The next stop is the mercer’s shop. Several of the items on their list can be bought in this one place. The mercer can provide them with the pins they need every day for keeping their clothing, ruffs and cuffs in place.

Let’s head into town! Master Dauntesey has left Agecroft recently to take his wool fleece into London for sale. Perhaps he will return with some silk or spices or other luxuries for Mistress Dauntesey and his daughters.

The “great trading event” of the Middle Ages was the Medieval fair. These were huge, festive, open-air gatherings held once a year or once a quarter for several consecutive days.

Crafts/tradesmen’s guilds also included pewterers, goldsmiths, and silversmiths. Silverware was a prudent investment for the wealthy.

Trade and merchant guilds were an important part of crafting and trading in Europe from the 11th - 16th centuries. Guilds were comprised of groups of men of common craft or trade formed to give mutual aid and protections to its members.

Most people living in Tudor England lived in a village of 200-500 people. The crofts, or fields, were positioned around a central, unpaved street and a village green.

Planted market towns were either chartered by the monarch, in exchange for services to the crown, or by the Lord of the Manor. These charters granted villages the right to hold markets on certain days and to self-regulate market activity.

Markets as we think of them today began in the Roman Empire. However, as far back as the New Stone Age (9000-6000 B.C.) craftsmen (for example, potters and wool spinners) and farmers were becoming interdependent, as the discovery of agriculture opened the way for settlement of communities.

Outdoor, open-air markets have been popular in Britain since Roman times. By the 16th and 17th centuries, the marketplace had evolved to include both small, local market stands, and the larger market villages that hosted yearly fairs, with the pinnacle being the market at the city of London.

The farms and gardens at Agecroft Hall provided for most of the basic needs of the people who lived and worked there. Common fruits and vegetables, milk (cow and goat), basic meats (beef, chicken, eggs) and hides and wool were easily available to the manor.

Once in town, a gentrywoman would have had many options for shopping. As mentioned in another post, she probably would have brought a servant with her to help with the shopping and carrying packages.

The following photos show real people reenacting Tudor trades and crafts. See if you can match the photos with the names and descriptions of each trade.

Let’s take a look at some of the conversations that might have occurred at Agecroft Hall about going to the market.

From the files of Agecroft Hall, we come across a court case that fits particularly well into this month’s theme. We have filled out the case a bit, since the information is scant.