History of Worcestershire Kidderminster and Blockley. Henry VIII confined cloth making to Bromsgrove, Kidderminster, Droitwich, Evesham and Worcester. Rural production of cloth had been spurred by rural poverty and the need to supplement incomes. Trade in Worcester and the cloth trade in Kidderminster was still controlled by guilds. Fulling (cleaning new cloth) around Worcester and dyeing in the Teme valley, for instance in Tenbury and Clifton, were major employers. Rope making was prominent around Bromsgrove. However, tanning was probably the largest single industry across the county, concentrated near rivers and streams in the north and west of the county. Glassmaking was first established
Economics of English towns and trade in the Middle Ages of this growth was that coins had to be manufactured in large numbers, being moved in barrels and sacks to be stored in local treasuries for royal use as the king travelled. The first English guilds emerged during the early 12th century. These guilds were fraternities of craftsmen that set out to manage their local affairs including "prices, workmanship, the welfare of its workers and the suppression of interlopers and sharp practices". Amongst these early guilds were the "guilds merchants", who ran the local markets in towns and represented the merchant community in discussions with the crown. Other early guilds