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London City

Chapter 162: THE TURNERS
By Walter Besant
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About This Book

A detailed topographical and historical survey of the City of London, arranged as a street-by-street perambulation grouped into logical sections. It interweaves architectural descriptions, church and company histories, and antiquarian notes with a contemporary (end of the nineteenth century) account of urban appearance. The text includes appendices cataloguing livery companies and civic officers, large maps and numerous illustrations, and discusses vanished as well as extant buildings while explaining editorial conventions used for identifying surviving churches and company halls.

THE TURNERS

Incorporated by James I. in 1604 for a Master, 2 Wardens, and 24 Assistants, with a Livery of 144. At present there is a Livery of 193; a Corporate Income of £700; but no Hall.

The principal work of the Turners originally was to make wooden measures. It was therefore important that these measures should be true. In 1310 (Riley, Memorials, p. 78) six turners were sworn before the mayor and aldermen, that they would in future make no other measures than gallons, potells (pottles, then a measure of two quarts), and quarts, and that they would not make false measures such as “chopyns” (chopines) and “gylles” (gills). In 1347 (Riley, Memorials, p. 234) some turners were brought before the mayor and aldermen, charged with making false measures. Our earliest introduction, therefore, to the Fraternity of Turners is not much to their credit. It is, however, greatly to their credit that they now hold annual exhibitions of turnery work in the City with prizes for its encouragement.