CityandLivery

The tragic terrorist attack of Friday 29 th  November 2019 that took place within and outside Fishmongers’ Hall at the northern end of London Bridge threw a spotlight on that building and the organisation that owns it, but also more widely on these curious City of London institutions called Livery Companies. The events that took place in the hall and then spilled out onto the pavement caused a peak in interest on social media about the Fishmongers’ Hall, not least because of the heroism of the staff as reported by the Company's Clerk (Commodore Toby Williamson) on the BBC News. Social Media was alive with questions about whether the Fishmongers' Hall was a pub, a fishmonger's shop, perhaps even a fish and chip shop... it is none of those things. This blog seeks to explain what a Livery Company is (in the UK) for those who may wish to learn more. Reduced the simplest description a Livery Company is an occupational guild formed by Royal Charter, but that hardly helps expl...

The City of London and its Livery Companies have been involved in education and occupational training for many centuries, certainly long before the government took on the responsibility of providing free universal education in the United Kingdom with the advent of the first government funded schools in 1870. Outwith the City, the Livery Companies, and other privately funded schools, only the Church of England has a longer history of involvement in education from elementary schooling through to university. Indeed where longevity is concerned it would be difficult to better the Church of England's record of involvement with education, the King's School in Canterbury is held to be England's oldest founded in 597AD and still going strong. The Livery Companies and the City of London Corporation continue to support education in the broadest sense, from schooling to apprenticeships, from professional development to academic bursaries and postgraduate research. The array of way...