The article is devoted to the struggle of the «old» and «new» patricians in London at the end of the 14thcentury. At that time the guild masters, led by the traders of textile goods, opposed the oligarchic merchant regime ofvictualing guilds. In 1381‑1383 the democratic opposition gained the upper hand, and their leader –a draper John Northampton ‑ became mayor of the capital. He organized socio-economic and political reforms in the interests of wide layers of the population.
