work, for which they appeared peculiarly fitted bydisposition or natural gifts, while it was includedwithin the domestic sphere, gradually passed out oftheir hands when the scene of their labour wastransferred to the wider domains of human life.Capitalism was the means by which the revolution

CONCLUSION CONCLUSION 297in women's economic position was effected in theindustrial world. The thre developments whichwere most instrumental to this end being:-(a) the substitution of an individual for a familywage, enabling men to organise themselves in thecompetition which ruled the labour market, withoutsharing with the women of their families all thebenefits derived through their combination.(b) the withdrawal of wage-earners from home-lifeto work upon the premises of the masters, whichprevented the employment of the wage-earner'swife in her husband's occupation.(c) the rapid increase of wealth, which permittedthe women of the upper classes to withdraw from allconnection with business.Once the strong hand of necessity is relaxed therehas been a marked tendency in English life for the withdrawalof married women from all productive activity,and their consequent devotion to the cultivation of idlegraces ; the parasitic life of its women has been in factone of the chief characteristics of the parvenu class.The limitations which surrounded the lives of thewomen belonging to this class are most vividly describedin Pepys' Journal, where they form a curiouscontrast to the vigour and independence of the womenwho were actively engaged in industry.The wholeDiary should be read to gain a complete idea of therelations of married life under these new circumstances,but a few extracts will illustrate the poverty of Mrs.Pepys' interests and her abject dependence on herhusband. Most curious of all is Pepys' naive admissionthat he was trying to " make " work for his wife,which furnishes an illustration of the saying " comingevents cast their shadows before them."" Nov. 12, 1662. much talke and differencebetween us about my wife's having a woman, which Iseemed much angry at that she should go so far in itwithout . . . my being consulted. 13th. Ourdiscontent again and sorely angered my wife, whoindeed do live very lonely, but I do perceive that itis want of worke that do make her and all other~eople think of ways of spending their time worse.June 8. 1664. Her spirit is lately come to be otherthan it used to be, and now depends upon her havingAshwell by her, before whom she thinks I shall notsay nor do anything of force to her, which vexes me,and makes me wish that I had better considered all thatI have done concerning my bringing my wife to thiscondition of heat. Aug. 20. I see that she is confirmedin it that all I do is by design, and that my very keepingof the house in dirt, and the doing this and anythingelse in the house, is but to find her employmentto keep her within, and from minding of her pleasure,which though I am sorry to see she minds it, is trueenough in a great degree. Jan. 14. 1667-8. I dofind she do keep very bad remembrance of my formerunkindness to her and do mightily complain of herwant of money and liberty, which will rather hearand bear the complaint of than grant the contrary. . . . . Feb. 18. a ring which I am to give heras a valentine. It will cost me near she costingme but little in comparison with other wives, and Ihave not many occasions to spend money on her.Feb. 23. with this and what she had she reckonsthat she hath above L150 worth of jewels of one kindor another ; and I am glad of it, for it is fit the wretchshould have something to content herself with."While the capitalistic organisation of industryincreased the wealth of the masters, it condemneda large proportion of the craftsmen to remain permanentlyin the position of journeymen or wage-earnerswith the incidental result that women were excludedfrom their ranks in the more highly skilled trades.Under the old system of Family Industry, labour andcapital had been united in one person or family groupof persons, but capitalism brought them into confiict ;

CONCLUSIONand the competition which had previously only existedbetween rival families was introduced into thelabour market, where men and women struggledwith each other to secure work and wages from thecapitalist. The keystone of the journeymen's positionin their conflict with capital, lay in their abilityto restrict their own numbers by the enforcementof a long apprenticeship and the limitation of thenumber of apprentices. On gaining this point thejourneymen in any trade secured a monopoly whichenabled them to bargain advantageously with themasters. Their success raised them into the positionof a privileged class in the world of labour, but didnothing to improve the position of the other wageearnersin unskilled or unorganised trades.n7hen their organisation was strong enough thejourneymen allowed no unapprenticed person to beenlployed upon any process of their trade, howeversimple or mechanical ; a policy which resulted in thecomplete exclusion of women, owing to the fact thatgirls were seldom, if ever, apprenticed to these trades.It has been shown that under the old system, craftsmenhad been free to employ their wives anddaughters in any way that was convenient, the widowretaining her membership in her husband's gild orcompany with full trading privileges, and the daughtersable, if they wished, to obtain their freedom bypatrimony. Journeymen however now worked ontheir masters' premises, their traditions dating froma time when they were all unmarried men; andthough the majority of them had renounced the expectationof rising above this position of dependence,the idea that they should extend their hardly wonprivileges to wife or daughter never occurred tothem.Thus came about the exclusion of women from theskilled trades, for the wives of the men who becamecapitalists withdrew from productive activity, and theCONCLUSIONwives of journeymen confined themselves to domesticwork, or entered the labour market as individuals,being henceforward entirely unprotected in the conflictby their male relations. Capitalistic organisationtended therefore to depr&e women of opportunitiesfor sharing in the more profitable forms of production,confining them as wage-earners to the unprotectedtrades. It would be an anachronism to ascribe thistendency to sex- j ealousy in the economic world.The idea of individual property in wages hadhardly arisen, for prevailing habits of thought stillregarded the earnings of father, mother and childrenas the joint property of the family, though controlledby the father ; and thus the notion that it could beto men's advantage to debar women from well-paidwork would have seemed ridiculous in the seventeenthcentury. Though the payment of individual wageswas actually in force, their implication was hardlyunderstood,and motives of sex-jealousy do not dominatethe economic world till a later period. While thefamily formed the social unit the interests of husbandand wife were bound so closely together, that neithercould gain or suffer without the other immediatelysharing the loss or advantage.The momentous influence which some phases ofCapitalism were destined to exert upon the economicposition of women, were unforeseen by the men whoplayed a leading part in its development, and passedunnoticed by the speculative thinkers who wrotelong treatises on Theories of State Organisation.The revolution did not involve a conscious demarcationof the respective spheres of men and womenin industry ; its results were accidental, due to thefact that women were forgotten, and so no attemptwas made to adjust their training and social statusto the necessities of the new economic organisation.The oversight is not surprising, for women's relationto the " Home " was regarded as an immutable

CONCLUSIONlaw of Nature, inviolable by any upheaval inexternal social arrangements.Thus the idea that the revolution in women'seconomic position was due to deliberate policy maybe dismissed. Capitalism is a term denoting a forcerather than a system ; a force that is no more interestedin human relations than is the force of gravitation;nevertheless its sphere of action lies in the socialrelations of men and women, and its effects are modifiedand directed by human passions, prejudicesand ideals. The continuance of human existenceand its emancipation from the trammels that hamperits progress, must depend upon the successful masteryof this as of the other forces of Nature.If we would understand the effect of theintroduction of Capitalism on the social organism,we must remember that the subjection of womento their husbands was the foundation stone ofthe structure of the community in which Capitalismfirst made its appearance. Regarded as being equallythe law of Nature and the Law of God, noone questioned the necessity of the wife'sobedience, lip service being rendered to the doctrineof subjection, even in those households where it wasleast enforced. Traditional ideas regarded the commonwealth, or social organisation, as an association offamilies, each family being a community which waslargely autonomous, and was self-contained for mostof life's purposes; hence the order and health ofthe commonwealth depended upon the order andefficiency of the families comprised within it. Beforethe seventeenth century the English mind could notimagine order existing without an acknowledgedhead. No one therefore questioned the father'sright to his position as head of the family, but in histemporary absence, or when he was removed by death,the public interest required his family's preservation,and the mother quite naturally stepped into hisCONCLUSIONplace, with all its attendant responsibilities andprivileges. In this family organisation all that thefather gained was shared by the mother and children,because his whole life, or ahost his whole life, wasshared by them. This is specially marked in theeconomic side of existence, where the father did notmerely earn money and hand it to the mother tospend, but secured for her also, access to the meansof production ; the specialised training acquiredby the man through apprenticeship did not nierelyenable him to earn higher wages, but conferred uponhis wife the right to work, as far as she was able, inthat trade.Capitalism, however, broke away from the familysystem, acd dealt direct with individuals, the firstfruit of individualism being shown by the exclusionof women from the journeymen's associations ; andyet their exclusion was caused in the first place bywant of specialised training, and was not the necessaryresult of Capitalism, for the history of the CottonTrade shows, in later years, that where the labour ofwomen was essential to an industry, an effectivecombination of wage-earners could be formed whichwould include both sexes.Two explanations may be given for women's lackof specialised training. The first, and, given the prevailingconditions of Family Industry, probably the mostpotent reason lay in the belief that it was unnecessary.A specialised training, whether in Science, Art orIndustry, is inevitably costly in time and money;and as in every trade there is much work of a characterwhich needs no prolonged specialised training, andas in the ordinary course of a woman's life a certainproportion of her time and energy must be devotedto bearing and rearing children, it seemed a wiseeconomy to spend the cost of specialised trainingon boys, employing women over those processes whichchiefly required general intelligence and c~mmon-sense.

