City of London Waits

As quoted in Christopher Marsh’s book, “Music and Society in Early Modern England”
(Cambridge University Press, 2013. ISBN 1107610249, 9781107610248.)

LONDON1562: Annual pay of £6.00 for each wait.

1600s: Annual pay of £20.00 for each wait.

1650s: Alderman Foot: “I hope you intend not to include the waits of the City of London, which are a great preservative of men’s houses in the night.”

City of London Waits

www.British-History.ac.uk

1667 London Gazette No. 189/1
The Mayor, Aldermen and Common Council of this Town, after a Sermon Preached to them, went to the Market-Cross in their Formalities, the Waytes playing before them.

Hadland 1915
In 1677. Sir Francis Chaplin, Knt, Lord Mayor. “The several companies adorned with streamers and banners, and fitted with Hoe-boyes, Cornets, Drums, and Trumpets, moved by water towards Westminster. . . . His Lordship and the guests being all seated, the City Music are in preparation to exercise their delightful science and finger their instruments with good skill and excellent humour, but (after some suits of Ayres being played) a person of good fancy with a well composed voice begins a new song of entertainment, one of the City Musicians being attired like to New-Bedlamite with appropriate action and audible voice singeth the second song to the tune of Tom-a-bedlam.”

FILE – RICHARD EDGE to ROGER KENYON. – ref. DDKE/acc. 7840 HMC/1057 –
date: 1697, November 16

The Blue Boar, in Holborn
16 November 1697
“His Majestie landed on Sunday last, about 11 a’clock in the aforenoon, at Margret, came that night to Canterbury, last night to Greenwich, where this morning most of the great officers and persons of quality in the town, waited of him, and about two this afternoon made his publick entry into the citty; came through Fleet Street about 4, and so went to Whitehall. The ceremony was thus, as near as I can remember: ringing of bells, the streets lined with the citty trainbands, here and there a conduit running with wine. First, a company of granadeers, a troop of the royall dragoons, next 3 of the King’s coaches, with several persons of quality in them–Collonel Stanley I saw in one of them; next was the messengers on horseback, next the Citty trumpetts and waits, next the serjeants of the counters, next the Common Councell on horseback, next the Aldermen on horseback, next the Lord Mayor, carrying the sword, on horseback, then the heralds, all bare, then the kettle-drums, next the yeomen of the guard, then the King’s coach, very fine, in which was the King, who looked very brisk, and made his compliments to each side the street, and the Prince of Denmark and Earl of Rumney, next Prince George’s empty coach, then a troop of the life guard, then the Archbishopp of Canterbury, then the Lord Chancellor, then the Duke of Leeds in his coach besides his grace the Earl of Pembrooke, then the Duke of Norfolke, then the Duke of Devonshire, then several dukes’ coaches, then severall earls and lords, amongst which I saw the Earls of Macclesfeild and Warrington, then severall bishopps, amongst whom was the Bishopp of Chester, then all the judges’ coaches, then severall persons of quality’s coaches; all the coaches before had six horses each, and footmen and laques going by.

Items from the City of London Archives (A2A)

FILE – Waits: City – ref. COL/OF/02/157 – date: 1704 – 1762
Notes and Extracts relating to City Waits
Receipt for £10.15s. being 1/3 part of the sum agreed to be paid by Wm. Smith to the Lord Mayor for his admittance into the place of one of the eight waits. 18 Sep 1704.
Receipt for £2.3s. being 1/3 part of £6: 12s agreed by Richard Sleep to be paid to the Lord Mayor for his admittance into the place of one of the City Waits in the room of Thomas Sharples. 23 Oct 1711.
Assignment of three years’ salary as a City Wait, by Edward Pointin to James Indall, 9 Jan 1713/4.
Admission of Charles Ballet in the place of John Jenkins and William Davis in the place of Convett Newes, for the sum of £90 each, 1/3 nd. to be paid to the Chamber. 1760 & 1762.

FILE – Waits – ref. COL/OF/02/158 – date: 15 Feb 1787
Power of Attorney given to Rich. Burnett to receive money due to Wm. Burnett one of the City Waits.

FILE – [no title] – ref. ZA/B/2/175-175v – date: 17th Dec., 1672
George Watt, musician, petitioned on behalf of himself and of the City’s waits that they might have the City’s livery and a yearly salary. It was ordered that there should be four City waits, that they should have liveries every three years and 10s. apiece every Christmas so long as they did not leave the City, and so long as they played in the streets morning and evening as had been the custom.
The Christmas Watch was to be duly observed by the Mayor and Sheriff’s this year and every year in future upon pain of fine.

