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Livery Halls

The Livery Companies probably had their origins in this country before 1066. Guilds (or mysteries, from the Latin 'misterium', meaning professional skill) flourished throughout Europe for many centuries.

The development of guilds in Britain was not confined to London. The Cutlers of Hallamshire in Sheffield, the Merchant Venturers of Bristol and the Fellmongers of Richmond in Yorkshire are examples of those still in existence around Britain.

The word 'guild' derives from the Saxon word for payment, since membership of these fraternities was (and is) paid for. The word 'livery' refers to uniform clothing as means of identification. Today, new companies in their formative years are usually referred to as guilds.

The early companies were the medieval equivalent of trading standards departments, checking quality of goods and weights and measures. They also controlled imports, set wages and working conditions and trained apprentices. After many years of fierce dispute, an order of precedence for livery companies was finally settled in 1515, starting with Mercers at number one.

Today City street names - such as Milk Street, Bread Street, Ironmonger Lane, Poultry, Cloth Fair and Mason's Avenue - mark the sites where it all began.

Many companies still have a hall, where members and their guests can be entertained and company business transacted. Among the earliest companies known to have possessed halls were the Merchant Taylors and Goldsmiths in the 14th century, but neither their nor other companies' original halls remain; the few survivors of the Great Fire , along with many reconstructions, were destroyed duringthe Blitz of World War II. Today, only some 40 companies have halls in London.  Companies that do not have their own hall usually borrow one of the other companies' premises for social occasions.