CONCLUSIONIt has been shown that this policy answered wellenough in the days of Domestic and Family Industrywhen the husband and wife worked together, andthe wife therefore reaped the advantages of thetrading privileges and social position won by herhusband. It was only when Capitalism reorganisedindustry on an individual basis, that thewife was driven to fight her economic battlessingle handed, and women, hampered by the wantof specialised training, were beaten down intosweated trades.The second explanation for women's lack of specialisedtraining is the doctrine of the subjection of womento their husbands. While the first reason was moreinfluential during the days of Family and DomesticIndustry, the second gains in force with the developmentof Capitalism. If women's want of specialisedtraining had been prejudicial to their capacity forwork in former times, such training would not havebeen withheld from them merely through fear ofits weakening the husband's power, because the husbandwas so dependent upon his wife's assistance. Therewas little talk then of men " keeping " their wives ;neither husband nor wife could prosper withoutthe other's help. But the introduction of Capitalism,organising industry on an individual basis, freed mento some extent from this economic dependence ontheir wives, and from henceforward the ideal of thesubjection of women to their husbands could bepursued, unhampered by fear of the dangers resultingto the said husbands by a lessening of the wife'seconomic efficiency.A sense of inferiority is one of the prime requisitesfor a continued state of subjection, and nothingcontributes to this sense so much, as a markedinferiority of education and training in a societyaccustomed to rate everything according to itsmoney value. The difference in earning capacityCONCLUSIONwhich the want of education produces, is initself sufficient to -stamp a class as inferior.There is yet another influence which contributedto the decline in the standard of women's educationand in their social and economic position, which is sonoticeable in the seventeenth century. This periodmarks the emergence of the political idea of the" mechanical state " and its substitution for thetraditional view of the nation as a commonwealth offamilies. Within the family, women had their position,but neither Locke, nor Hobbes, nor the obscure writerson political theory and philosophy who crowd the lasthalf of the seventeenth century, contemplate the inclusionof women in the State of their imagination. Forthem the line is sharply drawn between-the spheres ofmen and women ; women are confined within the circleof their domestic responsibilities, while men shouldexplore the ever widening regions of the State. Thereally significant aspect of this changed orientationof social ideas, is the separation which it introducesbetween the lives of women and those ~f men, becausehitherto men as well as women lived in the Home.The mechanical State ~ud State did not yet existin fact, for the functions of the Government did notextend much beyond the enforcement of Justice andthe maintenance of Defence. Englishmen werestruggling to a, realisation of the other aspectsof national life by means of voluntary associationsfor the pursuit of Science, of Trade, of Education, orother objects, and it is in these associations that the trendof their ideas is manifested, for one and all excludewomen from their membership ; to foster the charmingdependence of women upon their husbands, all independentsources of information were, as far as possible,closed to them. Any association or combination ofwomen outside the limits of their own families wasdiscouraged, and the benefits which had been extendedto them in this respect by the Catholic Religion

CONCLUSIONwere specially deprecated. Milton's statement sumsup very fairly the ideas of this school of thoughtregarding the relations that should exist betweenhusband and wife in the general scheme of things.They were to exist " He for God only, she for Godin him." The general standard of education resultingfrom such theories was inevitably inferior ; and theexclusion of women from skilled industry and, t%eprofessions, was equally certain to be the consequencesooner or later, of the absence of specialised training.The general effect upon women of this exclusion,which ultimately limited their productive capacityto the field of household i! xdgery, or to the lowestpaid ranks of unskilled labour, belongs to a muchlater period. But one point can already be discernedand must not be overlooked. This point is the alterationwhich took place in the value to her family ofa woman's productive capacity when her labour wastransferred from domestic industry to wage-earning,under the conditions prevailing in the seventeenthcentury. When employed in domestic industrythe whole value of what she produced was retainedby her family; but when she worked for wages herfamily only received such a proportion of it as she wasable to secure to them by her weak bargaining power inthe labour market. What this difference amounted towill be seen when it is remembered that the wife ofa husbandman could care for her children and feedand clothe herself and them by domestic industry,but when working for wages she could not earn enoughfor her own maintenance.This depreciation of the woman's productive valueto her family did not greatly influence her positionin the seventeenth century, because it was then onlyvisible in the class of wage-earners, and into thisposition women were forced by poverty alone. Theproductive efficiency of women's services in domesticindustry remained as high as ever, and every familyCONCLUSIONwhich was possessed of sufficient capital for domesticindustry, could provide sufficient profitable occupationfor its women without their entry into the labourmarket. Independent hard-working families livingunder the conditions provided by Family andDomestic Industry, still formed the majority ofthe English people. The upper classes, as faras the women were concerned, were becoming moreidle, and the number of families depending whollyon wages was increasing, but farmers, husbandmen andtradesmen, still formed a class sufficiently numerousto maintain the hardy stock of the English race unimpaired.Thus, while the productive capacity ofwomen was reduced in the seventeenth centuryby the idleness of the nouveau riche and by the inefficiencyof women wage-earners which resulted fromtheir lack of nourishment, it was maintained at theformer high level among the intermediate and muchlarger class, known as " the common people."Though from the economic point of view intenseproductive energy on the part of women is no longernecessary to the existence of the race, and has beengenerally abandoned, an understanding of its effectupon the maternal functions is extremely importantto the sociologist. No complete vital statisticswere collected in the seventeenth century, but anexamination of the different evidence which is stillavailable, leaves no doubt that the birth rate wasextremely high in all classes, except perhaps that ofwage-earners. It was usual for active busy womenamongst the nobility andgentry, to bear from twelveto twenty children, and though the death rate wasalso high; the children that survived appear to havepossessed abundant vitality and energy. Neither doesthe toil which fell to the lot of the women among thecommon people appear to have injured their capacityfor motherhood; in fact the wives of husbandmenwere the type selected by the wealthy to act as wet nurses

CONCLUSION CONCLUSION 307for their children. It is only among the class of wageearnersthat the capacity for reproduction appearsto have been checked, and in this class it was the underfeeding,rather than the over-working of the mothers,which rendered them incapable of rearing their iniants.The effect of the economic position of women, mustbe considered also in relation to another specialfunction which women exercise in society, namelythe part which they play in the psychic and moralreactions between the sexes. This subject has seldombeen investigated in a detached and truly scientificspirit, and therefore any generalisations that may besubmitted have little value. It will only be observedhere that the exercise by women of productive energyin the Elizabethan period, was not then inconsistentwith the attainment by the English race of its highwatermark in vitality and creative force, and that acomparison of the social standards described by Restorationand Elizabethan Dramatists, reveals a decadence,which, if not consequent upon, was at least coincidentwith, the general withdrawal of upper-class womenfrom their previous occupation with public and privateaffairs.Undoubtedly the removal of business and publicinterests from the home, resulted in a loss of educaticnalopportunities for girls ; a loss which was not made goodto them in other ways, and which therefore producedgenerations of women endowed with a lower mentaland moral calibre. The influence of women upontheir husbands narrowed as men's lives drifted awayfrom the home circle and centred more roundclubs and external business relations. Hence it cameabout that in the actual social organisation prevailingin England during the last half of the seventeenthcentury, the influence or psychic reaction of womenupon men was very different in character and muchmore limited in scope, than that exercised by themin the Elizabethan period. When considered inregard to the historical facts of this epoch, it will benoticed that the process by which the vital forcesand energy of the people were lowered and which incommon parlance is termed emasculation, accompaniedan evolution- which was in fact depressing thefemale forces of the nation, leaving to the male forcesan ever greater predominance in the directing of thepeople's destiny. The evidence given in the precedingchapters is insufficient to determine what is cause andwhat is effect in such complicated issues of life, and onlyshows that a great expenditure of productive energyon the part of women is not, under certain circumstances,inconsistent with the successful exercise oftheir maternal functions, nor does it necessarilyexhaust the creative vital forces of the race.The enquiry into the effect which the appearanceof Capitalism has produced upon the economic positionof women has drawn attention to another isssue,which concerns a fundamental relation of humansociety, namely to what extent does the Communityor ~tite include women among its integral members,and provide them with security for the exerciseof their functions, whether these may be of thesame character or different from those of men.It has been suggested that the earlier EnglishCommonwealth did .actually embrace both men andwomen in its idea of the " Whole," because it wascomposed of self-contained families consisting ofmen, women and children, all three of which areessential for the continuance of human society ;but the mechanical State which replaced it, and whosedevelopment has accompanied the extension of Capitalism,has regarded the individual, not the family,as its unit, and in England this State began with theconception that it was concerned only with maleindividuals. Th.us it came to pass that every womanlyfunction was considered as the private interest ofhusbands and fathers, bearing no relation to the life

308 CONCLUSIONof the State, and therefore demanding from thecommunity as a whole no special care or provision.The implications of such an idea, together withthe effect which it produced upon a society in whichformerly women had been recognised as members,though perhaps not equal members, cannot be fullydiscussed in this essay ; the investigation wouldrequire a much wider field of evidence than canbe provided from the survey of one century. Butfrom the mere recognition that such a change tookplace, follow ideas of the most far-reaching significanceconcerning the structure of human society ;we may even ask ourselves whether the instability,superficiality and spiritual poverty of modern life,do not spring from the organisation of a State whichregards the purposes of life solely from the malestandpoint, and we may permit ourselves to hope thatwhen this mechanism has been effectively replaced bythe organisation of the whole, which is both male andfemale, humanity will receive a renewal of strengththat will enable them to grapple effectively with theblind force Capitalism ;-that force which, whileproducing wealth beyond the dreams of avarice, hashitherto robbed us of so large a part of the joy ofcreation.AUTHORITIES.(The numbers in leaded iype are the presr marks in the British Museum.)Account of Several Workhouses for Employing and Maintainingthe Poor, etc. London 1725. 1027 i. 18 (g).Act of Common Council for the reformation of sundry ab~sespractised by divers persons upon the common marketsand streets of the City of London. 1631. 21 1. 5 (4).Act for the settlement and well ordering of the several1Publick Markets within the City of London.1674. 21 1. 5 (58).Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum 11. 1651.Add. MSS. 36308.Answer to a Paper of Reflections on the Project for layinga Duty on English Wrought Silks. 8223 e. 9 (75).'Arber, Edward. Transcript of the Registers of the Company' of Stationers of London. 1554-1640. London, 1876.Assheton, Nicholas, Esq. Journal of; ed. by Rcv. F. R.Raines. Chetham SJC., 1848Astell, Mary. A serious proposal to the Ladies for theadvancement of their true and greatest Interest, by aLover of her sex. r6gq. 12314 a. 22.Atkinson, J. C. Quarter Sessions Records for the NorthRiding of Yorkshire. London, 1884. R. ac. 8190.Bacon, Francis. Works of ; ed. by Spedding. London, 1858.Bacon, Sir Nathaniel, of Stiffkey, Norfolk. Official Payersof, 1580-1620. Royal Hist. Sgt. Camden, 3rd Seric~.'9'5Bnillie, Lady Grisell. Household Book of, ed. bv R. Scott-Moncrieff. Edinburgh, 191 I. R. ac. 8256-Banks, John. A Journal of the Life of. London, 1712.Barrett, C. R. B. Histoiy of the Soci