FILE – [no title] – ref. ZA/B/2/157 – date: 14th Dec., 1666
George Watt, musician, petitioned on behalf of his Company, the City’s Waits, that the City’s livery should be bestowed upon them. It was ordered that the Treasurers should give cloth for livery gowns to George Watt and to two others of the ancient waits and that they should wear these in the City and not elsewhere.

FILE – [no title] – ref. ZA/B/3/148-9v – date: 25th Feb., 1706[/7]
Thomas Lewis, senior, William Powell, Thomas Lewis, junior, and Matthew Trueman, the City’s Waits, stated in a petition that by the usage of the City the Waits should have new cloaks at the City’s charge every three years, and that the Treasurers paid them 10s. for their playing on any extraordinary rejoicing day, besides their common salary. They had had their present cloaks above three years, and had not been paid anything for the last two rejoicing days. Consideration of this petition was respited until the next Assembly.

FILE – Waits: Payments to – ref. COL/OF/02/156 – date: 1689 – 1718
Signed order of Thomas Pikington, Mayor, for payment for their attendance on the Coronation day last. Apr 17 1689. (no names.)
Signed order of James Bateman, Mayor,… at the anniversary of King Charles’s restoration, 25 Jun 1717.
Order for payment to Alice, widow of Thomas Philpot, late one of the City’s thumpeters. 4 Mar 1717/8.

FILE – City Waits’ receipt for Court [4, 7, 12 or 15?], receipted by Theo. Fitt, 11 Aug 1680. – ref. CLA/036/02/1680/13/7 – date: 1680
1 p.

FILE – [City Waits’] bill for Courts 6,8,10 and 12, with Lord Mayor Sir George Thorold’s order to Chamberlain George Ludlam to pay Mr. Meers. – ref. CLA/036/02/1720/17/2 – date: 1720
1 p.

FILE – Order of the Lord Mayor for payment to the City Waits, 3 Aug 1681, receipted by Robert Perry, 3 Aug 1681. – ref. CLA/036/02/1681/12/2 – date: 1681
1 p.

Corporation of the City of London appoint the LSO their official City Waits:
“ref. COL/OF/02/159: 1968, Appointment of London Symphony Orchestra as City Waits”

These additional records ere kindly supplied by Alan Radford and added to this page 10 February 2016

COL/OF/02/157
Receipt for £10.15s. being 1/3 part of the sum agreed to be paid by Wm. Smith to the Lord Mayor for his admittance into the place of one of the eight waits. 18 Sep 1704.
Receipt for £2.3s. being 1/3 part of £6: 12s agreed by Richard Sleep to be paid to the Lord Mayor for his admittance into the place of one of the City Waits in the room of Thomas Sharples. 23 Oct 1711.
Assignment of three years’ salary as a City Wait, by Edward Pointin to James Indall, 9 Jan 1713/4.
Admission of Charles Ballet in the place of John Jenkins and William Davis in the place of Convett Newes, for the sum of £90 each, 1/3 nd. to be paid to the Chamber. 1760 & 1762.
Held by: Corporation of London Record Office

COL/OF/02/158
Power of Attorney given to Rich. Burnett to receive money due to Wm. Burnett one of the City Waits, 15 Feb 1787
Held by: Corporation of London Record Office

COL/OF/02/156
Signed order of Thomas Pikington, Mayor, for payment for their attendance on the Coronation day last. Apr 17 1689. (no names.)
Signed order of James Bateman, Mayor, … at the anniversary of King Charles’s restoration, 25 Jun 1717.
Order for payment to Alice, widow of Thomas Philpot, late one of the City’s thumpeters. 4 Mar 1717/8.
Held by: Corporation of London Record Office

UPDATE, 3 April 2019:
From The St. James’ Chronicle, 27-29 October 1795
“John Rice, Citizen and Musician, was admitted one of the City Wayts, in the room of William English, resigned.”

These additional records ere kindly supplied by Alan Radford and added to this page 15 May 2020

1822: CITY OF LONDON

In December 1822, Mr Munroe, the authorised principal London Wait, brought charges against four men for playing musical instruments in St Martin’s Lane at half-past twelve in the morning and for soliciting Christmas boxes. Due to the wording of the Vagrancy Act, the defendants got off on a technicality, but were admonished by Mr Halls, the sitting magistrate, and ordered not to collect any more Christmas boxes.