History of the incorporation of cordiners in Glasgow

Preface

S'

OMETIME ago the question of preparing a )^^ History of the Incorporation of Cordiners in Glasgow was brought before the Master Court of that Incorporation. The idea having been favourably entertained, it was suggested that, as I had already made some inquiries into various matters connected with the Craft which would find a place in such a history, I should undertake the additional labour which might be necessary. Yielding to this suggestion, I forthwith set about the requisite preliminary investigations. On discovering that the Incorporation had no minute books prior to 1758 I was somewhat discouraged, as it appeared to me that, under these circumstances, the preparation of the history would not be of such a satisfactory kind as might be desired. However, having once entered upon the v/ork, I was very unwilling to give up and vi Preface.

admit a failure. Determined to avert such a result, I put my hand to the plough, entered upon the task of ferreting out old Acts of Parliament and historical works, and then proceeded with the compilation, which, I trust — keeping in view the scanty materials I had at my command — may not fail to accomplish the object contemplated.

In the course of arranging the work on proof, it appeared to be expedient to incorporate several of the chapters mentioned in the prospectus with others, thus lessening the number of chapters without shortening the number of pages. Since the prospectus was issued, a new chapter has been added dealing with the union between Scotland and England, a subject which at the time very much engrossed the attention of the craftsmen of Glasgow and other towns.

I have here to express my indebtedness to the old Burgh Records, Mr. Crawfurd's " Sketch of the Trades' House," Dr. Strang's " Glasgow and its Clubs," and other works, for many facts appearing in the following pages. I often wished, during the compilation, that I had had the faith of the shoemaker who, during the reign of a King of Persia, removed a mountain by a holy harangue. Not

Preface. vii

being possessed of this rare gift, I nevertheless trust I have, in a measure, been successful in dispersing the mists which, to a considerable extent, obscured the view of the past history of the Incorporation. The present state of its affairs has been given with as much fulness of detail as will be thought necessary or desirable.

No claim of a literary kind is put forth on behalf of the work, my sole object having been to give a plain and unvarnished history of the Cordiner craftsmen, and in some measure, of the other craftsmen. If the following pages should accomplish this desirable end, and form a guide or handbook to the Cordiners, as well as to the other craftsmen, no one Avill be more pleased than the present writer.

W. CAMPBELL.

227 Bath Street, Glasgow, February, 1S83

Table Of Contents

PAGE

I. Rise and Progress of Glasgow and its Craftsmen, . i

II. CraftsmenJAssociated and Incorporated — Explanation

Appendix

I. Table of Scots Money, showing its equivalent in

Sterling Money, 243

II. Regulations of the Cordiners, 27th June, 1460, . 243

III. Seal of Cause of the Cordiners, 27th February, 1558, 248 IV. Do. do., 27th June, 1569, . 251

V. Act of the Deacon-Convener's House in favour of the Cordiners, and Ratification by Provost, Bailies, and Council of Glasgow, ..... 257 VI. The Letter of Guildry of 1605, .... 260

VII. Statute, 1672, Ratifying Letter of Guildry, ^ . . 280 VIII. Charter by Charles I. creating Glasgow a Royal

Burgh, 2S1

IX. Act William and Mary, 1690, Chap. 18, confirming

Charter by Charles I., etc., ..... 293

X. Act 1846, abolishing exclusive Privileges of Trading

XI. Rulesand Regulationsof Cordiner.s, enacted February,

1881, 296

ERRATA.

Page 158, lines i and 2. — Instead of- '■iox. we had no Poor Law.- until the year 1846," 7-ead " for we had r^o effective Poor Laws until the year 1846."

THE

CORDINER CRAFTSMEN

OF GLASGOW.

Chapter I. Rise And Progress Of Glasgow And Its Craftsmen

The exact origin of the Crafts of Glasgow is lost in those mists of antiquity which no amount of research can now dispel. In order to obtain anything approaching an insight into their origin, it is necessary to glance shortly at the history of Glasgow. As Glasgow grew into a place of importance, the necessity arose for a union of the Burgess Craftsmen for mutual protection and self-defence against the inroads made into the towns by the powerful surrounding feudal proprietors. The Burgess Craftsmen for a long time were the antagonists of the feudal aristocracy ; and in early times freedom and liberty were only to be found in the societies of such craftsmen.

