In 1771 a 13-year-old boy was apprenticed to
Benj. Strutt, a barber, in Ipswich. As a
consequence on Thursday 28th June I was at a
Banquet at the Guildhall in London to celebrate
the 50oth Anniversary of the Worshipful Company
of Plaisterers, of which my husband and son are
both liverymen. Today's white tie and tails
occasion sounds grand but came from humble
beginnings - a barber and, in another branch of
the family, a carpenter.
But first a little about the Freedom of London
and the Livery Companies. Pre-nineteenth century
it was necessary for those who plied a trade or
made a living in the City of London to be freemen
of the City. Indeed that rule still applied to
senior ranks of the Corporation of London until
1987. Being a freeman gave one certain legal
privileges: exemption from market tolls, naval
press gangs and tolls on bringing animals into
the City; and the right to vote in parliamentary
and civic elections.
There are four ways of becoming a freeman of
the City: honorary, apprenticeship for seven
years to a master who was a freeman, patrimony (being
the son of a freeman) or redemption (purchasing
the freedom). Until 1835 to be a freeman of the
City one first had to be a freeman of a Livery
Company, and that is still the main route today.
The Livery Companies (also known as Worshipful
Companies) are the direct descendents of the old
medieval guilds that controlled trade and crafts
and protected their members' interests. They
often had a religious role before the reformation
in the sixteenth century. They acted as friendly
societies, looking after lively men on hard times
and their widows and orphans, and running
almshouses and schools such as the Merchant
Taylors' and Haberdashers' Aske's Schools, which
continue today. I sleep happier at night knowing
that I can claim £4 a year if widowed.
By the early nineteenth century few companies
retained their strong trade or occupational
links, although the past l00 years have seen an
increase in these associations. Today there are
100 Livery Companies. New companies, for example
Air Pilots and Air Navigators, reflect modern
life. The charitable and trade or craft functions
still remain. The Plaisterers Company, for
example, sponsors plastering competitions and
prizes among students, a musical prize at the
Guildhall School of Music (run by the Corporation
of London), and 'adopted' the Marines during the
Falklands War. Probably the main reasons for
joining a Livery Company today are networking in
the City or a profession (an architect friend
joined the Plumbers Company), social and
tradition (our son is the 6th generation spanning
nearly 200 years).
The intermingled stages are first to become a
freeman of a Livery Company, then to become a
freeman of the City of London, and finally to be
robed as a member of the Livery of the Company.
Most liverymen progress through the hierarchy to
become members of the court and in due course the
Master of the Company for a year. This has
happened to all members of my husband's family
except himself and his father who both lived and
worked overseas.
But to return to Stephen Spurling, the
barber's apprentice. We don't know when he moved
to London but he was living in Great Prescot
Street, Whitechapel, when he married in April
1783 and when he was buried in May 18041.
We also knew from the list of Masters at the
Plaisterers Hall that seven of his descendants
have been Masters in the Plaisterers Company
starting with his son John Henry in 1829. The
Guildhall Library holds many records and books of
this Companv and so we learnt that John Henry
became a freeman on 17,th March 1817. As John
Henry was charged £3 he joined by Redemption (patrimony
was £ i), as his father was not a member
of the Plaisterers.
We had not thought of Stephen being a freeman
of London until we noticed on an envelope among
my father-in-law's papers the words 'R. Spurling
of London, Barber, Freeman of City of London, 6
May 1783'. We first tried the Corporation of
London Record Office in the Guildhall complex
which keeps a record of the Freemen of the City.
The search can be very time consuming, as they
are only name indexed within each year. The
records start in 1309 and are complete from 1681
to 1940 except, unfortunately, for a 20-year gap
around 1783. Back at the Guildhall Library, we
found him in the records of the Worshipful
Company of Barbers2. Like the majority
of new members he was a barber. We then searched
the Apprenticeship records in the Society of
Genealogists and at the PRO, Kew and found his
servitude to Benj. Strutt of Ipswich for a
consideration of five guineas3.
Stephen was born near Ipswich and moved with
his parents to Dedham in Essex in 17624.
As a general rule, an ancestor was probably a
freeman if he lived in the City or if he is
described as 'a citizen and [something] of
London'. But why did Stephen who lived in
Whitechapel from 1783 to 18035 become
a freeman of London? We have not found him in the
Boyd's Citizens of London or Directories of
London for the period but suspect that he may
have practised his craft in the City. Certainly
he must have been fairly successful as he left
the equivalent of £126,000 in today's money. In
addition we know from family letters that several
of his great grandchildren remembered a story
that his son John Henry was advised to go into
the Stock Exchange by Mr. Salomon whose hair he
was cutting. In fact the advice was so important
that a photo or engraving of Mr. Salomon in robes
hung at their grandfather's home. The SE
Registers at the Guildhall Library are a
fantastic resource as they include the annual
application forms with home and business
addresses, banker, partners and clerks. What more
can one ask for? In 1804, the year after of his
father's death, John Henry was the clerk to
Nathan Salomon of the Stock Exchange. In 1809
Nathan did not reapply and in 1810 John Henry
joined the Stock Exchange. His son and several
grandsons followed him into the Stock Exchange
and into the Worshipful Company of Plaisterers.
The Livery Company records provide a wealth of
information about the liveryman and his progress
up to Master. For example, in 1858 Henry Mott,
clerk to the Plaisterers Company, wrote to John
Henry's son Pereival: ' ... I was requested at
the last court to ascertain whether it would be
agreeable to you to serve the office of Renter
Warden. The duties appertaining to it are very
trifling and the court meets for one hour for the
dispatch of business but six times a year........
6 Haven't we all been told on being
asked to do a job that the duties are very
trifling and the meetings short? In 1966 the
current clerk who was Henry Mott's grandson
welcomed to the Company Pereival's great
grandson, Andrew. In another twist of fate the
Chamberlain who swore in Andrew as a freeman of
London was Charles Richard Whittington. We didn't
ask if he had a cat.
References
1 London Metropolitan Archives m/f marriage X024/099,
burial X24/113
2 Guildhall Library, Monthly Court Meeting of
the Barbers' Company 6 May 1783 MS 5257, Vol. 11
(1778-1803).
3 Society of Genealogists, The Apprentices of
Great Britain 17631774 Vol. 6 Book Folio 58/21.
4 Essex Record Office, Dedham Poor Law
Settlement records D/P 26/13/1, and Essex Family
History Society m/f Index to Poor Law Settlement
Papers.
5 London Metropolitan Archives, Tithe books P93/MRY1/202
6 Guildhall Library Plasterers Company Clerks
Letter Book 184483, Ms 6130
Further reading:
Vivienne E Aldous, My Ancestors were
Freemen of the City of London, Society of
Genealogists, 1999
Research Guide 1: City Freedom. Corporation
of London Records Office Archives, 1996
Handbook for Information and Use of
Liverymen of the Worshipful Company of
Plaisterers of the City of London, 1985
The Livery Companies of the City of London,
Corporation of London
