Visitors to the City of London will certainly take in
splendid St Paul’s Cathedral, probably gaze at the Mansion House, the Bank of
England or the Guildhall, possibly ascend The Monument if in good wind,
fruitlessly look for the Stock Exchange floor (now a computerised inter-dealing
room tele-operation) but they are likely to miss entirely one of the City’s
glories, the stately Livery Halls of the once-powerful Livery Companies of the
City.
 |
| Fishmongers' Hall at London Bridge |
The Livery Companies are a historic survival of the medieval
Guilds regulating the trades of the time. Their Halls are private properties
though access is improving and there are regular conducted tours. The
connection between the medieval trades and the Livery membership is now very
tenuous in most Companies and the membership is diverse. All Liverymen are
Freemen of the City with some voting privileges but the Companies themselves
are now largely philanthropic institutions, sometimes with connections to
schools, with much socialising thrown in. Some of the Companies are extremely
wealthy from historic endowments, managing large property portfolios.
There are 12 “Great Companies” - in order of precedence, The
Mercers, The Grocers, The Drapers, The Fishmongers, The Goldsmiths, The
Merchant Taylors, The Skinners (alternating in precedence annually with the
Merchant Taylors), The Haberdashers, The Salters, The Ironmongers, The Vintners
and The Clothworkers. Of the pre-1746 traditional 80 or so original Companies,
prominent also are The Brewers, The Wheelwrights, The Stationers, The Scriveners, The Saddlers
and The Cordwainers. These cosy oligarchic clubs were democratised in the 1970s
and “modern” Companies were created – there are now 110 Companies including my
own, The Worshipful Company of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, a
modest 87th in precedence but a fine and stalwart group of charmers. The modern companies like The Chartered Accountants, The Hackney Carriage
Drivers and The Information Technologists require liverymen to be members of
their profession, reverting to the medieval model.
There are only 41 remaining Livery Halls in the City – The
Great Fire in 1666 and the highly destructive Blitz of 1940-1 all took their toll. The Halls vary from the grandeur of The Goldsmiths
to the relative domesticity of The Innholders.
 |
| Goldsmiths' Hall |
 |
| Innholders' Hall |
Most Halls are professionally managed and they are matchless
venues for wedding receptions, presentations and other occasions. The Liverymen
use them for lavish Livery Lunches and Dinners and ceremonial inaugurations and
the larger halls have Court Rooms for internal business meetings and elegant
reception rooms to receive visitors.
The British love to dress up in white tie and tails (less
general now) or black tie and tuxedos, long dresses for their ladies with
jewellery and medals on show. A Livery function is well worth attending as the
food and wines are usually of a high standard, the speeches brief and the
company convivial.
 |
| Dinner at Drapers' Hall |
Those Companies without their own Hall rent from the
better-endowed and their Liverymen have the peripatetic pleasure of seeing all
kinds of Halls. In their diversity, the Livery Companies are staunch supporters
of the institutions of the City of London as they reform and evolve. At the
apex of the hierarchy is the Lord Mayor himself and the Companies always
provide floats for the magnificent annual Lord Mayor’s Show.
A Livery Hall visit is strongly recommended – better still,
accept a dinner invitation!
 |
| Pageantry of The Lord Mayor's Show |
SMD
17.05.14
Text Copyright © Sidney Donald 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment