There could be money in saddle and harness making. George Emm died in 1901 leaving £1,830 12s 6d to his son, Henry John. Not only did the saddler make the paraphernalia for the horse and carriage but, as George’s great-granddaughter Nancy Cawthorne points out, George’s customers included football and cricket clubs (repairing bats and balls), Paulton Hospital (leather belts to restrain patients on the operating table) and Paulton churchwardens (bell-ropes). Saddlers repaired harnesses and saddles and, like the cordwainer (see Chapter 8), occasionally skinned horses. Unfortunately, G. Emm & Son Saddle, Collar and Harness Makers didn’t survive long after the Second World War and the rise of the motorcar. His archives, including ledgers and account books, are lodged with Radstock, Midsomer Norton and District Museum http://radstockmuseum.co.uk.
The loriner made spurs, bits and stirrups from metal. In Cheapside, London, in 1327, the saddlers and loriners came to blows over their rights to horse appurtenances. Further down the order of preference at fifty-seven, the Worshipful Company of Loriners www.loriner.co.uk is the oldest guild apart from the Cappers. Their ordinances date from 1261 but there are no membership records prior to 1722; the archives are held in Guildhall. Other records may be hard to locate but, as usual, try record offices.
The Worshipful Company of Saddlers www.saddlersco.co.uk is twenty-fifth in the order of preference. The original medieval hall built in around 1395 was destroyed in the Great Fire and the replacement hall built in 1822 was destroyed in 1940, together with the majority of their records. Surviving archives held at Saddlers’ Hall are listed on www.saddlersco.co.uk/thesaddlerscompany/archives.html. The Company Archivist will answer queries by email, telephone or post. Durham Saddlers’ records for 1753 and 1800 are held at Durham University.
Other archives are lodged locally and surviving records could be held anywhere throughout the country. Discovery http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk may locate some, although whether you’ll find your saddler is a matter of serendipity. Typing ‘saddler’ brought up over 1,032 results including indentures, training agreements, draft transfers, price lists and letters from saddlers to customers.
Imagine how strong wheels had to be to carry up to a ton of weight over atrociously rutted, muddy roads, like those of Edward de Rowland in the 1100s, transporting stone for Exeter Cathedral.