Although in official records the subject of this story was almost always named as Roger Acheley, to the Drapers’ Company of the City of London he was usually known as Roger Achilley. It was under this name that Roger’s admission to the freedom of the Drapers’ Company was recorded in 1479. Having gained his freedom, by serving an apprenticeship under William Browne (probably of seven years duration but possibly more), Roger was at liberty to pursue his chosen profession within the City. But what was the Drapers’ Company, and what did Roger’s occupation as a draper entail?
The Drapers’ Company is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. These Companies developed as trade guilds although, as the Drapers’ Company website explains: “Early guilds or companies of the City of London acted as mutual protection societies providing a fraternity for their members and the trading aspects were not at first apparent. They had no common meeting house, and usually gathered in a neighbouring church, monastery or hospital, whose saint they adopted as patron. In the 14th century, they began to obtain Charters from the Crown, which gave them formal constitutions and rights to hold property, and defined their duties and responsibilities.”
The Drapers’ Company itself seems to have had its origins in “an informal association of drapers [which] existed as early as 1180.” Its official foundation took place in 1361, probably with a view to seeking protection for those engaged in the craft or ‘mystery’ of drapery. This seems to be borne out by the Royal Charter granted to the Company in 1364. A proclamation issued by the Sheriffs of London, setting out the basis for and content of the Charter, said this in its preamble:
It had been shewn to the king in council that persons of divers mysteries in the city of London, intermixed themselves with the mystery of drapery, and practised divers deceits and frauds in their use of the said mystery, to the great damage of the king and his people, and contrary to the said ordinance—It in consequence orders and grants that none do use the mystery of drapery in the city of London, or suburbs of the same, who have not been apprenticed to the said mystery, or in other way obtained the consent of the said mystery. And that each of the mysteries of tenterers, tellers, and fullers, confine themselves to their own mysteries, and in no manner intermix themselves, or interfere with the making, buying, or selling, of any manner of cloth or drapery, on pain of imprisonment, and the loss of all cloth so by them made, bought, or sold, or its value, to the king’s use. Further, that none having cloth to sell in the city or suburbs, do sell it in the way of free drapers of the said mystery of drapery, either by wholesale as owners, or otherwise; and that the same be allowed to be bought only in gross by the said dealers, and not by retail.
A Charter of Incorporation, which recognised the Company as a legal corporate fraternity, was received in 1438. The Company then became the first corporate body to be granted a coat of arms. (The photograph above shows a modern version of the arms, with crest, motto and lion supporters, affixed to the exterior of the Drapers’ Hall in London.)
By 1515 there were 48 Livery Companies in London, and disputes arose as to their order of precedence when civic ceremonies took place. This was settled by the Corporation of the City of London, on the basis of the Companies’ economic or political power. The Drapers’ Company was placed third – an indication of the status it had acquired by the time when Roger Acheley was alive – and consequently became one of the ‘Great Twelve City Livery Companies’.
Roger Acheley was made a ‘free draper’ in London at a very opportune time. Not only did the drapers have well-established rights to make, buy and sell cloth (which was primarily woollen rather than linen) in the capital, the city itself was becoming the main centre for England’s rising cloth exports to the continent. To quote from the 2001 PhD thesis of Eleanor Quinton (The Drapers and the Drapery Trade of Late Medieval London. c.1300-c.1500): “Between 1420 and 1460, London’ share of cloth exports averaged around 40% of England’s total; between 1460 and 1520, it was between 60 and 70% of the total.” (These figures were derived from Margaret Bonney’s excellent 1992 paper, The English medieval wool and cloth trade: new approaches for the local historian.)
There are no records that I know of which show specifically what cloths Roger Acheley traded in, or with whom he traded. However, some indication of the quality of the materials and clothing Roger had access to can be obtained from a record of the church of St Christopher le Stocks: “A Vestement of purpull velvet, wt orpharies of Brudges werke and said Vestment full of fleur-de-lys of gold, wt ye albe and all thereto belongyng, gyvyen by Mr. Roger Atcheley late Mayor of London, 1st day of Novbr, 1513.”
I suspect Roger was involved in both exporting and importing cloth, and buying from and selling to the domestic market in London. Blackwell Hall was probably a place often frequented by Roger, as a major source of cloth which could be sold on directly or perhaps worked on further before resale. Blackwell Hall had been acquired for the City in 1395 to serve as a market place “for sorts of wollen cloths broade and narrow, brought from all partes of this realme, there to be solde”. (The illustration here shows a later incarnation of Blackwell Hall, which burned down twice during the years following Roger Acheley’s death.) According to Christine Fox (writing in A History of Bassishaw Ward c. 1200 – c. 1600):
The then Mayor Richard Whittington provided the market with regulators and keeper was appointed from the Drapers’ Company to run the market. The Drapers were the main merchants who dealt with the marketing of cloth in London. Rural producers brought their cloth to the city to be traded and shipped to all parts of Europe. The hall and its undercroft would have been an ideal location for storing and displaying goods. The space itself has been estimated to have measured about 860 meters squared and the garden space has been thought to have been metalled over for easy access for carts.
