CityandLivery

Enjoying a talk by the Clerk to the Armourers' Company during a tour of that Company's Hall The City’s Livery Halls form an eclectic collection of scattered gems throughout the Square Mile - some are grand palatial buildings on par with England’s large country homes, others are more modest town houses and one is a ship - yet all are fascinating, have their own stories to tell, and treasures to reveal. Guided Tours During 2019 I began organising guided tours of several Livery Halls for Arts Society groups, usually one hall in the morning and another in the afternoon with a brief walking tour after lunch. These tours have been immense fun and endlessly fascinating, not least because of the excellent support from the Livery Halls. I've learned a great deal from organising tours and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience, while not every hall is suited to tours, those that are do their utmost to put on a wonderful experience. Virtual Tours Sadly the impact of Covid19 has re...

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...

Anyone who has attended a City of London civic or livery company banquet will be familiar with the numerous toasts that follow after the meal and before the speeches. These toasts are usually taken with port wine, or occasionally madeira. Quite when port became the wine of choice for toasts is unclear, but the custom is as well entrenched in the City as it is in the ward rooms and messes of HM Armed Forces, at Oxbridge Colleges, Masonic dinners and elsewhere. Port wine was originally, and very specifically, developed for the English palette and nowhere is it more popular than in Britain.  Britain's relationship with port began in the Georgian era. Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger was described as a 'three-bottle man' with port even being prescribed for his recurring bouts of gout. First a little history The history of port wine is inextricably linked with Britain's connection to Portugal and the numerous British families who developed the Douro wine region...

The traditions of the City of London and its Livery Companies rival those of the Royal Household for their displays of pageantry and public spectacle, blending of the past with the present and sense of majesty that no other city can rival. The fact that more troops of the Crown participate in the annual Lord Mayor's Show than parade in the Sovereign's annual birthday parade (Trooping the Colour) illustrates the scale of the City's ability to put on a show. In fact the very word show when taken to mean a public spectacle derives from the requirement that the City's elected chief magistrate 'show himself' to the Monarch or his justices and swear allegiance, hence the Lord Mayor's Show. The early 20th century antiquarian and author Dr George Williamson captured the panoply of City ceremonial in Curious Survivals, a book presented to Queen Mary and now in the Royal Collection. The opening chapter of his comprehensive work on British customs and traditions read...