An Historical Essay on the Livery Companies of London/The Cutlers' Company
The Cutler's Company of London
The Cutlers' Company.
NOW proceed to give some details concerning the Cutlers' Company.
AntiquityBefore the reign of Henry V there does not appear to be any record of the incorporation of the Cutlers as a Fraternity, but it is stated in the accounts of the City Chamberlain for the year 1355 (there being then 32 Companies) that the Cutlers contributed £4 towards a sum raised as a gift to Edward III for defraying the expenses of carrying on his French Wars, and it is also on record that in 1368 the Cutlers sent two members to the Committee of Common Council.
The following is an Extract from the Archives of the City of London, Page 217, Letter Book F, Latin and Norman French.
"18 Edward III, A.D. 1344.
"Articles of the Cutlers' Company. Be it remembered that on the Friday next after the Feast of the Decollation of St. John the Baptist (29 August) in the 18th Year of the reign of King Edward the 3rd the Articles of the Cutlers underwritten were read before John Hamond, Mayor, Roger de Depham, John de Caustone, and other Alderman, and seeing that they were befitting, were accepted and entered in these words."
(Then follows the Articles.)
On the 1st of December, 1413 (1 Henry 5), on the complaint of the Wardens and good folks of the trade of Cutlers of London, the Freedomship of the City of London, which had been granted to one William Wysman, a Freeman of the Coursers (Horsedealers), as one who followed their calling, was withdrawn by the Mayor, Alderman, and Chamberlain on the ground that the said William was at that time and before and since of the Craft of the Cutlers, and not of the said trade of Coursers.
John Stowe, in his interesting work, says: —
"Peace be within thy Walls, and plenteousness within thy Palaces. Concerning this Company of Cutlers, I find them to be of great antiquity, and that they were incorporated in the beginning of the Reign of Henry V, afterwards confirmed by King Henry VI, King Henry VIII, King Philip and Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth, and King James in his 5th year, 8th of February, confirmed all. The Arms of the Cutlers of London were granted by Thomas Holme Clarencieux, King of Arms, the 16th of Edward 4th, the Crest by Robert Coote Clarencieux, which is an Elephant bearing a Castle."
A further extract from Stowe says—
"Knives, for hundreds of years past all memory, were made in this Kingdom, but coarse and uncomely. But in the time of James I the best and finest knives in the world were made in London. Richard Matthew at Fleet Bridge was the first Englishman that attained to the skill of making fine knives and knife hafts, and in the 5th of Elizabeth he obtained a prohibition against all strangers and others from bringing any knives into England from beyond Seas, which until that time were brought in by ship loads from Flanders and other places. The same Richard Matthew also obtained a privilege under the Great Seal for the making of Knives and Daggers with a new kind of Haft. But this was much complained of as tending to the decay and overthrow of the whole Company of Cutlers within the City, and their Wives and Children and Apprentices, and that the prices of Knives would be excessively enhanced, and so prejudicial to all the Queen's subjects."
Maitland in his History of London (1750) says of the Cutlers' Company:—
"Cutlers (18). This Society was incorporated by Letters Patent by the name of the Master, Wardens, and Commonalty of the Mystery of Cutlers of London, and being united to the Haft and Sheath Makers some time after, their Arms were granted by Clarencieux, King at Arms, 1477. This fraternity is govered by a Master, 2 Wardens, and 21 Assistants, to which belongs a Livery of One hundred and ten Members, who upon being admitted pay a Fine of Ten pounds each. They have a convenient and beautiful Hall in Cloak Lane to transact their affairs in."
ChartersThe Cutlery trade appears to have been carried on originally in three branches.
- —The Forgers of Blades, or Bladers.
- —The Makers of Hafts.
- —The Sheath Makers for Knives, Swords, and Daggers.
These were all incorporated as one united body by King Henry V in the year 1413, by the style and name of "The Master Wardens and Commonalty of the Mystery of Cutlers of London."
The following is a list of the various other Charters which have been granted to the Company, or of confirmations made of existing Charters.
By Henry VI in 1422.
By Henry VHI in 1509.
By Philip and Mary in 1553.
