Many English migrated to London. There were ambitious young men
and women hopeful of betterment through employment,
apprenticeship, higher wages, or successful marriage. On the other
hand, there were subsistence migrants forced to leave their homes
for food, work, or somewhere to live. There was much social
mobility. For instance, between 1551 and 1553, of 881 persons
admitted as freemen of London, 46 were the sons of gentlemen, 136
the sons of yeomen, and 289 the sons of farm workers. London grew
in population about twice as fast as the nation. The fortunes of
landowners varied; some went into aristocratic debt by
ostentatiously spending on building, clothes, food, and drink, and
some became indebted by inefficient management. Some had to sell
their manors and dismiss their servants.
There are 26 wards of London as of 1550. This is the number for
the next four centuries. Each ward has an alderman, a clerk, and a
chief constable. There are also in each ward about 100 to 300
elected officials including prickers, benchers, blackbootmen,
fewellers [keepers of greyhounds], scribes, a halter-cutter,
introducers, upperspeakers, under speakers, butlers, porters,
inquestmen, scavengers, constables, watchmen, a beadle, jurymen,
and common councilmen. The wardmoot had inquest jurisdiction over
immorality or bad behavior such as vagrancy, delinquency,
illegitimacy, and disputes.
Pages:
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563