The Worshipful Company of Clothworkers was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1528, formed by the amalgamation of its two predecessor companies, the Fullers (incorporated 1480) and the Shearmen (incorporated 1508). It succeeded to the position of the Shearmen's Company and thus ranks twelfth in the order of precedence of Livery Companies of the City of London.
The original craft of the Clothworkers was the finishing of woven woollen cloth: fulling it to mat the fibres and remove the grease, drying it on tenter frames raising the nap with teasels (Dipsacus) and shearing it to a uniform finish. The Ordinances of The Clothworkers' Company, first issued in 1532 and signed by Sir Thomas More, sought to regulate clothworking, to maintain standards and to protect approved practices.
From the later Middle Ages, cloth production gradually moved away from London, a situation exacerbated by the Great Fire of London and the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries. The charitable role of the Clothworkers' company nevertheless continued, supported by generous gifts of money and property by members and benefactors.
Nowadays, the company's main role is in the charitable sphere, through the Clothworkers' Foundation, an independent charity. Through its grants, the Foundation seeks to improve the quality of life, particularly for people and communities that face disadvantage. The company generates some of its income by renting out the hall on a private hire basis for events. [1]
Both the company and the foundation operate from Clothworkers' Hall, in Dunster Court, between Mincing Lane and Mark Lane in the City of London. The site was conveyed to a group of Shearmen in 1456 and the present building, completed in 1958, is the sixth on the site. Its immediate predecessor, designed by Samuel Angell and opened in 1860, was destroyed in 1941. [2]
Famous members of the Worshipful Company of Clothworkers included King James I, Samuel Pepys, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Baroness Burdett-Coutts, George Peabody, Sydney Waterlow, Edward VII, Lord Kelvin, Viscount Slim, Robert Menzies and the Duke of Kent.[ citation needed ]
The Worshipful Company of Grocers is one of the 111 livery companies of the City of London, ranking second in order of precedence.
The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors is one of the 111 livery companies of the City of London.
The Worshipful Company of Drapers is one of the 111 livery companies of the City of London. It has the formal name The Master and Wardens and Brethren and Sisters of the Guild or Fraternity of the Blessed Mary the Virgin of the Mystery of Drapers of the City of London. More usually known simply as the Drapers' Company, it is one of the historic Great Twelve Livery Companies and was founded during the Middle Ages.
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 Great Twelve 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 111 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 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 Wax Chandlers is one of the oldest livery companies of the City of London, with one of the smallest memberships.
The Worshipful Company of Butchers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London, England. Records indicate that an organisation of butchers existed as early as 975; the Butchers' Guild, the direct predecessor of the present Company, was granted the right to regulate the trade in 1331. The Butchers' Guild was incorporated by Royal Charter centuries later, in 1605. The Butchers' still, unlike other Livery Companies, continues to exist as a trade association for members of the industry, instead of evolving into an institution primarily dedicated to charity. However, the Company does contribute, like all Livery Companies, to various charities.
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 Painter-Stainers is one of the livery companies of the City of London. An organisation of painters of metals and wood is known to have existed as early as 1283. A similar organisation of stainers, who generally worked on staining cloth for decorative wall hangings, existed as early as 1400. The two bodies merged in 1502; the new organisation was incorporated under a Royal Charter in 1581.
The Worshipful Company of Masons is one of the ancient Livery Companies of the City of London, number 30 in the order of precedence of the 111 companies. It was granted Arms in 1472, during the reign of King Edward IV; its motto is “God Is Our Guide”.
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 Broderers is one of the livery companies of the City of London. Broderers were workers in embroidery; the organization of Broderers existed in at least 1376, and was officially incorporated by a royal charter in 1561. As the craft of embroidery has lost its importance as a trade, the company has become less of a trade association for broderers. Instead, the company is now, as are most livery companies, a charitable foundation.
All Hallows Staining was a Church of England church located at the junction of Mark Lane and Dunster Court in the north-eastern corner of Langbourn ward in the City of London, England, close to Fenchurch Street railway station. All that remains of the church is the tower, built around AD 1320 as part of the second church on the site. Use of the grounds around the church is the subject of the Allhallows Staining Church Act 2010.
Goldsmiths' Hall is a Grade I listed 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.
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.