The Worshipful Company of Plaisterers is one of the livery companies in 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 Plaisterers' Company was incorporated under 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 s ...

in 1501 and whilst the spelling used in the charter was "Plaisterer", some later charters used the alternative spelling of "plasterer", nonetheless, the company uses the original spelling. The company originated as a trade association of

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 ...

plasterer A plasterer is a tradesman or tradesperson who works with plaster, such as forming a layer of plaster on an interior wall or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. The process of creating plasterwork, called plastering, has been ...

s. Today, it maintains a connection with the trade by establishing plastering standards and by officially accrediting plasterers. The company is also a charitable and educational institution and generates income by renting out the hall on a private hire basis for events. The Plaisterers' Company ranks forty-sixth 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 the City livery companies. Its motto is ''Let Brotherly Love Continue''. The company's first hall was bequeathed by William Elder, Citizen and Plaisterer in 1556. It was situated on the corner of Addle Street and Philip Lane but was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. Its second hall was built in 1669 to the design of Christopher Wren, although this too was destroyed by fire in 1882. The third hall on the site was destroyed during the Blitz in 1940. Its current hall, opened in November 1972, has décor throughout of the neo-classical style created by

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his ...

in the 18th century. His various designs have been faithfully reproduced in great detail both on plaster and wood, some being taken from his original moulds. Plaisterers' Hall is the largest and one of the finest City livery halls in

. Plaisterer's Hall Academy (1744–54) was a

dissenting academy The dissenting academies were schools, colleges and seminaries (often institutions with aspects of all three) run by English Dissenters, that is, those who did not conform to the Church of England. They formed a significant part of England's edu ...

that provided for the training of Congregational ministers.

References

External links

The Plaisterers' Company
{{authority control 1501 establishments in England Livery companies Corporatism Charities based in London Barbican Estate