Each trade occupied
its own section of the town and every shop had its own signboard,
for instance, hat and cap sellers, cloth sellers, grocers,
butchers, cooks, taverns, and book-sellers. Many of the London
wards were associated with a craft, such as Candlewick Ward, Bread
St. Ward, Vintry Ward, and Cordwainer Ward. Some wards were
associated with their location in the city, such as Bridge Ward,
Tower Ward, Aldgate Ward, Queenhithe Ward, and Billingsgate Ward.
People lived at the back or on the second floor of their shops. In
the back yard, they grew vegetables such as melons, carrots,
turnips, cabbages, pumpkins, parsnips, and cucumbers; herbs; and
kept a pig. The pigs could still wander through the streets. Hyde
Park was the Queen's hunting ground. London had a small zoo of ten
animals, including a lion, tiger, lynx, and wolf.
London was England's greatest manufacturing city. By 1600 the
greatest trading companies in London ceased to be associated only
with their traditional goods and were dominated by merchants whose
main interest was in the cloth trade. Ambitious merchants joined a
livery company to become freemen of the city and for the status
and social benefits of membership. The companies still made
charitable endowments, had funeral feasts, cared for the welfare
of guild members, and made lavish displays of pageantry. They were
intimately involved with the government of the city.
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