working life of women seventeenth century - School of Economics ...

TEXTILES TEXTILES 103respect obtained a licence with a limitation to sell aleto none but his patients. . . but now of lateespecially he far exceeds his bounds.. . . A poorfellow who professed himself an extraordinary carderand spinner . . . was of late set a work by mywife to card and spin coarse wool for blankets and whenhe had gotten some money for his work to Carelesshe goes." Having got drunk there and coming back inthe early hours of the morning he made such a noisein the churchyard " being near my chamber I wokemy wife who called up all my men to go into thechurchyard and see what the matter was."'That Mrs. Cocks should engage and direct her husband'sworkpeople would not be surprising to seventeenthcentury minds, for women did so naturally infamily industry ; but when capitalized, business tendedto drift away beyond the wife's sphere, and thus eventhen it was unusual to find women connected withthe clothing trade, except as wage-earners.Of the processes involved in making cloth, weavingwas generally done by men, while the spinning, whichwas equally essential to its production, was exclusivelydone by women and children.In earlier days weavin'g had certainly been to someextent a woman's trade. " Webster " which is thefeminine form of the old term " Webber " is used inold documents, and in these women are also specificallynamed as following this trade ; thus on the Suffolk PollTax Roll are entered the names of"John Wros, shepherd.Agneta his wife, webster.Margery, his daughter, webster.Thomas his servant andBeatrice his servant."It appears also that there were women among theweavers who came from abroad to establish the clothmaking in England, for a Statute in 1271 provides thatBund U. W. W.) Worcestershire Recordr, Vol. I., p 530.6' all workers of woollen cloths, male and female,as well of Flanders as of other lands, may safely comeinto our realm there to make cloths . . . upon theunderstanding that those who shall so come and makesuch cloths, shall be quit of toll and tallage, and ofpayment of other customs for their work until the endof five years."'Later however, women were excluded from clothweaving on the ground that their strength was insufficientto work the wide and heavy looms in use ; thusorders were issued for Norwich Worsted Weavers in1511 forbidding women and maids to weave worstedsbecause " thei bee nott of sufficient powre to werkethe said worsteddes as thei owte to be wr~~ght."~Complaint was made in Bristol in 1461 that weavers" puttyn, occupien, and hiren ther wyfes, doughters,and maidens, some to weve in ther owne lombes andsome to hire them to wirche with othour persons ofthe said crafte by the which many and divers of theking's liege people, likely men to do the king servicein his wars and in defence of this his land, and sufficientlylearned in the said craft, goeth vagrant andunoccupied, and may not have their labour to theirliving."'At Kingston upon-Hull, the weavers Compositionin 1490, ordained that " ther shall no woman workein any warke concernyng this occupacon wtin thetowne of Hull, uppon payn of xls. to be devyded informe by fore reher~ed."~A prohibition of this character could not resist theforce of public opinion which upheld the woman'sclaim to continue in her husband's trade. Widow'srights are sustained in the Weaver's OrdinancesRiley. Chronzcles of London, p 142.Tingye, Norwzch Records, Vol II., p, 378.Lzttle Red Book ofBrtstol, Vol. II., p. 127.Lambert, 2000 years of Gzld Lrfe, p. 6.