Curriers'
Company
By Peter Leach
Many thanks also go to Dr. Donald Adamson for his
contribution in proof-reading the draft article and
making numerous improvements and corrections.
 The
History of the Worshipful Company of Curriers
Continuing with our series of histories of London
Livery Companies that contributed to the London, British
and European Leather Trade, this time we look at the
Worshipful Company of Curriers.
The Company is 29th in the official order of precedence
of London Livery Companies but the existence of Curriers
in London precedes all written records. As we have
said before, leather has been such an important part
of human existence and activity that the knowledge
of tanning and leather preparation is common to almost
all human development across the globe.
I will start by explaining the role of currying
in the leather production process and then I will
provide highlights of the formation, success, decline
and re-emergence of the Worshipful Company.
 The
‘Art and Mysterie1 ’ of the Currier
Men and women wore and used leather before the beginning
of recorded history. The number of people involved
in the making of leather and in its use in human endeavor
may run in to the millions. Clothes, particularly
hats, gloves, shoes, boots, jackets, jerkins and trousers,
were popularly made of leather, and its use in farming,
war, transportation and habitation has been and continues
to be extensive. No material has been more important
to human development than leather. Today, there are
many competing materials that have displaced leather
as the preferred material for many human needs, but
leather continues to be the premier material in many
former applications.
Over time, craftsmen developed skills associated
with different aspects of the trade. Some still exist
today - the tanner, cobbler and saddler. Other skills,
such as those of the cordwainer and currier, are now
rarities. Since man started to understand the process
of leather preparation, craftsman in the various disciplines
have become dependent on the skills of the others
for their living. The trade of currying was a vital
part of the leather industry and, while industrial
processes have now made much of the currier’s art
obsolete, some very exclusive leathers are still hand-curried.
Currying is the name given to the process of stretching
and finishing tanned leather, thus, rendering it supple
and strong for the use of a saddler, cobbler or other
leather worker. The name currier is believed to have
been taken from the Latin term ‘corium’. The corium
is the central skin layer between the outer epidermis
and the flesh underneath, made up of a complex series
of fibres. The make-up of this layer dictates the
difference in texture between leathers. Leather for
the sole of your shoes has very different characteristics
from your leather coat or your up-scale car leather
seat.
Before the processes of leathermaking became known,
animal skins were cured by treating them with animal
fat. This stage was followed by leaving them stretched
out to dry, either in the sun or before a fire. In
Britain, due to the climate, the skin was normally
dried in front of a fire. This basic system was in
use thousands of years before Christ and was still
used on buffalo skins by North American Indians in
the late 1800’s. Medieval Europeans improved upon
these methods and those tradesmen skilled in the methods
of making skins into a flexible, durable material
grew in importance.
To understand the role performed by the Currier,
it is necessary to look at the earlier stages in the
leather-making process. An animal skin was first delivered
to a tannery. There it was soaked and cleaned of any
remnants of animal tissue. The skin then underwent
the "liming" procedure, where it was repeatedly
washed and left in a solution of quick lime to increase
absorbency. After being cut to a suitable size, the
skin was placed in successive tanks of progressively
stronger tanning solution. The solution used for tanning
was traditionally made from oak bark. The unfinished
leather now passed to the Currier, whose craft was
to transform the stiff material into a pliant, workable
material for the final craftsman to transform into
the finished product..
The art of currying leather was hard manual labour,
needing great skill and a range of special hand tools.
The Currier worked on a variety of hides, principally
ox, cow, calf, goat, sheep, pig and deer. He may have
occasionally dressed squirrel, rabbit and a variety
of snakes. The hide was first stretched on a variety
of different frames, depending on the type of leather
to be curried. The Currier would gradually tighten
the frame, notch by notch, from every direction until
satisfied that the hide was as taut as possible. Another
method of stretching the skin was by using an implement
resembling a mangle or rack, where a handle was turned,
gradually tightening the material.
Once stretched, the tanned leather was washed and
scrubbed. The Currier then went to work with a ‘sleeker’,
a short bladed knife. The sleeker forced the remaining
tanning fluid from the hide. The skin was then ready
to be dressed, to make it smooth, waterproof, strong
and flexible.
 The
inner side of the skin was made more even by the use
of a currying knife or ‘shave’. The blade of this
knife ran at right angles to the handle, thus enabling
it to be worked like a wood plane, shaving the surface
of the leather. This part of the process called for
great skill and judgment. Too steep a cut could render
a valuable hide worthless. The currying knife was
also used for the delicate task of splitting the leather
into different thicknesses. The thickness required
was dictated by the purpose for which the leather
was intended. The suppler split leather was used for
the uppers of shoes and boots. The heavier leather
from the ‘butt’ or backbone of the skin was used for
soles.
