ABSTRACT
Archaeological and historical research into the role of the Fraternity of Merchant Taylors through the Reformation are combined to illustrate the transformation from the consolations of a Catholic faith-based community to a forum for secular feasting and political enhancement, as well as philanthropy and corporate charity. The Merchant Taylors’ Company of London was a lay fraternity dedicated to St John the Baptist and originating in the 13th century. The 16th century was probably the highpoint in the development of the Company, with its role extending far beyond its original character as a craft mystery or religious confraternity and with membership divided between wealthy liverymen and the freemen who were organized in a separate, subsidiary, Bachelors or Yeoman Company. A chapel may have been maintained at the hall from earliest times and rebuilt at the end of the 14th century, along with most of the rest of the complex and the buildings to the east.
