The Worshipful Company of Cordwainers is one of the

Livery Companies A livery company is a type of guild or professional association that originated in medieval times in London, England. Livery companies comprise London's ancient and modern trade associations and guilds, almost all of which are Style (form of a ...

of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

Cordwainer A cordwainer () is a shoemaker who makes new shoes from new leather. The cordwainer's trade can be contrasted with the cobbler's trade, according to a tradition in Britain that restricted cobblers to repairing shoes. This usage distinction is ...

s were workers in fine leather; the Company gets its name from "cordwain" ( cordovan), the white leather produced from goatskin in Cordova,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. All fine leather makers, including Girdlers and Glovers, were originally classified as cordwainers; however, the term eventually came to refer only to fine leather

footwear Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which typically serve the purpose of protective clothing, protection against adversities of the environment such as wear from rough ground; stability on slippery ground; and temperature. *Shoes and si ...

, including

boot A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...

s. The Cordwainers' Company, which received the right to regulate City trade in 1272, obtained a

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

of incorporation in 1439. The status of the Company as a trade association has lessened over the years; the Company is now, as are most other Livery Companies, a charitable body. Other leather-linked Livery Companies, which enjoy close relations with the Cordwainers include the Curriers, Leathersellers, Saddlers, Girdlers and Glovers. The Company ranks twenty-seventh in the order of precedence of Livery Companies and is the highest ranked one without its own Livery Hall. The Company's

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

is ''Corio et Arte'',

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for ''Leather and Art''. The

livery hall A livery company is a type of guild or professional association that originated in medieval times in London, England. Livery companies comprise London's ancient and modern trade associations and guilds, almost all of which are styled the "Wors ...

of the Cordwainers, Cordwainers' Hall, though rebuilt several times, stood at the same site near St. Paul's Churchyard from 1316 until its final destruction in the

London blitz London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

in 1941. The livery hall was not rebuilt after the war. However, a window was removed from the hall for safekeeping in 1939. Thus surviving the destruction of the hall in 1941, it was re-installed in the Holy Sepulchre church in London in 1973.

References

External links

The Cordwainers' Company
Cordwainers 1272 establishments in England Corporatism Companies of medieval England Charities based in London {{London-stub