Wives of artisans and merchants would often be as involved in the business as their husbands. Men needed to marry in order too run a workshop – it was once they were married that they were deemed enough of a man to do so. Their wives would be responsible for the staff, train apprentices and manage accounts etc. When their husband died they often took over the running of the business and it flourished under them.

The custom of London said that when a man died, his widow was expected to take over and train the apprentices. If she was not prepared to do this it was her responsibility to find someone else to do it. The law also said that when a man died his widow was to become a citizen of London and can have economic privileges that go with it.

Joanna Hill was married to a bell-founder in London. When he died, she took over the business. The bells which have survived from the foundry business reveal that Joanna made her mark on the bells when she took over after her husband’ death. Where previously only his crest was shown, now there is another mark added which is her mark. She was proud of her work and wanted to mark it as coming from her business. The will of her husband, when compared to hers, reveals that the business flourished under her leadership. Her business was run by a woman again 20 years later because records at Faversham reveal that when one of Joanna Hill’s bells cracked, her successor who was also a woman ran repairs on it.