The Worshipful Company of Leathersellers is one of the livery companies of the

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 f ...

. The organisation originates from the latter part of the fourteenth century and received its

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, b ...

in 1444, and is therefore the senior leather industry-related City Livery Company. The Leathersellers' Company ranks fifteenth in the

order of precedence An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance and can be applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments, for very formal and state o ...

of livery companies. The company's

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. M ...

is '' Soli Deo Honor et Gloria'',

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

for ''Honour and Glory to God Alone''.

Activities

The company, which originally regulated

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hog ...

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

s, continues to act as an advocate for the UK leather trade, together with its leather-associated livery partners: Cordwainers, Curriers, Girdlers, Glovers and Saddlers. Like these other companies, today it is primarily involved in philanthropic, charitable and educational activities.

Schools

The livery company is very closely linked with the Leathersellers' Federation of Schools (formerly Prendergast School), now comprising

Prendergast Ladywell School Prendergast Ladywell School is a co-educational all-through school located in the Crofton Park area of the London Borough of Lewisham, England. Originally known as Crofton School, it was completely rebuilt between 2007 and 2008. In 2009 the sc ...

Prendergast School Prendergast School is a girls' secondary school and sixth form located on Hilly Fields, Brockley, in the London Borough of Lewisham. It has an independent board of governors. The school motto is from Chaucer's Prologue to ''The Canterbury Tal ...

and

Prendergast Vale School Prendergast Vale School is a mixed all-through school located in the Lewisham area of the London Borough of Lewisham, England. The school was first established as Lewisham Bridge Primary School. The school was renamed Prendergast Vale School in ...

, all located within the

London Borough of Lewisham Lewisham () is a London borough in south-east London; it forms part of Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is Lewisham. The local authority is Lewisham London Borough Council, based in Catford. The Prime Meridian passes thr ...

. Since the mid-seventeenth century the Company has also been closely associated with

Colfe's School Colfe's School, previously Colfe's Grammar School is a co-educational independent day school in Lee in the London Borough of Lewisham, in southeast London, England, and one of the oldest schools in London. The school is a member of the Headmaste ...

, today an independent co-educational school located at Lee, near

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in the London Plan as one ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. In addition the Company supports and maintains its longstanding connection with the Institute for Creative Leather Technologies (now a part of the

University of Northampton , mottoeng = Let us not be ignorant , established = 2005 (gained University status) 1975 (Nene College established) , type = Public , endowment = £0.95 m (2015) , chancellor = Richard Coles , vice_chancellor ...

), successor to the college which the Company founded at

Bermondsey Bermondsey () is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham ...

in 1909 as Leathersellers' Technical College. The company continues to support

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after compl ...

through

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibitio ...

s (grants) to university students, a practice which began in 1603 when four 'poor scholars', two at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and two at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, were awarded five pounds and five shillings each ''per annum''. Today around 100 students receive exhibitions which enable them to study at various universities.

Affiliations

The livery company is affiliated with the Royal Navy's submarine HMS ''Audacious'', with

1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards (QDG) is a regiment in the Royal Armoured Corps of the British Army. Nicknamed The Welsh Cavalry, the regiment recruits from Wales and the bordering English counties of Cheshire, Herefordshire, and Shropshire, ...

and with 230 Squadron RAF.

Almshouses

Like many other livery companies, it has a long tradition of maintaining

almshouses An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certai ...

. The first almshouses run by the company were built circa 1543-44, close to Leathersellers' Hall, on a site behind St Ethelburga's Church and housed seven elderly people. In 1837 the Company also built almshouses at Barnet in north London. These were extended in the mid-nineteenth century. In 1866 it was decided to close the almshouses in the City and remove the residents from there to join those already at Barnet. The Company still maintains almshouses in the

London Borough of Barnet The London Borough of Barnet () is a suburban London borough in North London. The borough was formed in 1965 from parts of the ceremonial counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. It forms part of Outer London and is the largest London borough ...

, now known as Leathersellers' Close, which are home to about 20 residents and are managed by Harrison Housing on behalf of the Leathersellers' Barnet Charity.

Leathersellers' Hall

The Company has had six previous halls in its history, and is now in its seventh hall, which was officially opened by the Earl of Wessex in May 2017. Its first hall was on

London Wall The London Wall was a defensive wall first built by the Romans around the strategically important port town of Londinium in AD 200, and is now the name of a modern street in the City of London. It has origins as an initial mound wall and ...

but in 1543 the Company acquired the former

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Angl ...

of St Helen, off

Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate gave its name to the Bishopsgate Ward of the City of London. The ward is traditionally divided into ''Bishopsgate Within'', inside the line wall, and ''Bisho ...

, and the subsequent halls have all been on that site, now St Helen's Place. The fifth hall was destroyed in May 1941 during the

London Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

. The sixth hall was officially opened in 1960 and was demolished in 2011, though the

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means ' frontage' or ' face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...

of the building has been saved. The new, seventh hall, has been designed by Eric Parry RA.www.royalacademy.org.uk - Eric Parry
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References

External links

The Leathersellers' Company
{{authority control Livery companies 14th-century establishments in England Organisations based in London with royal patronage Corporatism Companies of medieval England Charities based in London