A Brief History of the City Guilds

We do not know when workers in specific trades first united, but fraternities started to emerge in the twelfth century which became known as ‘Guilds’. This important development influenced trading all over Europe in the Middle Ages. The Guilds were strongly religious and charitable from the start, but slowly their strength grew and they assumed more responsibility for their respective trades and for the quality of goods for sale.

Another important responsibility of the Guilds was education and training through the system of apprenticeships. The numbers of apprentices were strictly limited and no man could carry on trade in the City until he was granted his ‘freedom’ by his Guild. The whole system gave Guilds firm control of their trades and collectively stimulated business in the City for over 500 years.