Ancient historians tell us that St. Kentigern, or St. Mungo, who was contemporary with Saint Columba and

A

Incorporation of Cordiners.

Saint Ninian, about the year 560 founded a Christian settlement and church in the midst of a forest of wood and glade on the banks of the then lovely Molendinar Burn. This spot was, no doubt, selected from its beauty and great natural advantages.

Of the ancient history of Glasgow little is known for nearly 500 years after the foundation of the religious station. The earliest authentic account of the station is that given during the reign of Alexander I., in the inquiry and investigation respecting the church lands made by Alexander's brother David, Prince of Cumberland, afterwards David I., in 11 16. This prince inducted his chaplain, John Achaius, a man of great learning, to the bishopric of Glasgow. The prince was superior of the province of Cumbria, which was supposed to include the Avestern and southern districts of Scotland, with an adjacent part of England. But the most learned historians have not as yet made it clear what this province really embraced. The church property recovered under this inquiry enabled Bishop John to erect a cathedral at Glasgow, which was consecrated in the year 1136; and it also enabled his successors, with assistance from other sources, to commence and complete a cathedral, which was built upon the site of Bishop John's cathedral, and consecrated by Bishop Jocelyn in 1197. These places of worship appear, from what we have learned, to have been destroyed by fire.

It has been for a long time the general belief that the present cathedral is the one dedicated by Bishop Jocelyn in 1197. There is every reason, however, to' believe that the present magnificent structure was com-

Rise and Progress of Glasgow and its Craftsmen.

menced by Bishop Bondington, who was consecrated in 1233; at least, this is the result arrived at, after a critical investigation, by Mr. Honeyman, whose eminence as an architect, and attainments as an archaeologist, entitle his opinion to the greatest respect. Mr. Honeyman made a more careful examination of the structure and stricter comparison of its styles of architecture than appears to have been done before, and the conclusion at which he arrived was, that the only portion which remains of the building consecrated in 1197 is a small pillar and part of the vaulting in the south-west corner of the crypt. This, as Mr. Honeyman points out, belongs to the transitional style. At the supposed time of the building of the present cathedral tlie st3'le in which it was erected was not even in existence. The architecture of the present building is early English, of a fully developed type; and the very oldest examples of that style, even in England, were not erected till after 1190. Apart from this, there is no reason to doubt that the church which was dedicated in 1 197 was at that date a completed structure. It is described as a building which Bishop Jocelyn ipse novavi construxerat — terms which could not properly b£ applied to a building then still only in the course of erection. All the probabilities, indeed, go to show that the building dedicated by Jocelyn was of a temporary character, intended to be superseded by a more magnificent structure; and some time after the year 1235, in apparent fulfilment of that intention, the erection of the present cathedral was commenced by Bishop Bondington. In all probability the crypt and choir were completed in his time. That he was engaged

Incorpoi-aiion of Cordiners.

in extensive building operations, and not in mere additions, is rendered almost certain by the fact that, in 1242 — forty-five years after the dedication of Jocelyn's church — there is an ordinance for a national collection annually during Lent in aid of the new building, then in progress ; and more than thirty years later, namely, in 1277, under the episcopate of Robert Wyschard, there is evidence that the work was still unfinished. In that year we find among the Glasgow charters a Deed of the Lord of Luss, by which, in consideration of a sum of money paid to him, he makes a grant of timber from his forests in Dumbartonshire for building a steeple and treasury — cajupanile et ihesatiraria ; and later still there is a grant by King Edward to Bishop Wyschard for the same purpose. The wooden spire, erected with the timber from Luss, was in the year 1400 struck by lightning and totally destroyed. The erection of a stone structure to supply its place was immediately projected, and the work was began and carried (at least as far as the first battlement) by Bishop Lauder, who died in 1425. It was continued, and perhaps completed, by his successor. Bishop Cameron, whose episcopate lasted till the year 1446.*

At the time the Christian settlement was formed and the church planted by St. Kentigern, Glasgow was unknown. Indeed, the whole district then consisted of forests of wood and muirland; but the erection of a church, with its attendant body of ofiiciating ecclesiastics, combined with their civilising and attractive influences, soon brought

* MacGeorge's "Old Glasgow," p. 106.