By Queen Elizabeth in 1558.
By James I in 1607.
James II in 1685 revoked all the then existing Charters. In the year 1689, however, William and Mary revoked the last Act of James II, and restored all the privileges granted and confirmed by James I. Queen Anne in 1703 also confirmed all the previous Charters of the Company. Consequently the Charter under which the Company is now governed is that granted by James I in 1607.
This Charter recites that King Henry, after the Conquest the Fifth, having information that by reason of losses that happened to the men of the Mystery of Cutlers of the City of London by Sea they then were not able to live but by the benevolence of well-disposed people, whereof, he having a princely consideration, did grant that the aforesaid Cutlers should have one perpetual Commonalty of themselves. After various other interesting recitals King James by this Charter graciously constitutes and declares that all and singular the persons of the Commonalty and Mystery of Cutlers of London and the suburbs thereof should for ever thereafter be one body corporate and politic in deed and name, by the style of "The Master Wardens and Commonalty of the Mystery of Cutlers of London."
This Charter appointed Thomas Porter, Master, and William Bailey and Thomas Cheshire, Wardens, until the Even of the Holy Trinity following. The following are the names of the first Court of Assistants appointed by the Charter: Richard Hawes, Thomas Greene, John Gardiner, Thomas Asher, Oliver Plunkett otherwise Pluckett, George Ellye, Reginald Greene, Christopher Hatfield, William Hely, John Beeston, Henry Adams, Edward Andrews, Laurence Evans, John Johnson, Nathaniel Matthews, Miles Banks, John Porter, and James Tackley, and Thomas Jadwyn was thereby appointed the first Clerk.
See Appendix "A" for a full Copy of the Charter.
Fundamental Laws and Ordinances.
Fundamental Laws.Upon the grant of the before-named Charter by James I various Fundamental Laws were framed by the Commonalty of Cutlers for their government. It appears, however, that in the 19th year of the reign of Henry the Seventh a Statute was passed whereby it was ordained (amongst other things) that no Master, Warden, or Commonalties should take upon themselves to make any Acts or ordinances, unless the same had been examined and approved by the Chancellor or Treasurer of England, or Chief Justices of either Bench, upon pain of forfeiture of Forty Pounds. In accordance with the requirements of this Act, the various laws and ordinances made by the Commonalty of Cutlers were, at a full Court held at Cutlers' Hall on Friday, the 12th of February, 1702, re-enacted and submitted for approval, and on the 20th March, 1703 (3rd of Queen Anne), they were approved and allowed by the Lord High Treasurer Godolphin and the Chief Justices Sir John Holt and Sir Thomas Trever.
See appendix "B" for a full Copy of the Fundamental Laws and Ordinances.
Bye Laws
Bye LawsBetween the year 1703 when the above Fundamental Laws and Ordinances were approved, and the year 1830, various resolutions of the Court, having the effect of Bye Laws for the governance of the business of the Company having been passed, some of these resolutions were of a conflicting character, and consequently a new set of Bye Laws were framed and consolidated. Again in the year 1857 a similar course was considered expedient. The Consolidated Bye Laws do not, however, make any alterations in the fundamental portions of the Charters or Ordinances.
Members of the Company
Members.Admission to the Company is by —
Patrimony,
Servitude,
Redemption.
Fees and FinesThe following is a List of the Fees payable on admission: —
FreedomTo the Freedom of the Company—
| By Patrimony | £5 | 0s. | 0d. |
| By Servitude | £5 | 10s. | 0d. |
| By Redemption | £35 | 0s. | 0d. |
| By Patrimony | £22 | 0s. | 0d. |
| By Servitude | £22 | 0s. | 0d. |
| By Redemption | £45 | 0s. | 0d. |
Formerly five Liverymen had, under the Ordinances, to provide at their mutual charges, one competent and sufficient Feast or Dinner for the Master Wardens, Assistants, and Stewards.Livery of the Company, to be kept at the Common Hall of the Company on Lord Mayor's Day. This custom was altered some years since. The Court annually appoint five Liverymen as Stewards, and each Liveryman has, in lieu of paying the full cost of the Dinner, to pay a fine of £10 10s. on his appointment as Steward, and he in return receives a ticket for a visitor.
