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The Statute of Apprentices in 1563 forbade anyone to enter a trade who had not served an apprenticeship. Whilst the full rigour of this statute was modified by subsequent Acts of Parliament and by legal judgments, it remained on the statute book until 1814.

Until the Statute 8 Anne c. 5 (1710) made stamp duty payable on indentures of apprenticeship, no central register of apprentices was kept in England and Wales, and evidence of apprenticeship must therefore be sought locally, in the surviving papers of firms, parishes, charities and individuals. (See, for example, W. B. Stephens, Sources of English Local History (1981).

Apprenticeship Books, 1710-1811

For the years 1710 to 1811 the Commissioners of Stamps kept registers of the money they received from the duty on indentures. These now form the Apprenticeship Books (IR 1) at the Public Record Office. Duty was payable by the master at the rate of 6d for every £1 under £50 which he received for taking on the apprentice, and Is for every £ 1 above that sum. The deadline for payment was one year after the expiry of the indenture, it may therefore be necessary to search the records of several years' payments in order to find a particular entry, even when the date of the indenture is known.

The Apprenticeship Books record the names, addresses and trades of the masters, the names of the apprentices and dates of their indentures. Until 1752 the names of apprentices'parents are given, but after that year rarely. Copies of indexes of masters' names from 171 0 to 1762, and of apprentices' names from 1710 to 1774 will be found in the class IR 17 these were made on behalf of the Society of Genealogists and copied from the originals in the Guildhall Library, London.

Where the stamp duty was paid in London, entries will be found in the 'City' registers in this series; where it was paid elsewhere, entries will be found in the 'Country' registers.

Apprenticeships Not Recorded In The Apprenticeship Books

Formal indentures involved some trouble and expense. By the eighteenth century apprenticeships were often undertaken without any formal indenture, especially in common trades such as weaving. In many trades it was expected that men would bring up their sons or nephews to the trade. Further, it was ruled that the Statute of Apprentices did not extend to trades which did not exist when it was passed in 1563; this excluded many eighteenth-century industries most notably the cotton industry.In many areas the Statute was not enforced and in the Yorkshire woollen industry formal apprenticeship hardly existed by the end of the eighteenth century.

A large propportion of those who were formally indentured were taken on by masters at the expense of the parish or public charity.These indentures were exempt from stamp duty (8 Anne c. 50 and the apprentices are thus not included in the registers.In such cases,local or charity records,if they survive are likely to be the only source of information.

Last changed: 03/05/2006, 13:17:40

Source: http//www.pro.gov.uk/leaflets/riO44.htm 30 Nov 98