The Worshipful Company of Armourers and Brasiers is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The Armourers' Guild was established in 1322; it received a royal charter in 1453. Other companies, including the Armour Repairers, merged with the Armourers. In 1708, brass workers joined the company, which was renamed as the Armourers' and Brasiers' Company. The company does support the metallurgy industry, but does not retain a close association with its original trade, as is the case with a majority of livery companies. It exists primarily as a charitable establishment.
The company is based at Armourers' Hall, situated on the corner of Coleman Street and London Wall, and has occupied this same site since 1346. The hall was one of the very few to escape destruction in the Great Fire of London in 1666. In 1795, the hall was enlarged, but it was decided in 1839 to rebuild it completely. The lantern, or dome, of the livery hall was added in 1872. On 29 December 1940, during a major blitz on London, the surrounding area was devastated, but again the hall survived.
The Armourers' and Brasiers' Company ranks twenty-second in the order of precedence of livery companies. The company's motto is We Are One.
Glover, Elizabeth (2008). Men of Metal: History of the Armourers and Brasiers of the City of London. Huddersfield/London: Jeremy Mills Publishing/Worshipful Company of Armourers and Brasiers. ISBN978-1906600242.
There are 110 livery companies, comprising London's ancient and modern trade associations and guilds, almost all of which are styled the 'Worshipful Company of...' their respective craft, trade or profession. These livery companies play a significant part in the life of the City of London, not least by providing charitable-giving and networking opportunities. Liverymen retain voting rights for the senior civic offices, such as the Lord Mayor, Sheriffs and Corporation, its ancient municipal authority with extensive local government powers.
The Worshipful Company of Grocers is one of the 110 Livery Companies of the City of London and ranks second in order of precedence. The Grocers' Company was established in 1345 for merchants occupied in the trade of grocer and is one of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies.
The Worshipful Company of Vintners is one of the oldest Livery Companies of the City of London, England, thought to date back to the 12th century. It is one of the "Great Twelve" livery companies of London, and its motto is Vinum Exhilarat Animum, Latin for "Wine Cheers the Spirit". One of the more peculiar rights of the Company involves the ceremony of swan upping.
The Worshipful Company of Dyers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Dyers' Guild existed in the twelfth century; it received a Royal Charter in 1471. It originated as a trade association for members of the dyeing industry but is now mainly a charitable institution. Each year the company participates in the ceremony of Swan Upping along the River Thames.
The Worshipful Company of Bakers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Bakers' Guild is known to have existed in the twelfth century. From the Corporation of London, the Guild received the power to enforce regulations for baking, known as the Assize of Bread and Ale. The violations included selling short-weight bread and the addition of sand instead of flour. The Bread Assize remained in force until 1863, when Parliament repealed it.
The Worshipful Company of Ironmongers is one of the livery companies of the City of London, incorporated under a Royal Charter in 1463.
The Worshipful Company of Cutlers is one of the ancient Livery Companies of the City of London. It ranks 18th in the order of precedence of the Companies.
The Worshipful Company of Pewterers is one of the 110 Livery Companies of the City of London. It ranks 16th in the order of precedence of City Livery Companies and has existed since at least 1348. Like all the other City Livery Companies, the Worshipful Company of Pewterers has four main pillars of activity: Charitable endeavour, assistance to education, support for its trade and profession, and being a convivial and caring social community.
The Worshipful Company of Brewers is one of the livery companies of the City of London. London brewers are known to have organised as a group in the 13th century. Their first royal charter was granted by Henry VI in 1438. In 1643, Parliament imposed excise taxes on beer, ale, and malt, steadily increasing them until gin became cheaper, causing the growth of unlicensed breweries and, in 1685, James II extended the company's jurisdiction to eight miles around London and its suburbs. In 1739 it adopted new by-laws, which included the requirement for members to "enter into a bond [...] with the company against any expenses of their being elected to the office of sheriff or lord mayor". The company started to go into decline about 1750.
The Worshipful Company of Girdlers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London.
The Worshipful Company of Saddlers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. A Guild of Saddlers, the Company's predecessor, is thought to have been an Anglo-Saxon Craft Guild – it certainly existed at some point in the eleventh century. The Guild became a Company when a Royal Charter of Incorporation was granted by King Edward III in 1363. The City granted the Company the right to regulate the trade of saddle-making; all saddlers in and within two miles of the City were subject to the Company's regulations. However, the powers of the Company, which has existed on the same site at Cheapside since 1160, were eroded over time.
The Worshipful Company of Cordwainers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Cordwainers were workers in fine leather; the Company gets its name from "cordwain" (cordovan), the white leather produced from goatskin in Cordova, Spain. All fine leather makers, including Girdlers and Glovers, were originally classified as cordwainers; however, the term eventually came to refer only to fine leather footwear, including boots.
The Worshipful Company of Carpenters is a livery company of the City of London. The Carpenters were traditionally different from a fellow wood-crafting company, the Worshipful Company of Joiners and Ceilers, in that carpenters utilised nails while joiners used adhesives to attach wood.
The Worshipful Company of Plumbers is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The organisation received the right to regulate medieval plumbers, who were, among other things, responsible for fashioning cisterns, in 1365. It was incorporated under a royal charter in 1611. Today, the company is no longer a trade association, instead existing as a charitable institution.
The Worshipful Company of Innholders is one of the 110 livery companies of the City of London.
The Worshipful Company of Founders is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London, England. The Founders, or workers in brass and bronze, were incorporated under a Royal Charter in 1614. However, with the development of technology, the ancient craft grew obsolete. Now, the Company exists, along with a majority of Livery Companies, as a charitable foundation. It also supports the foundry industry by awarding research grants and scholarships.
The Worshipful Company of Coopers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The organisation of coopers existed in 1422; the Company received its first Royal Charter of incorporation in 1501. The cooper trade involved the making of wine, beer, and spirit casks ; the Livery Company also functions as a charitable foundation, and supports two education establishments: the Coopers' Company and Coborn School of Upminster, Essex, and Strode's College of Egham, Surrey. The former was founded in the Ratcliffe area of London in 1536 and donated to the Company who have been involved with it ever since.
The Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The organisation was first mentioned in a court record in 1299. A Royal Charter officially granting it the status of Company was granted in 1571. The Company originally had the right to set regulations and standards for blacksmiths in the City of London. However, the right eroded over time. By the end of the eighteenth century, little remained of the Company's former powers and so the Company did not the renew the lease on its hall at expiration in 1785.
The Honourable Company of Master Mariners is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Company was formed in 1926; it was made a Livery Company by the City of London in 1932, making it the first new Livery Company to be formed since 1746. While the other Livery Companies are entitled to the style Worshipful, the Master Mariners are styled Honourable, King George V having granted them that honour in 1928.
Goldsmiths' Hall is a Grade I building at the junction of Foster Lane and Gresham Street in the City of London. It has served as an assay office and the headquarters of London's goldsmith guild, the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, one of the livery companies of the City of London. The Company has been based at this location since 1339, the present building being their third hall on the site.
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