The Butchers' Company
The Worshipful Company of Butchers, one of the seven oldest of the City of London Livery Companies, continues to be a highly active Company both within the City of London and the meat industry. Providing first-class facilities and hospitality services to worldwide clients, Butchers' Hall is suitably located in the historic Smithfield Area, where the Butchers have been a significant presence for more than a thousand years. Strypes' edition of Stow's Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster records "that in the year 975 A.D., in the Ward of Farringdon, without the city walls, there are situated divers slaughter-houses and a Butchers' Hall where the craftsmen meet." The Company is proud to have been associated with the Priory Church of St Bartholomew The Great for many years.
The Founders' Company
The Worshipful Company of Founders has also been associated with the Priory Church for many years and Founders' Hall is situated just to the east of the church.
The Fletchers' Company
Though fletching, the adding of flights to arrows and the making of arrows themselves are no longer crafts controlled by a Guild, the Worshipful Company of Fletchers continues to be active in the life of the city. The Fletchers were first mentioned in 1371 when they presented a petition to the Lord Mayor, requesting that the two trades of Fletcher (the maker of arrows) and Bowyer (the maker of longbows) should be kept entirely separate. By the time of Henry VIII, the Fletchers had a hall in St Mary Axe and various rolls show the elections to office. In the 16th century, widows were admitted as members on the death of their husbands and even single women were sometimes admitted, a practice which continued into the 18th century, despite the Company informing the 1887 Commission that "No women have hitherto been admitted". The rise of the gun caused the eventual extinction of the longbow as a weapon of war and archery is now confined to the sports field. The present-day Company shares one of the newest livery company halls in the City of London with the Farmers' Company. The Hall is situated in Cloth Street, very near to St Bartholomew the Great.
The Farriers' Company
The Worshipful Company of Farriers is first and foremost a fellowship of men and women who are Free of the Company and the City, and therefore, by definition, Citizens of the City of London, regardless of where they live, and who share a dual interest in the Horse and the City. The first records claim that the Fellowship was called together by the then Lord Mayor in 1356, and the modern history of the Company begins with the grant of the first Charter by King Charles II on 17th January 1674. It is number 55 in order of seniority of the Livery Companies of the City. Today, the Company has responsibility for securing adequate standards of competence and conduct among those engaged in the shoeing of horses, and is the examining body for the registration qualification for farriers, the Diploma (DipWCF). It also encourages farriers to take the Company's higher qualifications - Associateship (AWCF) and Fellowship (FWCF) - and to engage in Continuing Professional Development, by offeringcourses for professional development, and awards at farriery and best-shod horse competitions throughout the country. The Company has links with the mounted units of HM Forces, HMS Ocean, St Martin in the Fields High School for Girls and the FANY (Princess Royal Volunteer Corps). It endeavours to assist farriers and their families who fall on hard times, and supports the Lord Mayor's Appeal. The Company is justly proud of being able to combine interest in the modern craft of farriery with its history of involvement in the City.
The Information Technologists' Company
The Worshipful Company of Information Technologists was granted Livery in January 1992 as the 100th Livery Company of the City of London. WCIT has as its mission "To become an influential force for the beneficial use of Information Technology in the City," and recognises the benefits to the Company from the centuries-old values and traditions of the Livery movement in the City of London. The Company's objectives - supporting the IT industry, education, charity and good fellowship - are delivered through a number of working groups, known as Panels. The membership of the Panels is made up of Liverymen and Freemen who give their time, expertise and resources. WCIT works with a range of partner organisations to develop innovative IT-based projects with a charitable or educational focus. The Information Technologists' Hall in Bartholomew Close opened officially in September 2001 and is a focal point for the Company's activities.
The Haberdashers' Company
The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, number 8 in the order of seniority of the Livery Companies of the City of London, had temporary offices in Bartholomew Close during the building of their new hall in West Smithfield, which has now opened. It has been agreed that St Bartholomew the Great should be one of the two churches with which the company is associated.
The Hackney Carriage Drivers' Company
The Worshipful Company of Hackney Carriage Drivers, the driving force serving London twenty-four hours a day, is made up solely from men and women of the Licensed Taxi Trade. The Company's Charity trust administers benevolence to any deserving members and their immediate family. The Company also runs the Children's Magical Taxi Tour which aims to give terminally ill children a respite from their gruelling regime of treatment, taking them on a magical three-day trip to Disneyland Paris. The Company's Educational Programme is the Guide Course, which teaches taxi drivers the historical knowledge of London and the surrounding areas, and is credited by the City University. The London Licensed Taxi driver's knowledge is renowned as the best in the world.
The Tax Advisors' Company
The Worshipful Company of Tax Advisers continues to be associated with the Priory Church.
The Guild of Public Relations Practitioners
The Guild of Public Relations Practitioners' association with the Priory Church began in 2001. As one of the first City of London Guilds to be created in the 21st century, the Guild aims to strike a balance between old and new, promoting modern best practice in public relations while upholding the unique spirit and values that have sustained the Livery over the centuries. Its Freemen, who are senior members of the PR community, are committed to supporting the education and training of PR practitioners and to building charitable funds through which the profession can give back to the communities it serves.