Assistants.The Fee payable on admission to the Court of Assistants is:—
| By Patrimony | £41 | 10s. | 0d. |
| By Servitude | £41 | 10s. | 0d. |
| By Redemption | £54 | 0s. | 0d. |
The Fine payable for refusing to serve the office of Master is £40, and for not serving the office of Warden £20.
Estates and Bequests of the Company
Estates and Bequests.The various properties understated have been bequeathed to the Company or purchased by them at the dates named. The following statement shews the date of bequest or purchase, with the present rentals, and the amount of any charge payable therefrom:—
Watling Street Estate.
1368 & 1400—Purchase.Two Houses.
Rental £196
(Subject to a Quit Rent of 11s. per annum, payable to the Duke of Bedford.)
Cloak Lane and College Hill.
1451—Purchase.Cloak Lane—Cutlers' Hall and Beadle's Residence.
Two Houses.
College Hill—One House.
Rental £636.
Houndsditch Estate.
(Formerly the Woolpack Tavern, and the Grounds adjoining.)
1469—BequestThis Estate was bequeathed to the Cutlers' Company by Mrs. Agnes Carter, widow of Mr. John Carter (a Citizen and Cutler of London), viz.:—
Houses in Houndsditch —
Cutler Street.
Carter Street.
White Street.
Clothes Exchange.
Synagogue.
1879.The Company purchased Nos. 113 and 114, Houndsditch, and Nos. 32 and 33, Cutler Street.
Rental £1,227.
(Note. — In the year 1865 a portion of the Houses in White Street were sold to the Metropolitan Railway Company.)
Aldersgate Street Estate.
1522—Bequest.No. 13, Aldersgate Street (portion of premises), was bequeathed to the Cutlers Company by Mr. John Monk (Citizen, Cutler, and Waxchandler), for the use of the Company for ever.
1806—Purchase.The Company purchased the House adjoining the above.
1865—Purchase.The Company purchased the House adjoining the above.
1876—Purchase.The Company purchased the House adjoining the above.
Rental £1,000.
Fleet Street and Fleet Lane Estate.
1566—Bequest.This Estate was bequeathed to the Cutlers Company by Mr. Thomas Bucke (Citizen and Cutler of London), subject to an annual charge of £11.
Fleet Street — One House.
Fleet Lane — Four Houses.
(The last-named four Houses have been sold to the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway Company.)
Particulars of the charge of £11:—
| £3 | 6s. | 8d. | Scholarship in St. John's College, Cambridge. | |
| £2 | 0s. | 0d. | Poor of Fleet Lane. | |
| £2 | 0s. | 0d. | Poor of the Parish of Wilburton. | |
| £1 | 0s. | 0d. | Christ's Hospital. | |
| £1 | 0s. | 0d. | St. Thomas' Hospital. | |
| £1 | 0s. | 0d. | St. Sepulchre's Church. | |
| £0 | 13s. | 4d. | Armourer and Braziers Company. | |
| £11 | 0s. | 0d. |
The amount of the Scholarship has been increased to £30 a year.
Rental £120.
Belle Sauvage Estate.
1568—Bequest.This Estate was bequeathed to the Cutlers Company by Mr. John Craythorne (Citizen and Cutler, of London), subject to a life interest therein of his widow, Mrs. Margaret Craythorne (who, at his death, gave up such life interest to the Company), and to an annual charge of £19 13s. 4d.
Belle Salvage Yard—Hotel, &c., now Warehouses.
Naked Boy Court—House, now absorbed in the Belle Sauvage Yard Warehouses.Ludgate Hill—House and Rooms over gateway.
The following are the particulars of the charge:—
| £3 | 6s. | 8d. | Scholarship at Cambridge. | |
| £3 | 6s. | 8d. | Scholarship at Oxford. | |
| £10 | 0s. | 0d. | Poor of St. Bride's Parish for Coals. | |
| £9 | 15s. | 0d. | Debtors in Newgate. | |
| £0 | 15s. | 0d. | Debtors in King's Bench. | |
| £0 | 15s. | 0d. | Debtors in Marshalsea. | |
| £0 | 15s. | 0d. | Debtors in Gate House. | |
| £19 | 13s. | 4d. |
The amount of the Scholarships have each been increased to £20 per annum.