Rise and Fivgrcss of Glasgow and its Craftsmen. 5 around the church the rude inhabitants, who commenced to erect their primitive dweUings.

The Bishop's Palace or Castle was built upon the site presently occupied by the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. The existing Castle Street was named after this Bishop's Castle. In this locality the nobility had their residences during the time the bishops held almost regal sway The bishops are said to have had a country mansion at the place now called Bishop Street. The old mills standing on the west side of that street are still called the Bishop Garden Mills. On an old map by Mr. Jas. Barry, published in 1782, a house and extensive gardens are delineated thereon. It is thought by some that the bishops had no house there; but there is little doubt about their possessing the gardens at the place named, and that the bishops had a country seat at the Castle of Partick.

The name of the City of Glasgow, founded by St. Kentigern, has been spelt in various ways at different times — according to the fancies of the writers — such as Glagu, Glesgu, Glasgeu, Glascu, Glasgu, Glasgou, Glasgw, Gleschow, Glasco, and Glasgow. Local historians have interpreted the name as meaning " grey smith." This is evidently a mistake, and has arisen from their seeking its origin in the Gaelic of the Scottish Highlands. This part of Clydesdale was a Welsh settlement, and the origin of the name is to be sought in the British branch of the Celtic language. It is said to mean the beloved green place — "g/as, z'eridi's, and enf or "guf cams, as in miuiclm. The word munchu is of Welsh derivation — mwym, cleniens, jirbaniis, and cu or chu, earns. In composition cu becomes in Welsh gu; hence mungu. In course of time St. Kentigern came to be popularly known as St. Mungo ; and the city has been long, and is still, known as the city of St. Mungo."'' The city thus probably took its origin from the spot where St. Kentigern and St. Columba met, and where the first church was erected by St. Kentigern on the banks of the then beautiful and limpid stream, called the Molendinar Burn. When St. Kentigern planted his Christian settlement, and for centuries afterwards, the locaUty was one of great beauty ; but the march of civilisation, and the works and necessities of man, have utterly destroyed the sylvan beauties of the place, and turned the once classic stream, at this part, into — alas ! — a coveredover common sewer. Well may we, in the words of Shakespeare, exclaim, " To what base uses wc may return, Horatio."

It may be interesting to our readers to quote here the following humorous verses, composed by the late Alex. Rodger, descriptive of St, Mungo as a famous, merry, and godly saint, which we extract from Whistle Binkie: —

SANCT xMUNGO.

Sanct Mungo wals ane famous Sanct,

And ane cantye carle wals hee, He drank o' ye Molendinar Burne,

He never wals wattere drye, Butte dranke o' ye streame o' yc wimpland worme

And loote ye burne rynne bye.

"" MacGeorge's "Old Glasgow."

J^ise and Progress of Glasgow and its Craftsmen.

Sanct Mungo vvals ane merrye Sanct,

And mak sweet melodye, He chauutit aye ye bauldest straynes,

Quhan prymed \vi' barlye-bree.

Sanct Mungo wals ane godlyc Sanct,

Can count als welle as hee ; Butte ye beadis quilk I like best to count

Are ye beadis o' barlye-bree.

Sanct jMungo wals ane jolly Sanct,

Wi' dribblans o' ye still ; Butte I, hys maist unwordye sonne.

Have gane als farre als hee, For ance I tynde my garment's skirtis,

Throuch lufe o' barlye-bree.

As a matter of history we fear that the poet has here exceeded the customary Ucense ; for it is very doubtful if the natives of these isles when St. Mungo planted his Christian settlement, who were then in an uncivilised condition, knew anything of the art of making whisky. And if the renowned saint knew this secret, he was a man much more in advance of the age he lived in than he has got credit for.

About the 12th century the enlightened sovereigns of feudal countries began to see the policy of throwing their protection around free burghs; and the leading churchmen, the most cultivated class of society, and who were exempt from the exclusive prejudices of a feudal nobility, went along with that movement which ultimately raised a Third Estate based on Industry. Bishop Jocelyn, having adopted this policy, made use of the great interest he had with William the Lyon, and succeeded in procuring from that king, in 1 1 74, a charter conferring on Glasgow the rank of a bishop's burgh. This charter, with another obtained in 1 1 76, and a third in 1190, all granted by William, conferred on the inhabitants of Glasgow many privileges tending to encourage them in the cultivation of trade and commerce. The inhabitants at that time appear to have been governed by a provost and bailies, appointed or approved of by the bishoj:).

