CityandLivery

For most of the 20th century the City offered little in the way of accommodation to the business traveller, liveryman or tourist. While overnight lodgings were provided for the troops of the Bank Picquet, and some of the Livery Halls were furnished with apartments for the Master, Clerk and perhaps the Beadle, most had to travel beyond the Square Mile for a good night’s rest. Demand for hotel rooms in the City has led to the opening of upmarket establishments such as the Ned Hotel on Poultry in the premises of the former Midland Bank's City HQ*, and more recently the Vintry & Mercer on Garlick Hill which describes itself as ‘set in London’s Vintry Ward, among the livery halls, guilds and narrow streets that line the banks of the Thames’.  NB. While I am certain that Vintry & Mercer is a fine establishment, it is not affiliated with either the Vinters’ or the Mercers’ companies. * Did you know, UK clearing banks were required to have offices within easy walking distance of th...

Of all the City's many unusual titles and offices, that of the Clerk to a City company or guild is undoubtedly the most diverse and multifaceted, perhaps even the least well understood. The role of the clerk is a curious hybrid and no two clerks have the same job description, duties or terms and conditions of employment. To illustrate the point: Some clerks work full-time, some part-time; some manage a hall where their office is located, others work in rented offices in the hall of another company, some work from home; some have an extensive staff, others are single-handed; some have the benefit of tied accommodation in the City, others must commute to their office. There are even some brave fellows who simultaneously occupy the office of clerk to more than one City company - thus attempting to serve two masters. There are as many differences among the role of the clerk to a City company or guild (hereafter 'company') as there are companies and guilds in the Square Mile. Co...

This blog article was first published in late January 2020. A year on, and considering the impact of the global pandemic, I've decided to reflect on how the image of the Livery has evolved over the past twelve months - principally as a result of wider digital engagement. ---- During 2019 several events occurred that caused me to stop and think long and hard about the way the Livery Companies may be viewed by persons outwith the Livery. Oh to see ourselves through the eyes of others The first event was my response to the Pan-Livery Initiative’s Attitudinal Survey. While I cannot remember exactly what I wrote in response to the survey’s several questions the overall thrust of my submission was informed by my experience of the Information Technologists’ Company. The Information Technologists’ Company is rooted in a modern profession and exhibits a 21st century culture. The Company has admitted women to the Court from the earliest days, indeed the purchase of the Company’s H...

When I applied to join the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists in the winter of 2010 I made a decision to get involved in aspects of the Livery that were unconnected with my career in IT. This was partly because I wanted to do something new and challenging, and because I was very active in the professional body for the IT industry in the UK (BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT) I didn't need yet another extension to my career with IBM. The decision to get involved in something new led me to take an interest in the history, culture, customs, traditions, quirks and foibles of the City of London in general and the Livery Companies in particular. So far as is possible I've tried to keep my day job and my activities within the Livery untangled so the latter doesn't become an extension of the former. Occasionally my knowledge of IT and the digital realm has crossed over with the world of the Livery, most recently I co-delivered an event on Digital Heraldry at IT H...

The Ward Clubs of the City of London are one of those curious creatures that exist only in the eco-system of the City and find no direct parallel anywhere else in the UK. Part social club, part residents' association, part platform for engagement with voters, and part fabric of the City's cultural heritage the Ward Clubs vary in age, size, vibrancy and engagement with the residents, workers, voters and institutions of their respective ward. This blog article explores the origins, role and relevance of the Ward Clubs in the 21st century, at a time when many (but not all) of them appear to have retired to comfortable obscurity as quiet social clubs for persons of a certain age, but perhaps they are needed more than ever to engage with the growing and changing City residential and working population. When did the Ward Clubs begin? The origins of the several of Ward Clubs may be found in early residents or rate payers associations, initially formed to keep down the rates in t...