In 1275, a goldsmith was chief assay-master of the King's mint and
keeper of the exchange at London. The king gave the Goldsmiths'
Company the right of assay [determination of the quantity of gold
or silver in an object] and required that no vessels of gold or
silver should leave the maker's hands until they had been tested
by the wardens and stamped appropriately. In 1279, goldsmith
William Farrington bought the soke of the ward containing the
goldsmiths' shops. It remained in his family for 80 years. A
patent of 1327 empowered the guild to elect a properly qualified
governing body to superintend its affairs, and reform subjects of
just complaint. It also prescribed, as a safeguard against a
prevailing fraud and abuse, that all members of the trade should
have their standing in Cheapside or in the King's exchange, and
that no gold or silver should be manufactured for export, except
that which had been bought at the exchange or of the trade openly.
Some prices in London were: large wooden bedstead 18s., a small
bedstead 2s., a large chest for household items 2s., feather beds
2-3s., a table 1s., a chair 4-6d., cloth gown lined with fur 13-
20s., plain coats and overcoats 2-8s., caps 2-8d., a pair of pen-
cases with inkhorn 4d., a skin of parchment 1d., 24 sheets of
paper 6d, a carcass of beef 15s., a pig 4s., a swan 5s., and a
pheasant 4s. There was a problem with malefactors committing
offenses in London and avoiding its jurisdiction by escaping to
Southwark across the Thames.
Pages:
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367