By charters in 1449 and 1450 King James the Second granted to William, Bishop of Glasgow, and his successors, the City of Glasgow, Barony of Glasgow, and lands called Bishopforest, to be holden of the crown, in fee and heritage, as a Burgh of Regality, with power to elect their magistrates. By Act 1476, cap. 8, ratification is made of the City and Barony to the Bishop and vSee of Glasgow in free regality — granting to the bishop the power of appointing and removing the provost and magistrates, and the privilege of electing a serjeant to bear a silver rod with the royal arms at one end and those of the bishop at the other, for executing arrestments, mandates, and precepts. The power to appoint magistrates therefore remained in the hands of the ecclesiastics, who, to

Rise and Progress of G/asgorc ajid its Craftsmen. 9

overawe the inhabitants, elected powerful nobles to the magistracy.

After this period Glasgow gradually emerged from a long reign of ecclesiastical influence. After protracted struggles against the combination of the Clyde burghs, and the nearer tyranny of the royal burgh of Rutherglen, and after suffering indignities from the Lennoxes, she was destined, when thoroughly emancipated, to become the greatest commercial city of Scotland. It may be safely said that nearly all the crafts within the burgh were then or soon afterwards in existence, although in most instances not yet associated under the authority of seals of cause, containing rules and regulations for their guidance and government, and conferring powers and privileges on the crafts which enabled them to act with beneficial effect, not only for the craftsmen in particular, but for the citizens of Glasgow generally.

Chapter II

CRAFTSMEN ASSOCIATED AND INCORPORATED — EXPLANA- TION OF ORIGIN OF DEACONS, ETC.

In 143 1 King James the First found it necessary to import craftsmen into Scotland from France and Flanders, in consequence of the great slaughter of Scotch craftsmen during the preceding wars with England. "The Cronikils of Scotland," page 565, state that "King James, to agment the common weil, and to cause his liegis incres in mair virtew, brocht mony nobill Craftsmen out of France, Flandeirs, and other partis — for the Scottis were exercit in contineuall wars, frae the time of King Alexander the Third to thay dayis. Thus were all Craftsmen slane be the wars."

There appears to have speedily sprung up among the craftsmen within the royal burghs a desire to be associated under rules enacted by the Magistrates and Town Council, who had the power to regulate trades and incorporate tradesmen and guilds under seals of cause granted by them. The regulations issued by the magistrates were styled Letters of Deaconry — latterly Seals of Cause — which regulated the manner of conducting trades within the burgh, and of providing funds for the support of decayed brethren and widows and children of craftsmen.

Prior to the Reformation period, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Glasgow, as superior of the burgh of

Craftsmen Associated, etc.

regality, either himself enacted regulations, or confirmed those proposed by the Magistrates and Town Council, associating several classes of the craftsmen of Glasgow, and conferring upon them the right to elect deacons, collectors, and masters.

There are fourteen Incorporated Trades in Glasgow, and the following are the dates of their incorporation, viz.: — The Hammermen, about 1536; the Tailors, about 1546; the Cordiners, in 1558; the Maltmen, date unknown, but their privileges are supposed to have been fixed by the Letter of Guildry; the Weavers, in 1528; the Bakers, exact date unknown, owing to the destruction of their charters by fire; the Skinners, in 15 16; the Wrights, about 1567; the Coopers, about 1569; the Fleshers, about 1580; the Masons, about 1057; the Gardeners, about 1690 ; the Barbers, about 1559, and the Dyers and Bonnetmakers, about 1597.

There are also fourteen Incorporated Trades in Edinburgh, and they appear to have been incorporated about much the same period as the craftsmen of Glasgow.

