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The goldsmith worked upon the most precious metals, gold and silver, enriching them further with rare stones and engraved gems and crafting them into rings, brooches, vessels, and ornaments. Silversmiths were not categorized separately. Economically, goldsmiths ranged from poor apprentices to some of the richest citizens in England (Cherry 5). Back to top
By the fourteenth century, the apprenticeship system was firmly established in the goldsmiths' craft in London. Most apprenticeships began at age thirteen. The goldsmith's training began with an apprenticeship in which he was taken for a term no shorter than seven years, unless he was apprenticed to his father. At the inception of the apprenticeship system, the apprenticeship period was for ten years, but was shortened to seven in 1400. If his master died during this time, the apprentice was sent to another member of the company. Before a master could take on an apprentice, the approval of the wardens was required. The master presented the apprentice to the company and paid a premium: "In addition to housing, clothing and feeding an apprentice, a master had to pay the Goldsmiths' Company 20s at the ‘binding' (reduced to 2s 6d by statute in 1531)" (Forbes 54). This premium was usually covered by the indenture fees paid by the apprentice's father to the master. At the end of his apprenticeship, the apprentice submitted a masterpiece to the wardens in order to prove that he possessed all the skills of the craft. However, "[t]he masterpiece was often so costly or elaborate that the ordinary journeyman could not afford either the money or time"(Cherry 60). Also at this time he had to prove that he had learned to read and write. This marked the completion of his service which now entitled him to the freedom of the company. To enter into the freedom, he had to pay 2s and swear an oath of obedience to the wardens. Once free, he could set up his own shop once he had acquired the necessary capital. The practice of apprenticeship still holds for many today. Back to top
Although a woman had a vital role to play in her husband's business, particularly if his shop was part of the house, the goldsmith's wife is a shadowy figure. John Cherry gives a description of the role of women in the craft: Nearly all goldsmiths were men, and women played only a very subsidiary part in the trade. Burnishing appears to have been a speciality of women since ordinances of the Company specify that no member of the Company shall employ women burnishers who are married to men of other crafts. Occasionally women took over the business of their husband . . . . It is likely that goldsmiths' wives often manned and looked after the shop in their husbands' absence. (Cherry 60)Contemporary plays (Thomas Middleton's A Chaste Maid in Cheapside [1613], for example) depict goldsmiths' wives advertising the wares of the shop, changing coins, and dealing with customers. Back to top
The characteristic shop in Goldsmiths' Row on Cheapside Street "would have been quite small - about 2m wide and 3m deep"(Cherry 69). The store front would have had a window which opened onto the street and an entrance beside it. The shop was also used as a workshop. The back of the shop was used for storing goods and supplies such as chests or coffers. The chambers above the shop were often used for living or additional storage (Cherry 69). Back to top
The location of the goldsmith's shop was important to him. A visible location on a good street gave him prominence. Like most other craftsmen in London, the goldsmiths tended to congregate, even though they were competing with each other for business: "[t]hey were located in two principal sites in the City, one in Lombard Street and the adjacent lanes, the other at the western end of Cheapside, including the streets leading northwards from it - Foster Lane, Gutter Lane and Wood Street" (Forbes 26). The main market street of London was Cheapside, or Cheap, as it used to be called. "Cheap" comes from the Old English word ceap, meaning "to bargain or to barter." Goldsmiths' Row, "situated on its southern side to the west of the Church of St. Mary-Le-Bow," was where the goldsmiths' shops were located (Forbes 26). The goldsmiths themselves often called it simply "The Row." Eventually this area become one of the special streets of the City. An Italian visitor to London in 1599 wrote: In one single street named Cheapside leading to St. Paul's there are 52 goldsmiths' shops, so rich and full of silver vessels, great and small, that in all the shops in Milan, Rome, Venice and Florence put together I do not think there would found so many of the magnificence that are to be seen in London. (qtd. in Forbes 26) Back to top
