| Honor Deo Latin for Honour to God. |
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| Location: | Mercers' Hall, London |
| Date of formation: | 1394 |
| Company association: | General merchants |
| Order of precedence: | 1st |
| Master of company: | Sir David Clementi[1] |
| Motto: | Honor Deo Latin for Honour to God. |
| Website: | www.mercers.co.uk |
The Worshipful Company of Mercers is the premier Livery Company of the City of London and ranks first in order of precedence. It is the first of the so-called "Great Twelve City Livery Companies". Although of even older origin, the Company was incorporated under a Royal Charter in 1394, the Company's earliest extant Charter. The Company's aim was to act as a trade association for general merchants, and especially for exporters of wool and importers of velvet, silk and other luxurious fabrics. By the sixteenth century many members of the Company had lost any connection with the original trade. Today, the Company exists as a charitable institution, supporting a variety of causes. The Company's motto is Honor Deo, Latin for "Honour to God".
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The word "mercery" derives from the Latin merx, mercis, "merchandise" [2] from which root also derives the word "merchant".[3] The word mercero still used in Spanish has a meaning similar to haberdasher, although the mediaeval mercers would not have recognised any relationship to that trade which was covered by a separate company.
In education, the Company has administered St Paul's School since 1509, and St Paul's Girls' School since 1904, and retains close links with Collyer's College, Dauntsey's School, Abingdon School, Peter Symonds College and Gresham College, all founded by Mercers. In recent times the Company has founded a City Technology College (Thomas Telford School) and two City Academies (Walsall Academy and Sandwell Academy). There was also a Mercers' School[4] which was granted its first charter in 1447, and closed in 1959 when pupil numbers fell. The school was most recently based in Barnard's Inn in Holborn, London, now the home of Gresham College.
In 2011, the Mercers co-sponsored a new academy school, Hammersmith Academy, specialising in Creative & Digital Media and Information Technology, located in Hammersmith, west London.[5] The school was established in a new building, with support from the Mercers[6] and the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists.[7]
The Mercers' Company is based at Mercers' Hall, Ironmonger Lane (off Cheapside), London EC2. From the 14th century onwards the Company held its meetings in the Hospital of St Thomas of Acon on Cheapside. Between 1517 and 1524 the Company built a small chapel of its own on this land, with the first Mercers' Hall above it, fronting Cheapside. The building was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The second Hall, designed by Edward Jarman and John Oliver, opened in May 1676. The Hall was extensively refurbished during the period 1877 to 1881 (the porch of the 1676 building is now incorporated into the facade of Swanage town hall). The frontage was remodelled by George Barnes Williams and the interiors were redesigned by John Gregory Crace, the renowned Victorian designer. The Hall was destroyed by fire in 1941, during the Blitz. The third and present Mercers' Hall was opened in May 1958. The architect was E Noel Clifton of Gunton and Gunton. The Hall incorporates fittings from the old Hall, including some 17th century woodwork and Victorian stained glass. The Mercers' Company is the only City Livery Company to have its own private chapel.
Children whose father or mother was a member of the Company at the time of their birth have an automatic right to become Mercers by ‘Patrimony’.
Most other members have a family connection to the Company and obtain their Freedom by Redemption. Under this process applicants are recommended for membership after an interview and, if approved, they pay a small sum of money called a ‘fine’.
Other people can also become Members by Redemption. Membership is sometimes granted because the Company wishes to honour the individual. Notable Members who joined the Company by Redemption are Sir Thomas More and Sir Winston Churchill
One other route to membership is by apprenticeship, but this has not happened recently. In the early days this was a very usual route; an apprentice would be "bound" to a Member for a term of about seven years, and was virtually the Member's slave, but in exchange the member was required to teach the apprentice such that he was worthy of membership by the end of the term, when he became a "Freeman", for he was no longer "bound". Freemen of a Livery Company are also Freemen of the City of London, which used to carry certain privileges, such as the right to drive a flock of sheep without charge over London Bridge, sadly no longer the case.
Every year the Mercers' Company publishes an annual review of their activities. The 2006 accounts show that the Mercers have £454.6 million assets under management. £315.6 million of that total was in the form of property and other fixed assets, the property portfolio includes 90 residential flats in Covent Garden. In the year to August 2005 the Mercers gave away £9 million to charity.
Among famous Mercers were:
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