Once it had been trimmed to a suitable size and
thickness, the Currier actually carried out the process
of currying. That is, massaging into the leather equal
quantities of beef tallow and cod liver oil. Once
curried, leather could be used for a wider range of
purposes, and also stained or dyed. The work of British
Curriers was held in high esteem throughout Europe.
Like most trades, currying often became a family
tradition with skills passed from father to son. The
finished product was frequently taken by other members
of the family for crafting into leather products.
The
Curriers Company – The first 500 years
The earliest surviving record of currying in England
is in the City of London Coroner’s Roll for 9 February
1276. This covers an inquest into the death of a Currier’s
wife living off Newgate Street. She apparently died
as a result of a broken leg after falling down drunk
in the street!
However, the book “The Curriers’ Company – A Modern
History”, by Donald Adamson , lists 1272 as the date
when the Mistery of Curriers obtained separate working
regulations, thus becoming an exclusive trade association.
It seems likely, however, that such working regulations
were not the first in Europe nor in London, but followed
the experiences of other artisans’ organizations in
France, Italy, Spain and in other London trades.
The earliest rules of the trade in London were recorded
circa 1300. These laid down the maximum prices a Currier
could charge a skinner for the dressing of skins.
Four ‘searchers’ were empowered to enforce these rules,
one of whom was a Currier. Any Currier charging too
much would have a fine imposed. As an example, the
Currier could not take more than 5s6d for dressing
the skins of a thousand roskyn (fur of the squirrel
in summer).
However, even with Ordinances in place, the leather
artisans continually challenged the boundaries for
their respective trades. Even the definitions of the
various artisans became confused. For a century these
trade boundary rules and ordinances were continually
challenged and, as with many other inter-trade disputes
of those times, street fights and rioting were regular
occurrences between apprentices.
By the 14th century, Curriers were men of importance
in towns and cities in England, Wales, Scotland and
Ireland. Until 1367, London Curriers had no sanctioned
trade guild. In that year, however, the Curriers constituted
themselves into a guild and religious fraternity in
the “conventual church of the Carmelites” (White Friars)
in Fleet Street.
English and especially London’s Curriers’ prosperity
was due in part to the royal supply contracts for
leather for soldiers engaged in wars with France and
Scotland. Leather was used to link plates of armour,
as well as for many items of soldier’s clothing and
for tack for the horses used to move heavy war supplies.
In 1415 The Mistery of Curriers received grant of
its First Ordinances by the act of Common Council
of the City. These were further strengthened in 1488
by another act of Common Council. The penalties for
disobeying these ordinances were huge. For instance,
leather discovered improperly ‘tanned, sealed and
curried’ could result in the Currier facing five days
in jail and a 20-shilling fine - 10 for the King and
10 to the wronged party. If a Currier should carry
out the tanning of a skin, he faced a fine of 6 shillings
and 8 pence for each skin so treated. Today, 6s8d
would be about £300.
By 1483, the wealth of the Curriers’ guild had grown
substantially and their first hall had been acquired
in the parish of St. Mary Axe by the Pappey, now London
Wall in Aldgate.
During the period of the House of Tudor (1485-1603)
the struggles between the leather artisans were intense
and acts restricting and permitting the activities
of workers in the leather trades were clearly a continuing
battleground. The Curriers buying from tanners and
selling to a whole variety of trades effectively made
them the leather wholesalers, and they used this position
to increase their profitability substantially. This
resulted in many protests, with the result that the
Mayor and Council acted through legislation to prevent
Curriers from also acting as wholesalers. The effect
of this was to squeeze smaller and poor workmen out
of business as they could not afford to buy larger
quantities of leather that the other purveyors of
leather required. Again more protests, and the rights
of Curriers to act as wholesalers were restored
In 1559, Parliament passed an Act affecting the
leather industry, designed to improve standards and
stop some improper practices. Curriers were forbidden
the use of ‘stale uryne or any other deceipfull or
subtill mixture’ to cure hides. No leather was to
be stripped too thinly or sold with a blemish. Fines
and forfeits were entered on the statute books.
The Curriers had to wait until 1583 before they
were granted arms3, which, not surprisingly,
featured the curry knife as the centrepiece.
The Guild continued to grow in strength and authority.
In 1503, they obtained the rights of search and seizure;
1516 saw the rights of the Guild extended by Act of
Parliament; Royal licence was granted by Henry VIII
in 1517; Extension beyond the city was first licensed
to the Guild in 1567; around 1580 the Guild was first
recognized as a livery company. This all led to the
granting of the first Charter of Incorporation4
in 1605. This lays down rules and regulations for
Curriers belonging to the Livery Company, including
such statutes as a ‘fine of 4 pence a day with meat
and drink from the Master, if a Journeyman be unemployed
through the Master’s default’ and a fine of 6 pence
from the journeyman if he should absent himself from
work.
