TITLE PAGE AND DECLARATION The Trading Community of Exeter 1470-1570 with special reference to Merchants and Tailors. Volume 2 of 2 Submitted by Paul Williams to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in November 2020. This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University Signature: ………………………………………………………….. 365 APPENDIX 1: THE VALUE OF EXPORTS AND IMPORTS AND THE NUMBER OF SHIPMENTS ENTERING AND LEAVING THE PORT OF EXETER BY PRINCIPAL MERCHANTS 1470-1570 NOTES AND KEY TERMS PRINCIPAL MERCHANTS. Here used to describe usually the ten leading merchants in any one year exporting or importing goods into the port of Exeter. The importance of merchants has been determined by the value of the goods recorded shipped in any one year or by the number of shipments recorded. AL/IND- noted by the customs officials as alien or indigenous traders. The account for 1482/3 further distinguishes Breton and Spanish merchants. PLACE OF CONNECTION. A term used to describe the town of origin of the merchants or ships at the time of trading. In some cases this is designated by the customs officials but in others it is not. Where the place of connection is not designated by the customs official but is known from other customs records or other sources it has been added. PERIODS COVERED BY CUSTOMS ACCOUNTS are not all September to September, which is the usual customs year. This is mainly due to the survival of the accounts for parts of years or to the state of the records. VALUE OF GOODS TRADED TO THE NEAREST £ The value of goods traded was calculated from the particulars of customs accounts. The valuations used were based on the ‘ad valorem’ values given by the officials in the customs accounts for most of the goods. These were based on ‘poundage’ paid at a rate of 1s in the £.1 So, for example, exported tin was valued at £1 per C (hundredweight) and imported crest cloth valued at £1 per piece by the customs officers. A few commodities, however, paid ‘specific’ volume based duties and so no valuation was recorded for them in the customs accounts. These were imported wine, exported cloth (without grain) 2and exported tanned leather. For these goods a nominal value has been assigned to them and used in calculating the value of merchant shipments. Wine has been given a nominal value of £5 per tun and this has been used for wine imports across the period studied. This is the same as the multiplier used 1 Jones, Inside the Illicit Economy, pp. 24-26. 2 Cloth without grain (panni sine grano) was cloth dyed without the expensive kermes dye (grain), though the term ‘sine grano’ does not necessarily mean that the cloth was undyed and unfinished. This was the major type of cloth exported from the port of Exeter at this time. 366 by Kermode in her study of the Yorkshire ports based on recorded wine retail prices in York and Hull in the fifteenth century.3 Vanes identified a retail price for Gascon wine of £4 10s per tun and one of £7 for the usually more expensive Andalusian wine in 1539.4 A figure of £5 per tun was therefore considered a reasonable estimated nominal value for use here. In this study exported cloths without grain have been given the nominal value of £2 per cloth. This nominal value was increased to £6 per cloth from 1558, following the issuing of the Book of Rates in that year, based on comments 5 made by Willan. Calculations have taken into account that Kermode noted a national average value of £1 15s per cloth without grain in the mid-fifteenth century and that the Bristol merchant John Smythe recorded that cloths cost 6 him £4 each in 1540. Exported tanned leather also paid a ‘specific’ duty and so no valuation was given in the customs accounts. However, very little tanned leather was exported through the port of Exeter at this time. Where it does occur a nominal value of £1 per dicker has been used. 7 Tanned calfskins in dozens were mostly exported through Exeter and an ‘ad valorem’ value of 3s 4d per dozen was assigned to them by the customs official. The values were assigned by the customs officials in their accounts reflect their valuations rather than accurate market rates for