These included those dealing in grain for brewing (maltsters) or meal for bread-making (mealmen), while others specialised in butter and cheese.
The preamble to the statute of 1562 declared that many people took up the trade of badgering seeking only to live easily and to leave their honest labour.
The licensing system is best seen as one of the powers which were available to the county justices of the peace, which they used when local conditions required or when ordered to so by the Privy Council.
[citation needed] The contribution made by badgers to the provisioning of provincial cities and industrial towns is hard to calculate.
There are also records of local communities petitioning the justices for a nominated person to be licensed specifically to buy grain to supply their market.