Rental £1,167.
It was here that Sir Thomas Wyatt's rebellion was stopped.
The sign of the Belle Sauvage is thus spoken of in No. 28 of the Spectator:—
"As for the Bell Savage, which is the sign of a Savage Man standing by a Bell, I was formerly very much puzzled by the conceit of it till I accidentally fell into the reading of an old romance translated out of the French, which gives an account of a very beautiful woman who was found in a wilderness, and is called in the French, 'La Belle Sauvage,' and is everywhere translated by our countrymen 'The Bell Savage.'"
The sign was originally a bell hung within a hoop, as proved by a grant in the time of Henry VI, when John French gives to Joan French, his mother,
"All that tenement or Inn called Savage Inn, otherwise called 'Bell on the Hoop'."
Here also lived Grinling Gibbons,
1839 & 1841—Purchase."Where he carved a pot of flowers, which shook surprisingly with the motion of the coaches that passed by."—Walpole.
Balls Pond Estate.
12 Almshouses.
5 Shops.
20 Houses.
Rental £126.
(Note.—The proceeds of the sales of Houses in Fleet Lane and White Street have been invested in New £3 Per Cents, and East Indian Railway Stock.)
Irish Estate
In the reign of Queen Elizabeth a rebellion broke out in Ulster, in the North of Ireland, and that province became in a great measure depopulated, and laid waste. Upon the suppression of this rebellion a great portion of the province became vested in the Crown by forfeiture.
In 1613 King James, in consideration of a payment of £60,000, granted a Charter to the City of London for the settlement in Ulster of English and Scotch Protestants. The new settlement having been thus made, the towns built and the lands settled, the whole (with the exception of the indivisible Estates, which are still retained by the Irish Society), was mapped out by the Irish Society, and divided as nearly as could be between the Irish Society and the twelve Livery Companies, who had contributed £40,000 of the amount agreed to be paid to King James. The Companies drew lots for their several shares, which, on receiving, they each named from themselves, their armorial bearings, or other circumstances. Thus the Salter's have their "Manor of Sal"; the Ironmongers the "Manor of Lizard" (Lizards being that Company's Supporters); the Drapers have the "Manor of Drapers," and so on. The following is a list of the twelve Companies:—The Clothworkers, Drapers, Fishmongers, Goldsmiths, Grocers, Haberdashers, Ironmongers, Salters, Skinners, Mercers, Merchant Tailors, and Vintners.
The Charter granted by King James was revoked by King Charles the First by a Sentence of the Star Chamber; but Charles the Second granted a new Charter confirming that granted by King James, and restored to the City of London (represented by the Irish Society) and the twelve Livery Companies all former privileges and estates; and it is under this Charter that the Irish Society continues to act as a Corporation.
The portion of the £60,000 paid to King James, expended by the Livery Companies, was, as previously stated, £40,000, and at a Court of Common Council held in 1613, it was agreed to be divided into twelve equal proportions of £3,368 6s. 8d. to each of the principal Companies, each of which should stand as Chief, and to whom should be joined so many of the smaller Companies as, according to their contributions, would make up the full amount paid.
The Cutlers' Company contributed towards the amount paid by the Salters' Company, whose share of the £40,000 was made up in the following manner:
| Salters' Company | £1,954 |
| Dyers' Company | 580 |
| Saddlers' Company | 390 |
| Cutlers' Company | 225 |
| Joiners' Company | 164 |
| Woolmen's Company | 20 |
| £3,333 |
The Salters paid the remaining 6s. 8d. to balance the account. The share of the Woolmen's Company (who have become extinct) has since been purchased by the Salters' Company; and the share of the Saddlers' Company has recently been sold.