The goldsmiths were a close-knit community during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. They were often summoned to attend meetings at Goldsmiths' Hall in Foster Lane. Most worked and lived on Cheapside or Lombard streets, in properties owned by the Company: "Their workshop, retail shop and living quarters were usually on the same premises. Many held their leases from the Company and the wardens often had to adjudicate when neighbours quarrelled, a not uncommon occurrence in the congested housing conditions" (Forbes 69). Often families included live-in apprentices who sometimes married into the family. Back to top
Rings, bangles, brooches, and similar items were usually made of gold while most domestic wares such as spoons, dishes, and cups were made of silver. Goldsmiths had a special role to play in the business of the country, because "[s]ilver was also the principal metal for the coinage of the realm" (Forbes 15). Copper was usually mixed with silver because alone silver was "too soft for articles that have to stand up to constant wear. . . ." Gold was similarly hardened with copper, silver, or a mixture of both (Forbes 15). Goldsmiths usually obtained their bullion (metal) by melting down old plate: "Silver articles would frequently be sold by owners in need of cash; a stock of plate was a convenient form of saving for a rainy day" (Forbes 16). However, goldsmiths were not allowed to melt down coin: "The statute of 1335 forbade goldsmiths to melt coins as a source of raw material and prohibited the export not only of coinage but also silver or gold in the form of plate" (Forbes 18). Back to top
Several methods were used to check the purity of the gold. The touchstone test was frequently used to test the purity of precious metals. This method entailed rubbing the gold or silver article on a smooth black stone, producing a thin streak of the metal. Then a similar streak was made alongside from a "touchneedle" of a known purity. Through comparison of the colours of the two streaks, the goldsmith could determine whether or not the article met the standards for gold and silver (Forbes 20). Back to top
A hallmark is an official mark placed on all gold and silver objects in England as a guarantee of their purity. The appraisal and stamping of goldsmiths' wares have been performed at Goldsmiths' Hall in London since 1300, when Edward I established by proclamation the "hallmarking system which has continued without interruption to the present day" (Forbes 16). In the process of the original touch system, "Silver wares had to be assayed by the wardens and marked with a leopard's head. The choice of the leopard's head probably reflected the leopards that featured on royal arms" (Cherry 55). The word "hallmark" reflects the fact that one of the marks punched on assayed objects is the mark of the hall. The term "hallmarking" replaced the term "touch" in 1478: "From that date, the mark or touch was changed from a leopard's head to a crowned leopard's head, and the goldsmiths were ordered to enforce its use" (Cherry 58). In addition, each piece was stamped with the maker's personal mark, which functioned like a signature and enables silver collectors today to identify some of the artisans who made the surviving later pieces; pieces made before the late seventeenth century are difficult to identify because we cannot link marks to craftsmen's names. The maker's mark dates from at least 1363, when a statute was passed that "every master goldsmith was required to have his own symbol. . . . Originally it took the form of a device, such as a bird, a star or a cross . . . but later the use of the maker's initials became the more usual practice" (Forbes 19). Gold items were initially exempt from the hallmarking requirements: Gold articles were not required to be marked but they had to be no worse than the "touch of Paris": and the appointed guardians were instructed to go round the goldsmiths' shops to check their wares accordingly. The word "touch" in this context refers to the standard, but it could also mean a mark, as "to touch" meant to strike an official mark on an article. The standard for gold, the "touch of Paris", was 19 4/5 carats, or 800 parts per thousand. . . . [P]ure gold is 24 carats. (Forbes 16- 18)Back to top
The relationship between goldsmiths and coinage was very important. Cherry says: "Goldsmiths were forbidden to produce silver ware of poorer quality than coinage. . . . The King needed the services of the goldsmiths in order to bring about monetary reform" (Cherry 53). According to Jonathan Williams, "Scrivener and goldsmiths offered a wide range of banking services including loans, interest-bearing deposits, foreign coin exchange, cheques and promissary notes" (Williams 178). There was a close association between the Goldsmiths' Company and the Mint. The principal officers of the mint were often goldsmiths. These individuals either were appointed or substituted for an absent favourite of the Crown: "The wealthy Hugh Bryce, Bartholomew Read, Martin Bomes, and Richard Martin were all senior officers of the Mint who also served as Prime Warden of the Goldsmiths' Company; they also became Lord Mayor and received knighthood" (Forbes 30). Back to top
