small shopkeepers, tradesmen, and men providing a variety of other services,
such as barbers and musicians, all assessed at the basic rate.
The impression of substance in the Cornhill constabulary that the tax assess-
ments of 1692 provide is further confirmed by the assessment of 1694 which
reveals the assessed value of a household’s real estate and stock.^72 Again, in the
1694 assessment few Cornhill constables were at the very highest levels and a
quarter were in the lowest. Mainly they clustered strongly in the middle range,
confirming the picture of elected constables as men of well above average
wealth and standing in their communities. In broad profile, Cornhill constables
resemble men who served as jurors at the sessions of the peace or at the Old
Bailey in the City in the 1690 s, or those who served on the Common Council.^73
Several of the men elected as constables indeed served on juries and as common
councilmen in the same period, and at least one, George Merttins, a goldsmith,
elected constable for Cornhill in 1699 , went on to become an alderman, and, in
1724 , lord mayor.^74 Most of these men appear to have served out their year in
office rather than engaging a deputy.
Cornhill was one of the smallest and wealthiest of the City’s wards. As might
138 Constables and Other Officers
(^72) Following De Krey, I have used the former as a more likely guide to wealth.
(^73) J. M. Beattie, ‘London Juries in the 1690 s’, in Cockburn and Green (eds.), Twelve Good Men and True,
248 – 9.
(^74) Another measure of the relative standing of the men elected as constables in Cornhill can be found
in the payment of the watch rate, as that is recorded in the wardmote inquest book (GLMD, MS 4069 / 2 ).
The assessment for 1696 , for example, reveals that of the householders assessed, 30 % paid 3 s. or less,
Table 3. 2 .Tax assessments of constables in three wards: Cornhill, Farringdon Within,
and Farringdon Withouta
Tax category: 1692 tax Assessed value of property: 1694 tax
1 /- 11 /- Total <£ 21 £ 21 – 40 £ 41 – 60 >£ 6 Total
known known
Cornhillb
No. 19 26 45 9 8 9 10 36
% 42 58 100 25 22 25 28 100
Farringdon Withinc
No. 35 17 52 30 17 5 — 52
% 67 33 100 58 33 10 — 101
Farringdon Withoutc
No. 19 7 26 16 7 3 — 26
% 73 27 100 62 27 12 — 101
Notes:
aSources: for constables–wardmote inquest books; for tax assessments: J. M. B. Alexander, ‘The
Economic and Social Structure of the City ofLondon c. 1700 ’, Ph.D. thesis (University ofLondon, 1989 )
bConstables serving in 1690 – 1706
cConstables serving in 1690 – 2 , 1699 – 1701