3 I0 AUTHORITIESBedell, Wm. True relation of the life and death of theRight Reverend Father in Cod, Lord Bishop of KilmoreIn Ireland. Camden Society, 1872. R. ac. 8113/98.Best, Henry. Rural Economy in Yorkshire in 1641.Surtees Soczety, 33. D~lrham, 1857.Black, W. H. History and Antiquities of the Worshipf~~lCompany of Leathersellers of the City of London.London 1871. 1890 C. 5.Bownas, Samoel. Life and Traiels of. London 1756.Brathwaite, Richard. Anniversaries upon his Panarete continued-withher contemplations penned in the languishingtime of her sicknesse. London 1635 Huth 68., --- The English gentleman and English gentlewomanin one volume concluded: the 3rd edition with a LadiesLove Lecture and a supplement. London 1641. 30 e. 6.Brewster, John. Parochial History and Antiquities ofStockton upon Tees. Stockton 1795. 2358 d. 3Brief State of the Inland or Home Trade of England, and ofthe oppressions it suffers, and the Dangers whichthreaten it from the Invasion of Hawkers, Pedlars andClandestine Traders of all sorts. London 1730. I04 h. 20.British Friend.Bund, J. W. Willis. Worcestershire County Records.Worcerter 1900 010360 i.Burton, John Richard. History of Kidderminster.1890. 10368 h. 27.C. W. The Bespotted Jesuite. London 164.1. E. 166 (3).Calendar State Papers. Domestic Series (C. S. P. D.).Canterbury. Articles to be enquired of by the Churchwardens,etc. 698 n. 20 (18).Carpenters, Records of the Worshipful Company of.1913. W.P. 2524.Cary, John. Account of the Proceedings of the Corporationof Bristol in execution of the Act of Parliament for thebetter Employing and Maintaining the Poor of thatCity. London 1700. 1027 i. 18 (3).Carrier, Henriette. Origines de la MaternitC de Paris.1888. 7687 eee. 31.Case of the Linen Drapers and other Dealers in PrintedCallicoes and Linens. 816 m. I3 (49).Case of British and Irish Manufacture of I,inncn, Threads,and Tapes, etc. 1887 b. 60 (6).Case of the Manufacturers of Gilt and Silver Wire. 1887 b. 60 (9).AUTHORITIESCase of the Parish of St. Giles.8223 e. g (23).Case of the Koollen Manufacturers of Great Britain, and ofthe Poor they imploy. 1887 b. 60 (32).Case or Petition of the Corporation of Pin-makers. 816 m. 13.Cellier, Elizabeth, Mrs. Scheme for the foundation of aRoyal Hospital. London 1687. Harl. Misc. Pol. i~.To Dr.-an answer to his Queeries concerningthe Colledg of Midwives. 1687-8. 1178 h. 2 (2).Malice Defeated. 1680. 515 1. I (10).Chalkley, Thomas. Collection of the Works of. Londoi 1751.Chamberlain, Hugh, Dr. Trans. Treatise on Midwifery byF. Maurice. 1672.Chamberlain, Peter. Dr. in Physick, Fellow of the Colledgeof London, and one of His Majestic's Physicians Extraordinary.A voice in Rhama or the Crie of Women andChildren. London 1646. B.M. E. 1181.Charter of the Joiners' Co. Chester. Harl. MSS. 2054, fo. 5.Charter and By-laws of the Company of Armourers andBrasiers, in the City of London. 1554-1640.1873. 08227 b. 13.Child, Sir Josiah. A New Discourse of Trade, etc.2nd ed. London 1694. 712 C. 5.Short Addition. 1668. 1029 b. I.Churchwardens' Accounts. Steeple Ashton. Wilts Notesand Quer~er. London 1911. R. pp. 6049 m.-- St. Michael's in Bedwardine, Worcester.Oxford 1896. R. Ac. 8166/8.Clode, Charles M. Memorials of the Guild of MerchantTaylors, City of London. London 1875. 2366 d. 2.Early History of the Guild of Merchant Taylorsof the Fraternity of St. John the Baptist, London.London 1888. 8248 f. 18.Clothiers' Complaint, or Reasons for Passing the Bill.London 1692. 71 I f. 28.Cornpleat Servant-maid, or the Young Maiden's Tutor.London I 700. I037 a. 42.Congreve, Wm. Works of. London 1710. 641 d. 39Considera.titions touching the Excise of Native and ForreignCommodities (as formerly established) as also how thepresent Excise settled on His Majesty may (with someadditions) be improved to the sum resolved on by theCommons in Parliament. 712 m. 1 (3).

312 AUTHORITIES AUTHORITIES 313Costello, Louisa S. Memoirs of Eminent Englishwomen.London IS#. 1023 i. 8.Council Register.Cox, Rev. J. C. Churchwardens' Accounts. 1913. 2260 b. 3.Three Centuries of Derbyshire Annals as illustratedby the Records of the Quarter Sessions of theCounty of Derby. London 189. 010358 1.28.Cratfield. Accounts of the Parish of. Ed. by Wm. Hollandand J. J. Raven. 1895. 0103581.42.Croker, John. Brief Memoirs of. London 1839.Cromwell Family. Bills and Receipts. Vol. 11. 1546-1672.Add. Mss. 33,461.Crosfield, Helen G. Margaret Fox of Swarthmoor Hall.London 1913Culpeper, Nicholas, Gent., Student in Physick and Astrologie.Directory for Midwives. 1651. E. 1340.Davenant (Inspector-General of Exports and Imports). AnAccount of the trade between Greate Britain, France,Holland, etc., . . . delivered in his reports made tothe Commissioners for Publick Accounts. 1715.Davies, J. S. Historv of Southampton. London 1883. 2368 CC. 5.Decker, Thomas. Best Plays. Ed. by E. Rhys.London 1887. 117'7,s bb. 14.Declaration of the Estate of Clothing now used within thisRealme of England.712 G. 16 (I).Defoe, Daniel. The Behaviour of Servants in England.London 1724. 1137 h. 6.Every-Body's Business is No-Body's Business.London 1725. 1137 h. 6 (2).Dunning, Richard, Gent. A plain and easie Method shewinghow the office of overseer of the Poor may be managed,whereby it may be 69,000 per annum Advantage to theCounty of Devon, without abating the weekly Relief ofany Poor, or doing a Penny damage to any Person.London 1686. 1027 i. 17.Dunsford, M. Historical Memoirs of the Town and Parish ofTiverton. Exeter 179. 2368 d. 3.Englands Way to win wealth and to employ Ships andMariners, etc., by Tobias, Gentleman, Fisherman andMariner.1614. Harleian Mi~c., 1/01. III.Evelyn, John. Diary of. Ed. by Wm. Bray. 15~6. 10854 f. 11.Exeter. Artlcles to be enquired of by the Churchwardens.1636. 698 n. 20 (19).Eyre, Captain Adam. A Dyurnall. 1646. Surtee* Society,Vol. LXY. Dlrrham 1877. R. ac. 8045/53.Falkland, Lady Letice Vi-countess. The Virtuous, Holy,Christian Life and Death of the late, by John Duncon.London 1653. 701 b. 12.Fanshawe, Lady. Memoirs of. Wife of Sir RichardFanshawe, Bart. London IFS. 012207 i.Fell, Sarah. Swarthmoor Household Accounts.Ferguson, R. S. Municipal Records of the City of Carlisle:Carlisle 1857. R. ac. 5630/5.Fiennes, Celia. Through England on a Side Saddle in thetime of William and Mary. Being the Diary of C. F.London 1888. 10854 g. 23.Firmin, Thomas. The Life of. London 1698. 857 h. 26.Some Propoqals for the imploying of the Poor,especially in and about the City of London.London 1678. 1027 i. 32.Fitzherbert, Sir Anthony. Book of Husbandrye. 1555. 969 a. 32 (I).Foulis, Sir John, of Ravelston. Account Book of. 1471-1707.Edinburgh 189.1. R. ac. 8256.Fox, F. F. Some Account of the Merchant Taylors, Bristol.Bristol 1880. 10352 J. 17.Further Considerations for encouraging the woollen Manufacturersof this Kingdom. 1852 d. I (41).Gentlemen's Magazine. May, 1834. Vol. I., Letter toLord Althorp on the Poor Laws by Equitas.Gibbs, A. E. Corporation Records-St. Albans.St. Albans 189. 10351 cc. 56.Grasier's Complaint. London 1726. 712 G. 16.Guilding, J. M. Reading Records. 1892. 2366 d. 4'Hale, Sir Matthew. Method Concerning Relief andEmployment .of the Poor. London 1699. 1027 i. 18 (I).Discourse touching Provision for the Poor.Hamilton, A. H. A. Quarter Sessions Records, QueenElizabeth to Queen Anne. 1878. 6006 a. 14.Hardy, W. J. Hertford County Records, 1581-1698.Hertford 195. 010360 K- 7.Middlesex County Records. 1905. 5805 d. f. 3-Harl, MSS. 2054, 2105, relating to City of Chester.Harley, Letters of the Lady Brilliana. Intro. and notes byThos. Taylor Lewis. London 1853. R. ac. 8113/56.

