|
|
| Trade and the Company’s Development |
 |
The drapery trade
The medieval member might have had a shop where he sold drapery; wealthier members were merchants, traders in wool and cloth, and financiers. The expansion of the English woollen cloth trade in the 15th century was reflected in the prosperity of the Drapers’ Company. When the order of precedence of the City Companies was set in 1516, the Drapers’ position was confirmed as being third, after the Mercers and the Grocers.
In the Middle Ages, the Company possessed great powers of control over the woollen cloth trade in the City of London. At one time no dealer could sell cloth to anyone in the City but a Freeman of the Company; the Company controlled the sale of cloth at great fairs in the City, and it regulated the "Drapers’ ell", or standard measure, by which all cloth was sold.
|
|
|
|
The Company’s development
With the passage of time, the Company's connections with the cloth trade have altogether ceased. Links with the cloth industry have recently been re-established by the foundation of exhibitions, postgraduate and teaching awards and sponsorship in the field of textile design, conservation and technology.
The ram with the golden fleece, seen in many guises, from the architectural ornaments at Drapers’ Hall to the motif on members’ ties, is the constant reminder of the origins of the Company’s wealth. It also forms the crest of the Company' coat of arms.
|
|
|