By a survey made in 1618 the County of Londonderry contains 409,309 acres. The Salters' portion of the estate appears to contain upwards of 11,000 Irish acres, and of which the Cutlers' Company have a claim of a fifteenth part, the exact proportions being, viz.:—
| Salters' Company | £59 | 4 | 7 | per cent. |
| Dyers' Company | 17 | 8 | 0 | „ |
| Saddlers' Company | 11 | 14 | 0 | „ |
| Cutlers' Company | 6 | 15 | 0 | „ |
| Joiners' Company | 4 | 18 | 5 | „ |
| £100 | 0 | 0 |
By a survey (1836) the Salters' estate is stated to consist of the town of Magherafelt and the adjacent county. It is six miles in length, and on an average three miles in breadth. It is bounded on the east by the Vintners' estate and Lock Neagh, south-west by the Drapers' estate, and north-east by Castle Down.
The estate is managed exclusively by the Salters' Company, who make a yearly report of their proceedings, with a statement of accounts. From these reports and those of other companies may be readily seen the great improvements which have, from time to time, been effected, the additional happiness conferred thereby on the tenantry, and the general high state of prosperity there, so that it has become a recognised fact that the territory of the Irish Society and the estates of the Livery Companies of London are the best managed and most prosperous portions of Ireland.
The present income of the Cutlers' Company from their share of the estate is about £400 a year.
In the year 1838 the various Livery Companies instituted proceedings in Chancery against the Irish Society to obtain a Decree that the Society were the Trustees for the Companies, and for an account of their Stewardship of the Estates. (Mr. Pemberton appeared as Counsel for the Cutlers.) After a hearing, which lasted several days, the Master of the Rolls (Lord Langdale) dismissed the Bill.
Bequests to the Cutlers' Company
1533In this year Mr. John Davies (Citizen and Cutler, of London), by his will charged his Estate, known as the Bowes Farm, Edmonton, with the payment of a sum of Thirty Shillings per annum for ever to the Cutlers' Company "for the use of the Poor Men of the said Company."
1840In this year Mr. W. H. Pepys (Citizen and Cutler, of London), presented the Cutlers' Company with a sum of £100 in trust as a permanent fund, the amount to be invested, and the interest to be applied in the purchase of Coals yearly for the Pensioners of the Company.
1850In this year Mr. John Peacock (Proprietor of the London Tavern), by his Will bequeathed the sum of £100 to the Cutlers' Company.
Charities of the Company
AlmshousesIn the year 1838, the Court being desirous in their prosperity to add to the welfare and comfort of their poorer Brethren and Sisters, resolved to build some Almshouses, and they accordingly voted a sum of money for that purpose. A piece of land was purchased in the Ball's Pond Road, Islington, and twelve Almshouses erected thereon. The Court grant the use of them to decayed Freemen and Liverymen and their Widows.
PensionsPensions are also granted by the Court to deserving Freemen, Liverymen, and their Widows, if upon strict enquiry they are found deserving thereof.
| Scale of Pensions. | Per annum. |
| To Freemen and Widows (under 60) | £14 |
| To ditto (above 60) | 22 |
| To Liverymen and Widows (under 60) | 22 |
| To ditto (above 60) | 30 |
Considerable sums are also given to distressed persons related to former Freemen or Liverymen of the Company, and large amounts are also voted every year to various Hospitals and other Charities. In 1880 the sum thus expended was £911 15s. In fact, it may be truly said of the Cutlers' Company as of the other Livery Companies of London,
"That, while they feasted all the great, they never forgot the poor or small."
Exhibitions to Cambridge and Oxford.
Exhibitions.The Cutlers' Company have one Exhibition or Scholarship to Cambridge by the Will of Mr. Thomas Bucke, in 1566. The yearly amount has been increased from £3 6s. 8d. to £30.
The Company have also one Exhibition or Scholarship to Cambridge, and also
One Exhibition or Scholarship to Oxford by the Will of Mr. John Craythorne. The yearly amount has in each case been increased from £3 6s. 8d. to £20.
In the year 1860 the Court resolved, in consequence of the increased rental from the property bequeathed by Mr. Bucke and Mr. Craythorne, to create a new Exhibition or Scholarship at Cambridge, of the annual value of £20.
The Company are accustomed to continue the payment of these Exhibitions until the occurrence of one of the following events:—
1st.—Ceasing to reside.
