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Worshipful Company of Grocers
The Worshipful Company of Grocers is one of the 111 livery companies of the City of London, ranking second in order of precedence.
Established in 1345 for merchants engaged in the grocery trade, it is one of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies.
Founded in the 14th century by members of the Guild of Pepperers, dating from 1180, the Company was responsible for maintaining standards for the purity of spices and for setting of certain weights and measures. Its membership until 1617 included suppliers of medicinal spices and herbs when the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries was formed.
The guild was known as the Company of Grossers from 1373 until 1376 when it was renamed the Company of Grocers of London. In 1428, two years after building its first hall in Old Jewry, the Company was granted a Royal Charter by King Henry VI of England.
A Great Twelve City Livery Company, the Grocers rank second in the order of precedence after the Mercers. It is said that the Grocers' Company used to be first in precedence, until Queen Elizabeth I, as Honorary Master of the Mercers' Company, found herself in procession after her coronation behind the Grocers' camel which was emitting unfortunate smells; as a result, the Mercers were promoted.
Today, the Grocers' Company exists as a charitable, constitutional and ceremonial institution which plays a significant role in the election of and supporting the Lord Mayor and the Sheriffs of London. The Company's motto is "God Grant Grace". The Company also provides banqueting and conference facilities at Grocers' Hall situated in Prince's Street, next to the Bank of England.
The earliest known Grocers' Hall was in Poultry, London, then known as Conningshop-Lane on account of the three conies or rabbits hanging over a poulterer's stall in the lane. It was built in 1428 on land once owned by Lord FitzWalter and let out "for dinners, funerals, county feasts and weddings". The roof and woodwork of the Hall were destroyed in the 1666 Great Fire and afterwards a new roof was erected on the old walls while Sir John Cutler paid for a new parlour and dining room. The Hall was again renovated in 1681 by the future Lord Mayor Sir John Moore. A new Hall was built on the same site between 1798 and 1802 when part of the garden was sold to the Bank of England for the expansion of nearby Prince's Street. However, frequent and extensive repairs were required due to the third Hall's defective foundations, which was replaced by a fourth Hall, completed in 1893 on Prince's Street. The Hall survived the Blitz with only minor damage to its north wing, but was almost completely destroyed by fire in 1965, apparently caused by a lightbulb left on in the grand staircase beneath an oak lintel which smouldered and eventually ignited. The fifth and final Hall was constructed nearby in 1970, also on Prince's Street, remaining the Grocers' home today.
Past Masters of the Grocers' Company include Lord Mayors Sir Robert Leigh, Sir Robert Ladbroke, Sir Samuel Garrard and Sir Charles Bowman, the Immediate Past Master. Other Past Masters Grocer are Admiral Nicholas Goodhart and Timothy Coleridge, son of former Lloyd's chairman David Coleridge and brother of Sir Nicholas Coleridge.
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Worshipful Company of Grocers
The Worshipful Company of Grocers is one of the 111 livery companies of the City of London, ranking second in order of precedence.
Established in 1345 for merchants engaged in the grocery trade, it is one of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies.
Founded in the 14th century by members of the Guild of Pepperers, dating from 1180, the Company was responsible for maintaining standards for the purity of spices and for setting of certain weights and measures. Its membership until 1617 included suppliers of medicinal spices and herbs when the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries was formed.
The guild was known as the Company of Grossers from 1373 until 1376 when it was renamed the Company of Grocers of London. In 1428, two years after building its first hall in Old Jewry, the Company was granted a Royal Charter by King Henry VI of England.
A Great Twelve City Livery Company, the Grocers rank second in the order of precedence after the Mercers. It is said that the Grocers' Company used to be first in precedence, until Queen Elizabeth I, as Honorary Master of the Mercers' Company, found herself in procession after her coronation behind the Grocers' camel which was emitting unfortunate smells; as a result, the Mercers were promoted.
Today, the Grocers' Company exists as a charitable, constitutional and ceremonial institution which plays a significant role in the election of and supporting the Lord Mayor and the Sheriffs of London. The Company's motto is "God Grant Grace". The Company also provides banqueting and conference facilities at Grocers' Hall situated in Prince's Street, next to the Bank of England.
The earliest known Grocers' Hall was in Poultry, London, then known as Conningshop-Lane on account of the three conies or rabbits hanging over a poulterer's stall in the lane. It was built in 1428 on land once owned by Lord FitzWalter and let out "for dinners, funerals, county feasts and weddings". The roof and woodwork of the Hall were destroyed in the 1666 Great Fire and afterwards a new roof was erected on the old walls while Sir John Cutler paid for a new parlour and dining room. The Hall was again renovated in 1681 by the future Lord Mayor Sir John Moore. A new Hall was built on the same site between 1798 and 1802 when part of the garden was sold to the Bank of England for the expansion of nearby Prince's Street. However, frequent and extensive repairs were required due to the third Hall's defective foundations, which was replaced by a fourth Hall, completed in 1893 on Prince's Street. The Hall survived the Blitz with only minor damage to its north wing, but was almost completely destroyed by fire in 1965, apparently caused by a lightbulb left on in the grand staircase beneath an oak lintel which smouldered and eventually ignited. The fifth and final Hall was constructed nearby in 1970, also on Prince's Street, remaining the Grocers' home today.
Past Masters of the Grocers' Company include Lord Mayors Sir Robert Leigh, Sir Robert Ladbroke, Sir Samuel Garrard and Sir Charles Bowman, the Immediate Past Master. Other Past Masters Grocer are Admiral Nicholas Goodhart and Timothy Coleridge, son of former Lloyd's chairman David Coleridge and brother of Sir Nicholas Coleridge.