CITY LIVERY COMPANIES
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[Introduction] [Listing] [Ceremonies] [Guildhall] [Halls] [Visiting] [Resources]

Introduction
The City Livery companies originated in the Medieval period as craft guilds. They decided who could trade, controlled prices & wages, working conditions & welfare. They also controlled quality in return for a trade monopoly, carrying out inspections and punishing poor workmanship. In return they would care for members unable to work and ensure they had a decent burial. Several companies still retain their special pall cloth. The term 'livery' was adopted with the custom of wearing a uniform, still used on ceremonial occasions. Companies are generally governed by a Master, one to four Wardens and a Court of Assistants aided by a Clerk and Beadle. Admission is by three routes: servitude (an apprenticeship), partrimony (for the child of a liveryman) or redemption (nomination & payment). Liveryman are often also Freemen of the City of London, responsible for choosing the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs.
An order of precendence was established in 1515 occording to company wealth. To settle a dispute the Skinners and Merchant Taylors take positions six and seven on alternate years. Some companies such as the Goldsmiths, Fishmongers, Saddlers and Gunmakers are still active in their trade. Others such as the Horners and Fan Makers have changed to modern equivalents (plastics & air-conditioning) whilst many have lost their trade. Loriners and cordwainers are as unfamilar names now as information technologists or air pilots would have been in Medieval times. The majority of the newer companies cover specialist professions to which members belong. Most companies support associated industries with prizes, fellowships, scholarships etc. Some have founded or support schools & colleges and maintain almshouses or provide pensions. In addition to their own almshouses & schools Livery Companies were often appointed to administer establishments set up by individuals. Their funds originate from purchases of land & properties or bequests from members. Look for company badges on city buildings which denote ownership.

Listing
Note: Dates are as attributed by the City of London but most companies pre-date their 'official' formation date.
Companies with an asterisk undertake a role in one of the ceremonies detailed below.
Where companies do not have a livery hall (some are shared) a contact address can be obtained from the database maintained by the Livery Committee.

Ceremonies
At Midsummer liverymen meet at Guildhall and choose two sheriffs and on Michaelmas Day they nominate two Alderman one of whom will become Lord Mayor. The Lord Mayor's Show takes place on the second Saturday in November and originates from the grant of 1215 which required the appointed Lord Mayor to swear loyalty to the crown. Masters of livery companies attend the event and companies often produce floats for the parade. The Feltmakers, Scriveners and Glovers provide the new Lord Mayor with his hat, quill & gloves. In December the Butchers present him with a boar's head which used to be made in payment for land on which to carry out their business. The Fruiterers make a gift of fruit in the autumn to mark the abolition of tolls payable on fruit entering the City and the Bakers & Gardeners donate bread & flowers, which are usually passed on to hospitals.

A United Guilds service is held in St Paul's Cathedral in March and there is a Cakes & Ale ceremony at the Stationer's Hall on Ash Wednesday. In June the Fishmongers process from their hall to St Magnus the Martyr Church and the Skinners go to St James Garlickhythe on Corpus Christi Day. In July the Grocers process to St Stephen Walbrook, the Vintners to St James Garlickhythe and the Watermen & Lightermen to St Mary-at-Hill. In October there is a Harvest Festival of Bakers at St-Mary-at-Hill and on the second Tuesday the wine harvest is celebrated by the Vintners and Distillers at St Olaves, Hart Street. Also in October is the Painter-Stainers procession to St James Garlickhythe and the Basketmakers to St Margaret Pattens.
The Trial of the Pyx which tests the coins of the realm originated in the 13thc at Westminster but since the 1870s has been carried out at Goldsmith's Hall (usually on the second Thursday in February).

Swans on the Thames belong to the sovereign or the Dyers or Vintners. The Queen's Keeper of the Swans presides over the ceremony of Swan Upping assisted by swanherds of the Dyers & Vintners in July. They wear colourful costumes and travel in boats decorated with banners. In 1980 the length of river covered was shortened and it now takes place between Sudbury and Pangbourne. Originally the beaks of new cygnets were nicked: one for Dyers, two for Vintners and none for the Queens but in 1997 this practice was replaced with ringing.

Doggetts Coat & Badge Race is the oldest annual event in the British sporting calendar and was instigated by Thomas Doggett, a comedian and joint manager of the Drury Lane Theatre, who had relied on the Watermen to carry him from his home in Chelsea to his place of work, sometimes in poor weather conditions. When he died in 1715 his will provided 5 for a silver badge and scarlet coat. The race is from London Bridge to Chelsea Pier, a distance of 4 miles 5 furlongs, and takes place in July with (originally against!) the tide. The first boats were skiffs but are now light sculling boats which average a time of 30 minutes. Men and women in their first year of freedom of the Company of Watermen & Lightermen are eligible to enter and from the 1990's unsuccessful entrants could row again in their second and third years. The original bequest no longer covers the cost of the prize which is supplied by the Fishmongers who organise the event and make the presentation to the winner at a special dinner.

The Cart Marking ceremony takes place in Guildhall Yard in mid-July and is organised by the Worshipful Company of Carmen with assistance from the Glovers. More information including pictures of the event in 2002 is available on a separate page.

Guildhall - pictured in header
The medieval Guildhall was severely damaged in the Great Fire but reconstruced by 1671. Alterations were carried out by Sir Horace Jones in the Victorian period but the hall was set on fire during the bombing in December 1940. The roof collapsed and a new one was constructed in 1953 to the designs of Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. Its oak interior is decorated with shields bearing the arms of City Livery Companies and banners of the twelve principal companies hang beneath the clerestory windows. A livery hall intended for the use of companies which do not have their own hall was also provided by Scott in 1957. The west crypt was restored in 1973 and has 19 stained glass windows depicting coat of arms of City Livery Companies. The Guildhall Art Gallery has five new stained glass windows depicting the Shipwrights, Environmental cleaners, Gardeners, Air Pilots & Air Navigators and Engineers Companies. The windows, installed to mark the Queen's Golden Jubliee in 2002, were designed by Stella Timmins.

Halls
There are now only some 40 company halls in the City, varying in date from the 17thc to 2002, and all have been rebuilt or altered at some time. Many were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and during WWII.
More information including some photographs is available on a separate page.

Visiting
Assuming you don't have contacts or the funds to hire the premises these are the options:
Tours can often be arranged for groups - apply in writing to the clerk.
Some Companies offer tours to the general public. Enquire at the City Information Centre (SW of St Paul's Cathedral).
Goldsmiths Hall is the venue for exhibitions which are open to the public - details will be on their website.
The City of London Festival which takes place in June/July uses some halls for events and organises architectural tours which may include Livery Halls.
Some Halls open for London's Open House Weekend in September.
The Guildhall is open to the public when not in use.

Resources
The London Encyclopaedia by Weinreb & Hibbert has notes on all the livery companies and their halls.
'Buildings of England - London 1: The City' by Bradley & Pevsner includes descriptions of 34 livery halls
'Discovering London's Guilds & Liveries' by John Kennedy Melling (Shire publication)
The City of London Freeman's Guide by Paul D Jagger
The City of London has produced a booklet 'City Livery Companies'. Copies may be available at the City Information Centre or Guildhall
The Guildhall Library has archive material relating to the livery companies [more info].
The Collage database has plans and drawings of some of the halls.
The Clockmakers have a museum within the Science Museum.
Some companies have their own archive collections which are available to researchers by arrangement.
If you have an interest in a particular company or hall you can write to the clerk for information.
There are links to company websites in the listing above.
The Livery Committe website includes a database with contact details and coat of arms for all the companies.
A comprehensive website on Livery Companies

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