Liverpool in the Sixteenth Century: A Small Tudor Town

Tudor Liverpool was a little place. It had limited amenities: just seven streets, a decaying castle, one chapel and a common hall to serve a population of around 1,000 souls. On a national scale, all of the Liverpool-based merchants were relatively poor, with few opportunities for the acquisition of wealth. Yet this was the town that was to become a mighty maritime trading centre, a grand cosmopolitan city on the international stage. So were there any clues in the life of the embryonic Tudor port of the important centre it was to become? Using the surviving town books and other primary sources, author Janet Hollinshead paints a fascinating picture of the affairs of the town: its officials, the local bye-laws, economic activity, environmental concerns and administration. This title offers a fascinating insight into Liverpool at an important, formative period in its history.

Table of Contents:
Notes vii Abbreviations viii Preface ix 1 The town and its population 1 2 Merchants and traders 17 3 Making a living 34Craftsmen 34Service providers 44Servants and labourers 55Agricultural interests 57 4 Domestic trade 60The market 60The port 66 5 Overseas trade 72Coastal trade 72Irish trade 76Continental trade 82Small town trade 94 6 Urban identity and status 97Town government and administration 97The local nobility and gentry 102Parliamentary representation 108 7 Social contact 113The social order 113Female perspectives 122Neighbourliness 124 8 Learning and godliness 133Schooling 133Apprenticeship 136Reformation changes 140 9 Conclusion 149 Appendices 154 1 Liverpool ships, 1550-1603 154 2 Tudor mayors of Liverpool 157 3 Tudor Members of Parliament for Liverpool 160 Notes and references 162 Index 175

About the Author :
Dr Janet Hollinshead originates from north Staffordshire, but has lived and worked in Liverpool since the early 1970s. Local studies and early modern periods of English and European history were all significant elements of her teaching career. Janet recently retired as head of history at Liverpool Hope University. For a number of years she has researched Liverpool's Tudor history using archives in Liverpool, Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire and London. Recently she has contributed to Liverpool 800: Culture, Character and History (ed. J. Belchem), and has written a number of articles in various journals such as Northern History, The Mariner's Mirror, Recusant History and the Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire. Since coming to Liverpool Janet has been a member and has held almost all offices on the Council of the Historic Society and Lancashire and Cheshire.