The Company published bye-laws on 4 June 1605. These
imposed fines for poor workmanship, and standardised
regulations for premises where currying may be carried
out. They should be ‘fitting and convenient for the
use of the said art.’ Work on leather had to cease
at noon on Saturday and the afternoon had to be employed
in cleaning houses, sharpening tools and ‘grayning
and shaving of boote legges against the next working
day’.
On the overthrow of the Monarchy in 1649 the Royal
charters were of little value throughout the Commonwealth
period, except that the Court of Common Council supported
the rules and regulations that the charters implied.
With the restoration of Charles II in 1660, the Curriers'
original Charter was reinstated.
As with so many of the Livery Companies, the Great
Fire in 1666 wreaked havoc within the core of the
City. In the process, it destroyed the Curriers' Hall
and most of its treasures and archives. As far as
treasures are concerned, silver that was not lost
was sold to help pay for the reconstruction of the
Hall. It took 4 years for the Curriers to move into
their new Hall (their third). The impact of the fire
was huge. Curriers who lost homes and places of work
had to move out of the core of the City while reconstruction
took place, and many set up their businesses in their
new locations, never to return.
James II recalled the James I Charters of all the
Livery Companies in 1686, issuing new charters in
1687 which included powers that were distasteful to
the Companies. The powers were granted for “the Profitt,
Comoditie and Reliefe of the good and honest, and
for ye Terror and Correiction of the evill, naughty
and dishonest”. The interpretation of these categories
left the Freemen with much concern, as did the requirement
to be in “Communion with the Church of England”. Moreover,
the appointment of officers and Clerk were subject
to the approval of the King and they could be removed
at the King’s pleasure. With the accession of William
and Mary, the James II Charters were revoked and the
earlier charters reinstated.
The
Last 300 Years
After years of wealth and prosperity, the Company
experienced money woes at the end of the 17th century,
due to the dispersal of Curriers to the evolving suburbs
of the City. The hall was let out to others for religious
purposes, and the level of activity declined substantially.
Later, the Company leased the hall for 7 years to
the Pattenmakers.
Financial woes and problems of control over apprentices
and journeymen continued. It became difficult to find
members willing to serve on the Court. Even the imposition
of substantial fines - £25 (about £2500 today) for
the Renter and Upper Warden - was only just sufficient
to prevent the problem continuing.
It was clear that the power of the craft guild was
under increasing pressure with the emergence of the
Trades Unions and the aggressive business practices
of the growing number of capitalists benefiting from
the industrial revolution and the industrialization
of the leather making processes.
Within the leather trade in London, the Curriers
and the other Leather Livery Companies fought to maintain
their control and, as they paid their journeymen well,
they were well supported by their employees. However,
the other leather trades continued either to curry
themselves or buy from cheaper curriers in the rest
of the country and overseas. While fighting to maintain
their position in the City, the Cordwainers started
a prosecution of Curriers for cutting their leather
into smaller pieces and wholesaling them to the smaller
end-product makers. This dispute ended in the successful
quest for an act of Parliament that permitted London
curriers to cut leather for sale. However, at the
cost of almost £2000, the company became heavily indebted
and it was years before those debts could be paid
off. In doing so, the Court allowed admission of members
who were not involved in the currying trade (although
they were not allowed to engage apprentices).
Edward Mayer asserts in the original history of
the Curriers that the loss of power and fortunes of
the company was actually due not to the Trades Unions,
nor the capitalists, but to the problem of attracting
enough journeymen and the huge growth in the demand
for leather which outstripped the production capacities
of the members. With a lack of will to change their
processes, other producers gained substantial advantage
by changing their production methods, thus generating
lower pricing and greater profitability.
The trade steadily declined in the early part of
the 19th century. At the start of the century, the
financial woes of the Curriers continued. For instance,
they declined to participate in the funeral cortege
of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson because of lack of
funds. This was compounded with the repeal of the
Great Statute of Leather (1606) in 1808 and the consequent
loss of power over the artisans and journeymen of
the trade. In addition, the various properties that
had been donated under the wills of several wealthy
Curriers had become dilapidated, but the Company obtained
sufficient funds from the Leather Companies' enforcement
of the Flaying Acts (1801&1808) to be able to
rebuild some of its properties.
With the repeal of the Flaying Acts (1824) the future
of the Company was again thrown into question. Having
little control over currying and no income from the
quality control of leather, the Company was essentially
left with its social and charitable functions only.
