Group    From 1472 

Worshipful Company of Masons

Categories: Liveries & Guilds

The masons did very well out of the post-fire rebuilding of London. From their website: "The focus of our Livery Company is to preserve and encourage the use of natural stone in the built environment. This includes supporting the training of craftsmen as well as the preservation and appreciation of iconic historic stone buildings....

Our Company was formed with the object of regulating the craft of stonemasonry so that standards could be properly maintained and rewarded. The earliest available records of regulation from the Court of Aldermen are dated 1356. In 1472 a Grant of Arms was received under Letters Patent but it was not until 1677 that the Company was formally incorporated by Royal Charter under the seal of King Charles II which gave it authority to control the work of masons in the Cities of London and Westminster and seven miles around. This was a necessary power in order to control the influx of provincial stonemasons assisting in the rebuilding of the capital following the Great Fire in 1666 and to enable the maintenance of strict standards, although governance was never quite as tight again.

Since then members of the Company have been involved in the creation and preservation of the majority of iconic stone buildings and structures across these Cities and nationwide. Joshua and Edward Marshall erected Temple Bar in 1673, the barrier from where trade was officially regulated into the City. Four years later Thomas Strong laid the foundation stone of the new St Paul’s Cathedral and his brother Edward laid the last stone of the building’s lantern in 1708. Both Marshalls and Strongs were Master Masons among a number of other prominent members of the Company who worked on the City’s most beautiful monuments under Sir Christopher Wren. Between 1670 and 1718 at least 8 individuals actively involved in the construction of St Paul’s became Masters of the Masons’ Company."

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Worshipful Company of Masons

Commemorated ati

Masons Hall

On this site stood the hall of the Worshipful Company of Masons.

Read More

This section lists the memorials created by the subject on this page:
Worshipful Company of Masons

Creations i

Bench - Mayoralty

Along the front edge of the bench 10 sets of deviders are carved and along th...

Read More

Other Subjects

Worshipful Company of Fruiterers

Worshipful Company of Fruiterers

1292 -  first reference to ‘Free Fruiterers’.  First charter in 1606.  Their shield shows Adam and Eve with that first piece of fruit.

Group, Commerce, Liveries & Guilds

5 memorials
Worshipful Company of Poulters

Worshipful Company of Poulters

From The Poulters Charter: In 1727 John Newman left his property in Budge Row to the Poulters Company who, we believe, always used it to generate income rather than for their own purposes. The Pou...

Group, Liveries & Guilds

2 memorials
Upholders' Hall

Upholders' Hall

Destroyed in the Great Fire and never rebuilt. 'Upholder' is an archaic word for 'Upholsterer'.

Building, Liveries & Guilds

1 memorial
Basketmakers Company

Basketmakers Company

Established by an Order of the Court at Aldermen on 22 September 1569, a Royal Charter being granted in 1937. Today it supports the trade in this country and helps to foster links with the craft ac...

Group, Craft / Design, Liveries & Guilds, Politics & Administration

0 memorials
Curriers' Hall

Curriers' Hall

The Curriers' Company began in 1272. From 1605 it built itself 6 Halls in the City, the last in 1876 (pictured), which it had to sell in the 1920s. Since then it has enjoyed the hospitality of othe...

Building, Liveries & Guilds

1 memorial

Previously viewed

Lord Northampton

Lord Northampton

EC1, Northampton Square

This tablet was erected in loving memory of William Compton, fifth Marquess of Northampton, KG, by his London tenants and friends.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Marie Stopes - SE19

Marie Stopes - SE19

SE19, Cintra Park, 28

English Heritage Marie Stopes, 1880 - 1958, promoter of sex education and birth control, lived here, 1880 - 1892.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Mrs Hester Thrale (Piozzi)

Mrs Hester Thrale (Piozzi)

Writer and good friend to Samuel Johnson. Born near Bwlheli, Caernarvonshire, as Hester Salusbury. In 1763 was married for money to Henry Thrale, a wealthy London brewer. An unhappy marriage, with ...

Person, Gender Issues, Literature, Wales

2 memorials
St Olave Parish Hall

St Olave Parish Hall

EC3, Mark Lane

The St Olave inscription is below the central ground floor window, behind the bike rack. The other memorial/information board is in front...

4 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
Bee Gees

Bee Gees

Three members of the group: Barry Gibb and his brothers, the twins Robin & Maurice, all born on the Isle of Man. The family emigrated to Australia in 1958 and that was where they began their m...

Group, Music / songs, Seriously Famous

1 memorial