‘Incorporation’ is the term used since the Royal Charter of 1620 to describe the organisation of Exeter woollen cloth trades that had before been organised as guilds.
This still leaves the question – what is a guild?
In the past, guilds were associations – groups of people – who came together because they shared a skilled trade. Guilds didn’t just exist in the woollen cloth industry; many other trades, including tailors, stonemasons, woodcarvers and goldsmiths, also formed themselves into guilds in towns across Europe.
Little is known about the early history of guilds. People from the same trades have probably always met to offer support to one another and to discuss the issues of the day, most importantly to resolve disputes. However, the first formal guilds with rules determining their membership and organisation began to form between 1100 and 1300.
In England, the first guilds appeared in London during this period. Weavers and bakers were among the first to organise, and in the following centuries other trades followed. The guilds enjoyed the height of their membership and power in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. From then on, their influence fell away as skilled trades declined in the face of competition from factory-based machine manufacturing.
Royal Charter
For decades the guild struggled for greater independence from Exeter’s Chamber. Finally, in 1620 King James I granted a Royal Charter which established the Incorporation of Weavers, Fullers and Shearmen, the name by which the guild is still known today.
The fortunes of the Guild closely followed those of Exeter’s woollen cloth industry. When the trade boomed in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, the Guild came of age, establishing itself as one of the most important organisations in the life of the city.
Progress to this position of power wasn’t always smooth – one episode nearly saw the Guild evicted from Tuckers Hall altogether! – but by 1600 the organisation was growing in confidence. At that point its membership numbered around 100.
However, one major problem remained for the Guild. Its members were proud, independent craftsmen, some of whom had become quite wealthy. All resented interference in their trade; however, the guild still remained under the close control of the city’s Mayor and his council known as the Chamber. Many members of the Chamber came from Exeter’s merchant class and represented their own interests rather than those of the guild.
For decades the guild struggled for greater independence from Exeter’s Chamber. Finally, in 1620 King James I granted a Royal Charter which established the Incorporation of Weavers, Fullers and Shearmen, the name by which the guild is still known today. Critically, the Royal Charter also gave the new Incorporation greater freedom, granting it more direct control over who could produce Exeter’s woollen cloth and the standards of production. At a time when the trade was expanding and prospering, this was a key victory.
By 1700 Exeter was responsible for a quarter of England’s woollen cloth trade. The Incorporation was booming and could boast a membership of 400 craftsmen. A few of its members even crossed a social divide to become merchants, exporting cloth to foreign markets and becoming wealthy men in the process. Little wonder that in this period members of the Incorporation were sometimes called Golden Tuckers.
But these days were not to last forever. For the Exeter cloth trade and the Incorporation of Weavers, Fullers and Shearmen, this period of prosperity was about to pass.
Grant of Arms
It was a measure of the Guild’s growing importance that in 1564 it was granted a coat of arms depicting the trappings of the woollen cloth trades, including a weaver’s shuttle, burling irons, a teasel frame and a pair of shears.
It was a measure of the Guild’s growing importance that in 1564 it was granted a coat of arms depicting the trappings of the woollen cloth trades, including a weaver’s shuttle, burling irons, a teasel frame and a pair of shears.
But not everything went the Guild’s way. In 1574, its home, Tuckers Hall, was suddenly given by Queen Elizabeth I to Anthony Kynwelmarsh of Grays Inn, London. In turn he gave the building to Edward Aulbey, a gentleman of Rockbeare, near Exeter. For the next five years the Guild fought legal battles to have the building returned to their possession. Finally, in 1579, an agreement was struck – the Guild reclaimed Tuckers Hall as its own, but only after paying Aulbey the sum of £20.
The Decline of the Incorporation
From the late 1700s, Exeter’s woollen cloth production went into terminal decline. A combination of changing fashions, competition and war meant that by the time Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837 the trade was dwindling.
From the late 1700s, Exeter’s woollen cloth production went into terminal decline. A combination of changing fashions, competition and war meant that by the time Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837 the trade was dwindling. Membership of the Incorporation of Weavers, Fullers and Shearmen was also falling. By 1840 it numbered just 75 freemen, and by 1857 this had slipped to below 40.
A further problem confronted the Incorporation: its membership was ageing. Instead of seeking an apprenticeship in a dying trade, young men looked for work in other parts of Exeter’s changing economy, including engineering and the railways. By contrast the Incorporation received a trickle of older men who had once worked in the woollen cloth industry and who now wished to join – often to allow them a chance of accessing one of its many charities.
In 1870, Benjamin Twiggs joined the guild. He was the last freeman ever to become a member. He was aged over 60 and had served his apprenticeship in the woollen cloth industry in the 1820s. By 1890 the Incorporation contained just two freemen. In 1894 the last of these, William Norman, died aged 88. With him went the centuries-old link between direct experience of working in the wool trades and membership of the Incorporation.
However, the Incorporation did not disappear. Since the 1700s it had been inviting a few outsiders to join and by the late 1800s these non-apprenticed men outnumbered the freemen. After 1870 membership of the Incorporation was restricted to just 26 members – the number it took to fill the traditional positions of Master, Warden and the Court of Assistants. Most members were now drawn from local businesses and had few, if any, links to the woollen cloth industry.
The list of Masters from the time includes tobacconists, a brewer, engineers and a tea and coffee merchant.
The Incorporation continued to function through the first half of the 1900s, but only as a shadow of its former self. Its charities remained, although awards were no longer restricted to members of the cloth trades and their families. Helping with the schooling of boys from Exeter’s poorer families became a focus, especially where this education was a practical one in manufacturing.
Members of the Incorporation continued to meet formally twice a year in what were known as Halls; once in May to elect a Master and Warden, and again each November 5th for a dinner. But these events carried little of the pomp and pageantry that had once been connected to the Incorporation. Finally, when the austerity of the Second World War began to bite, even these festivities were suspended.
Exeter’s Incorporation of Weavers, and Shearman began the second half of the 1900s in an uncertain position. Its trades had vanished from the economic life of the city, while its membership was small and met only occasionally. Perhaps, if it had not been for Tuckers Hall, the Incorporation would have slid quietly away. But the building gave the Incorporation a home, and its preservation gave its members a reason for continuing.
The Revival of the Incorporation
From the 1960s until today Exeter’s Incorporation of Weavers, Fullers and Shearmen has enjoyed a revival. Its decision to widen its membership has had a good deal to do with this, injecting much-needed resources and energy into the organisation.
From the 1960s until today Exeter’s Incorporation of Weavers, Fullers and Shearmen has enjoyed a revival. Its decision to widen its membership has had a good deal to do with this, injecting much-needed resources and energy into the organisation. New members, drawn mainly from the local business community, have brought with them a determination to establish the Incorporation and Tuckers Hall as important parts in the life and history of Exeter.
Today the Incorporation meets regularly and still celebrates its Halls each May and November. It has also established firm links with other guilds, especially the London Livery Companies including the Drapers, Weavers and Clothworkers.
It is generally believed that Livery Companies are wealthy and some certainly are. The Incorporation would not count itself among these, but since the mid-nineteenth century, careful management and, in this century, with some generous donations from members have put the finances on a sound footing. This has enabled the Company to carry out its many commitments, particularly maintaining the hall in good order, carrying out a development programme. It is now looking at ways of expanding its charitable work.
The Incorporation also features prominently in the modern ceremonial life of Exeter. Members, wearing their distinctive green robes of woollen cloth, regularly take part in the public processions undertaken by the city’s Lord Mayor from Exeter’s ancient Guildhall to its medieval cathedral.