P.AUTHORITIES AUTHORITIES 315Haynes, John. Great Britain's Glory, or an account of theGreat Numbers of Poor employed in the woollen andsilk manufactures. London 1715. 1029 a. 6 (3).-- View of the Present State of the Clothing Tradein London 1706. 1029 a. 6 (2).Heath, J. B. Some account of the Worshipful Company ofGrocers of the Clty of London. London IS;+. I302 m. 2.Herbert, \\'m. History of the Twelve Great LiveryCompanies of 1,ondon. 1836.Heylyn, Peter, D.D. The Historical and MiscellaneousTracts of; and an accour?t of the life of the Author.London 1681. 479 d. 11.-.- Cyprianus Anqlicus. 1668. C82 f. 2.-- Voyage of France. 1673. 10170 aaa. 8.Hevwood, Kev. Oliver, 1630-1702. His autobiography,diaries, anecdote and event books, ed. by J. Hor$allI?~rner. 1882. 4907 e. 4.Historical MSS. Commission 14 Rep. App. VIII.- Various Collections. Vol. I.Vol. IV.Hoare, Sir R. C. History of Modern Wiltshire. Old andNew Sarum or Salisbury. London 1843.Holdsworth, W. S. A History of Eng. Law. 1903.Holroyd, Joseph, cloth factor, and Sam. Hill, Clothier, LetterBooks of. Halifax 1900. 7958 h.Howard, Lord William of Naworth Castle. Selections fromthe Household Books of.Sllrtee~ Society, Yol. LXYIII. Durham 1878. R. ac. 8045/55.Howell, James. Familiar Letters. London 1751. G. 2118.Humble Petition and Case of the Tobacco Pipe Makers ofthe City of London and Westminster. 1695. 816 m. 12.Humble Petition of many thousands of Courtiers', Citizens',Gentlemen's and Tradesmen's wipes, etc.Feb. 10, 1641. 669 f. 4 (59).Humble Petition of the Master, Wardens and Assistants ofthe Company of Silk Throwers;- London. 816 m. 13 (I 15).Hunter, Joseph. History and Topography of Ketteringham.Norwich 1851. 10351 h. 10.Hutchinson, Memoirs of the Life of Colonel, written by hiswidow, Lucy. Ed. by C. H. Firth. 1906. 12207 p.p.Irish Friend. Vol. IV. Account of remvarkable visions andpassages of John Adams, of Yorkshire.James, John.England.History of the Worsted Manufacture inLondon 1857. 2270 bb. 16.Johnson, Rev. A. H. History of the Worshipful Company ofDrapers of London. 1914. W.P. 3016.Ionson, Ben. Plays. 1756. 673 f. 13-19.Josselin, Rev. Ralph. The Diary of. 1616-1683, ed. for theRoyal Historical Society by E. Hockrl~fle. 1gc8. R. ac. 81 18,/17.Jupp, Ed. R. Historical Account of the Worshipful Companyof Carpenters of the City of London.London 1887. 10350 dd. 17.King, Gregory (Rouge Dragon). Natural and Political Observationsand Conclusions upon the state and condition ofEngland, 1696. Ed. by G. Chalmers.London 1910. 1137 k. 27.Lambert, Rev. J. Malet. 2,000 years of Gild Life, Kingstonupon-Hull.2240 f. 9.Lamond, Eliz. Discourse of the Common Weal of this Realmof England. First printed in 1581.Cambridge 1893. 8009 aaa. 33.Lansdowne MSS. 161 fo. 127. Letter frorn'Mayor of Sonthamptonto Sir J. Caesar re suit of Rachell Tierry.351 fo. 18 b. A Project for Mounts of Piety.Latimer, John. Annals of Bristol. Bristol 1900. 2367 bb. I.Leach, Arthur F. Beverlry Town Documents. SeldenSociety, Vol. mew. London IF. R. ac. 2176.Leader, John Daniel. Extracts from the earliest book ofAccounts belonging to the Tl'own Trustees of Sheffield.1566-1707. She$ield 1879. 8228 aa. I I.Records of the Burgery of Sheffield, commonlycalled the Town Trust. London 1897. 010358 f. 63.Leader, Robert Eadon. History of the Company of Cutlersin Hallamshire. Shej3eld IFS. 1889 e. 10.Leland, John. The Itinerary of, 1535-1543. Fd. by L.Toz~lmin Smith. London 1907. 2366 d. 6.Linnen and Woollen Manufactory discoursed, with the Natureof Companies and Trade in General.London 1691. 712 m. I (14).Lipson, E. An Introduction to the Economic History ofEngland. I. the Middle Ages. London 1915. W.P. 2753.Little Red Book of Bristol. Ed. by F. B. Bickley. 10370 h. 22.Lyon, John. History of Town and Port of Dover.DOV~ 1813. 191 b. 6.Manchester Court Leet Records. 1887.

AUTHORITIESMartindale, Adam, The Life of, written by himself. Ed. byRichard Parkinson. Cheethr~m Society, Vol. IV. 1845. R. ac. 8120.McMath, James, M.D. The Expert Midwife. 1694. 7581 de. 19.Mayo, C. H. Municipal Records of the Borough of Dorchester.Dorset. Exeter 1908. 010360 k. 11.Monthly Meeting Minute Books of the Society of Friends,Horselydown and Peele.Mournful1 Cryes of many thousand Poore Tradesmen, 1647.669 f. 11 (116).Murray, Lady Mary, of Stanhope. Memoirs of Lives andCharacters of the Rt. Hon. Geo. Baillie of Jerviswood,and of Lady Grisell Baillie. Edinburgh 1822. 614 g. 29.Nash, T. History and Antiquities of Worcester. 1781.Nicholas Papers. Correspondence of Sir Edward Nicholas,Secretary of State. Ed. by G. F. Warner.Camden Society 1886. R. ac. 8113/127.Nicholson, Dame Magdalen, widow of Sir Gilbert Elllot,first Baronet of Stobbs, by Alexander 0. Curle. Somenotes of the Account Book of. In Pr6ceeding.s of theSociety of ' Antigrtarits of Scotland. 1904-1905. 1'01.XXXIX., pp. 120-132. R. ac. 5770. 2.Nottingham, Records of the Borough of. London 1889. 2366 d. I.Osborne, Dorothy. Letters to Sir William Temple. Ed. byE. A. P'zrry. 10921 bbb. 34.Cverall, W. H. Analytical Index to the Series of Recordsknown as the Remembrancia, preserved among theArchives of the City of London. 1579-1664.London 1878.Some account of the Company of Clockmakersof the City of London. London 1881. 10349 gg. 11.Pechey, John. Fellow of the Colledge of Physicians. TheCompleat Midwife's practice enlarged.London 1698. 778 b. 44.Pepya, Samuel. Diary and Correspondence. Ed. by Rev.Mynors Bright. London 1875. 100854 ee. I.Petty, Dorothy, the case of, in Relation to the IJnion Society,at the White Lyon by Temple Bar, whereof she isDirector. 1710. 816 m. 10/82.Phipps, Thomas, Esq. His Proposal for Raising I,OOO,OOOof Pounds Sterling Yearly. 1712. 8223 e. 9 (60).Poor out-cast Children's Song and Cry. London 1653. 669 f. 16 (33).Powell, John. The Assize of Bread. London 1600. C. 40 d. 54.AUTHORITIESThe Proverb Crossed or a new Paradox maintained, etc.,Reing a Full Clear and Distinct answer to a Paper of anEnglish Gentleman, who endeavours to demonstratethat it is for the Interest of England, that the Lawsagainst the 'Transportation of Wooll should be repealed.London 1677. 712 g. 16 (16).Pseudonismus, Considerations concerning Common-fields andInclosures. 1654. E. 719 (9).Ramsey, Wm. History of Worshipful Company of Glasssellersof London. 1898. 8248 g. 19.Rawdon, h4armaduke, of York, the Life of. Ed. by RRicEardDaik. Camden Socipty, Vol. LXXXJT. R. ac. 81 I 3/80Raynold, Thomas. The byrth of h'lankynde, otberwysenamcd the woman's booke, newly set furth, correctedand augmented. London 1545. 1177 h. I.Reasons for a Limited Exportation of Wooll. 1677. 712 g. I 6 (14).Reasons humbly offered to the Honoc~rable House of Commonsby the Leather-dressers and Glovers. 816 m. 13 (39).Remarks upon Mr. Webbcr's Scheme and the Draper'sPamphlet. 1741. 102gd.4(5).Report of Commission on Decay of Clothing Trade. 1622.Stowe 554 fo. 45-49.Report of the Commissioners on the Condition of the Handloomweavers, 1841. Mr. Chapman's Report.Riley, H. T. Chronicles of the Mayors and Sheriffs ofLondon, I 188-1274. London 1863. 9510 h. 12.Memorials of London and London Life. 1868.Riley, W. H. Translation of the Liber AIb~ts, of the Cityof London. Compiled 1419, by John Carpenter, clerk,and Richard Whittingtun, Mayor. London 1861. 9510 f. 22.Rockley, Francis, Esq., Presenteth that the Revenue of Excise.816 m. 6 (2).Rogers, J. E. Thorold. History of Agriculture and Prices.Orford 1866-1902.Oxford City Documents. 1891. R. ac. 8126/10.Rogers, Timothy, M.A. The Character of a Good Woman,both in a Single and Marry'd State, in a Funeral Discourseon Prov. 31, 10, occasion'd by the Decease of Mrs.Elizabeth Dunton. London 1697. I417 b. 29.Rolls of Parliament.Salford, The Portmote or Court Leet Records of the Boroughor Town and Royal Manor of, 1597-1669.Cheetham Society 1902. Vol. xlvi. new series. R. ac. 812%

