The Guild of Freemen of the City of London is an association of those who hold the

Freedom of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

. Membership of the Guild is open to all freemen, regardless of whether they are also members of a City livery company."Welcome"
guild-freemen-london.co.uk, accessed 15 September 2022 The purpose of the Guild, which was founded in 1908, is to bring Freemen of the City together for charitable, educational, benevolent, and social activities. An annual magazine called ''The Freeman'' is published in April of each year and includes reports on past and future activities. With some two thousand members, activities include dinners in notable

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

halls, clubs, and other buildings, an Annual Banquet with the

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

, musical and cultural events, and a

carol service Most churches in the United Kingdom and Ireland hold carol services in the weeks leading up to Christmas. The service usually consists of hymns about Christmas and readings from the gospels telling the Christmas story. Many candles are lit around ...

. The Guild has its offices at 4

Dowgate Hill Dowgate, also referred to as ''Downgate'' and ''Downegate'', is a small Wards of the City of London, ward in the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London. The ward is bounded to the east by Swan Lane and Laurence Poutney Lane, ...

in the City. A Master is elected annually, who holds office for one year.

Anne, Princess Royal Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of ...

, was Master in the centenary year of 2008.

Past Masters

The following have served as Master:List of Past Masters
guild-freemen-london.co.uk * Cuthbert Wilkinson CC (1909) * H. Brodie Self (1910) * Sir Thomas Brooke-Hitching CC (1911) * Emile Chatrian (1912) * Alderman George Briggs (1913) * H. Elliott Sparks (1914) * Harry S. A. Foy CC (1915) * J R Brough (1916) * Alfred Lockett (1917) * W. J. Trice (1918) * Henry Harrill (1919) * Sir Edward Wilshaw KCMG (1920) * Francis Sully (1921) * T. W. Hewitt CC (1922) * Sir Lulham Pound, Bt. (1923) * Sir Gervais Rentoul (1924) *Sir Richard Sennett CC (1929) *C. G. H. Wittich (1930) * Rt Hon. Sir Herbert Nield KC MP (1931) * Lieut.-Col. Sir Hugh Turnbull KVCO KBE (1932) *H. Holton Sturges FCA CC (1933) *H. J. Eldridge FSAA (1934) * Captain M. Campbell-Johnston MP (1935) *Major Francis H. Millman OBE (1936) *A. Ernest Watts FCA CC (1937) *John Joy JP CC (1938) *Captain Francis C. J. Read FSI (1939) *T. J. McManis JP CC (1940) *James J. Gibaud (1941) *Arthur E. Howard (1942) *Walter Rose MBE FCIS CC (1943) *Deputy Frederick Youldon (1944) *Arthur L. R. Harris ARPS (1945) *George F. Frizell (1946) * Sir William Jordan (1947) *Henry C Bound CC (1948) *

Sir Frank Alexander, 1st Baronet Sir Frank Samuel Alexander, 1st Baronet (17 June 1881 – 18 July 1959) was a British shipowner and shipbroker. He was Lord Mayor of London from 1944 to 1945. Biography Born in London, Alexander was educated at Highgate School from January 189 ...

(1949) *John Crighton (1950) *Sir Frederick Tidbury-Beer (1951) *Major B. W. Shilson OBE (1952) *Captain Julien F. C. Bennett DL (1953) *Lieut-Col C. G. Surtees-Shill CC (1954) *Deputy H. J. E. Stinson MC (1955) *Major Stanley W. Wells MBE (1956) * Sir Denis Truscott GBE (1957) *Deputy Percy T. Lovely (1958) * Sir David Floyd Ewin OBE MVO (1959) *Sir Sidney J. Fox FRICS CC (1960) *Charles De Ryck (1961) *Stanley A. Phillips (1962) *Ronald Ward FRIBA (1963) *Frederick W. Utting CC (1964) * Sir Harold Webbe (1965) *Roy R. Stuart (1966) *Sir Stanley Morton (1970) * Reginald Crook, 1st Baron Crook (1972) * Sir Anthony Grant (1979 and 1997) * Sir Peter Gadsden GBE (1984) * General Sir Peter Whiteley GCB (1987) * Rex S. Johnson (1991) *Derek L. Kemp (1992) * Sir Clifford Chetwood (1993) * Sir Colin Cole (1994) * Sir Clive Martin (1995) * Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Buchanan (1996) * Gordon M. Gentry (2007) * Anne, Princess Royal (Centenary Master, 2008) * Pauline Halliday OBE (2008) * Sir Gavyn Farr Arthur (2009) * Anthony Woodhead (2010) * J. Don Lunn (2011) * Anne E. Holden (2012) * Anthony B. Fleming (2013) * Dr John A. Smail (2014) * Poppy, Lady Cooksey (2015) * Sir David Wootton (2016) * Peter Allcard (2017) * John Barber (2018) * Neil Redcliffe (2019) * Ann-Marie Jefferys (2020)

Notes

{{reflist City of London Guilds in England