Why the number of the incorporated trades should amount to fourteen only, when there were other trades existing at the time to increase the number, is a somewhat difficult question to answer, and opens up a wide field of inquiry. For instance, in the Edinburgh Incorporated Trades there are the Goldsmiths, the Chirurgeons, and the Hatters and ^V^aulkers, who do not find a place in the Glasgow Incorporated Trades : while these, on the other hand, include the Barbers, the Coopers, and the Gardeners, who find no place amongst those of Edinburgh. At the period when the trades were

Incorporation of Cordiners.

incorporated the community was imbued with deep religious principles and sentiments; and this being so, one can easily conceive that the authorities granting and confirming the deeds incorporating the trades had prominently in their minds the scriptural number seven, or a multiple thereof. Whether or not this accounts for the number of fourteen being that to which the crafts were limited in the two chief cities, it is a curious coincidence that the number should have been restricted to the scriptural one when there were other trades to incorporate, as is seen by the incorporation of trades in Glasgow which are not incorporated in Edinburgh, and vice versa. It adds some weight to this view when we find that nearly all the crafts have mottoes on their coats of arms of a religious character ; and when we take into account the fact that the bishops were the leading or governing men of those days, it is natural to suppose that they would model everything they had to do with upon scriptural ideas.

For the same reason, no doubt, the chief men of the crafts were called deacons, in accordance with the New Testament dispensation, which provided for the election of deacons to serve the Church, and whose special duty it was to see that the widows and other poor people were not neglected. As will be afterwards shown, the Church, in the 17th and beginning of the i8th centuries, exercised the power of commanding the Magistrates and Council, as well as the deacons of crafts in Glasgow, to perform certain duties connected with the conduct of the citizens and craftsmen ; and no doubt this power was exercised with even greater zeal before the 17th century, when the

Craflsmcn Associated^ elc.

Church wielded an almost despotic power; but we find, as a matter of history, that the Church always exercised this power in such a way as to foster and protect, and further to the utmost, the interests of trade and commerce.

Chapter III. Incorporation Of Cordiners — Its Coat Of Arms

EXPLANATION OF EMBLEMS, ETC. — ITS MANAGEMENT, ETC.

The Cordiners must have existed as an association or society for many years before they had any rules or regulations for their government; for we find that, on 27th June, 1460, they petitioned the Magistrates and Council for and obtained their approval of certain regulations for their proper management and guidance. The Cordiners evidently, from the position and importance they subsequently attained, and in order to secure that power and standing which was their due, on 27th February, 1558, appUed for and obtained from the Magistrates and Council their first Seal of Cause incorporating the craft. This Seal of Cause was approved of by the Archbishop of Glasgow. On 27th June, 1569, the Magistrates and Council further granted another Seal of Cause to the Cordiners. And again, on 30th September, 1693, the Cordiners obtained an Act of the Deacon Convener's House of Glasgow in their favour, which was ratified by the Provost, Bailies, and Council of Glasgow, confirming the contract between the Cordiners of Glasgow and the Cordiners of Gorbals providing that the latter should only come into and trade in Glasgow on the market-day, and then only on payment by each one of them of eighteen shillings Scots of market dues. These Regulations and Incorpo-

Cordiucrs Incorporated — Coat of Anus, etc. 15 rating Seals of Cause, with the Seals of the Archbishop of Glasgow attached, are retained in a beautiful state of preservation. A print of the Regulations and Seals of Cause will be found in the Appendix.

The Incorporation is called " The Incorporation of Cordiners in Glasgow." The Incorporation has a coat of arms and an appropriate motto. The coat of arms and motto are as follows : — " Azure — a chevron betwixt three ducal crowns with shoemakers' cutting knives underneath the crowns tr," with the motto in an escroll above the shield, " God is our Hope."

In our days mines are worked, railways constructed, and other great works too vast for individuals to carry out, are undertaken by associations of men who unite their money in a common fund. Such combinations were much more necessary in earlier times, when capital did not exist in such abundance. There were, for instance, companies of traders — or, as they called themselves, " merchant adventurers." Such companies existed in various ports. A seal was necessary for them as a corporate body, and, of course, a distinctive and fitting emblem was sought for it. Now the merchant princes of the East, who brought their gifts to the new-born Saviour in Bethlehem, at once occurred to the minds of the early traders, and nothing could be more natural than to adopt three crowns emblematical of those pious merchants to whom they likened themselves. These three crowns are often seen among the badges of ancient trading companies. When the Incorporation of Cordiners was considering the most suitable coat of arms to be adopted, the emblems which appear to have found favour with the

1 6 Tncorporaiion of Cordiners.

early traders also received the approval of the Incorporation. Hence the Incorporation adopted three ducal crowns, with the cutting knife as emblematical of the trade, and the chevron as the badge of fidelity. The Incorporation also adopted St. Crispin as its Patron Saint, a sketch of whom will be found in Chapter VI.

