Celebrating 500 Masters of The Clothworkers' Company

OLIVER CLAYMOND A wealthy merchant adventurer, Claymond is the only Clothworker understood to have served two consecutive years as Master and was the ďŹ rst to bequeath property to the new Company. In return, The Company was to light candles in his memory on feast days at the nearby church of All Hallows Staining, where he was buried.

1530

JOHN TOLOUS Elected Alderman in 1538, Tolous refused office unless he could serve as a Clothworker, and was committed to Newgate Prison for his defiance. However, the City relented and allowed Tolous to serve without translating to another Livery Company, thereby acknowledging The Clothworkers’ as one of the Great Twelve Livery Companies for the first time.

1538

SIR WILLIAM HEWETT Sir William Hewett was one of London’s premier merchants in the Iberian trade, after an apprenticeship into The Company (c1529). He became the first Clothworker and first Protestant Lord Mayor of London in 1559. Whilst serving in the office of Sheriff, he was required to carry out the sentence of execution against Lady Jane Grey.

1543

ADAM WINTHROP A clothier from Suffolk and a Freeman of The Fullers’ Company, Winthrop rose through the Clothworker ranks, taking his own apprentices and becoming Master in 1551. He was the grandfather of Puritan leader John Winthrop, ďŹ rst Governor of Massachusetts, and great-grandfather of John Winthrop, Governor of Connecticut.

1551

NICHOLAS SMALLE Residing in the parish of All Hallows the Great, Nicholas and wife Jane (née Pemberton) would have been neighbours of Hans Holbein.

The artist’s portrait of Jane – perhaps commissioned on her betrothal to Nicholas – may be found in the Victoria and Albert Museum today (image used with the kind permission of the museum).

1553

WILLIAM LAMBE One of our greatest benefactors, Lambe left all his property to The Company in support of the almshouses and grammar school he had established at Sutton Valence (Kent). Lamb’s Conduit Street was named after him, as he paid for a conduit to bring drinking water to the inhabitants of Holborn decades before the New River was cut.

1569

JOHN BURNELL A wealthy merchant, Burnell left money to The Company to establish a loan trust, enabling Clothworkers to borrow capital in order to establish their own businesses. He also gifted a ďŹ ne strapwork silver rosewater dish, one of the earliest surviving pieces in our collection, featuring decorative sea monsters and dolphins (references to his travels).

1593

SIR JOHN WATTS A founding member of the East India Company, he was the first to bring news of the Spanish Armada’s defeat to Sir Francis Walsingham. Watts rented a house from The Company on Mincing Lane. In 1606, King James I dined there and agreed to become a Clothworker. The party adjourned to the Hall next door to admit our first royal Freeman.

1594

JOHN ELDRED A merchant and adventurer, his travels feature in The Principal Navigations (1589) by Company scholar Richard Hakluyt. Eldred’s home in Suffolk was known as ‘Nutmeg Hall’ (he was once credited with introducing the spice to England). It is believed that Shakespeare was referencing Eldred’s 1583 journey to Tripoli in Macbeth: ‘...Her husband’s to Aleppo gone, master o’ the Tiger...’

1604

SIR WILLIAM STONE Sir William served as Master when King James I became The Company’s first royal Freeman. During his admission, James reputedly toasted The Company as follows: ‘God bless all good Clothworkers, and God bless all good cloth wearers!’ – to which all those assembled heartily cheered.

1606

RALPH FREEMAN While serving as Lord Mayor (1633), he held a Royal Masque to mark the New Year. Charles I and Queen Henrietta-Maria accepted his invitation and arrived ‘clothed in rich and glorious apparel.’ The parades and banquet were described as ‘the most splendid and glorious shew that ever was beheld in England’, and the dancing continued into the early hours.

1620

SIR RICHARD GURNEY During the unrest leading to the Civil Wars, it is said that Gurney rushed out of his house at night, bearing the City sword, to suppress thousands of rioters. He was a staunch Royalist, and his loyalty cost him dearly: he was ejected from the Mayoralty in 1642 and committed to the Tower, where he remained until his death in 1647.

