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| Arms granted 22 November 1530 by Thomas Benolt, Clarenceux King of Arms; Crest and Supporters granted 25 March 1587 by Robert Cooke, Clarenceux King of Arms. [In the 1587 emblazonment the teazel is gold, stalked and leaved vert.] | ||
History:
Several guilds were connected with textiles and one was fined as adulterine in 1180. In 1528 the
Fullers who had been incorporated in 1480 and the Shearmen, incorporated in 1508, combined to form
the Clothworkers. The combined Company succeeded to the precedence of the Shearmen
and became 12th
of the 'Great Twelve'. Samuel Pepys was Master in 1677-8. Modern representation of the clothworking
trade is slight, but the early wealth of the Company is now deployed in notable and educational
activities. The Departments of Textile Industries and of Colour Chemistry and Dyeing in Leeds
University originated in foundations of the Clothworkers, who still support them financially and aid
other projects in the University. The Company has also been a leading supporter of the City and Guilds
of London Institute. The secondary and higher education of women is a particular interest, with help for
girls' schools and places for women at Oxford and Cambridge. Help for the blind has long been a
particular priority. The Company is recognised as a leading source of assistance in this field. Often
the charities supported are those with little popular appeal or of a new type. The Livery numbers about 205.
The Hall of the Shearmen stood on a site in Mincing Lane acquired in 1456. The first Hall was built about 1472
and was taken over by the Clothworkers in preference to that of the Fullers. The second Hall on the same
site was completed in 1549 and the third one in 1633. This was destroyed in the Great Fire but
rebuilt by 1668. Because of poor foundations it had to be demolished in 1855, and the fifth Hall, by
Samuel Angell, the Company's architect, was opened in 1860. This was destroyed in 1941 and the
present Hall, designed by H Austen Hall, was opened in 1958. The accommodation includes a Livery Hall,
Reception Room, Library, Drawing Room, Court Room and Court Luncheon Room.
Web site: www.clothworkers.co.uk
For current contact details please go to
The Livery Companies Database, which can be found on The Fishmongers' Company's website.
Last updated 4 January 2005