The town of Kingston-upon-Hull has a coat of arms with three crowns upon an azure ground, adopted, it may be assumed, for the same reason as that given above. The merchants of Hull were a very opulent body; and from the trade they carried on the town derived much of its importance, as also its heraldic cognizance of the three crowais.

The Incorporation of Cordiners, as one of the guilds of the city, is entitled to wear on the reverse side of its coat of arms, the arms of the city. The following is the description of the Glasgow coat of arms as taken from the charter by L}'on King-at-Arms to the city : — •" Argent, on a mount in base vert an oak tree proper, the stem at the base thereof surmounted by a salmon on its back, also proper, with a signet-ring in its mouth or, on the top of the tree a redbreast, and in the sinister fess-point an ancient hand-bell, both also proper. Above the shield is placed a suitable helmet with a mantling gules doubled argent, and issuing out of a wreath of the proper liveries is set for crest the half-length figure of St. Kentigern affronte, vested and mitred, his right hand raised in the act of benediction, and having in his left hand a crozier, all proper ; on a compartment below the shield are placed for supporters two salmon proper, each holding in its

Cor diners Incorporated — Coat of Arms, etc. 17 mouth a signet-ring or, and in an escroll entwined with the compartment this motto, ' Let Glasgow Flourish.' "

The armorial insignia of Glasgow are richly storied, the different emblems referring to several legends in the life of St. Kentigern, who was the first bishop of Glasgow, and died about a.d. 602. The tree represents the bough which, according to an old story, St. Kentigern kindled by his word into a blaze in order to relight the church lights, which some of his enemies had put out. The bird perched upon the tree is a robin, the pet of St. Serf, which St. Kentigern restored to life, as the tradition goes. The bell which hangs from the tree signifies the church and see of Glasgow founded by St. Kentigern. But the most romantic legend of all is associated with the salmon, which bears a ring in its mouth. Tradition relates that the Queen of Cadzow had given away to a certain knight a ring which she had received as a present from the king, her husband. The king, suspecting this, and being very wroth at such faithless conduct, considered how he might best discover her guilt and punish it.

One day when the king and his court were out hunting along the banks of the Clyde, the knight to whom the queen had given the ring, overcome with fatigue, fell asleep under the shelter of a tree. The king seized the opportunity to look into the knight's pouch, and there, as he had expected, he found the ring. Incensed beyond measure that the queen should have thus lightly treated the ring he gave her, he flung it into the river.

Returning home, he demanded the ring from the queen, at the same time telling her that she should be put to death if it was not produced. She immediately sent her

B maid to the knight to ask for it ; but, of course, he could not find it. The queen knew not which way to turn. At last, in her despair, she bethought herself of the good Bishop Kentigern. She avowed her fault to him and expressed her sorrow, and besought his advice and help. The good man believed in her sincerity and took compassion upon her. He immediately sent one of his people to fish the river, with instructions to bring him the first fish he caught. The angler soon returned, and laid a huge salmon at the feet of the bishop, who took from its mouth the very ring which the king had flung into the Clyde. The queen, receiving the ring from the bishop, together with his blessing, hastened to take it home to her husband, and thus her life was saved by the good Bishop Kentigern.

In the year 1881 the writer called the attention of the Incorporation to the deacon's medal or badge of office and chain, and stated that they were entirely out of keeping with the importance and position of the craft. He also pointed out that on the obverse side of the medal the shield was incorrect according to heraldry, and that the emblems were likewise, in several respects, inaccurate ; besides that, the date of incorporation of the craft, as given on the badge, was wrong, as shown by the Seals of Cause, which had been transcribed by the late Professor Cosmo Innes, and subsequently revised, with the originals, by James D. Marwick, LL.D., town-clerk, Glasgow, both eminent authorities on such matters. He further pointed out that the city arms, as given on the reverse side of the medal, were wholly erroneous.