1633

SIR JOHN IRETON Brother of Henry Ireton, regicide, he was a mercer by trade who rose to political prominence and became Lord Mayor (1658). He served in Barebone’s Parliament in the 1650s and was a leading civic supporter of the Protectorate. At the Restoration, Ireton’s knighthood was confiscated, and he was twice sent to the Tower for ‘dangerous and seditious’ practices.

1652

SIR JOHN ROBINSON Samuel Pepys described him as ‘a talking, bragging, Bufflehead’, but Robinson had excellent connections. He entertained Charles II, Catherine of Braganza and the future James II at Clothworkers’ Hall while Lord Mayor (1663). Wisely impartial during the Civil War, he was rewarded with the Lieutenancy of the Tower – although he later fell from royal favour.

1656

SAMUEL PEPYS The celebrated diarist was parachuted into the Mastership so that The Company might benefit from his Court connections. His important Navy work meant that Pepys was often absent from the Hall, but all was forgiven with his Master’s gift of a silver gilt cagework ‘Loving Cup’ by Gerard Cooques, together with a rosewater dish and ewer.

1677

SIR THOMAS LANE He was the son of Alderman John Lane, Clothworker (although subsequent generations of Lanes have become Mercers). For his Mayoralty (1694), The Clothworkers’ produced what was to be the last of the ‘Triumphs of London’ pageants staged during the 17th century. Our collections include his charming personal cutlery cutlery set.

1689

SIR ROBERT BEACHCROFT Beachcroft acquired signiďŹ cant wealth as a Blackwell Hall factor and purchased More Hall, Sir Thomas More’s former home, in Hertfordshire. During his Shrievalty, he was one of a party of Aldermen who travelled to Hampton Court to welcome William III on his return from Holland. As a mark of royal favour, he was knighted that day.

1700

THOMAS WINTERBOTTOM A Commissioner for Victualling the Navy and a Director of the Bank of England, Alderman Winterbottom was the 18th Clothworker to be elected Lord Mayor (1751), but died during his year of ofďŹ ce – an occurrence of great rarity. He is buried in St Mary at Hill, Billingsgate, in his aldermanic ward.

1745

JACOB SHELTON Following an apprenticeship to Jacob Brievinckx, a Clothworker carpenter, Jacob Schelton was made free in 1713. He changed his name to Shelton, as he (or his father) was naturalized on the oath rolls in 1710. As Master, he was one of the representatives of the Great Twelve Livery Companies appointed as an Assistant to the Chief Butler at George III’s coronation in 1761.

1760

SAMUEL TURNER He was a West India merchant and excused service as Master, but later served as Lord Mayor (1768). His diary survives in our archives, complete with a remedy for the alleviation of piles: ‘Take 2 oz. of lenitive electuary [a soothing medicinal paste], 2 drams of Milk of Sulphur and as much syrup of roses as will mix them together.

Take of the above the quantity of a Nutmeg as often as you have occasion.’

1763

JOHN ELLICOTT Ellicott was the ofďŹ cial Clockmaker to King George III, a member of the Royal Society and the inventor of the compensated pendulum. He built his own astronomical observatory in his Hackney home. He was also responsible for the gilded bracket clock in our collection, which was later updated by his son, Edward (Master 1782).

1766

EDWARD DE SANTÉ A cheesemonger of Leadenhall Street by trade, and of Huguenot descent, de Santé was the first Master to go bankrupt during his year of office. He subsequently received financial relief from The Company on 8 September 1779. In more prosperous times, he had been a generous supporter of the London Smallpox Hospital.

1778

HENRY RUTT A glover of Fenchurch Street, Rutt was perhaps also a frustrated artist. Evidently bored by The Clothworkers’ business of the day, he set about sketching his fellow Court Assistants – often in heated debate or sometimes in repose – in a charming set of caricatures now preserved in our Company Archives.

