Men went to taverns for camaraderie and to conduct
business. Women usually went to taverns with each other. Two
taverns in particular were popular with the intelligentsia. Music
was usually played in the background and games were sometimes
played. Beer made with hops and malt was introduced and soon there
were beer drinking contests. Drunkenness became a problem.
At night, the gates of the city were closed and citizens were
expected to hang out lanterns. The constable and his watchmen
carried lanterns and patrolled the streets asking anyone they saw
why they were out so late at night. Crime was rampant in the
streets and criminals were executed near to the crime scene.
There were a few horse-drawn coaches with leather flaps or
curtains in the unglazed windows to keep out the weather. The main
thoroughfare in London was still the Thames River. Nobles, peers,
and dignitaries living on the Thames had their own boats and
landings. Also at the banks, merchants of all nations had landing
places where ships unloaded, warehouses, and cellars for goods and
merchandise. Swans swam in the clear bright water. Watermen rowed
people across the Thames for a fee. In Southwark were theaters,
outlaws, cutpurses, prostitutes, and prisons. In 1550 Southwark
became the 26th and last ward of the city. In the summer, people
ate supper outside in public.
As of old times, brokers approved by the Mayor and aldermen made
contracts with merchants concerning their wares.
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