The plaque is located on the wall of St Peter's At The Cross on Watergate Street in Chester.
It is inscribed as follows;
'Freemen & Guilds
The Freemen are members of Chester's
Guilds, first recorded c.1200. Only Freemen
could trade freely within the city and vote
for the Corporation. They still hold
their bi-annual services at the
Guild Church of St Peter.'
Freemen of Chester
"23 of the original Guilds survive. New freemen are admitted each year at the Pentice Court ceremony in the Town Hall. The Lord Mayor of Chester presides over the Court. The Guilds then walk in procession through the City to the Guildhall. In 1992 the Freemen and Guilds decided to admit women for the first time.
Every autumn the Guilds hold a banquet in the guildhall, followed by a service at St Peter’s Church.
The Guildhall is used for many events and social functions, as well as meetings of the Guilds Council.
The Freemen and Guilds of Chester keep close links with the Freemen of England and with the Guilds of other historic cities, such as York and Coventry." Source: (
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"Origins of the Guilds
Chester has had trade guilds for over 800 years. In a document dated 1190 King Henry 11 conferred the Gilda Mecatoria (the Guild Merchant ) on the people giving them the right to trade. In 1193 this was confirmed by the Earl of Chester. Individual craft companies, or guilds, later developed to protect the quality of their goods and the interests and welfare of the merchants and craftsmen of Chester.
Among the earliest Guilds to emerge were the Tanners, who are first mentioned in 1361, the Weavers in 1399 and the Ironmongers and Carpenters in 1422. Nineteen Guilds are listed in a book of 1475-6.
In the Middle Ages the Guilds were very important to the life of the City. They encouraged trade, set wages, organised apprenticeships and work conditions and gave help to their sick or poor members.
The Guilds were also involved in the social life of Chester. They organised great events such as the Mystery Plays and the Midsummer Show.
Originally there was only one Guild, the Guild Merchant, but during the Middle Ages each craft gradually set up its own Guild to protect the quality of their craft and the interests of its own craftsmen.
Over the centuries some crafts joined together to form larger Guilds. Few crafts were rich enough to stay independent. There were frequent disputes between similar crafts and Guilds often split up and joined up with other crafts.
Newer Guilds were formed for crafts such as the building trades that developed in the Tudor Period.
A few Guilds, such as the Fishmongers, no longer exist. Some trades, such as Fletchers and Bowyers, died out when the need for their products declined.
There are now twenty three Chester Guilds but few members now practice their company trade.
Trade & Crafts
The Guilds reflect the economic life of Chester in the Medieval and Tudor periods. Among the most important Guilds were those providing food for the City (Bakers, Butchers, Brewers). Leather work formed the largest group of occupations and many Guilds were associated with the leather trade (Tanners, Skinners, Glovers, Saddlers, Cordwainers). Clothing and textile trades were also very important in Chester, making up a fifth of all craftsmen in the City (Weavers, Merchant Tailors, Mercers and Merchant Drapers). The building and hardware trades often combined to form bigger companies (Mercers and Ironmongers, Joiners, Carvers and Turners and Wrights and Slaters).
Sometimes craftsmen involved in the same trade worked in the same part of town. Shoemakers Row was in Northgate Street, Mercer’s Row in Bridge Street Row East and the Skinner’s Houses were between the Castle and the River Dee.
The Smiths Company met with special Royal favour when Prince Arthur visited Chester in 1499. A silver badge showing the Company’s arms was presented as a reward, the story goes, for re-shoeing the Prince’s horse.
Guild Membership
No craftsman or trader could work in Chester unless he was a freeman and a member of the relevant guild.
Apprentices served at least seven years to learn their trade. They could then become freemen of the City and seek admission to the appropriate craft guild.
To become a freeman, a man had to be the son of a freeman, to have served his apprenticeship to a freeman or be admitted by order of the City Assembly. Today almost all freemen and Guild members are admitted by birth. New freemen are enrolled at the annual Pentice Court.
The Guilds were always quite small, varying in size from 20 to 60 members. Women could not become freemen, but widows of Guild members who carried on the family business could be admitted to a guild." Source: (
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