2nd.—Obtaining the M.A. degree.
3rd.—Obtaining a Fellowship or preferment to the amount of £10 a year.
Property of the Company.
A list of the most interesting items of Plate, Books, Pictures, and miscellaneous articles belonging to the Company.
PLATE.
A Salt, in form of Elephant, presented by Mr. K. Carrington, in 1658.
A Silver Cup, presented by Mr. W. Davis, Hall Marked, 1689.
Four Silver Spoons, presented by Mr. R. Grimes, Master, in 1674.
Six ditto, presented by Mr. R. Blaney, Master, in 1679.
Four ditto, presented by Mr. D. Wilson, Master, in 1688.
Three ditto, presented by Mr. R. Kittlebuter, Master, in 1692.
A Punch Ladle, presented by Mr. N. Slack, in 1712.
Two Silver Punch Bowls.
Two Silver Gilt Rose Water Dishes.
One Antique Silver Goblet.
Two Silver Loving Cups and Covers.
One Ancient Silver Wine Strainer.
One large Silver Tankard, bequeathed by Mr. W. Lund, in 1872.
Two Silver Wine Coolers, bequeathed by Mr. W. Lund, in 1872.
One large gilt Rose Water Dish, presented by Mr. Henry Graves, in 1872.
A Beadle's Staff, with Silver Elephant and Castle, (ancient.)
BOOKS.
A Bible with Silver Clasps, 1541.
Stowe's History of London, presented by Mr. Pepys.
Churches of London, ditto.
Beauties of England and Wales, presented by Mr. Pepys.
Smollett's History of England, ditto.
History of the River Thames.
Microcosm of London.
Owen Jones—Illuminated Middle Ages—presented by Mr. J. Tyler.
Owen Jones—Grammar of Ornament—presented by Mr. J. Tyler.
PAINTINGS.
Portrait of Henry V.
Portrait of Queen Anne.
Portrait of Alderman Winchester, a Master of the Company, Lord Mayor of London.
Portrait of Alderman Sir R. W. Garden, M.P., a Master of the Company, Lord Mayor of London.
Three Portraits of Mrs. Craythorne.
ENGRAVINGS.
Portrait of Queen Anne, James I, and the Lord High Treasurer, Godolphin.
Procession of Queen Anne through the Strand in 1714.
Photograph Album, with Portraits of past Masters of the Company.
MISCELLANEOUS.
One large Hammer for Master, 1603.
Snuff Box, presented by Mr. Underwood.
Various Flags and Shields, with Coats of Arms.
Plan of London, presented by the City Solicitor in 1832.
Plan of the Ball's Pond Estate.
Plans of the various Estates.
Plan of the Irish Estate.Technical Education.
The Company fully recognising the great importance of Technical Education, or a knowledge of the principles of science as applied to the materials used in the staple manufactures of the country, after a full consideration of the subject, decided not to take any part in the proposed scheme for the establishment of a College for the teaching of Technical Education generally, but that they would adopt measures calculated to promote and sustain an advancement and improvement in the manufacture of cutlery and of those engaged in the cutlery trade.
With this object in view, the Company resolved to endeavour to create a spirit of competition among the manufacturers of cutlery, and also among their workmen and apprentices, and they also arranged that such competition should be divided into three classes as follows:—
Class 1.—General Cutlery.
Class 2.—Surgical Cutlery.
Class 3.—Sword Cutlery.
And that the prizes for manufacturers should consist of the Freedom of the Company, gold, silver, and bronze Medals and Certificates of Merit, and for artisans and apprentices an illuminated Certificate of Merit, with a sum of money to be awarded in such amounts as the judges might think proper amongst such of the competitors as should gain Certificates of Merit.
The standard of merit in the award of the judges with regard to manufacturers was settled as follows:—
Class 1.—General excellence of material, temper, and workmanship, novelty of style, practical and general utility of goods.Class 2.—The general excellence of material, temper, and workmanship, practical and general utility of articles.
Class 3.—The general excellence of material, temper, and workmanship.