318 AUTHORITIESScheme to prevent the running of Irish Wools to France.By a Merchant of London. London 1743. 1029 d. 4 (3).Second Humble Address from the Poor Weavers and Manufacturersto the I.ad.ies. 816 m. 14 (84).Sharp, Jane. The Midwives Book or the whole art of Midwiferydiscovered, by Mrs. Jane Sharp, Practioner in theart of Midwifery above thirty years. London 1671. 1177 b. 19.Shaw's, Mrs., Innocency restored and Mr. Clendon'sCalumny retorted, notwithstanding his late Triumphing,by sundry Depositions, mlLing out more than ever sheby Discourse or writing did positively charge upon him.London 1653. E. 730 596 (8).Short Essay upon Trade in General, etc., by a Lover of hisCountry. London 1741. 1029 d. 4 (2).Smith, L. Toulmin. English Gilds. 1870. R. ac. 9925/33.Smith's Book of Accounts, Chester, I 574. Harl. MSS. 2054 fo. 22.Smyth, Richard, The Obituary of. Secondary of the poultryCompter, London; being a catalogue of all such personsas he knew in their life. Ed. by Sir Henry Ellis.Camden Society, 1849. R. ac. 8113/44.Smythe, W. Dumville. Historical Account of the WorshipfulCompany of Girdlers, London. London 1905. 8248 e. 44.Somerset Quarter Sessions Records. Ed. by Rrv. E. N.Bates Harbin. 1913. R. ac. 8133/17.Sowerby, Leo. Ladies Dispensatory, containing the nature,virtues and qualities of all Herbs and simples usefull inPhysick reduced into a methndical order, ior their moreready use in any sicknesse, or other accident of the Body.London 1651. E. 1258.State Papers. Domestic Series (S.P.D.).Statutes at Large.Stone, Jolley. Court Precedents. 1673, Harl. MSS. 1628.Stopes, Mrs. C. C. Shakespeare's Warwickshire Contemporaries.1897. 11765 d. 17.Stow, John. Survey of the cities of London and Westminster.Written at first MnxcvIII., brought down from theyear 1633 to the present time by John Strype.London 17po. 1791 d. 5.Strood, Churchwarden's Acc. Book. 1555-1763. Add. MSS. 36937.Sussex Archeological Collections.Account Book of Cowden. Vol. XX.Burrell, Timothy, Journal of. Vol. 111.Danny Papers. Vol. X.East Sussex Parochial Documents. Vol. IV.AUTHORITIESEverenden and Frewen Account Books. Vol. IV.Hastings Documents. Vol. XXIII.Herstmonceux Castle House Accounts. Vol. XLVIII.Mayfield Overseer's Accounts. Vol. XVIII.Moore, Rev. Giles, Journal of. Vol. I.Stapley, Rich., Diary of. Vol. 11.Taylor, Randall. A Discourse of the Growth of Englandin Populousness and Trade since the Reformation.Tawney, R. H.1689. 712 m. I (13).The assessment of Wages in England by theJustices of the Peace-in thc ,~ierteZ~ahrschrift furSozial find Wirtschaftsgeschirhte. XI. Band ljrittesHeft and Yiertes 1Ti.fi. 1912.Thorntm, Mrs. Alice. of East Newton, Co. York. Autobiography.Sicrtees Society, Yol. LXII. I 873 R. ac. 8045/50'l'ingey, 1. C. Assessment of Wages for Norfolk. EnglishHistorical Re.~i~w, Vol. XIIT.Records of the City of Norwich.Norloich 1906. 2368 CC. 4.Trade of England. Revived and the abuses thereof Rectified.London 1681. 712 g. 16 (20).True Account how Mr. Reading's House at Santoft happenedto be Burnt.816 m. IO/II~.True Case of the Scots Linen Manufacture. 816 m. 13 (55).Verney, F. P. Memoirs of the Verney Family during theCivil Wars. London 1892. 2407 f. 12.Vives, ofice and duetie of an husband. Trans. by Thos.Paynell. 1550. G. 10325.Watson, Wm. The Clergyman's Law. 1747. 516 m. 10.Weavers True Case, or the wearing of Printed Calicoes andLinnen Destructive to the Woollen and Silk Manufacturers.1719. T. 1814 (8).Welch, Charles. History of the Worshipful Company ofPewterers of the City of London. London 1902. 8248 f., 15.Welford, Richard. History of Newcastle and Gateshead.London 1885. 2367 bb. 7.Wilkinson, Robert. The Merchant Royal, or woman a ship,etc. in conjugal duty, set forth in a collection of ingeniousand delightful wedding sermons. Original ed., 1607.London 1732. 4454 b. 9-Wycherley, Wm. Plays. London 1735. 644 a. 19.Yonge, Walter. Diary at Colyton and Axminster, CO.Devon. 1604-1628. Ed. by Geo. Roberts.Camden Society 1848. R. ac. 8113/41.

County.Buckingham ..Cardigan .. ..Chester Derbyshire .. ..Devonshire Dorsetshire Essex .. ..Gloucestershire ..HertfordshireKent .. ..Kingtson-upon-HullLancashire . . . .Lincolnshire . .London Middlesex Norfolk Rutland St. Albans ..Somerset Suffolk ..WarwickshireWiltshire ..WorcestershireYorkshire :East RidingNorth Riding . .WAGES ASSESSMENTS.Reference.Hamilton, A. H. A., Quarter Sessions Recordsfrom Queen Eliz. to Queen Anne.Dyson, I-Iumfrev.,Elizabeth.Procla~nations of QueenG6463 (331b.).Harleian MSS., 2254 (3) f. 5 zb.Cox, J. C., Three Centuries of DerbyshireAnnals.Hamilton, A. H. A.: Quarter Sessions Record.Sussex Archeological Collections, VoE. I., p. 75.Ruggles, Thornas, History of the Poor,pp. 123-5. m27 i. I.Rogers, J. E. Thorold, History of Agricultureand Prices. Vol. VI., p. 694.Hardy, W. J., Hertford County Records.Rogers, J. E. T., History of Agriculture andPrices. Vol. VII., p. 623.Dyson, Humfrey, Proclamations. G6463 (77).Rogers, J. E. T., History of Agriculture andPrices. Vol. VI., p. 689.Hist. A4SS. Corn., Duke of Rutland, Vol. I.,P +b.Lord Mayor's Proclamations. 21 h. S (61).Hardy, W. J., Middlesex County Records.English Historical Review, Vol. XIII., p. 522.Archeologia, Vol. XI., pp. 200-7.Gibbs, Corporation Records.Somerset Quarter Sessions Records.Cullum, Sir John., History of Hawstead.Archeologia, Vol. XI., p. 208.Hist. MSS. Corn. Var. Coll., Vol. I., p. 163.Hist. MSS. Corn. Var. Coll., Vol. I., p. 323.Rogers, J. E. T., History of Agriculture andPrices, Vol. VI., p. 686.Atkinson, J. C., Yorkshire, North RidingQuarter Sessions Records, Vols, VI. andVII.Agriculture, 9, 42-92 passim, 93, '50,292 seq., sec Apprentice, Capitahsm,Dairy, Farmer, Husbandman,Labourer, Pig-keeping, Poultrykeeping,Spinning, Wages, Wageearner,Wife, Yeoman ; conditions.for rearing children, 43, 92.Alehouse, 91 seq., 101, 225, 229, 231-2j3passim ; sec Brewing, Innkeeper;livelihood for widows and injnnPCOPIC, 230-232.Alewife, 222, 232 ; see Brewing.Apothecaries, 184, 259-263 parrim,see Doctor, Gild.Apprentice, 6, 26, 112, 144, 156, 185,195, " I, 213, 293 ; agriculture, 59 ;G:ld trades, boys, 165 seq., 177,185, 187, 260, girls, 10, 150, 166,175 seq., 185, 195, 261, 298 ; othertrades, bqs, 159, 185, 214, 226, 261,qirls, 151, 194, 217, 220, 293 ;retail+ades, zoo seq. ; silk twde,138, 141 seq. ; weavers, 104 seq,122 ; duties of apprentices, 5, 157 ;restriction of numbers, 10, 156, 188,298 ; apprentices of women, I 62 I 68seq., 173, 179, 194, 220 j of widows,104, 162, 168 seq., 173 seq., 183,187 Sea., 190, 293.Apprenticeship, 146, 151, 156, 160 seq.,165, 177, 184, 191, 19% 196,zoo seq., 212-214 passim, 234, 261,269 seq., 298, 301.Apprentice Trade, 106.Aristocracy, see Capitalist ; cbaractcrof women, 38-41, 253, 289, 296 seq.,305 seq ; confinements, 267 rep ;occupatrons, 14-27, 35, 38, 53 seq.,253, 255 sq.Armourers and Brasiers, 178, 183 seq.See Gild.Assheton Nicholas, 280.Astell Mary, 38.Assize, of beer, 224 ; of bread, 2x1.Badger, 204 seq.Baillie, Lady Grisell, 16, 68, 229.INDEX.Bakers, 8, 92, 202, 208-215 passim ;~0rp0rati0nS of, 212 sq. ; restrictiomon, 2x0, 211, 215 ; women bake fordomestic purposes, 47, 50, 2x0, 214 ;fm sale, 30, 213, 214 ; wife assistsbusband, 21 I seq., 215.Baptist, 240.Barber-surgeons,276, 284 ; see 259-263 Gild. passim, 265,Barrymore, Lady, 14.Bedell, Mrs. Eliz., 256.Best, 60-62 passim, 78.Beverley, 180, 183, 2x1, 221 seq.Binder, 161, 167.Birth-rate, 4, 43, 86 seq., 305.Bleacher, 129, 145.Bookseller, I 61, 168.Bourgeois, Mme. Louise, 275, 284.Borough, 209, see Corporations.Brathwaite, Richard, 29, 53.Brewing, a, I I, 209, 221-233 passim ;see Alehonse, Ale-wife, Apprentices,Capitalism, Domestic, Gild; Brrwster11,155, 221 seq., 229,; .CommonBrewers, 223-227 passrm, 230.;Fellowship of, 223-226 ; for domesttcpurposes, 5, 8, 47, 50, 2x0 223 ;firretail, 2x0, 222-230 ; for wages,229 seq.Bristol, 103, 134, 182, 185, 191, 232.Burford. Rose de. 140., .Burling, 105 seq., 132, 145.Bury, 222.Buy St. Edmunds, 227.Business affairs of family, 41, seeFamily ; managed by wife, 16,21 seq.,54 seq., superior capacity ofDutcb women, 36-38 passim ; wifeunequal to, 20, 22 seq. ; women'scapacitvfor, 20, 34, 38 seq.Butcher, 155, 20% 209 seq., 216-219passim, 221 ; see Apprentices ;selling wool, 107 j wage-earners, 219.Buttons, 142, 144.Butter, 8, 49, sec Dairy., Cane-chair bottorning, 195.

