Great Britain -- Economic conditions; Great Britain -- Social conditions
And it is further enacted by like authority, that no person which after
the said feast shall use, exercise or occupy the feat or mistery of a
tucker or fuller, shall during the time that he shall so use the said
feat or mistery, keep or have any loom in his house or possession, or
shall directly or indirectly take any profit or commodity by the same,
upon pain to forfeit for every week 20s.
And it is further ordained and enacted by like authority, that no person
whatsoever, which heretofore hath not used or exercised the feat,
mistery or art of clothmaking, shall after the said feast, make or weave
or cause to be made or woven any kind of broad white woollen cloths, but
only in a city, borough, town corporate or market town, or else in such
place or places where such cloths have been used to be commonly made by
the space of ten years next before the making this act; upon pain of
forfeiture for every cloth otherwise made five pounds.
Provided always and be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid,
that it shall not be lawful to any person or persons being a weaver, or
that doth or shall use the art or mistery of a weaver or weaving,
dwelling out of a city, borough, town corporate or market town, to have
in his and their service any more or above the number of two apprentices
at one time; upon pain to forfeit for every time that he shall offend or
do contrary to this branch or article the sum of ten pounds.
And further be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, that it shall not
be lawful to or for any person or persons to set up the art or mistery
of weaving, after the said feast of St. Michael, unless the same person
or persons so setting up the same art or mistery of weaving, have been
apprentice to the same art or mistery, or exercised the same, by the
space of 7 years at the least; upon pain of twenty pounds to be
forfeited to the King and Queen's Majesties, her Grace's heirs or
successors, the one moiety of all which forfeitures shall be to the King
and Queen's Highnesses, heirs [and] successors, and the other moiety to
him or them that will sue for the same in any court of record by action
of debt, bill, plaint or information, wherein no wager of law, essoigne
or protection shall be admitted or allowed for the defendant.
... Provided always, and be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, that
this act or anything therein contained shall [not] in any way extend or
be prejudicial to any person or persons that doth or shall dwell in the
counties of York, Cumberland, Northumberland or Westmoreland; but that
they and every of them shall and may have and keep looms in their
houses, and do and exercise all and every thing and things for or
concerning spinning, weaving, cloth working and clothmaking in the said
counties, as they or any of them might have done or exercised lawfully
before the making of this statute; anything contained in this statute to
the contrary in any way notwithstanding.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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