And for artisans and apprentices the standard of merit in the several classes of forgers, grinders, and glaziers, and as to fitters, were fixed as follows:—
The best finished work, having regard to its practical utility.
The fitting of screws, fitting and finishing of handles, and adjustment of work so as to act perfectly.The Company also decided to exhibit any specimens of ancient cutlery which might be lent for the purpose, so that a comparison might be made with that of modern manufacture.
A large number of circulars, with conditions of competition, were addressed to manufacturers in the three classes of the cutlery trade, inviting their cooperation, and also that of their workmen and apprentices in the proposed competition.
The result was that the following large number agreed to compete in the several classes: —
| General Cutlery.—Class I. | ||
| Manufacturers | 24 | |
| Artisans and apprentices | 24 | |
| — | 48 | |
Surgical Cutlery.—Class II. | ||
| Manufacturers | 13 | |
| Artisans and apprentices | 30 | |
| — | 43 | |
Sword Cutlery.—Class III. | ||
| Manufacturers | 3 | |
| Total | 94 | |
In addition to those taking part in the competition, the Company received offers of the loan of a large number of interesting specimens of ancient arms and cutlery for exhibition from their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh, also from the Baron de Cosson and other gentlemen, and from the South Kensington Museum and the Sheffield Public Museum.
The following Judges were appointed:—
For Surgical Cutlery—
Sir H. Thompson, Mr. Bryant, Mr. Parry.
For Sword Cutlery—
Lieut.-General B. Walker, C.B., Lieut.-Col. G. Vernon.
For General Cutlery—
Messrs. Plum, Pigall, Slatter, Wing.
The Exhibition was arranged to be held in the Hall of the Company, and to be opened on the 1st of May, 1879, by the Right Honourable the Earl of Carnarvon.
The Judges awarded one Gold Medal, 12 Silver Medals, and 10 Certificates of Merit to various manufacturers; and 28 Certificates of Merit to artisans and apprentices, together with money prizes, amounting to the sum of £95.
A large number of articles intimately connected with the cutlery trade were also exhibited.
The Exhibition was open to the public on the 2nd of May, and continued open until the 17th of that month, on two evenings in the week until nine o'clock to give a better opportunity to the artisan class to attend. During the time named abont 15,000 persons inspected the various exhibits.
On the 7th of May His Royal Highness Prince Leopold, and on the 9th May their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, attended and inspected with much interest the various objects of competition and exhibition.
The Prizes to the successful competitors were distributed on the 17th of May.
The Company have received the gratifying information and assurance that the result of the competition has been a large amount of benefit to the cutlery trade, and that it has given a stimulus to continued improvement, not only in the quality of the cutlery but also in the knowledge and skill of the manufacturers and artisans engaged in its production.
A copy of the report of the Committee of the Company engaged in the carrying out of the various details of the competition, with lists of the awards of the judges and a statement of the various expenses incurred by the Company in connection therewith, has been presented to each Liveryman of the Company.
A tablet has been placed in Cutlers' Hall to commemorate the Exhibition, with the following incription:—
This Tablet is erected by the Worshipful Company of Cutlers to commemorate the success of the first Exhibition of Cutlery, held in this Hall, under the auspices of the Company, and of the visits thereto of their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and Prince Leopold.
The Exhibition was opened by the Right Honourable the Earl of Carnarvon on the 1st of May, 1879, and was inspected by nearly 15,000 visitors.—T. G. Pocock, Master. W. A. Oldaker, A. Pocock, Wardens. J. Thorne, R. J. Cheeswright, Hon. Secretaries.
As to Apprentices.
During the past year the Company, feeling the great importance of providing for a continuity of skilled artisans in the Cutlery trade, resolved to appropriate a sum of £100 a year for the purpose of apprenticing two boys to members of the cutlery trade in London. Public notice of the intention of the Company was given, and two respectable youths were in December last apprenticed, at the Hall of the Company, to master Cutlers in London. The following are the general terms upon which the apprenticeships are based:—
1. Forty pounds to be paid each master in two instalments, viz., Twenty Pounds at the time of apprenticeship, and Twenty Pounds at the expiration of the third year of the term.2. Ten Pounds to be paid to each apprentice, either during or at the expiration of the apprenticeship, at the discretion of the Company.