Capitalism, 6, 300, 308 ; lee CapitalisticOrganisation, Family Industry,Gilds, Indus~rialism, Linen, Silk,Textile Trades, Woollcn ; definitionof, 7 ; demand for labour, 90 seq. ;c4ect on Do?nestic Industry, 8, I I,94; crfect on Family Industry, 8,10, 11, 94, 142, 156. 16% 196, 297;eject on Marital Relations, 40 seq.,158,167, 197,235,236,299, 301 seq.;eJect on Motherhood, 8 seq., 11 seq.,306 ; eject on Social Organisation,8 seg., 40, 148,300, 306 seq. ; eject onwomen's economrc position, 8 seq., 10,92, 94, 96, 98, 145 seq., 165, 167,196, 235, 295-299 pasfim, 301, 302,307 ; 4j'ect on women's morale andphysique, 41 ; in agriculture, 43, 56,92 ; in brewing, I I, 226, 230 ; inCrafts and Trades, r 56, 158, 165,196.Capitalists, sec Aristocracy ; Definitionof, 14; idleness of wives anddaughters, 10, 38, 41, 50, 235,296-298 passim, 395 ; women'sactiwity as Capitalists, 14-41 passim.Capitalistic organisation, I 3, 94, 146,196, 236 ; see Capitalism, Tndustrialism.Carding, employment for poor, 116,I 32 ; men, 102, I 16 ; women, 99,108, I20 SCq., 141.Card-maker, 190.Carlisle, 44, 53, 153, 201, 203, 211,215.Carpenter, 170-178 passim 187, 195 ;see Companies.Carrier of letters, 63.Cellier, Mrs., 195,269,273-276 passim.Chamberlain, Dr. Hugh, 281, 283.Chamberlain, Peter, 272 seq.Chandler, wax and tallow, 155, 195,200, 202.Chapmen, 109, 155, 206.Cheese, 8, 49, 53, 208.Chester, 155, 181, 211, 217, 232.Child, Sir J., 36.Child's coate seller, 176.Children, 22, 45, 88, 147 Seq., 192-194passim, 196, 256 ; see Agriculture,Apprentices, Capitalism, Cost ofLiving, Education, Family, Father,Housing, Husband, Infant Mortality?.lother, Nursing, Poor, Settlement,Wages, Wage-earners, Widow, Wife ;attending grld drnners, 180 ; employmentin agriculture, 59 seq., 64 ; intextile manufacture, 9, 97 seq., 106,108, 112-114 passim, 125, 130-134INDEXpassim, 140-144 passim, 292 ; reducewomen's wage-earning capacity,68 seq., 92, 136, 147 ; right to workin father's trade, 156, 165, seq., 185,share in family property, 7,182 ; sbare in supporting family, 12,72, 79, 105, l92 seq., 293 ; underfecdrngof, 64, 86 seq., 118.Child-birth, 46, 267, 273, 276, 283,285 ; see Aristocracy, Commonpeople,Midwifery.Church, 236-242 ; suptrvision ofmidwives, 277 seq.Clockmakers, 187.Clothiers, 98-102 passim, 108-1 12passim, I 17-124 passim, 141, 147 ;see Poor; force workpeople to takegoods for wages, I 17 srq. ; women, 9,loo-102 passim, I 24.Cloth-wnrkers, 184.Coal-owner, 34.Common-people, 3, 257, 305 ; dejinition9j, 148, 253 ; child-brrtb, 267-269pa.rsim ; women's position controll dby necessity, 41.Companies, 10,~s-27 passim, 189, 207,212, 259, 260 seq. ; see Corporations,Gilds, Apothecaries, Armourers andBraziers, Bakers, Barber-surgeons,Binders, Book-sellers, Brewsters,Butchers, Carpenters, Clockmakers,Clothworkers, Cutlers, Drapere,Dyers, Embroiderers, Fishmongers,Fullers, Girdlers, Glass-sellers,Glovers, Goldsmiths, Gold-wireDrawers, Grocers, Joiners, Leathersellers,Mercers, Merchants, MerchantTaylors, Mid-wives, Painter-Stainers, Pewterers, Physicians,Point-makers, Printers, Publishers,Shoe-makers, Smiths, Stationers,Tailors, Upholsterers, Whit-awere.Congreve, 3.Contractors, 31.Cooking, I I.Corporatione (Municipal), 151, 199-204 passim, 209, 212, 218, 224, 263 ;sec Boroughs, Companies, Customs,Gilda, Beverley, Bris~ol, Bury,Bury St. Edmunds, Carlisle, Chester,Dorchester, Exeter, Grimsby, Hull,Kingtson-upon-Hull, Leicester,Lincoln, London, Manchester,Norwich, Nottingham, Newcastleupon-Tyne,Reading, Rye, Salford,Salisbury, Sandwich, St. Albans,Sheffield, Southampton, Tiverton,Torksey, York.Cost of living, 68-79 passim, I 34 ; diet ofchildren, 68, 71, 223 ; servants, 68 ;diflerence between men, women andchildren, 71-73 passim, 127 jFamily of three Children, 68, 73.Cotton trade, 94, 124.Cowden, parish of, 131, 264, 280.Cows, 45,47? 9, 55, 57, 209, 292 ; seeDairy, Milk~ng.Crafts, 10, 150-197 ; see Gilds,Trades.Craftsman, 10, 197.Cromwell family, 18, 69.Culpeper, Nicholas, 271 req.Custom (habit), 155, 158-161.Customs, 160 ; see Corporationc ;excise, 140.Cutler, 187.Cutworks, 32.Dairy, see Butter, Cheese, Cows, Milking; ~roduce for domestic consumption,5, 43 ; as pin-money, 54 ; supplementingfamily income, 55 ; women'ssphere, 5, 50, 53, 292.Danf Joan, 32 seq., 206.Daughters, 176 seq., \97 seq., 252, 284 ;see Burling, Education ; employed inparents' trade, I 84, szq., 195, zoo, 217,298 ; enters company by patrimony,191, 298 ; hired out as weavers, roj ;sustaining parents, 1 IS.Decker, Thos., I 58 seq.Defoe, Daniel, 96, I I g seq., I 56 seq.Distaff, 13, 48, 107, III.Doctor, see Apothecaries, Barbersurgeons,Physicians, Midwifery.Domestic Industry, 4 seq., 8, qq, 47~49,151, 210, 254, .SOL ; see Baking,Brewers, Capitalism, Dairy, FamilyIndustry, Servants, Spinning, TextileTrades ; dejinition of, 4-6 passim ;drudgery performed by servants,I 56 re?, 294,,3cq ; eyect on women'seconomrc posrtron, 145, 290, 292 ;girls' work, I I seq. ; men's work, 5.Dorchester, 132 seq., 185, 200, 217,261, 263 sq.Drapers, 184, 200 ; see Gild.Dunning, Richard, 132.Dyer, 111, 155 ; of leather, 158 ; inIreland, 18.Education, 36, 242, 286 seq., 95,302-306 passim ; see Apprentice,Children, Mother, Poor Relief,Teaching ; arithmetic unneceJsaryfor girls, Sa ; indurtrial, 71, 130-INDEX13 5 passim ; influence of domesticand family industry, 40 ; institutions,239 ; medical, 25 j,, 288 ; nurses.249 ; want ojspecialrsed training forgirls, 243, 288, 301, 304.Embroiderer, 184.Elizabethan Period, Women of, 2, 3, 9,38, 4'.Estate Management, 14, IS, 17.Evelyn, John, r IS.Everenden, 62.Executrix, 39, 188, 293.Exeter, 206.Eyre, Adam, 54.Farmer, 42-56 passim, 108, I 55 ; seeAgriculture, Capitalism ; definitionof, 43 ; demand for labour, 81, 83, 90,91 ; finds sureties for marriedlabourers, 83 seq. ; preference for unmaniedlabourers, 12 ; w{fefe'soccupation, 46-50 passim, I 11, I 12 ;women's characteristics, 43 seq.Farrier, 155.Father, 39, 45, 55, 79, 8'5, Idr 237 ideserts starving family, ~18, 148 ;bead of family, 6, 300; intere~t mchildren, 5, 54, 160, 295 ; profrts offamily rndustry vested in father, 6, 7,1829 294, 299.Falkland, The Lady, 18-20 passim.Falkland, The Lady Letice, 241, 251,256.Family, 73, 80, 100, 106, 122, 144,204; 219, 242, 286, 291, 294, 299,304, 307 ; see Business, Capital~sm,Father, Mother, Wages? Wageearners,Widow, Wife ; basrs of socialorganisation, 285, 288, 290, 299 seg ;chargeable to Parish,