the goods at the time. Their valuations were set in the fifteenth century and were out-dated, especially by the time inflation began to have a significant impact in the 1540s. The Exeter city council’s Act Books provide little data on prices in the city beyond their main concern with grain prices. The following tables show how the values to the nearest £ for each merchants’ recorded trading were calculated in the sample trading years. The examples show the recorded exports of Gilbert Kirk and the imports of William Hurst in the particulars of customs accounts for 1537/1538. They were the principal merchants in that year as identified below in Appendix 1 Table 19. They were key Exeter merchants trading through the port. Their businesses are analysed elsewhere in this thesis and their trading networks presented in Appendices 28 and 29. 8 3 Kermode, Medieval Merchants, p.257. 4 Vanes, Ledger, p.324. 5 Willan, A Tudor Book of Rates,, pp.xxvi-xxxiii. 6 Kermode, Medieval Merchants, p.257. Broadcloths cost Smythe £3-4 each: Vanes, Ledger,,p 144. 7 Zupko, Dictionary, p.48. 8 See Section 5.1 and See Appendices 28 and 29. 367 VALUE OF THE TRADE OF THE LEADING PRINCIPAL MERCHANTS 1537/1538 EXPORTS NAME OF DATE SHIP COMMODITY AMOUNT VALUE £ MERCHANT GILBERT 25/10 ANDREW TIN 2C 2 KIRK PROWSE CLOTH SG* 3 (6) 10/11 TRINITY TIN 8C 8 PROWSE CLOTH SG 4 (8) 14/12 FALLENTEN CLOTH SG 58 (116) OF KENTON TANNED 20 DOZEN £3 6s 8d CALFSKINS 15/1 NICHOLAS TIN 8C 8 OF DAWLISH CLOTH SG 3 (6) 27/1 CLEMENT CLOTH SG 32 (64) BIDDON NORTHERN 20 PIECES £3 6s 8d COTTONS LEAD 15C £2 10s 11/4 CLEMENT CLOTHS SG 39.5 79 BIDDON LEAD 15C £2 10s 5/7 MARY AND CLOTHS SG 32 (64) JOHN 23/7 FOLENTYN CLOTHS SG 19 (38) OF KENTON TANNED 30 DOZEN 5 CALFSKINS 16/8 CLEMENT CLOTHS SG 18 (36) BIDDON 17/8 ANDREW OF CLOTHS SG 10 (20) TOPSHAM TOTAL VALUE £472 *Cloths SG – cloths without grain ( ) Nominal value assigned IMPORTS NAME OF DATE SHIP COMMODITY AMOUNT VALUE MERCHANT WILLIAM 9/11 CLEMENT OF FRUIT 10 TONS 20 HURST POWDERHAM MARMALADE 1C 1 ANNISEED 2C £2 6s 8d 2/1 CLEMENT CREST CLOTH 16 PIECES 16 368 BIDDON 8/1 CHRISTOPHER NON SWEET 14 TONS (70) HALSE WINE 8/1 MARY NON SWEET 9 TONS 1 (46) WALSYNGHAM WINE PIPE TOULOUSE 17 BALES 17 WOAD 8/1 GEORGE OF NON SWEET 3 TONS (15) TOPSHAM WINE FRUIT 5 TONS 10 ALMONDS 3C 2 DATES 1C 15s 15/1 CLEMENT OF NON SWEET 7 TONS (35) POWDERHAM WINE 7/2 MICHAEL OF IRON 14 TONS 28 BRIDGWATER 19/3 LAWRENCE MADDER 4 BALES 8 OF TOPSHAM IRON 1 TON 2 ORCHIL 4 BARRELS 1 TWINE .5C 5s LATH NAILS 12 SUMMA 3 OCHRE .5 ? 20d GREEN 1.5C 5s COPPERAS ALUM 3C 15s HOPS 4C 1 BLACK SOAP 12 BARRELS 6 STEEL 50 NESTS £1 5s GLUE 1C 5s CRUSES 1C 3s 4d FRYING PANS 1C 5s COARSE 200 ELLS 5 TAPESTRY COARSE 1 DOZEN 1 CARPETS WHITE SOAP 7C £3 10s NUTS 2HOGSHEADS 10s MISCELLANEOUS £17 10s 22/3 HARRY OF PRUNES 3C 1 TOPSHAM OLD CARDS 6 DOZEN 1 NEW CARDS 6 DOZEN 2 BLACK SOAP 2 BARRELS 1 LATH NAILS 6 SUMMA £1 10s THREAD 3 DOZEN 15s MISCELLANEOUS 2 4/4 FOLLENTEN CREST CLOTH 10 PIECES 10 OF KENTON 4/4 CLEMENT CREST CLOTH 20 PIECES 20 BIDDON 11/4 PETER OF LATH NAILS 12 SUMMA 3 FALMOUTH BLACK SOAP 3 BARRELS £1 10s SWARROW 2 BARRELS 6s 8d PRUNES 3C 1 14/4 PETER OF HOPS 8C 2 LONDON NUTS 1 PIPE 6s 8d 369 CLAVICHORDS 6 PAIRS 1 19/4 NICHOLAS OF NEW CARDS 12 DOZEN 4 DAWLISH OLD CARDS 12 DOZEN 2 PRUNES 6C 2 THREAD 12 DOZEN 3 PLAYING CARDS 2 GROSS 6s 8d BUCKRAM 60 AWNS 1 IRON WIRE .25C 3s 4d MISCELLANEOUS £1 16s 16/6 STEPHEN MADDER 4 BALES 8 BONAVENTUR OF DARTMOUTH 8/7 CLEMENT CREST CLOTH 48 PIECES 48 BIDDON 8/8 CLEMENT OF SUGAR 6M 60 POWDERHAM LINGNUM VITAE 10C 13s 4d NON SWEET 12.5 TONS (£62 10s) WINE 12/9 NICHOLAS OF NEW CARDS 16 DOZEN £5 6s 8d TOTNES OLD CARDS 20 DOZEN £3 6s 8d THREAD 20 DOZEN 5 PLAYING CARDS 3 GROSS 5s SAY 6 PIECES 3 ST.THOMAS 6 PIECES 3 WORSTED CANVAS 10 C 10 BUCKRAM 100 ELLS £1 13s 4d OLD BUCKRAM 19 PIECES 2 HATS 6 DOZEN 2 WHITE PAPER 12 REAMS 12s IMPERLINGS 4 DOZEN £1 6s 8d LATH NAILS 7 SUMMA £1 15s SWARROW 4 BARRELS 13s 4d PRUNES 8C £2 13s 4d MISCELLANEOUS 6s 8d TOTAL VALUE £599 ( ) Nominal value assigned (Source: TNA E122/43/11) NUMBER OF SHIPMENTS -This is the number of recorded shipments made by an individual merchant in each year.