HISTORY
The
Weavers' Guild
The Guild of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Dublin 1446 to 1840
In order to counteract the tendency of English settlers to become 'more Irish than the Irish themselves' and to reinforce the English system of government, Prince John, son of King Henry II of England, gave permission in 1192 to the citizens of Dublin to organize themselves into 'reasonable' guilds. The first to avail themselves of these rights were the Merchants, whose guild dates from this time.
The first Charter of the Weavers' Guild, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, was granted on 28th September 1446 by the advice of the Archbishop of Dublin, Richard Talbot. The Guild consisted of a Master and two Wardens, and brethren - both men and women. It regulated the art of weaving in the city and suburbs, could sue and be sued, could establish a charity, and hold lands to the annual value of £40. In addition it was entitled to establish a chantry of one priest or more to celebrate in the chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the church of the Friars Carmelite in Dublin. The Guild could examine offences by weavers, their servants or apprentices in the city and within six miles of the precincts, and could imprison offenders.
The Guild's colours were orange and blue, and it possessed its own seal and coat of arms. Apprentices, before being enrolled, had to appear before the Master and Wardens and be certified by the Clerk that they were of 'good condition, good conversation and of English nationality'. Their apprenticeship was for seven years, and before being given freedom of the Guild they had to satisfy the Master and Wardens of their weaving skills.
The Guilds developed great political power since each Guild was entitled to return a number of members to sit on the Dublin City Assembly, the governing body of the city.
During the Middle Ages the most colourful event of the year was the Corpus Christi pageant in which scenes from the Bible were enacted by the various Guilds. Each Guild selected an episode which reflected its own work. The weavers were represented by Abraham and Isaac, with an alter and a lamb.
The other great spectacle to which the Guilds were summoned every third year by the Lord Mayor, was the Riding of the Franchises. The original purpose of this procession was to establish the property boundaries of the citizens of Dublin, and in an account of 1488, they are described as going out 'well horsed, armed and in good array'. As time passed the Riding of the Franchises became a peaceful display of the work of the various Guilds and an opportunity to show their wares to the crowds. Each of the twenty-five Guilds marched behind a vehicle drawn by the most splendid horses obtainable; and on the floats craftsmen worked at their trades. The weavers wore wigs of different coloured wools and threw ribbons and scraps of cloth to the crowds, while beside them walked a motley collection of characters representing aspects of their crafts - Jason and his golden fleece is mentioned in one account.
Riding the Franchises was an expensive business. The Guild Brethren each had to contribute and were fined for non-attendance. The expenses included material for cloaks and costumes, grass for horses and meat and drink for all participating members.
During the seventeenth century a number of French Huguenot weavers arrived in Dublin. They settled manly in the Liberties area of Dublin, west of St. Patrick's Cathedral, where they became part of the existing weaving fraternity. Many of them were experienced silk weavers and their expertise contributed to the establishment of a thriving silk and poplin industry.
A weavers' hall had been built by the Guild in the Lower Coombe in 1682 and by 1745, when the building of a new hall was required, it was a Huguenot, David Digges La Touche, who advanced the £200 needed. The main room of the new hall is described as being fifty-six feet long by twenty-one feet wide, wainscoted, and hung with portraits of kings and notabilities, and included a tapestry of King George II, woven by John van Beaver.
In 1750 the Guild erected a statue of George II on the front of their hall 'as a mark of their sincere loyalty'.
There was a surprising variety of woven goods produced in the eighteenth century in Dublin. Mention is made of 'broad clothes, forest clothes, beavers, druggets, milled woolleen goods, camblets, calimancoes, stuffs, crapes, shags, culgy handkerchiefs, poplins shot with clock reel and rock spun, velvets, Dutch velvets, Geneva velvets, German serges, taffety, Paduasoy and Persians'. In 1771 there were 3,400 looms in operation, of which 1,200 were weaving silk.
The Guild was very careful in keeping up the standard of its manufactures, and imposed fines for inferior work. In 1754 it was advertised that certain cloths should have a lead seal attached, three inches long, with the maker's name; also the alnage seal, a round lead seal with the crest of the corporation with the words 'Cor. Weavers' on one side, and on the other, a harp and crown with 'C & C Dublin'. Anyone putting on a false seal could be imprisoned.