1783

JAMES RENAT SYMS Originally a wine merchant of Pudding Lane, Syms was Common Crier and Sergeant at Arms of the City of London, carrying the great mace before the Lord Mayor on ceremonial occasions and announcing royal proclamations from the steps of the Royal Exchange – calling ‘Oyez oyez oyez’ loudly to attract the attention of citizens. He was also founder of the London Life Association.

1806

ABRAHAM PURSHOUSE DRIVER Driver and his brother wrote A General View of the Agriculture of the County of Hampshire (1794) and received commissions for work from the Crown Estate. With the help of his three sons, Driver expanded the family’s market gardening business into land agency and surveying. Still successful 285 years later, Drivers Jonas was acquired by Deloitte in 2010.

1811

SAMUEL FAVELL A slop seller of Tooley Street by trade, Favell is best known as an eminent reformer, supporting Catholic emancipation, reform of the criminal law,and the abolishment of slavery. He was a cofounder of Mill Hill, a grammar school for Protestant dissenters, and a member of the Court of Common Council (1810-29), casting the decisive vote in favour of rebuilding London Bridge.

1813

THOMAS MASSA ALSAGER Alsager was a partner of The Times newspaper, and founder of its ‘City’ page. Considered The Clothworkers’ most important Past Master, he rescued The Company from significant financial difficulties, reviewing its raison d’etre, reporting structure and recordkeeping, placing it on a firm footing for the future and enabling its charitable work to flourish.

1836

SIR JOHN MUSGROVE An auctioneer by trade, he was simultaneously Master and Sheriff of London in 1843, then served again as Master for a few days in August 1862. His mayoral pageant – showcasing the ‘four quarters of the world’, complete with real camels and elephants, a ship in full sail and working beehives – was ridiculed by Punch magazine for its extravagance.

1843

JAMES WYLD A cartographer and geographical publisher, Wyld was geographer to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. He was best known for his ‘Great Globe’ – it was some 60 feet high by 40 feet wide, lit by gas and exhibited in Leicester Square from 1851. He was also a liberal MP for Bodmin, and an early promoter of technical education.

1875

WYATT ANGELICUS VAN SANDAU PAPWORTH An antiquary and architect, he originated and edited the Dictionary of Architecture and is regarded as the ‘father of modern architectural scholarship’. He attended the first general meeting of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1834 as a boy of 12.

Papworth eventually became the curator of Sir John Soane’s Museum.

1889

NATHANIEL WOOD LAVERS Lavers was the founder of one of Victorian Britain’s foremost stained glass workshops. With business partner and designer Nathaniel Westlake, the firm served many of the schools and colleges The Company was associated with, including North London Collegiate and Mary Datchelor Girls’ Schools, in addition to producing 12 lunettes for the fifth Clothworkers’ Hall.

1893

WILLIAM BOUSFIELD Knighted in 1905 for services to educational administration, he was a member of the London School Board, Chairman of the Girls’ Public Day School Trust, and a representative of the City and Guilds of London Institute. A champion for the higher education of women, Bousfield encouraged The Company to fund ad eundem degrees for its first female scholars at Trinity College, Dublin.

1904

DR JOHN SAMUEL PHENÉ Phené was an architect, antiquary, and founding fellow of the Huguenot Society; he wrote the essay ‘The Prehistoric Traditions and Customs in Connection with the Sun and Serpent Worship’. In homage to the family chateau at Savenay, he adorned the exterior of his home in Chelsea with elaborate plasterwork figures and ornaments, earning it the nickname ‘Gingerbread Castle’.

1906

JOHN ASTLEY BLOXAM In the Army, he served as surgeon to the Royal Horse Guards. Later he was the senior surgeon at Charing Cross Hospital. Specialising in venereal disease, Bloxam excelled in the repair of noses and lips damaged by syphilitic ulceration. Transplanting tissue from a ďŹ nger to form part of a new nose was one of his successes in the early days of plastic surgery.

