2 Those who completed their apprenticeship and were admitted as members of their guild were, if they resided in the City, eligible to apply to the City of London Court of Common Council for admission to freedom, and if approved, required to make oath to both the Sovereign and the Lord Mayor of London. Most also maintained registers, some going back to the fourteenth century, that recorded either or both the binding of apprentices to masters and their presentment to the company courts. Knowing to whom the individual was apprenticed can also be helpful.
Further identifiers relate to the level of membership.
Moreover, one had to be a liveryman to sit on a company's court of assistants, or to be elected as a Warden or Master. Those eligible to vote for, or be elected to, the Court of Common Council were required to be liveryman, with Common Councilman being the first step toward Alderman, then Sheriff and finally Lord Mayor. The Corporation of London graphic is the badge created from the City's Arms. All are copyright Corporation of London , courtesy of their Guildhall Library, for which we thank them. Full-size reprints are available from the Guildhall Collage database.