Guilds -- England -- London; London (England) -- Description and travel; London (England) -- History
“Please it, the lord mayor, aldermen and common council, to enact, that
all Frenchmen bringing canvass, linen cloth, and other wares to be sold,
and all foreigners bringing wolsteds, sayes, Stamins, Kiverings, nails,
iron work, or any other wares, and also all manner of foreigners
bringing lead to the city to be sold, shall bring all such their wares
aforesaid to the open market of the Leaden Hall, there and no where else
to be sold and uttered, like as of old time it hath been used, upon pain
of forfeiture of all the said wares showed or sold in any other place
than aforesaid; the show of the said wares to be made three days in the
week, that is to say, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday; it is also thought
reasonable that the common beam be kept henceforth in the Leaden Hall,
and the farmer to pay therefore reasonable rent to the chamber; for
better it is that the chamber have advantage thereby than a foreign
person; and also the said Leaden Hall, which is more chargeable now by
half than profitable, shall better bear out the charges thereof; also
the common beam for wool at Leaden Hall, may yearly pay a rent to the
chamber of London, toward supportation and charges of the same place;
for reason it is, that a common office, occupied upon a common ground,
bear a charge to the use of the commonalty; also, that foreigners
bringing wools, felts, or any other merchandises or wares to Leaden
Hall, to be kept there for the sale and market, may pay more largely for
the keeping of their goods than free men” (Stow’s _Survey_, p. 164).
[Illustration:
SKIN MARKET, LEADENHALL, 1825
]
A granary was kept at Leaden Hall, the use of which depended entirely on
the forethought of the mayor. Thus, in 1512, Roger Acheley, the mayor,
found that there were not one hundred quarters of wheat in all the
garners of the City. He took immediate steps, and not only imported
wheat for present necessities, but also filled the granaries of the
City. Stow adds a note as to the activity of the mayor: “He kept the
market so well, that he would be at the Leaden Hall by four o’clock in
the summer mornings; and thence he went to other markets, to the great
comfort of the citizens.”
In 1529 a petition was presented by the Commons to the Common Council on
the uses to which Leaden Hall might be put. It should not be let out to
farm to any person or to any Company incorporate for any time of years,
and they proceeded to give their reasons.
About the year 1534 an effort was made to convert Leadenhall into a
Burse. This failed, and the Burse continued to be held in Lombard Street
until the building of the Royal Exchange. This is interesting, because
it shows that Gresham was not alone in desiring to have a convenient
building for the meeting of the merchants.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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