History of the Saddlers

Origins

The earliest surviving records of a Guild of Saddlers in London date from circa 1160 AD. The earliest known document referring to the Saddlers of London is a scrap of parchment, dated between 1160 and 1193, held in the library of Westminster Abbey. It records an agreement between the church and the Guild of Saddlers. It has been claimed that a Saddler's guild existed in Anglo-Saxon times, before the Norman Conquest, although there is no longer positive evidence to support this.

Royal Charters

Grants of Liberty and Letters Patent giving the Guild authority over the saddlery trade date from Edward I in 1272, though no trace of that document remains, and from Edward III in 1363. The most significant Royal Grant was the Incorporation Charter of Richard II in 1395. Subsequent supplementary Royal Charters confirmed and amplified these.

Richard II's charter recognised the Saddlers as a body corporate, with the right to hold land in mortmain, meaning the grant of land to a corporate body with a perpetual existence, not liable to succession dues. This laid the foundations of the Company's prosperity. The first Saddler's Hall was built at the western end of Cheapside soon afterwards, as befitted a company ranked among the first twelve livery companies in 1351.

The granting of charters gave the livery companies regulatory powers over their trades and membership, in turn giving the Crown some stability in its dealings with the City. The Crown also used its grant of charters to raise money and exert control over the City and its livery companies. In 1684, Charles II decided to bring the City of London under his direct control and ordered a surrender of its Charters, together with those of the livery companies, under a writ of Quo Warranto, then issued new charters of his own.

The Saddler's Company received its replacement Charter in 1684. This was abrogated after the Glorious Revolution of 1688, and the 1607 Charter of James I was reinstated as the governing charter of the Company, until Queen Elizabeth II granted her Charter to the Company in 1995.

Control of the Trade

In the early Middle Ages, the Master and Wardens acquired jurisdiction over all saddlers working within a two-mile radius of the City, covering apprenticeships, admissions to the Freedom, wages, working conditions and the quality of goods offered for sale. The latter was controlled through the powers of 'Search' given to the Wardens in 1362. These were among the most important matters concerning the Court of Assistants, which exercised discipline among its members by fines or imprisonment for contravention of its ordinances and bye-laws.

Demarcation disputes with other guilds were not infrequent, and on occasion degenerated into conflict requiring the intervention of the City authorities. The guild system reached its zenith in London in the 16th century, and was eroded thereafter by the custom of London, which allowed any Freeman to follow any trade regardless of his original calling, along with improvements in the transport of goods and the advance of industrialisation.

The Saddler's plea to the Court of Common Council in the 18th century for support of the Company's rights over its trade went unheeded, and in the aftermath of the Reform Act of 1832 all restrictions on the exercise of trade within the City were abolished. By then, much of the saddlery trade had migrated from the City to more favourable environments, in particular to Walsall in the West Midlands, where the necessary materials were close at hand and the trade was uninhibited by outmoded guild regulations.

Struggle for Survival

The 19th century saw the Saddler's Company wane in both influence and membership. Along with the Corporation and other livery companies, much of this period was spent fending off attempts by radical reformers and liberal administrations to abolish the ancient institutions of the City of London, on the grounds that they were based on privilege and made no contribution to the community as a whole.

Much credit for the survival of the livery companies as a whole is owed to Sir Richmond Cotton, Master of the Saddler's Company in 1880 and a subsequent Mayor of the City of London. The experience inspired the livery companies to become more outward looking and involved in projects such as the formation of the City & Guilds of London Institute in 1878 and the Northampton Institute, now City, University of London. The Saddlers were among the founders of both, and by the beginning of the 20th century was again taking steps to benefit its own craft, this time on a national rather than local basis.

The Great Fire and the Blitz

The Saddler's Hall has been destroyed and rebuilt more than once in the Company's history, including destruction in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The third Hall was destroyed by fire during the Blitz, resulting in the loss of many of the Company's historical records. The present Hall was completed in 1958.