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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 Mercers is the premier Livery Company of the City of London and ranks first in the order of precedence of the Companies. It is the first of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies. Although of even older origin, the company was incorporated under a Royal Charter in 1394, the company's earliest extant Charter. The company's aim was to act as a trade association for general merchants, and especially for exporters of wool and importers of velvet, silk and other luxurious fabrics (mercers). By the 16th century many members of the company had lost any connection with the original trade. Today, the Company exists primarily as a charitable institution, supporting a variety of causes. The company's motto is Honor Deo, Latin for "Honour to God".
The Worshipful Company of Vintners is one of the most ancient 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 Salters is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London, 9th in order of precedence. The Company originated as the Guild of Corpus Christi, which was granted a Royal Charter of incorporation in 1394. Further Charters granted the Company the authority to set standards and regulations regarding the products of its members.
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 Leathersellers is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The organisation originates from the latter part of the fourteenth century and received its Royal Charter in 1444, and thereby is the senior leather industry-related City Livery Company.
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 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 Curriers is one of the ancient livery companies of London, associated with the leather trade.
The Worshipful Company of Feltmakers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Feltmakers, or makers of felt hats, were incorporated by Letters patent granted by James I in 1604. They received an extended Royal Charter in 1667. The Company gradually lost its role as a trade association for felt hat makers, due to both advancements in technology and the increased popularity of silk hats. Like a majority of Livery Companies, the Feltmakers' Company is now primarily a charitable institution, but has a number of milliners amongst its members.
The Worshipful Company of Framework Knitters is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. It was incorporated by Oliver Cromwell in 1657, with a Royal Charter from Charles II in 1663. It was granted livery status in 1713. For a period it had its own hall in Red Cross Street, however for various reasons it was sold, and now our members enjoy the opportunity to visit other livery company halls on a rotational basis.
A livery is a uniform, insignia or symbol adorning; in a non-military context, a person, an object or a vehicle that denotes a relationship between the wearer of the livery and an individual or corporate body. Often, elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or corporate body feature in the livery. Alternatively, some kind of a personal emblem or badge, or a distinctive colour, is featured.
The Worshipful Company of Information Technologists, also known as the Information Technologists' Company, is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The company was granted livery status by the Court of Aldermen on 7 January 1992, becoming the 100th livery company. It received its Royal Charter on 17 June 2010 from Prince Edward.
HMS Wellington is a Grimsby-class sloop, formerly of the Royal Navy. During the Second World War, she served as a convoy escort ship in the North Atlantic. She is now moored alongside the Victoria Embankment, at Temple Pier, on the River Thames in London, England, as the headquarters ship of the Honourable Company of Master Mariners, where she is known as HQSWellington. It was always the ambition of the founding members of the company to have a livery hall. Up to the outbreak of war in 1939, various proposals were examined, including the purchase of a sailing ship, Archibald Russell.
Mercery initially referred to silk, linen, and fustian textiles among various other piecegoods imported to England in the 12th century.
English embroidery includes embroidery worked in England or by English people abroad from Anglo-Saxon times to the present day. The oldest surviving English embroideries include items from the early 10th century preserved in Durham Cathedral and the 11th century Bayeux Tapestry, if it was worked in England. The professional workshops of Medieval England created rich embroidery in metal thread and silk for ecclesiastical and secular uses. This style was called Opus Anglicanum or "English work", and was famous throughout Europe.
The Broderers' Hall or Embroiderers' Hall at 36 Gutter Lane was the livery hall of the Worshipful Company of Broderers, the City of London livery company for embroiderers from 1515 until its destruction in 1940.
Cordwainers' Hall was the livery hall of the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers, the City of London livery company for Cordwainers from 1316 until its destruction in 1941.
References
- ↑ Derek Sumeray (23 August 2011). London Plaques. Shire Books. ISBN 978-0-7478-1155-8.
- ↑ John Kennedy Melling (2003). London's Guilds and Liveries. Osprey Publishing. pp. 45–. ISBN 978-0-7478-0559-5.
