INDUSTRIES makers' Company occupied a prominent place. It included dyers, and weavers, and shear- men, shuttle-makers and ash-burners. Queen Elizabeth greatly encouraged the trade in the town, during whose reign it was carried on to an extent never equalled in any preceding period. As in other centres of industry Reading benefited by the immigration of the industrious Flemings, for whom the queen built some cottages on her property, the abbey precincts, using for the purpose the wall of the refectory. Contention was sharp in the town between the rival craftsmen. The clothiers and dyers had an important controversy, which was referred to the decision of the Privy Council of the State. It appears that the clothiers were accustomed to have dye-houses of their own, and to dye such wool as they convert into cloth, and to this the Privy Council saw no objection. But the dyers assert that the clothiers dye for others, and so make a benefit of the trade of dyeing. So the clothiers are forbidden to dye for others or to dye clothes ready made into any colour. The particular kind of cloth made in Reading was a heavy texture, the piece being 30 or 34 yards long by 6 quarters broad, and weighing 66 Ib. to the piece. 1 There is evidence that the manufacture was spread- ing at this time into the surrounding vil- lages, where cloth was made in the houses of the rural population, and that the Mer- chants' Gild of Reading, ever jealous of their monopolies, strove to confine the industry to the town. In 1592 certain orders were agreed upon for ' the reformacion of the abuses of Clothiers and Clothworkers,' which seem to establish both these conclusions. The order set forth : 4 Imprimis that no clothier shall buy any thrums neither shall convert any thrums into cloth within this borough, or put any flocks into any cloth made or to be made within this borough. ' Item that expert searchers be specially appointed to search as well all manner of cloth made or to be made within this borough, as all such cloth as shall be brought to this borough to be milled or dressed, wherein any deceitful stuff shall be used, and upon finding thereof to stay such cloth until such time as the owner thereof do come presently before the mayor for the time being to the intent this order may be taken with an offender. ' Item that no clothier shall make any cloth all of warp to put to sale, nor buy any 1 Industrial Hist, of England, p. 134. warp yarn in the country for that intent.' * During the reign of James I. the industry continued to flourish in Reading. Amongst the most famous clothiers was John Kendrick, ' whose state,' says Fuller, ' may be com- pared to the mustard seed, from a small encreasing to a prodigious bigness.' He is said to have kept 140 looms in constant employ, whereby several hundred labourers, such as pickers, sorters, carders, spinners, weavers, dyers and teazers were comfortably maintained. 3 He left a large fortune at his death in 1624, part of which was to be spent in erecting a strong and commodious house, in which the poor might be constantly employed, and to provide materials for carrying on the clothing trade, and for working in wool, hemp, flax, grinding Brazil-wood, or preparing materials for dyeing. This was the origin of the ' Oracle,' a building famous in the history of Reading industry. Money was also left by the benefactor to the mayor and burgesses to be lent to poor clothiers or others for a period of years. The records show that although the clothiers were prosperous the craftsmen were indigent. In 1623 all the clothiers, thirty in number, were warned to appear at the Guildhall and ordered to provide work for the poor people, spinners and carders and others depending upon the clothiers for their livings.* At the same time two clothier-overseers were appointed to meet at the Town Hall on Monday mornings at 8 a.m. to provide or assign work to the poor folk. In spite of this the complaint by the spinners and carders of lack of work increased, and the remedy agreed upon was that every clothier should ' weekly assign and put to spinning in the town his ordinary and coarse woof wool, and not send it into the country, if sufficient means be in the town to do it.' 6 It was also arranged that every merchant that dealeth in white cloth should be enjoined to make for every ten white, one coloured cloth, for every coloured cloth setteth four times more workmen for its manufacture. 6 The clothiers at the same time (9 Nov. 1623) testified to the decay of clothing and the badness of coloured cloth sale, owing to the competition of the northern clothiers, whose cloth was shipped at all times at less customs. They wanted more merchants, and to have the same liberty of shipping at all times and at the same charges 3 Rec. of Reading, i. 407. 3 Man, Hist, of Reading, p. 150. 4 Rec. of Reading, li. 153. 5 Ibid. ii. 159. 6 Ibid. p. 160. 391
