Haberdashers' Company
| Location | Haberdashers' Hall, London EC1 |
|---|---|
| Date of formation | 1448 |
| Company association | Silk and velvet clothing |
| Order of precedence | 8th |
| Master of company | Richard Glover |
| Motto | "Serve and Obey" |
| Website | haberdashers |
The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, one of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies, is an ancient merchant guild of London, England associated with the silk and velvet trades.
The Haberdashers' Company follows the Mercers' Company (inc. 1394, also connected with clothing and previously haberdashery) in precedence, receiving its first Royal Charter in 1448 and holds records dating back to 1371. The formal name under which it is incorporated is The Master and Four Wardens of the Fraternity of the Art or Mystery of Haberdashers in the City of London.
The company was originally responsible for the regulation of silk and velvet merchants, but began losing control over those trades as the population of London increased and spread outwards from the City after the Industrial Revolution. Through careful stewardship of corporate bequests and funds, the company now serves as a significant educational and charitable institution whilst maintaining links with its heritage by giving awards for fashion education.
As an educational foundation, the Haberdashers' Company maintains a strong tradition of supporting schools. It founded a boys' school in Hoxton and then expanded to schools in Hatcham in south London and Hampstead in north London; the Hampstead school moved in 1961 to become the Haberdashers' Aske's School, Elstree and the separate girls' school, founded in Acton, has now relocated to an adjacent site in Elstree. The Haberdashers' Company also runs a Hatcham Academy, open to girls and boys; other schools are situated elsewhere in the United Kingdom: e.g. William Adams, a haberdasher by trade, founded in 1656 the Adams' Grammar School in his home town of Newport, Shropshire. In 1990, at Haberdashers' School, Monmouth, the Glover Music School was established funded by Dr Jane Glover CBE, sister of the present Master.
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