Meanwhile, in Textile Manufactures in Early Modern England, Eric Kerridge noted that:
In London, cloths were sold at Bartholomew’s Fair in West Smithfield. Otherwise the stipulated place of sale for carded woollens was Blackwell Hall in Basinghall Street. It was open for sales from Thursday noon until Saturday morning. In the hall, clothiers and dealers could trade directly with members of the clothworkers’ drapers’, mercers’ and other companies, and with merchants who adventured capital in overseas traffic.
Having been admitted to the freedom of the Drapers’ Company by servitude, Roger Acheley in turn took on a number of apprentices himself. The ROLLCO website (Records of London’s Livery Companies Online) has indexed the apprenticeship records of the Drapers’ Company, and this allows us to see who Roger’s apprentices were. Over the course of more than 30 years, the following men had Roger as their Master:
1485 – Thomas Villers became a new apprentice of Rog Achilly. Thomas gained his freedom, by servitude, in 1487, having served a remarkably short apprenticeship.
1494 – John Lowes became a new apprentice of Roger Achilley. I have found no record of John gaining his freedom.
1497 – John Cabage became a new apprentice of Roger Achilley. I have found no record of John gaining his freedom.
1500 – Anthony Menell became a new apprentice of Roger Achilley. Anthony gained his freedom, by servitude, in 1513. A very long period of servitude compared with the two year apprenticeship of Thomas Villers!
1514 – Thomas Upton became a freeman by servitude (Master: Rog Achilley). I have found no record showing when Thomas’s apprenticeship began. Thomas was named as Roger’s servant in Roger’s will of 1515.
1514 – Richard Fletcher became a freeman by servitude (Master: Achilley, Ald [= Alderman]). I have found no record showing when Richard’s apprenticeship began.
1514 – Thomas Ward became a new apprentice of Rog Achilley. Thomas Warde was named as Roger’s apprentice in Roger’s will of 1515. Probably the Thomas Ward who gained his freedom by servitude in 1522 under a different Master, Tho Carter (also of the Drapers’ Company).
1516 – Edmund Cave became a new apprentice of Roger Achilley, Ald [= Alderman]. Probably the Edmund Cave who gained his freedom by servitude in 1525 under a different Master, Robert Warner (also of the Drapers’ Company and possibly related to Roger by marriage).
1517 – Robert Donyngh became a freeman by servitude (Master: Roger Achilley, Ald [= Alderman]). I have found no record showing when Richard’s apprenticeship began.
Apprenticeships came at a cost of course. William Herbert, in his History of the Worshipful Company of Drapers of London (1837), published details of these fees as part of his investigation of the Warden’s accounts. These accounts also give an overview of the fortunes of the Drapers’ Company before and after the time when Roger completed his apprenticeship, along with some insights into its customs:
The state and increase of the company are shewn by the entries of the first few years:—In 1476 the apprentices admitted amount to twenty-three, and the fee to 3s. 4d. each. The quarterage from seventy-one members is 3l. 11s., and only 16s. is collected from fifty-one of the fraternity towards the minstrels. The rest of the receipts consist of small sums for fines, redemptions, admissions to the livery, and on other accounts: the whole year’s expences (consisting of twenty-one items) amount but to 34l.1s. 1d. […] Five years afterwards, [1481,] the apprentice fees rise from 3s. 4d. to 13s. 4d. each: the amount from twenty-four of them being 16l., and the admission fee on the livery (before 2s.) in some instances as high as 4l.6s. 8d. In 1498 the apprentices are thirty-five, one of whom pays 20s. In succeeding years there is a like progressive advancement.
“Admissions to the livery”? Money collected “towards the minstrels”? I have mentioned that the Drapers’ Company was one of London’s Livery Companies – the term livery “originated in the specific form of dress worn to retainers of a nobleman and then by extension to special dress to denote status of belonging to a trade.” Those who were, like Roger Acheley, admitted to the freedom of the Company had to pay a separate fee to be ‘admitted to the livery’. Once more I turn to William Herbert and his work on the Drapers’ Company:
1493. This year was a general numbering of the company. It was found to amount in the whole to 289, viz.: “Of the craft of Drapers in the clothing” or livery, 114, including the master and four wardens; “of the Broderhode oute of the clothing,” or freemen, 115; and “of the Bachelors’ Company,” 60. The list of livery of the “craft in the clothing,” comprises several names afterwards eminent in civic history. The master and wardens were all aldermen, and on the court; and amongst the livery were […] Roger Achilly, mayor, 1511”.
