In the last few months we have had a whole stream of workmen either in the house or the garden. We have had a painter, gas fitter, electrician, fireplace fitters, joiners, builders, plasterer, tiler, tree surgeon, fencer, man to dig a hole, concrete mixer man and a whole team laying it. Some of them we got to know very well, just how they liked their tea or coffee, and one man (who was with us for a long time) ate one packet of chocolate Hobnobs A DAY ! But apart from that I have greatly admired their skills. They all could do jobs I could never do, and to a very high standard indeed. They are all very skilled in their individual trades. So this month's blog is a reflection upon skilled tradesmen and women. Skilled workers make the world work and we cannot do without them. I still have more expected next month ! Then we will call a halt to our projects for the winter. Now you see it ....... a very large willow which was too close to a fence and was pushing it over. I will say that it did not have a tree preservation order on it and we did contact the local authority to check this and inform them that it was coming down. Almost gone .... Liam in action. Gone ! And all chopped up and taken away. This is where the greenhouse will be. But first the fence. Neither fence belongs to us, but a joint venture with one neighbour has led to a new fence. This took Denzil and his chum two days. Meanwhile in the house we were camping with a kettle and a microwave. And outside ........ I did volunteer to barrow some of the concrete but there was a whole team of shifters. I can't wait for the greenhouse to arrive. Lots of very skilled people who have all acquired a trade. Looking back in time most who wanted a trade would have been apprenticed. The apprenticeship system is very old indeed. In the Middle Ages it was common for families of all ranks of society to send out their children to live and work in other people's homes. It was also usual to pay the Master or Mistress of the household some money as a token for the care they would give. By the mid 14th century the "Custom of London" was more widely recognised and followed the pattern of an apprenticeship for a set number of years with a premium paid by the family of the young person. In the City of London registers were kept and strict rules about the expected behaviour of apprentices from the 14th century onwards. Different occupations and trades developed Gilds [or Guilds either will do] and Companies who kept their own registers of apprentices and in London this allowed the apprentice to eventually have trading rights and become a Citizen of London. Different occupational gilds and companies had their own premises, such places as a Clothworker's Hall, Goldsmith's Hall etc This is the Merchant Taylor's Hall in York. I walk past it every week. The company was formed in 1662 but the origins go back to three medieval gilds of Tailors, Drapers and Hosiers. The coat of arms above the fireplace are of the London Draper's Company. An Apprentice would have an indenture. Any document that has a wavy line at the top or bottom is an indenture. Two copies were made on the same piece of parchment then cut apart with a knife in a wavy or indented line, so that when the two were brought together again they fitted and you knew that one was not a forgery. The apprenticeship indenture would name the apprentice and possibly where he or she had come from and their parents, the name of the master or mistress and the trade to which they were being apprenticed, and the number of years (this could vary). Also each side made promises. The master or mistress had to teach the secrets of the trade, but the apprentice had to promise to keep those secrets and do no damage to his master's business. The master had to promise to keep the apprentice in sufficient meat, drink, board and lodging; the apprentice had to promise not to gamble or go to theatres. A fee was paid by the apprentice or his family and this was stated, and in some cases, when the apprentice had served their full term they were given one or two suits of clothes and some tools of the trade. They could then serve as a Journeyman, earning a day wage, and eventually become a Master in that trade. Samuel Richardson wrote "The Apprentice's Vade Mecum" (a handy guide) in 1734 outling how an apprentice should behave. He shall not commit fornication nor contract marriage within the said term ... he shall not play at cards, dice, tables or other unlawful games ... he shall not haunt taverns or playhouses.... This is a Trade Card from the collection at the British Museum. One of many collected by Ambrose Heal, (creative commons). Once someone was in a trade or profession they had to advertise who they were. We see swinging signs above pubs, but once all shops had signs as well for the illiterate public to identify premises. Few now survive except for the barber's striped pole, the pawnbroker's three balls, but the ironmonger would have put up a kettle or pan, the hatter a hat etc etc. By the time more could read and write Trade Cards were issued such as the one above. They are very creative in their designs and beautifully engraved. The cutler above used the sign of an elephant, probably because he used ivory (poor elephant). In 1563 an Act of Parliament called the Statute of Artificers regulated apprenticeships. From this date it limited the number of apprentices a master or mistress could take, no more than three, made the indenture obligatory and made it illegal to enter a trade or occupation without first serving an apprenticeship. Tax records can be a great help to historians. In the reign of Queen Ann, when foreign wars were costing too much, a tax was imposed on the Apprenticeship premium, the Master or Mistress paying 6d in every £ they received up to a premium of £50 and 1s in the £ thereafter. This means that records were kept of apprenticeships. Above is a snippet which tells us that in 1744 Paul Sturdy, a joiner in Middleham, took James Digby, son of Ann Digby, as an apprentice for seven years. The Apprenticeship fee Ann would have paid was £6. Paul Sturdy then took further apprentices, presumably once one had served his time he then took another. In 1753 Paul Sturdy took William Topham as an apprentice for seven years, this time the fee was one guinea, perhaps he was not living in. William later went to London and died in Southwark, both he and Paul Sturdy were Roman Catholics at a time when it was still extremely risky. And then in 1764 Paul Sturdy took William Wilson as an apprentice for six years and seven months for five guineas. Apprenticeship records can explain how and why people moved from one place to another. A whole series of young people moved to London as one was apprenticed, and then when he became a master in his own right took apprentices from his home parish. Of course it did not always turn out well. Some apprentices were unhappy, away from home, some were abused, and many ran away. I am always interested in physical descriptions of people, and runaway apprentices were advertised in newspapers. Newcastle Courant 30 June 1787. Stop Bookbiner's Apprentice Run Away. On Sunday the 17th instant Thomas Orton, an indentured Apprentice to Thomas Brown of this town, run away, and was seen at Darlington last week. He is 18 years of age, about five feet six inches high, rather stout made, fair complexion, with dark red hair, sometimes tied behind; had on when he went away, a round hat and buckle, corduroy breeches and white stockings, all little worse than new. All person whom it may concern are desired to take notice, that whoever will harbour or comply the said Thomas Orton, after publication thereof, will be rigourously prosecuted by the said Thomas Brown; on the other hand will be thankful to any one that shall give him such information concerning his runaway apprentice..... This picture from the ArtUK website is called "By Hammer and Hand all arts doth stand" by William Banks Fortescue 1850 - 1924 at the Penlee House Gallery and Museum.
So next time you employ a workman or woman to service your boiler or fix your car or whatever it may be, think of the long history of learning a skilled trade. Oh it all makes work for the working man to do - and if you are wondering where this quote came from look up the words of the song "The Gas Man Cometh" by Michael Flanders and Donald Swann and you will be humming it for the rest of the day !
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AuthorThis is where you can share creativity with me. I believe that everyone has something creative within them, and it is a joy to find ways of being creative. Blogging is NEW to me, so here goes ..... Archives
January 2024
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