Description

Admin History:

Officially entitled the Worshipful Company of Governors, Assistants and Fellowship of Merchants inhabiting the Town of Kingston upon Hull, the society was granted a charter by Elizabeth I. Based on the Merchant Adventurers in other towns, it was for merchants who exported or imported goods. However, it ran into opposition from Hull's Trinity House, who saw it as a threat to their position. In 1664 Trinity House took the Society to court. Trinity House claimed the Society was preventing masters and mariners from importing even small quantities of goods, and were admitting tradesmen who had no export business. Trinity House won its case and the Society began to decline and eventually disappeared.

Description:

Minutes, 1647-1700; list of members, 1577-1696