The Worshipful Company of Weavers is the most ancient 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 ...
. It existed in the year 1130, and was perhaps formed earlier. The company received 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, b ...
in 1155. At present, the Company retains a connection to textiles through its contributions to the textile industry. It has, however, like most other Livery Companies, evolved into a charitable institution rather than remaining a trade association.
The Company ranks forty-second 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 Livery Companies. Its motto is ''Weave Truth With Trust''.
Members of the Livery elect annually an Upper Bailiff who bears an ancient title unique to the Weavers' Company, and a Renter Bailiff. Previous Upper Bailiffs have included:
*
George Kemp, 1st Baron Rochdale 1926–1927 and 1939–1940
*
George Hayter Chubb, 1st Baron Hayter 1931–32
* Sir
Henry Birchenough 1934–35
*
John Garbutt
References
External links
The Worshipful Company of WeaversGuide to the Worshipful Company of Weavers Charter, 1707, copy circa 1745
at th
University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center
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Weavers
12th-century establishments in England