Steelyard

History

The Steelyard, from the Middle Low German Stâlhof (sample yard), was the kontor (foreign trading post) of the Hanseatic League in London, and their main trading base in England, between the 13th and 16th centuries. The main goods that the League exported from London were wool and from the 14th century woollen cloths. The kontor tended to be dominated by Rhenish and Westphalian traders, especially from Cologne. The Steelyard was not the only Hanseatic trading post in England.