Worshipful Company of Curriers

Coordinates: 51°30′41″N 0°05′28″W / 51.51136°N 0.09108°W / 51.51136; -0.09108
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Curriers' Company
The Curriers' Company Coat of Arms
MottoSpes Nostra Deus
Locationc/o Tallow Chandlers' Hall, Dowgate Hill, London[1]
Date of formation1272
Company associationLeather, fashion and education
Order of precedence29th
Master of companyIan Michel
Websitecurriers.co.uk

The Worshipful Company of Curriers is one of the ancient livery companies of London, associated with the leather trade.

The

Sheriffs of London.[2]

The company ranks 29th in the order of precedence of City livery companies. Its motto is Spes Nostra Deus, Latin for "Our Hope is God".

Most of the

archives are kept at the Guildhall Library for public view.[3][4]

History

The Curriers' Company dates from 1272 when the Art or Mystery of Curriers formed a

King James I.[5]

During the ensuing four centuries the company built no less than six Curriers' halls in London.[6] After the sale of its sixth and last hall in 1921 it moved in with its longstanding trade and livery partner, the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers, with which it maintains a close relationship. Along with many other livery halls, Cordwainers' Hall in Cannon Street was itself destroyed by enemy action in 1941 and since then the Curriers have been without their own hall. However, from 1942 onwards the company has been housed at Tallow Chandlers' Hall, where it holds its Court meetings. Historically several streets in the now London Borough of Camden's environs were named after the currying trade, eg. Curriers' Alley, Curriers' Lane, etc.[7]

Charitable activity

The Curriers' Company donates to charities which benefit the young, the elderly, the disabled and the socially disadvantaged. It primarily supports City of London charities and cultural organisations, general educational establishments and the training of young people in leathercraft.

The

Northampton University's Leather Conservation Centre;[8]
these foster the conservation, creation and restoration of leather objects and materials. In 2000 the Curriers' Millennium Healthcare Bursary was established.[9] This annual bursary endows research or personal study to improve the health care of underprivileged sectors of London's population or elsewhere. Though originally directed towards general practitioners, the scope of the bursary was widened in 2003, since when it has also attracted submissions from dentists, pharmacists, nurses, midwives, mental health workers and an ophthalmologist.

The Curriers' Company London History Essay Prize on the

Oasis Trust
.

Annually, each newly elected Master Currier has the option of designating a charity of choice: Master's Charitable Appeal. The Master and Company make initial donations:

liverymen, freemen
and others are invited to follow suit. The Company encourages any enterprise which supports its charitable giving.

The Curriers' Company is affiliated to

URNU.[12][13]

The present Clerk to the Curriers' Company is former diplomat Giles Whitaker,[14] whose role combines that of executive officer as well as supporting the Master: Ian Michel (for 2023-24).[15] The Company's Honorary Chaplain is the Revd Ann McNeil.[16]

Notable liverymen

Former halls

(1) In 1485 the Curriers' Company had its hall in the parish of

Aldgate Ward
.

(2) Circa 1583 the Curriers' Hall was situated close to the site of the Boar's Head Inn, on a property which had been devised to the company in 1516. It stood in the parish of St Alphege, on the south side of the street leading along London Wall; Boar's Head Alley lay between Philip Lane and Little Wood Street. Curriers' Hall was one of the 44 (out of 52) livery halls destroyed in the Great Fire of London early in September 1666.

(3) Curriers' Hall in 1670 was perhaps the most attractive of the company's five halls on the Boar's Head site.

(4) In 1820 a new and smaller hall was rebuilt to the east of the old one.

(5) The Curriers' Hall begun in 1873 and completed in the following year extravagantly was demolished in 1875 before it could even be furnished.

(6) Between 1874 and 1876 a new Curriers' Hall was built in the

French Gothic style.[17]
It abutted on London Wall. It was sold in 1921 and destroyed by enemy action on 29 December 1940.

Arms

The

Curriers' Company are blazoned
:-

Coat of Arms

Arms: Azure a Cross engrailed Or between four pairs of Shaves in saltire Argent handled Or.

Crest: Upon a Wreath Or and Azure out of Clouds Proper two Arms embowed in carnation the shirt sleeves folded beneath the elbows Argent in the hands a Shave Argent handled Or.

Supporters: Dexter, an Elk Proper attired and unguled Or; Sinister
, a Goat Argent flashed Sable.

The Company's

armorial bearings were granted
on 8 August 1583.

See also

References

  1. ^ "City livery companies". Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  2. ^ "Member details". Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  3. ^ "Source Material", Edward Mayer and Donald Adamson; The Curriers' Company: A Modern History, 2000, pp. 505–511
  4. ^ "Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section - Livery Company Membership Guide: Curriers' Company". History.ac.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  5. ^ "Chartered bodies - Privy Council". privycouncil.independent.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 15 November 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  6. ^ "GUILDHALL | London". Archived from the original on 12 January 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  7. ^ "Curriers' Alley - Cutler Street - British History Online". British-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  8. ^ "Photograph: The Curriers' Arms, Northampton (late 19th century)". Flickr.com. 20 February 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  9. ^ "UCL Medical School". Ucl.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 31 January 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  10. ^ "The Curriers' Company London History Essay Prize - Institute of Historical Research". History.ac.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  11. ^ @GowmanAJ (29 September 2021). "First event as Sheriff was #CurriersLivery History Essay Prize. Real support to young academics as they forge their…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ^ McDermott, Hayley. "Home - Cambridge University Royal Naval Unit". Srcf.ucam.org. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  13. ^ "HMS Trumpeter (P294) - Royal Navy". Royalnavy.mod.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  14. ^ "Giles Whitaker". GOV.UK. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  15. ^ "Curriers' newsletter online" (PDF). Curriers.co.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  16. ^ "Ken Peters - Diocese of London". London.anglican.org. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  17. ^ "1876 – New Curriers Hall, London Wall, London | Architecture News & Discussion - Archiseek.com". Archived from the original on 20 April 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2012.

Further reading

  • Caroline M. Barron, "The Parish Fraternities of Medieval London", in C.M. Barron and C. Harper-Bill (ed.), The Church in Pre-Reformation Society, 1985, pp. 13–37.
  • Caroline M. Barron, London in the Later Middle Ages: Government and People, 1200–1500, 2005.
  • John Bromley and Heather Child, The Armorial Bearings of the Guilds of London, 1960.
  • D.A. Farnie, John Rylands of Manchester, 1993.
  • Ian Gibson, The Erotomaniac: The Secret Life of Henry Spencer Ashbee, 2001.
  • Edward Mayer, The Curriers and the City of London. A History of the Worshipful Company of Curriers, 1968.
  • Edward Mayer and Donald Adamson, The Curriers' Company: A Modern History, 2000.
  • Richard Pantall, George Jarvis (1704–1793) and his Notorious Charity, 1993.
  • John Strype, A Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster by John Stow, 1720.
  • Laura Wright, "The London Middle English Guild Certificates of 1388–9", Nottingham Medieval Studies, 1995, pp. 108–145.

External links

51°30′41″N 0°05′28″W / 51.51136°N 0.09108°W / 51.51136; -0.09108

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