Cely shipping accounts: Accountability and the transition from oral to written records, The

Accounting Historians Journal, The, Dec 1995 by Hooper, Keith

(Account omitted)

George Cely then recorded his costs incurred with regard to unloading and selling the wine

(Account omitted)

From the above accounts provided by George Cely, the total cost of importing wine to London may be calculated as follows.

(Account omitted)

Thus, the average cost of importing seven hogsheads amounted to L1 - 8s - per hogshead.(8)

The next extract

File 13 fo. 37v

exemplifies the medieval shipping practice of a seaman's portage, which referred to an allowance of cargo space free to the crew on longer voyages but not customarily on shorter voyages such as to Calais and Zealand.(9) George Cely bought a further four hogsheads of wine in London from the crew as follows.

(Account omitted)

George Cely, therefore, purchased on his own account a further 4 hogsheads at L1 - 3s - 4d each. He managed to import his wine at a lower cost because he purchased at a discount some of the crew's portage allocations. In London the eight hogsheads were sold for L15 or for L1 - 17s - 6d per hogshead as can be seeen from the extract below.

File 13 fo. 38

Item the xiij day of Marche anno iiij xx vj sowld to master Thomas Tyrell an pype of rede wyne and ij hoggys hedys of clarrett pris le ton - vij li.

Item the xxiiij day of August sowld to Harry Brazer an pype of rede wyn and ij hogys hedys clarett pris viij li.

A modern trading account of George Cely's personal wine transaction would reveal the following.

(Account omitted)

The gross profit percentage which included freight and customs duty was 30% and the mark up on goods imported was 43%. These percentages were an improvement on the Cely family's traditional domestic gross margins of around 10% net

Power, 1941, p. 7

. To some extent the existence of such margins may explain the growth of English shipping as English merchants diversified into overseas trades. The accounts kept by merchants such as George Cely provided a rational basis for such decision making. However, the opportunity for increased gain from overseas trading must have been tempered by the prospect of total loss from the perils of ocean travel. In an age before commercial insurance brokers, merchants such as the Celys protected themselves by combining into partnerships, mostly family based

Power and Postan, 1966, p. 238

, and by loading some of their cargoes on to other ships

e.g. the Carvel of Dewe, File 13 fo. 36

.

III. The accounts of William Aldereche

The accounts written by William Aldereche, the purser on the voyage, detail the ship's running expenses, and the revenue from the freight canied for other merchants

File 13 fo. 54-60

. It would appear the original victualling of the ship in London for the outgoing voyage was the responsibility of the ship's owners, not the purser. The custom as John Balsall

Reddaway, 1969, p. 8

recorded was that shipowners fitted out the ship before she left, purchased victuals, replaced worn equipment,

rigging, in particular, needed constant attention due to the poor quality of rope then available

and engaged the crew. Wages were always paid in two instalments, on engagement and half way through the voyage. The latter payment was the purser's responsibility.