A MODERN LIVERY COMPANY

The Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers is a unique organisation serving and representing the furniture and furnishing industry

This booklet is addressed to all members of the Company� Its purpose is to give an outline of The Furniture Makers’ Company, its history, objectives, customs, activities, and its role in the City of London and the furniture and furnishing industry�

As a City livery company, the Company taps into 900 years of history and the emergence of the global trade from which we benefit today

In the 12th century, as specific trades started to develop, so tradesmen around the City of London began to form guilds, grouping together to regulate competition within their trade and maintain high moral and quality standards� Such guilds controlled the manufacture and selling of goods and services in the City, or the Square Mile as it is called They sought to guarantee that a member was trustworthy and fully qualified and that goods they produced were of reputable quality; this two-fold aim being to protect both the public and the guild members from unscrupulous individuals Many of these guilds adopted a common hierarchy, headed by a Master, governed by a Court and becoming incorporated under Royal Charter� The distinctive clothing and regalia led to their being referred to as livery companies�

Over the years the City of London has evolved to a prominent position� Its worldwide reputation in finance, regulation and law is built on its history, and the part played by the work of its livery companies Although the London of today is unrecognisable from that where those first stirrings of formal trades occurred, the legacy and the liveries themselves live on�

A walk around the City today will reveal tall, modern buildings, but interspersed between these 21st century monoliths the sharp-eyed will see the many ancient and beautiful livery halls which makes the Square Mile such an interesting and fascinating place�

Today’s livery companies continue to have influence in the City of London, and their liverymen retain the rights to elect the Sheriffs and to influence the election of the Lord Mayor�

All liverymen have been granted the Freedom of the City of London, an ancient form of status as a ‘free man’ or ‘citizen’� its workforce, past and present, who have fallen on hard times� But it’s not just about charitable aims and giving back� Members enjoy the camaraderie and friendship that comes from being together with likeminded people from the industry

By becoming a freeman and then a liveryman, members are not joining a trade association but being admitted to a unique organisation with links to 900 years of history and a role in the governance of one of the most successful and influential cities in the world� To be a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers is an honour of which one can be proud�

More detailed information is available in the Company’s own archives, publications and website, together with the easily accessible publications of the City of London Corporation, regarding the City’s history and significance

A list of reference material is included at the end of this booklet�

Like most livery companies, the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers now has charity at its heart It uses its position of influence and stature to support the UK furnishing industry and to aid those from