INDEXINDEXFlax, 64, 146, 246, 291 ; rowing, 40,48, 128.Foulis, Sir John, 32, 280 seq.Foreign Women, Dutcb merchants,36 seq., 219 ; Flanders, workers ofwoolh clotbs, 103 ; French midwi~es,268, 275, 284..Fullen, 121, 145, 155, 167, 189.Garden, rromedr spbere, 5, 9, 48, 50,5% .292.Gardmer, Lady, 15.Gilds, 10, 141, 150, 154-156 passim,192, 196 ; see Apprentice, Capitalism,Companies, Journeyman, Wife ;admission to, 160 seq., 176 seq., 179,191; charters, 140, 160, 178, 181-183 passim ; 187, 259 ; developmentinto Companies, 158 ; functions,religious, social and for trade purposes154, 160, 171-181 passim ; rruilinzs,172, 182, 183 ; rules, 157 seq.,179 seq., 187 ; women's position in,150 154-191 passim ; in woman'strade, 195 srq.Girdlem, 185, 189 ; see Companies.Glaa-sellers, 187 ; see Companies.Glovers, 181, 185, 191 seq. ; seeCompanies.Gold and Silver Thread, 26, 143-145passrm ; pauper trade, 14g seq.Goldsmith, 184 ; see Companies.Gold-wire Drawers. see Gold andSilver Thread.Grimsby, 31.Grocers, 179, 184, zor seq., 260 ; seeCompanies.Haberda~her, zw.Hale, Sir Matthew, 79.Harber, Sylvia, 122 seq.Harley, Rrilliana Lady, I 5 seq.Harley, Sir E., 16.Harrowing, 87.Hawkers, 204-207 passim.Haymaking, 49, 62.Hellyard, Elizabeth, 34 seq.Heylyn, Peter, 54 seq., 239, 278.Heywood, Oliver, 87, 129.Hobbes, 258, 303.Holroyd, Joaeph, 30.Home, q ; see Industrial Revolution ;includes worksbop, 7 seq., I 56- I 60passim, 294 ; men's sphere as wellas women's, 303 ; opportunities forproduction in bome, c47 ; waqeearnerswork away from kme, 296.Howell, James, 37, 53.Hospitals, 243-249 ; see Nunes.Hou~ehold, accounts, 17 ; aJairs, 157 ;of crajtsmen, I 58 seq. ; size .of, 15,99.Housing, 73-8 I passim.Huckster, 155.Hull, 30, a12 seq.Hurband, 10, 12, 15, 17, 18, 20, 22-y passim, 34, 39, 46; 49, 88 sq.,95, "8, 171-173 passtd, 212, 22%a33 seq., 240, 306 ; see Wife ;acquires W+': rights, 161, 213 ;assut~ W+, 199, 216 301 ; companionsbipwitb wife, 160, 183, 301-303 passim, 306 ; dependence onwifc's assistance, 16, 36 seq., 46,153, 165, 194, 196, 211; ill-treatmentof W+, 191 ; independence c$W$, 41 197; meddles trot witbwifc's tra&, 231 seq. ; not responsiblefor wife's debts, 151 seq.Husbandman, 3, $6-6q passim ;,de$nitionof, 43, 57 ;~wls' environment, 87 ;independence, 56 ; rent, 57 ; waxes;men,. 59-62 passim, women, 60-63passmm ; wqe's occupation, 60-64passim, I I I seq. ; wife as wet-nurse,58 ; women's characteristics, 58 seq.IIutchinson, Mrs. Lucy, 23 spq., 255,263.Hutchihson, Colonel, 23 seq., 252.Keeper of tenis court, 25.King, Gregory, 55, 80, 86.Kingston-upon-Hull, 103, 181.Knitting, 18, 26, 133.Idlenesa, 138, 253.Industrialism, 94, 123 ; ree Capitalism ;attempted introduction of factorysystem, 99, 124.Industrial Revolution, 8 seq.Industry, see Domestic, Family,Capitalism.Infant Mortality, 58, 86, 273, 276,283, 305-Inn-keeper, 155, 209, 213, 225 227,233.Insurance OfIice, 33.Ireland, 18, 126.Ironmonger, I 55.Joiners, 18 I ; see Companica.Jonson, Ren, 28, 257.Josselin, the Rev. R., $0, 257.Jourpey-man, 156, 159, 180, 21%297 aeq. ; see Widows ; employedby wonwr, 174, 185, 189, 261organisation of, 10, 166 ; wives anddaughterc excluded, 10, 166, 197,234, 298, 301 ; wl;e unpaid servant,10.Labourer, see Farmer, Husbandman,Wage-earner, Wages.Laundry, maid, 50; worh, 5, 13, 49,'35, '55.Law, 236 seq.Lace, see Ireland ; bone-lace, 142, 144.Leather-sellers, 158, 185 ; seeCompanies.Leicester, 210, 222 seq.Leland, 99.Lincoln, I 57.Linen manufacture, 94, 96, 124-137passim, 138 ; sce Drapers, Flax,Poor, Spinning, Weaving ; appropriatenessto women, 128 seq. ; capitalistic,124, 136; company, 126-128passim, 136 ; domestic, 5, 40, 48,96, 125. 128, 129, 137 ; family, 128 ;in Ireland, 126 sq. ; prtntcrs, 126 ;in Scotland, 126, 129 ; wages [orspinning, 48, 95 seq., 128-137 passim,146.London, 29, 31, 33, '31, '35, '38-141 passim, 152, 158-195 passzm,202, 206, 208, 217, 220, 213,243-249 passim, 258-263 passrm,281.Malt-making, 47, 49 seq., 224-226pasrim.Manchester, 206, 213, 218, 221.Mansell, Lady, 35.Mantua-making, 195, 234, 293.Marriage, 191 ; see Poor-relief, Wife,Mother ; confers woman's rights onher husband, 261 ; strengthens man'seconomic position, 39.Married Woman ; see, Mother, Wife.Market, 4,1 19, 202, 204,217, 291 ; cornmarket,211 ; Farmer's wife attendsmarket, 49-51 ; 1abo:rr-market, 145,I 67, 298 ; price of spinnin~, I 29 ;market spinner, 107, 109 seq., I 13 ;town,zzq seq. ; thread, yarn and wool,sold in market, 107-109 passim, I 12,127 seq. ; woman, I 35.Martindale, Adam, 55, 257.McMath, James, 267, 282.Medicine, 242, 253-265 passirk, 286,288, 294; see Poor, Servants;domestic pracfic8, 242, 254-257passim ; education of women, 255,a94 ; their exclusion from schools,254, 265, 294j fees, 262, 264 ;Licensed by Bzshop, 276 ; projessionalpractice, 242, 254: 257-259Passim, 263 seq; restrlctrons onwomen, 259 seq. ; women's skillextended to neigbboirrs, 255-257passim, 294.Mercers, 184, 201.Merchant, 29, 36, 140, 155, 180-184 passim ; see Joan Dant.Middle-man, 110, 124; see Marketspinner.Midwife, 258 ; see Midwifery ;Baptism by, 277-279 passim ; Fees,268, 279-281 passint; Licences,272-279 passim ; Man-midwife,265, 271 seq., tSq ; Prosecutions of,279:.Midwiterv, 242 seq., 265-285, 288 ;see Midwife ; chiejy professional,265, doctor's assistance, 271, 280-284passim ; French. 268. 275, 279, 284 ;training of women for, 269-275 passim,288.Milking, 47.Mill, 47, 210, 215 seq.Miller, 209, 212, 215 seq. ; wages of, 66.Milliner, 176, 195, 234, 293.Milton, John, 240, 304.Money-lender, 28 seq., see Pawnbroker.Monopolies and patents, 25-28 passim.Moore, Rev. Giles, 252.Mother, 43, 63 seq., 73, 125, 196, 198,214 ; see Capitalism, Domcst~cIndustry, Spinning, Wages, Widow,Wife ; desertion of children, 86 ;educating children, 21, 95, 159, 242,286, 295 ; head of family, 7, 234,300 ; sharing father's work, 6 sq. ;supporting family, 12, 29, 55, 64,78 seq., 114, 178, I~Z-194 passrm,198 ; tendiilg chzldren, -+7! 63, 95 ;underfeedzng, 87-89 passim, 306 ;value of proditctive actirity, 145,290 seq., 304 ; worship of, 238 8 9Motherhood, tcomen's capacity for8 seq., 58, 87, 305.Mnrray, Lady, 16.Needlework, 13.Netmaker, I 55.Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 34, 226.Nicholson, Dame Margarrt, 60.Norwich, 107, 116, 219, 229.Nottingham, 130, 201, 217, 232.Nurse, sick, 13, 135, 155 ; salaries,243-216 passim, 248, 250 srq.Nursing, 242-253 ; see Poor, Servants.

