Every week in London there was a folkmote at St. Paul's churchyard, where majority decision was a tradition. By 1032, it had lost much of its power to the husting [household assembly in Danish] court. The folkmoot then had responsibility for order and was the sole authority for proclaiming outlaws. It met three times a year at St. Paul's churchyard and there acclaimed the sheriff and justiciar, or if the king had chosen his officer, heard who was chosen and listened to his charge. It also yearly arranged the watch and dealt with risks of fire. It was divided into wards, each governed by an alderman who presided over the ward-mote, and represented his ward at the folk-mote. Each guild became a ward. The chief alderman was the portreeve. London paid one-eighth of all the taxes of England. Later in the towns, merchant guilds grew out of charity associations whose members were bound by oath to each other and got together for a guild feast every month. Some traders of these merchant guilds became so prosperous that they became landholders. Many market places were dominated by a merchant guild, which had a monopoly of the local trade. In the great mercantile towns all the land and houses would be held by merchants and their dependents, all freeholders were connected with a trade, and everyone who had a claim on public office or magistry would be a member of the guild. The merchant guild could admit into their guild country villeins, who became freemen if unclaimed by their lords for a year and a day. Every merchant who had made three long voyages on his own behalf and at his own cost ranked as a thegn. There were also some craft guilds composed of handicraftsmen or artisans. Escaped bonded agricultural workers, poor people, and traders without land migrated to towns to live, but were not citizens. Towns were largely self-sufficient, but salt and iron came from a distance. The King's established in every shire at least one town with a market place where purchases would be witnessed and a mint where reliable money was coined by a moneyer. There were eight moneyers in London. Coins were issued to be of value for only a couple of years. Then one had to exchange them for newly issued ones at a rate of about 10 old for 8 or 9 new. The difference constituted a tax. Roughly 10% of the people lived in towns. Some took surnames such as Tanner, Weaver, or Carpenter. Some had affectionate or derisive nicknames such as clear-hand, fresh friend, soft bread, foul beard, money taker, or penny purse. Craftsmen in the 1000s included goldsmiths, embroiderers, illuminators of manuscripts, and armorers.