Liverymen in the reign of King James I.
As for the minstrels, well, the drapers liked to be entertained. They also liked to have feasts, and with the other Companies they were often summoned “to add to the splendour” of royal occasions in the City. There is more to tell regarding Roger Acheley, and pomp and pageantry of the Drapers’ Company.
Picture credits. Arms of the Drapers’ Company, at Drapers’ Hall: Adapted from a photo © Copyright Christopher Hilton, taken from Geograph and used, and made available for reuse, under a Creative Commons licence. Blackwell Hall in 1812: Adapted from an illustration in Old and New London, published 1887 and therefore out of copyright; sourced from Wikimedia Commons. Liverymen in the reign of King James I: Adapted from an illustration in The History of the twelve great Livery Companies of London, published 1837 and therefore out of copyright; sourced from the British Library Flickr photostream.
References
[1] Event Details (for Roger Achilley). At: Records of London’s Livery Companies Online (website, accessed 29 Jul 2017).
[2] About Records of London’s Livery Companies Online (ROLLCO). At: Records of London’s Livery Companies Online (website, accessed 29 Jul 2017).
[3] The Origins of the Company. At: The Drapers’ Company website (accessed 29 Jul 2017).
[4] Worshipful Company of Drapers. At: Wikipedia (website, accessed 29 Jul 2017).
[5] Livery company. At: Wikipedia (website, accessed 29 Jul 2017).
[6] William Herbert (1837), History of the Worshipful Company of Drapers of London. Pages 399-400, 404 and 406. Copy viewed at Google Books.
[7] Roze Hentschell (2016),The Culture of Cloth in Early Modern England. Copy previewed at Google Books.
[8] Eleanor Jane Powys Quinton (2001), The Drapers and the Drapery Trade of Late Medieval London. c.1300-c.1500. Thesis downloaded from the British Library e-theses online service (EThOS).
[9] Margaret Bonney (1992), The English medieval wool and cloth trade: new approaches for the local historian. In: The Local Historian, volume 22, no. 1, page 18 et seq. Copy downloaded from the British Association of Local History website.
[10] Edwin Freshfield (ed.) (1876), Minutes of the Vestry Meetings and Other Records of The Parish of St. Christopher le Stocks. Page 67. Copies viewed at Google Books and the Hathi Trust website.
[11] Christine M Fox (2014), A History of Bassishaw Ward c. 1200 – c. 1600. Copy previewed at Google Books.
[12] Eric Kerridge (1988),Textile Manufactures in Early Modern England. Page 16. Copy previewed at Google Books.
[13] Event Details (for Thomas Villers). At: Records of London’s Livery Companies Online (website, accessed 30 Jul 2017).
[14] Event Details (for Thomas Villers). At: Records of London’s Livery Companies Online (website, accessed 30 Jul 2017).
[15] Event Details (for John Lowes). At: Records of London’s Livery Companies Online (website, accessed 30 Jul 2017).
[16] Event Details (for John Cabage). At: Records of London’s Livery Companies Online (website, accessed 30 Jul 2017).
[17] Event Details (for Anthony Menell). At: Records of London’s Livery Companies Online (website, accessed 30 Jul 2017).
[18] Event Details (for Anthony Menell). At: Records of London’s Livery Companies Online (website, accessed 30 Jul 2017).
[19] Event Details (for Thomas Upton). At: Records of London’s Livery Companies Online (website, accessed 30 Jul 2017).
[20] Event Details (for Richard Fletcher). At: Records of London’s Livery Companies Online (website, accessed 30 Jul 2017).
[21] The National Archives, Kew. Item ref PROB 11/21/225: Will of Roger Acheley, Alderman of London. Copy viewed at Ancestry – England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858. Also available from The National Archives website.
[22] Event Details (for Thomas Ward). At: Records of London’s Livery Companies Online (website, accessed 30 Jul 2017).
[23] Event Details (for Thomas Ward). At: Records of London’s Livery Companies Online (website, accessed 30 Jul 2017).
[24] Event Details (for Edmund Cave). At: Records of London’s Livery Companies Online (website, accessed 30 Jul 2017).
[25] Event Details (for Edmund Cave). At: Records of London’s Livery Companies Online (website, accessed 30 Jul 2017).
[26] Event Details (for Robert Donyngh). At: Records of London’s Livery Companies Online (website, accessed 30 Jul 2017).