Ogden, Hester, 164.Orphan, see Children, Poor Relief.Osborne, Dorothy, 57.Painter-Stainer, 188.Paper-maker, 32.. .Pauaer. see Poor.Pawnbroker, 28 seq., sec Money-lender.Pcchey, 275Pedlar, 32, 204-207 passim.Pepys Samnel, 3, 38 seq., 59, 62, 281,296 seq.Peronne, Mme., 268.Petitions, from women, 23-27 possam,I 18, 121, 138 ; of married womanobjected to, 77.Petty, Dorothy, 33 seq.Pewterere, 183, 186 sq., 191, 210,294; see Companies.Physicians, a59,262,265,271, 275 seq.,254.Politics, see Petitions ; women'sinterest in, 23 seq.Pig-keeping, 5, 48, 52 seq., 292.Pin-maker, 193.point-maker,.i91.Poor, see Hospitals, Midwife, Silk,Spinning, Wages, Wage-earners ;census of, 219 ; clotbiers' poor, 109 ;con nements, 277, 280 j educationd30-&34 passim ; increased wages,I I 5 ; medical attendance, 255 seq.,263-265 passim; not all vagrants,135 ; nursing, 243, 251 seq. ; relief,69-92 passim, I 18, 129-137 passim,204 ; set on work, I 10, 120, 130-137passim ; 140, 148 ; synonymous withpauper, 148 ; widows and orphansmaintained by parish, 204 ; worklouse,72, 131-134 passim.Poultry-keeping, 5, 48, 50, 87, 209,292.Pregnancy, 24, 72 seq., 82, 89.Printer, 161-167 ; see Companies.Professions, 5, 236-289 passim ; seeChurch, Education, Law, Medicine,Midwifery, Nursing, Teaching ;serf~ices, 4 seq., 294 seq. ; women'sposition in, 13, 304.Projector, 28.Provision Trades, I $0, seq., 29-INDEX234 passim ; see' ~lehouse,-~lewife,Apprentices,Baker,Brewing,Butcher,Fishwife, Inn-keeper, Malt Making,Miller, Retail Trade, Vintner, Wife,Widow ; .women's position in, 10 seq.Publisher, 167 ; see Companies.Pulling pease, 61 seq.Quakers, 51, 168, 199, 240; see Fell;Adams (wife of John), 153 ; Banks ;(wife of John), 44 ;, Butt, Mary,45 seq. ; Bownas (wzfe of Samuel),52 ; Townsend, Will., marriage of,190.Rawdon, Marmaduke, 257.Raynold, 266 seq., 269.Reading, 85, 132, 189, 203 seq., 213216, 249 seq.Regrater, roq seq., 207-209 passim,218 seq.Religion, independence of marriedwomen, 240.Restoration Period, women of, 2, 9, 38,4 1:Retal Trade, 197-zog passim; seeChapmen, Radgers, Haberdashers,Hawkers, Pedlars, Regrater, Shopkeepers; women's position in, 10 seq.,150 leg., 156, 172, 197, 209, 293.Rour, Margaret, 17.Rye, I 52 seq.Salford, 52 seq., 84, 211.Salisbury, 184, 213, zsU.seqSalisburv, Earl of, 25, 111.Sandwich, 152.Salt concerns, 17 seq.Scotland, 126, 129.Scottish, 140.Semptsress, 155, 175 seq., 202, 221.Servants, 5 seq., 26, 155 seq., 176, 187,202,220,241 ; see Brewing, Journeyman,Wages, Wages assessments ;diet of, 68, 88 ; dresses 126 ; employedin domestic drudgery, S,, 157, 196,292,294 ; employed in sptnning, 125 ;farm, 47, 50, "6, 210, 229;married, 81, 88 ; scarcity, of, 56 ;housekeepers' duties, 255 ; mcdicalattendance on, 252, 263 ; mensewants brought up by women, 141 .ofclothiers, IOI ; nursing G 5 1 seq.'shoemaker, 66,203 ; trainingof, 2531)women, scarcity of, 157.Sex-jealousy, an anachronism, 299 ;absence in woollen trade, 95, 123 ,exclusion of women from trades, 103,105, 106, 191.Shakespeare, 3.Sharp, Jane, 269-271 passam.Shearing, corn, 49, 60 ; sheep, 62.Sheffield, 187.Shepherd, 62.Shipping, 29-31 passim.Shoemaker, 155, 158 seq., 184,202 seq.,see Servant8Shopkeeper, 15% 168, 198-209 passim.Silk manufacture, 94, 126, 138-143see Apprentices, Poor, Textiles,Wen~ing ; capitaltstic, 142 ; occupationof gentlewomen, 10, 138-140passim, 142 j refuge of paupers, 140-142 passim, 146 ; silk-aomen, 140 ;stockings, 26 seq. ; wages, 142.Smith, 155, 189, 210, 259, 294.Social position of women, 8, 40, 249,283, 306 seq.Southampton, IOI, 195 seq.Spinning, 5 ; see Poor, Linen, Woollen ;demand for, 95, I 10, I 12 seq., 124,129, 146 ; domestic industry, 9, 40,64, 961 125, 129, 137, 147, 29' Seq. ;employment of poor, 13, 100, 110 SCg.,128-137 passim, 146 seq., 209, 291 ;instructton in, 13, III, 130-137 jmonopoly of women and children, 93,102, 145, 292; organisation of, 107-r rj, 123 seq. ; resource for mothers,9, 131 637 95, 151, 109; wages, SeeLinen, Woollen ; withdraws womenfrom agriculture and service, I 12,115.Spinner, 18, 102, 110, 113, 117, 120,128 seq., 141, 221 ; market spinner,107, ~ og seq., 113.Spinster, 95 seq., 107-109 passim,112-136 passim, 147, 155, 221 ;classes of, I I r seq.Spreading muck, 62.St. Albans, 202.Stapley, Richard, 125State, 242, 286, 299, 303, 307 seq.Stationers, I 58, 161-170 passim ; secCompanies.Stumpe, 99 ; see Clothier.Suckle calves, 47.Surgeons, see Barber-surgeons.Surgery, see Medicine.Tailor,.155, 181.Tanner, 185.Thatching, 61.Taylor, Randdll, 58.Teaching, 242, 265, 286 seq., 294 seq.Textile Trades, 9, 93-149 passim, 150 ;see Bleaching, Burling, Capitalism,Carding, Clothiers, Cotton, DomesticIndustry, Family Industry,Fuller, Gold and Silver, Knitting,Linen, Silk, Spinning, Spinner,Weaver, Wage-earner, Wages,INDEXWoollen, industrial organisation of,96 ; proportion of uomen's labour,93 sey.; 97 sq., 114, I33 seq, 292 ;proportron of children's labour, 108,112, 114, I 16, 133 sey. ; women'sposition in, 93 up., 95, 146.Thierry, Rachel, IOO seq.Thornton, Mrs. Alice, 16.Tiverton, 227.Tobacco-pipe makers, 192.Torksey, 222.Trades, see Crafts, Provision, RetailTextile ; women's occupation in, 10,'46, 293.Turbeville, Mrs. Mary, 258 seq.Vantrollier (wife of Thos.), 163.Verney, Lady, 20 ; Sir Edmund, I g ;Sir Ralph, 15, 20, 258.Vintners, 209, 233 seq.Village Community, 56, 253 ; disintegrationof, 148 ; vigorous stockof, 42; women's intuence in, 148.Vives, 37.Wage-earner, 4, 6, 64-92 passim, 99 ;see Agriculture, Birth-rate, Butcher,Capitalism, Children, InfantMortality, Journeyman, Marriage,Motherhood Spinning, Silk, TextileManufactures, Wages, Widow,Wife, Woollen ; dejnztion of, 43,65 ; children of, 86 seq. ; class ofundesirables, 90 ;, combinatiotz among,121-124 passfnz, 298, 301 ;family iricome, 65-69 passim, 71,79 seq., 178 ; insolzlency, 80-92passim, 129, 146-149, 209, 293;numbers of, 4, 90 seq., 305 ; ~ifeof, 9 sq., 76-89 passtm, 23; ; herearning capccity, 68 seq., 89, 92,147 sq., 209, 292 ; her rirrualexclttsion from skilled-trades, 298.Wages, 35, 59. 65, 100, 301; seeBrewing, Carpenters, Doctors,IIusbandmen, Linen, Nurse (sick),Midwife, Miller, Poor, Spinning,Silk, IVoo!len ; asacssments, 50,59 seq., 62, 65-67 passim, 72, 83,90, 210, 293 di erenre betweenfamily and indtvidlial rcaces, 7, 296,299 ; day laborirers, men, 9. (6, 60-62 passim, 65 sq., 96 ;, day lnbourers,women, 9, 60-66 passrm, 68, 72, 89 ;servants, mm, 50, 56, 65 SPq. ;

INDEXsmants, women( 50,65,157 ; mamednun, 65 seq., not expected to keepfamily, 12, 86, 90, 293 ; relatidn tocart oflioinq, 10, 68 seq., 79 seq., 83,89, 95, 130, 134-137 passim, 145,178 ; women's, do not represent valueof tbeir work, 64 137, 145, 291 seq.,304.Weaver, I 55, 259 ; see Apprentices,assault women, 126 ; complaintsagainst clothiers, r 14 I 17-123pasnm,domestic purposes, 40, 64, 125 ;linen, 18, 124 seq., 128, 136;women, 129; when, 18, 99, 1x1,116; women, 102-106, 145; forbiddento wcaw clotb, 103 ; W&,103 re* ; ribbm and tape ; 104 ;silk, 138, 141 ; Wages, 120, 149.Webber, roz, 221,; see Weaver.Webster, 102, I 55, 221 j see Weaver.veerling, 62, 89.Wet-nurse, 26, 58.Whipping dogs out of Church, 63.Whit-awers, 191.Winchcornbe, John, 99.Winnowing, 49.Widow, 29, 33, 45, 86, loo, 122, 129,1371 156, 171, 177,' 789 Se9.r '9.5,zoo, 201, 204 seq., 29, 213, 216,218, 227, 230, 249-252 passim,264,268 ; see Apprentices, Housing,Journeymen, Poor ReSef, Weaver ;dependence on journeymen, 185, 189,req., 261 ; menrbersbip in latrbusbadsgild, 160seq., 168, 174,176 seq., 179 =q., 183, -185, 187,233 seq., 261, 298 ; penswns to, 69,seq. 170; of soldiers, 248 seq.swcession to latr bus6and's business,I 1, 30-34 passim, 104, sq., I 51,154 seq., 160-163 passfm, 167-173passim, 188 seq., 215, 217, 221, 293.Wife, 45, 70, 216, 237, 280 ; see Alehouse,bake^, Business, Capitalist,Dairy, Doctor, Domestic, Farmer,Household Management, Husbandman,Journeyman, Mother,Pig-keeping, Poultry-keeping, Shopkeeper, Sick nursing, Spinning,Wage-earner ; economic posrtion of,I I, 292 ; mcmbersbip in busband'rgild, 150, 160, 171 seq., 179 seq.,191, 261, jor ; mutual dependenceof busband and W*,54 seq., 300-302 polsim ; paupertsatwnOf W+, 92, 147, 149; wifeprowides food and clothes for family,12 seq., 39, 60, 63, 90, 94, seq., '06,112, 125 137, 145, 291, 293, 304 iseparate business, 17, 40, 151-156passim, 165,175-178 pmim, 194 pq.,202 Stq., 206, 208, 214, 219, 221,228 seq., 231 ; settlement, 80-89passim ; soldier's wife, 142 ; sub~ectionto buiband, 16, 35141? 45, 197, 240,302-304 passim ;workang m busband'rbusiness, 29, 34 seq., 40 sq., 45, 95,100-102 passam, I@, 151, 153-159passim, 163, 172 seq., 175, 184-187passim, 192 scq., 196 seq., 202, sq.,zrz,215 seq., 220, seq., 229, 234 seq.293 seq., 302.Woollen manufacture, 42, gq, 97-124 passim, 126, 129, 138 ; seeClothiers, Drapers, Poor, Spinning,Weaver; capitalistic, 94, 96 seq.,123 seq., 147; domestic, 49, 106 ;family, 97, 106 ; dependence onwomen's and children's labour, 97 seq.I xt. 114 ; j'uctuations in trade,98 seq., IIO seq., I 18-122 passim,147 seq. ; instruction in, I ro seq.,men and women wage-earners uniteik trade disputes, I 16-123 passim ;political power, 126; wages for~pinning, 49, 95-97 pasS!m, 100,108 seq., 113-118 passmm, 120,122 seq., 124, 134 seq., 137;women's position in, 98, 102 seq.,106, 124 ; wool-comberr, I 5sWycher'ey, 3, 37.Yeoman, 9, 50, 76, go.York, 212.12, 41, @,9,

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