Britain Meets Discovering London’s Liveries
• The City of London website has a wealth of information about all of the livery companies. Tel: (020) 7606 3030;
www.cityoflondon.gov.uk • The Fishmongers website has contact details and coats of arms for all of the companies, plus information about tours of the hall. Tel: (020) 7626 3531;
www.fishhall.org.uk • The Coachmakers website includes a map of the livery halls,
www.coachmakers.co.uk • A full history of the Frutierers company, written by A W Gould and published in 1912, is available to read online at
www.archive.org/ details/historyofworship00gouluoft • Livery company tours: Some companies offer tours; free tickets can be obtained from the City Information Centre by St Paul’s Cathedral in January. • Goldsmiths Hall is the venue for relevant exhibitions.
www.thegoldsmiths.co.uk • The City of London Festival in June/July has an extensive programme of music, visual arts, film, walks and talks, taking in the halls.
www.colf.org
(apprenticeship). My own admission in 2001 came through the nomination of a friend”. Will Sibley’s entry, on the other hand, was a kind of apprenticeship. “I learnt tree grafting on the job. My father worked in the City, which gave me foreknowledge of the liveries. Joining the Fruiterers gave me a wonderful connection with the City, while still letting me ply the practical trade I love”. Sibley, who was nominated, joined in 1983. His son is now a liveryman as well, and if he has children, they could eventually swear loyalty, and don the distinct academic- style gown, in a ceremony known as ‘being clothed’. Once accepted, there is much to do. Sibley recalls one
remarkable commission, to rebuild the garden at George Washington’s home in Mount Vernon, Virginia, overlooking the Potomac river, with an inauguration in the company of the US President, and Union Jacks flying. Annual events in London include the Lord Mayor’s
Parade, the Sons of the Clergy charity service, and the enormously popular United Guilds Service. This last fills St Paul’s Cathedral to capacity, and is a hugely atmospheric service, begun during WWII to boost morale. One of Cooper’s favourite events is the Gift of Fruit:
twelve bushels of fruit presented annually to the Lord Mayor to commemorate his successful settling of an argument over fruit tolls. “It’s more of a symbolic basket now; we send proportional money to charities” he says. Then of course there’s the camaraderie. Bodger mentions the warmth generated across the broad spectrum of
www.britain-magazine.com
• The Guildhall is where the Lord Mayor and the ruling merchant class have held court since the 12th century. It is open to the public when not in use, and includes a Clockmaker’s Museum, a library and a bookshop with archive material relating to the livery companies. Tel: (020) 7606 3030; www.
cityoflondon.gov.uk/lma • Mansion House is a rare surviving Georgian town palace in the City of London with magnificent interiors, providing the Lord Mayor with living, working and entertainment space. Tours are led by trained City of London Guides. Tel: (020) 7606 3030;
www.cityoflondon.gov.uk • London’s Open House Weekend. Some livery halls open for this each September.
www.londonopenhouse.org • St Pauls Cathedral Welcomes visitors and sightseers.
www.stpauls.co.uk • The Lord Mayor’s Show, the largest unrehearsed pageant in the world, takes place in November. Tel: (020) 7606 3030;
www.cityoflondon.gov.uk
Above: The Trial of the Pyx, held at Goldsmith's Hall every year since 1282 to verify the quality of newly minted coins. Above inset: The Draper's Company's royal charter. Far left: The Draper's Hall. Near left: Hallmarking continues today at the Assay Office, Goldsmith's Hall. Right: The Fishmonger's coat of arms
associates at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet, “masters, partners and friends all squeezed into Mansion House in the City”. And they all passionately champion the charity work.
“Each company”, Bodger says, “is quietly, effectively, and constantly engaged in generous endeavours. Yet who even knows about it?” According to the current Lord Mayor, were the City of
London Liveries to be combined, they would constitute the biggest philanthropic alliance in the world. Not just survival, then, but success! And long may it continue.
BRITAIN 79
PHOTO: THE DRAPER\'S COMPANY/THE GOLDSMITH'S COMPANY/THE FISHMONGER'S COMPANY
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100