The end of the seventeenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth century were a time of great growth and wealth in the city of Dublin, which was then regarded as the second city of the Empire. Many of the landowning classes built themselves fine houses in Dublin, and vied with one another in grandeur and elegance. The woollen, silk and poplin industries flourished - but not for long. Jealousy amongst English manufacturers caused laws to be introduced to limit the export of woollen cloth from Ireland. This caused severe hardship despite petitions for relief from the Weavers' Guild to the Irish Parliament. There are accounts in the 1730's and 1740's of the weavers attacking the houses of merchants supposed to have stocks of English manufactured cloth. A little later, in 1753, the silk weavers were also in trouble due to the importation of foreign silks.
A poem printed in 1767 describes the weavers in the Guild Procession:
'The weavers next in order proudly ride
Who with great skill the nimble
shuttle guide;
Pity such art should meet such small award;
But what art
now-a-days does meet regard'.
An almshouse for impoverished members of the Guild was erected on one side of the Weavers' Hall in 1767 and about the same time a schoolhouse was built on the other side. These were supported by lotteries, plays, legacies and subscriptions.
The Dublin Society came to the aid of the weavers by establishing a silk warehouse in Parliament Street in 1764, and a woollen warehouse in Castle Street in 1773, for the sale of home produced goods. For a time these measures were a help but the decline had set in. When war was declared against France and raw materials were difficult to obtain, the silk weavers suffered greatly. The rebellion of 1798 completely ruined them. They are described as descending from the Liberties to the lower parts of the city 'with a certain wildness of aspect, pallid faces and squalid persons'.
The guild system was in decline from the beginning of the 18th century to the year 1840 when it was finally abolished, though it was so firmly established in Dublin that it lingered on much longer there than in other countries. Several causes contributed to the ultimate abolition of the guilds, one being the decline in the fraternal spirit, and its substitution by purely financial considerations in which workers combined against their masters for better conditions.
The exclusion of Irish Catholic merchants and craftsmen resulted in a large number of workers carrying on their trades and crafts illegally as far as the civic laws and guild regulations were concerned. The guilds therefore no longer exercised a monopoly over commerce and industry. The guilds also neglected the crafts with which they were associated, and though they continued to hold meetings and elect officers, they seem to have degenerated into political clubs. Because membership of a guild was a necessary qualification for selection of both municipal and parliamentary representatives, it became common for people unconnected with any craft to apply for, and obtain, membership of a guild.
In 1835 a special Report on the City of Dublin was published by the Municipal Corporation Commission in which it stated - referring to the Guild of Tailors - 'that as the majority in the trade were not members of the Guild, it did not appear that the trade drive any advantage from the existence of the Guild'. This comment probably applied equally to other guilds including the Weavers' Guild. As a result of the Report, an Act was passed for the reform of the municipal system throughout Ireland. The Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act of 1840 marked the end of the guild system. After flourishing for more than 600 years, the guilds disappeared within one or two years, having lost their old civic franchise, which now was replaced by a more democratic system of election to civic government. (Only the guild known as the Company of Goldsmiths of Dublin survives and still protects the integrity and high standard of its craft. Its Guildhall is in the Assay Office, Dublin Castle.)
The Weavers' Hall was demolished in 1965. Indeed, the only original guildhall still standing is the Tailors' Hall in Back Lane. The tapestry of George II woven by John van Beaver, which hung in the Weavers' Hall, is now in the Metropolitan Museum of New York. An oak chest exists measuring six feet by three feet by three feet with the inscription 'This is the Corporation of Weavers' Chest ann. 1706. Nathaniel James, Master; William Pierce and Thomas How, Wardens'.
The tradition of silk and poplin weaving in the Liberties continued through the nineteenth century and in some cases into the twentieth century, with firms such as Frys, Pims, Elliots, Atkinsons and Mitchells. Elliots, the last factory in production, closed in c. 1965.
Some silk and poplin weaving is still done in Fumbally Lane in the Liberties, Dublin, by P.C. Weavers.
Veronica Rowe, 1991