1915

HERBERT MEWS With his brother, Walter (Master 1919), he purchased Portslade Brewery; it became famous for its Southdown and India Pale Ales.

For Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee (1887), each Portslade resident was gifted two pints of the brewery’s best product. The brothers were model employers, providing cottages for their workers together with large allotments for growing their own food.

1921

PETER MACINTYRE EVANS A former solicitor and long-serving Clerk to The Company, Evans was a recognised authority on blind welfare, serving on the Ministry of Health’s Advisory Committee on Welfare of the Blind and the Greater London Fund for the Blind (among other appointments).

He left his estate to The Company in trust to beneďŹ t its work in blind welfare and other charitable purposes.

1935

THOMAS GIRTIN From a family with Huguenot origins, Girtin was Master when the fifth Clothworkers’ Hall was destroyed. Following a seven-hour air raid on the night of 10 May 1941, the Hall was consumed by fire.

When the embers were finally put out early the next morning, Girtin was poignantly photographed inspecting the ruins of The Company’s former home.

1940

GEOFFREY BOSANQUET A solicitor from a Huguenot family, Bosanquet was also a distinguished scholar. At age 87, he published his translation of Eadmer’s History of England from the Latin – it was a project some 30 years in the making. He was a Liveryman for a period of 70 years, spanning the reigns of six different monarchs.

1943

SIR FRANCIS PORTAL The Company’s 450th Master, Sir Francis descends from a Huguenot family – his ancestor, Henri, fled persecution by stowing himself in an empty wine barrel to make the sea crossing from France and eventually set up a paper mill in England. Sir Francis was chairman of Portals Ltd, which has held the Bank of England contract to make bank notes since 1724.

1970

TOM GIRTIN Sometime solicitor, soldier and publican, Girtin became a professional writer and historian. In 1958, he produced The Company’s first published history, The Golden Ram, and subsequently wrote The Drapers’ and Cutlers’ histories. Despite the family’s Huguenot descent (he was the son of Thomas Girtin, Master 1940), he converted to Roman Catholicism.

1980

SIR PETER GADSDEN A Canadian-born minerals trader and businessman, Gadsden was invited to join The Company in 1963, and his civic career soon took off. Elected Sheriff and Alderman at age 41, he was one of the youngest Lord Mayors to serve in ofďŹ ce and the ďŹ rst to visit China.

He elevated the role from its ceremonial purpose to a more ambassadorial one.

1989

THE 2ND VISCOUNT SLIM Son of Field Marshal 1st Viscount Slim, he was educated in India, joining the British Indian Army in 1944 and, later, the SAS. Slim succeeded to his father’s title in 1970 and was one of the 92 hereditary peers elected to remain following the passing of the House of Lords Act in 1999, serving as a member of the Defence Committee.

1995

SIR JOHN HALL Ex Royal Fusilier and a banker by profession, Sir John was Master for half of the ‘Millennial Year’ (an honour shared with John Hutchins, Master 2000). During his tenure, The Company agreed a £1.2m grant towards the building of St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace as an exceptional donation to celebrate the new millenium.

1999

DR CAROLYN BOULTER Dr Boulter was The Clothworkers’ ďŹ rst Lady Master and is a descendent of Sir Robert Beachcroft (Master 1700). She pursued an academic career following a doctorate investigating the relationship between language and learning. Today she is an educational consultant at the Charles Darwin Trust, combining her interests in education and the natural world.

2017

SIR JONATHAN PORTAL BT A self-employed accountant working with small companies and charities, Sir Jonathan has played a leading role in The Clothworkers’ Innovation Fund at Leeds University and is keen to further The Company’s mission to support UK textile technology, skills and engineering. The eldest son of Sir Francis Portal (Master 1970), he is the 500th Master of The Clothworkers’ Company.

2019