A village tailor

[ashbee]

William Green (1812 - 1865) was the village tailor for Milton Keynes Village. As far as I can tell he was the last tailor for the village although there were two recorded in 1798. He is recorded as a master tailor on his death certificate but I wonder if this was simply a courtesy rather than fact.

I haven't been able to find any records concerning his apprenticeship or his life in the local archives but would like to understand better what being a village tailor during the first half of the 1800s meant, including his apprenticeship (could it have been informal if there was a family connection, for example) and if it is likely that he was a member of a guild, either local or national? Are there any books or articles that might shed light on country tailors for background information or any good websites that can be recommended?

Thanks very much.

Ashbee

[Marie C..]

It is more than likely he was a Master tailor and had served an apprenticeship possibly with a family member. In 1563 a law was passed that made it illegal to practise a craft without having served an apprenticeship and these lasted for seven years(from the age of 14 to 21) in England. This law remained in force until 1814.
There were guilds for all crafts hence Merchant Tailors Guild etc.
Some apprenticeship records are held by the Society of Genelaogists and others by local family history societies. The National Archives site might have someting on apprenticeships in Milton Keynes.
Many Jews were skilled tailors.
Marie

[Peter Goodey]

It's too recent to stand a realistic chance of finding any apprenticeship details. There's just a small chance of finding something in the County Record Office and you say you've looked there.

The 1861 census seems to show him as running the Tailor's Shop. That can only mean that he worked on his own account so I don't see anything objectionable to him being called a Master.

[ashbee]

Thank you both. I suspect the papers could be anywhere as I know these things are popular with ephemera collectors. I'm assuming both parties would have had a copy but would a third copy be lodged somewhere else if a tax had to be paid?

[Davran]

If you google TAILOR APPRENTICESHIP you will find a few articles about modern-day apprenticeships for Savile Row. I imagine things haven't changed that much over the years.

[Peter Goodey]

would a third copy be lodged somewhere else if a tax had to be paid?

No. There was no tax due in the 1820s when he would have started an apprenticeship. Officialdom had no interest at all. One exception and the best chance of finding details would be if the apprenticeship was arranged by the poor law authorities (the parish in those days)

[ashbee]

Okey dokey - so in the 1820s it was just an arrangement between two parties, nothing more. That's clear, thanks.

[Guy Etchells]

The Buckinghamshire Post Office Directory 1847 page 1959 under tailors shows
Green W. Milton Keynes, Newprt. Pagnal.

In the county section of the same directory page 1804 it shows
Green Thomas, schoolmaster & sleve ma
Green William, tailor
Green William, shopkeeper & sieve ma

The Buckinghamshire Post Office Directory 1864 page 478 shows
Green William, shopkeeper & sieve ma
Green William, tailor
Cheers
Guy

[Colin Moretti]

O... it was just an arrangement between two parties, nothing more. ...

It might well have been a formal, legally-binding agreement but only two copies would have been made, one for the master (employer) and the other for the apprentice's parent or guardian (unless the appropriate guild was involved); such agreements continued into recent times. Sometimes they are preserved in family papers or one or other of the parties deposited their copy of the agreement with a solicitor who might preserve it and they are eventually passed to the relevant record office but, unfortunately for us, it's not a common occurrence.

Colin

[ashbee]

Thanks, chaps.