Description

A new unused book.

About the book >.>.> Bristol possesses an almost complete set of Apprentice Books from 1532 and this volume provides a calendar of the third and final part of the first Bristol Apprentice Book 1532-1565 which is now in the Bristol Record Office (B.R.O. 04352). The first part of the Appren- tice Book covering the years 1532-1542 was edited by Denzil Hollis and published by the Bristol Record Society Volume XIV 1948. The second part covering the years 1542-1552 was edited by Elizabeth Ralph and Nora M. Hardwick and published by the Bristol Record Society Volume XXXI 1980. The Introduction to Volume XIV contains a detailed account of the Apprentice Book and of the system of apprenticeship in Bristol. during the sixteenth century based on numerous contemporary records. The Introduction to Vol. XXXI also provides information on the way in which apprenticeships were arranged and enrolled by the Town Clerk of Bristol. This shows that a careful method of recording indentures had already been developed in Bristol for many years before the Statute of Artificers and Apprentices or Statute of Labour (5 Eliz. c. 4: Statutes of the Realm iv 414) and provided a national scheme for binding apprentices to crafts or husbandry under the supervision of Justices of the Peace or of Mayors and chief officers of cities boroughs or corporate towns. Details of the system of apprenticeship in Bristol and a description of the format and contents of the first Bristol Apprentice Book and of its importance as a source for many aspects of Bristol history during the sixteenth century will be found in the Introductions to Vols. XIV and XXXI. (LL)