Goldsmiths had to be closely watched: "Goldsmiths' wares were not to be sold to merchants for export, and goldsmiths' shops were to be confined to Cheapside, the street in London leading from St Paul's in order that they could be properly surveyed" (Cherry 55). Goldsmiths could cheat their customers by plating base metals in order to pass them off as precious. There were other tricks a dishonest goldsmith could use to increase his profit: "Rings and buckles were made of a hollow section and passed off as solid. False stones, such as ones made of glass, were set in gold or real stones were set in copper or latten. Tinfoil was placed behind stones to give them a greater lustre. . ." (Cherry 59). Purchasers were defrauded by goldsmiths who sold gold or silver pieces which were not up to standard. Many of the Company's statutes aim to protect customers and maintain the good reputation of goldsmiths in general. The punishment of Thomas Wood in the fifteenth century is an example of what happened when goldsmiths were caught attempting to cheat: During a search of his premises in 1470 the wardens found two substandard silver cups for which he was fined 13s. 4d. He was also fined for a similar offence in respect to two silver-gilt salt cellars and yet again for a girdle harness. Finally, on a later search the wardens took various articles to the Hall and ordered him to send others for confirmatory assays. These proved to be greatly below standard and he was find £ 10, a considerable sum in those days. (Forbes 31)These forms of punishment were often successful in reforming the offender, as in the case of Thomas Wood, who died a wealthy man after becoming a Warden, a Master, and an Alderman (Forbes 31) Back to top
During the fourteenth century, the major crafts were controlled by companies operating under the sanction of a royal charter. The livery companies were any London craft or trade association which descended from medieval guilds. "Livery" was "a term derived from the special dress, or livery, which their full members wore on special occasions. (Cherry 53) Back to top
The wardens, the court, the clerk and the beadle were important to the goldsmiths since the members [under the first Royal Charter] were given the right to choose good, true and competent men with . . . which to exercise a close control of trade. Four such men, called wardens, were elected each year, the changeover taking place on 19 May, the day of the goldsmiths' patron saint, St Dunstan. (Forbes 18) The Master, now called the Prime Warden, was the first or upper warden of the company. Later, a Court of Assistants was instituted. This body consisted of present and past wardens as well as senior members. The Court, as the governing body of the Company, was responsible for all decisions. The Wardens would meet more often and tended to daily matters. The Company was organized hierarchically: "The other members were divided into two classes; those with special privileges were called liverymen and the rest were know as ‘the generality' or later as freemen . . ." (Forbes 18). Due to the demand, two permanent officials, the Clerk and the Beadle were appointed. The Clerk had influence on the policies and his advice was sought out frequently by the wardens and the court. He was responsible for negotiating and instituting prosecutions for offences against the hallmark statutes (Forbes 18). He also recorded the minutes of the meetings, in books which the Goldsmiths' Company still preserves in its archives. Back to top
Goldsmiths were important to the church in medieval times. Despite the plate-breaking which occurred during the Reformation and Civil War periods, some examples of communion plate from this period remain and can be viewed in museums. In a period when the Church was the dominant social institution, much of the goldsmiths' work pertained to religious ceremony: "In particular, the craftsman . . . create[d] those vessels essential to their services in the church which praise God: chalices, candlesticks, censers, cruets, shrines, reliquaries, crosses, and covers for Gospel Books" (Cherry 5-6). Goldsmiths' work was sometimes used in the commemoration of the dead. (Cherry 50) The church articles were not as central to the goldsmiths' trade after the Reformation; however, these objects were some of the first made by goldsmiths. Back to top
The Patron Saints of goldsmiths, St Dunstan and St Eligius, are occasionally shown in art as secular goldsmiths at work (Cherry 6). St Eligius was the patron saint of most European guilds. English goldsmiths, however, adopted St Dunstan as their patron saint. Their year was organized around St Dunstan's Day, which was 19 May. Back to top -- Mary-Beth Crowell, 2000 |