I find in the Report of the Historical Manuscripts Commission that there were five companies of the guild Mercatory at Reading. Originally these companies were separate institutions, which managed their own concerns, and were not concerned with the Municipal Government of the town. There were five wards, each ward having a trade guild attached to it. In course of time the guilds united for common purposes and formed the guild Mercatory, which asked and received charters from various kings, gradually acquired powers, privileges, lands, and property, and ultimately managed the whole municipal business, as well as their own trade concerns. In regard to these guilds the first was the mercers' and drapers' company, which included the mercers, drapers, haberdashers, potuaries (or dealers in earthenware), chapmen, tailors, and cloth-drawers. Of course no one was allowed to engage in any of these trades until he became a member of the guild; and to become a member he had to pay. The fines for admission varied from £4 for a mercer or draper, to £2 for a tailor. Very minute were the regulations of each guild. For example in this case, no "foreigner," not a member of the guild, was allowed to retail cloth in the town; for each offence he was required to pay 10s. One tradesman might not trespass on the privileges of another tradesman, for no mercer or tailor might retail cloth or woven hose, under penalty of 3s. 4d. each time, for that would interfere with the cloth-makers and haberdashers. No tailor might employ a journeyman to work except he gave him meat, drink, wages, and lodgings in his own house. Here is a curious regulation--no haberdasher, not being a freeman, was allowed to sell caps or hats (except straw hats) on forfeiture of 12d. The second company was the cutlers and bell-founders company, which included seventeen other trades; besides cutlers and bell-founders, there were braziers, pewterers, smiths, pinners, barbers, carpenters, joiners, fletchers (arrow-makers), wheelers, basket-makers, coopers, sawyers, bricklayers, card-makers (_i.e._, wool combers' cards), turners, plumbers, painters, and glaziers. The barbers were subject to special regulations. No barber who was a stranger was allowed to draw teeth in any part of the town except in a barber's shop; and any barber shaving, trimming, dressing, or cutting any person on Sunday, except on the four fair days, should forfeit for each time, 12d.