3. The Freedom of the Company to be presented to each apprentice on satisfactory proof being given of his efficiency in the craft and of good behaviour during his apprenticeship.
4. The wages to be paid to the apprentice to be determined at the time of apprenticing between the master, the apprentice, his father or guardian, and the Company.
As to Lectures.
The Company being desirous to render further assistance in the development of Technical Education, and a scientific knowledge of the materials used in the cutlery trade, have arranged for a series of papers to be read at Cutlers' Hall upon subjects intimately connected therewith.
On the 1st of December last, Sir Henry Bessemer, C.E., F.R.S., read a Paper "On the Manufactnre and Uses of Steel, with special reference to its employment for Edge Tools."
On the 1st of February last, A. K. Huntington, Esq. (Professor of Metallurgy, King's College, London), read a Paper on "Steel, its Composition and Properties."
On the 2nd of March last, Henry Seebohm, Esq. (a well-known Steel Manufacturer of Sheffield) read a Paper on the "Uses of Steel."
It is intended to make arrangements for other Papers to be read in due course.
The Company invited the attendance and the cordial co-operation of manufacturers of Cutlery, and through them that of their workmen and apprentices in this movement; and it is gratifying to the Company to recognise from the large attendance of masters, artisans, and apprentices, and the attention paid by them during the reading of the papers, the great interest felt by them in the various technical matters connected with their trade brought under their notice by the talented and scientific gentlemen to whom allusion has been made. It may be added that a copy of each of the Papers read is presented to every person attending the Lectures.
Cutlers' Hall.
Cutlers' Hall.The Hall of the Cutlers' Company is situate in Cloak Lane, Dowgate Hill. The site was purchased by the Company in the year 1451, and the first Hall erected there shortly afterwards. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of London, in 1666, when
A key of Fire ran all along the Shore,
And frightened all the River with a blaze.—Dryden.
It was remodelled and improved in the year 1853.
Maitland in his History of London (1750), in describing the Vintry Ward, refers to the Cutlers' Hall as one of the remarkable places of interest in the Ward.
Cutlers' Hall.—In Horse Bridge Street is the Cutlers' Hall. Richard de Wilchale in 1295 confirmed to Paul Butelar this house and other edifices, which some time Lawrence Gisors and his son Peter Gisors did possess, and afterwards Hugo de Hingham, and lieth between the tenement of the said Richard towards the South, and the Lane called Horse Shoe Bridge towards the North, and between the way called Paternoster Church on the West, and the Course of Walbrook on the East; paying yearly one clove of Gilliflowers at Easter, and to the Priory and Convent of St. Mary Overy 6s. This house some time belonged to Simon Dolefly, Grocer, Mayor in the year 1359. They of this Company were (of old time) three Arts or sorts of Workmen, to wit—The first were Smiths, Forgers of Blades, and, therefore, called Bladers. And divers of them proved wealthy men, as namely Walter Nele, Blader, one of the Sheriffs, the 12th of King Edward the Third, deceased, 1352, and buried in St. James, Garlickhithe. He left lands for the mending of Highways about London, between Newgate and Wycombe and elsewhere. The second were Makers of Hafts and otherwise Garnishers of Blades. The third sort were Sheath Makers for Swords, Daggers, and Knives. In the tenth of Henry IV certain Ordinances were made betwixt the Bladers and other Cutlers. And in the reign of Henry V they were all three Companies drawn into one Fraternity or Brotherhood by the name of Cutlers.
The general business of the Company is carried on at the Hall, and the Court and Committee Meetings are likewise held there.
In the Dining Hall, the great hospitality for which the Cutlers' Company has ever been and still is distinguished, continues to be lavishly dispensed. One of the most time-honoured toasts or sentiments drank with enthusiasm at the Cutlers' Feasts is that in which the sympathy of every Liverymen towards the Company is expressed. May it continue to be used for many years to come. It is a sentiment also with which I trust I may not inappropriately conclude my short history of the Cutlers' Company.
"The Cutlers' Company—
May it flourish root and branch."
THE END.
