Building Early Modern Edinburgh

Received an Honourable Mention in the Frank Watson Book Prize 2020

Craftwork, family and privilege in Edinburgh's early modern building trades

Much like in the present day, building a house in the sixteenth century involved masons, carpenters and glaziers, among others, and in many cities such trades had separate companies to govern their own affairs. In Edinburgh, however, they banded together in a single body - the Edinburgh Incorporation of Mary's Chapel.

Building Early Modern Edinburgh traces the history of the organisation, which sought to control the capital's building trades and defend their privileges. By utilising a range of previously missing charters and archival documents, the author offers a new perspective on the prestigious and important craft guild in its 543 years of existence. Developing a crucial theme of 'composite corporatism', and using the concepts of 'family' and 'household' to approach an urban institution, this book is a valuable resource of comparative material for the study of craft guilds and urban history in a global context.

Aaron Allen is an independent researcher, having recently finished research and teaching fellowships at the University of Edinburgh. He is the author of The Locksmith Craft in Early Modern Edinburgh (2007) and co-editor, with Cathryn Spence, of Edinburgh Housemails Taxation Book, 1634-1636 (2014).

List of Tables; List of Figures & Plates; List of Abbreviations; Foreword; Preface; Introduction: Incorporation and the Corporate Framework; 1. Headship and Inclusion; 2. Family, Household and Obligation; 3. Craft and Kirk: Security, Status and Shelter; 4. Craft and Burgh: Conflict or Partnership?; Conclusions: The Decline of Corporatism and the Rise of the Unfree; Appendices; Glossary; Bibliography; Index