In 1834, the Court of Common Council of the City officially
recognized the loss of most of the Companies' function
of industrial control and reduced the fee for admission
to the freedom from £25 to £5.
It was very fortunate that Samuel Jackson, a master
currier, bequeathed £800 to the Company in 1825, the
interest from which was to be used for charitable
disbursement, thus reaffirming the Company’s role
in providing charity.
The wealth of the Company continued to be a concern
as funds remained tight and money management depended
on the aspirations of the officers and assistants.
Possibly the only true example of consistent financial
management was in the charities provided by William
Dawes and Samuel Jackson. However, with the regular
leasing of the Hall, which guaranteed a consistent
income, and with other ground rents from properties
in Curriers’ Hall Court and elsewhere, the fourth
Hall was built in 1820, the fifth5 in 1874
and the sixth in 1876.
The 20th century started with continuing fluctuating
financial uncertainty even though some large legacies
were provided by former Masters and Liverymen. After
the First World War, the resources of the Company
were at a very low ebb, and, in 1920, the Court resolved
to accept an offer of £30,000 by Imperial Continental
Gas Association for the freehold of the Hall. It was
sold in 1921, when the Company moved in with the Cordwainers,
using their hall for livery dinners and with the use
of ancillary rooms in Cannon Street as their offices.
These arrangements placed the Curriers on a much sounder
footing and the Court set about expanding the Livery,
which had dwindled to less than 40.
The membership of the Company also changed dramatically.
Many of the members were in the legal profession,
and with more than 30 members in legal practice, no
less than 10 were judges. Both the Court and the Dinners
started to look like clubs for lawyers. There were
very few practising curriers in the Company at this
time.
The blitz and other air attacks during the Second
World War destroyed much of the Company’s properties
in Curriers’ Hall Court and also destroyed the Cordwainers’
Hall. Fortunately, most of the Company’s silver and
other treasures were saved. Compensation for these
losses was received and the Company put in place an
investment portfolio which was originally intended
as a holding pattern until ground rentable properties
could be purchased. After the loss of the Cordwainers’
Hall, the Company contracted with the Tallow Chandlers
for office space and meetings.
Issues of ownership of or partnership in ownership
of a Hall have arisen numerous times, but, without
the core resources to make such an investment, no
such initiative has taken root. A major partnership
was proposed in 1956 between the Coopers, Cordwainers,
Curriers and Painter-Stainers but this was never carried
though. This followed approaches from the Company
of Secretaries in 1942, 1945 and 1948 and preceded
approaches by the Company of Fan Makers in 1983.
In the absence of any linkage or trade activity,
the Company's activities and purpose, like those of
many Livery Companies, became social and charitable.
Without the wealth and legacies of many of the other
Companies, the charitable activities were limited
and so the membership was essentially determined by
the benefits of the social activities. The success
of social activities depended extensively on the enthusiasm
and creativity of the Court Executive and its Assistants.
In 1965, the lack of people eligible, through service
as executive officers, to serve as Assistants caused
the Court to seek Assistants directly from its core
of Liverymen. This new route to the Court brought
in some enthusiastic new Assistants who were influential
in rejuvenating the Company.
The 1970’s again raised the question of the future
direction of the Company. Go for an expanded high
profile membership of eminent men as a form of exclusive
London club or remain family-line oriented and a smaller,
less wealthy organization. The latter was chosen.
The sale of some of the remaining properties at
Helmet Court (from the Dawes legacy), due to road-widening,
produced funds in 1969 that were sufficient to pay
for the building of a paediatric wing at the Brook
General Hospital as a family care centre and also
to purchase and upgrade a house in Lymington for up
to seven lonely people. This was named Dawes House
after the original donor. The Brook Hospital wing
was opened in 1972 and Dawes House in 1973.
The
Company Today
The Company’s Livery is now around 100 and includes
a wide range of professional men and women involved
in academia, accountancy, brokerage, finance, industry
and law. Notably there are two practising curriers
of leather. In addition to supporting the work of
the City of London, its Mayoralty and its corporate
governance, the Company provides support to leathercraft
in its widest sense, and conducts an annual program
of educational and charitable financing. It operates
two charities.
 The
Company also maintains close links with 3 Military
units: 101 (City of London) Engineer Regiment, 7 Squadron
RAF and the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing.
The Company has arrangements with the Worshipful Company
of Tallow Chandlers and hold Court Meetings and various
other functions at the Tallow Chandlers’ Hall. Other
events are held at the Apothecaries’ Hall, the Cutlers’
Hall, and the Saddlers’ Hall.
The
Halls.
The building and/or acquisition of the Guild’s first
Hall is uncertain but the first record of its existence
is in 1485. It was in St. Mary Axe in the parish of
St. Mary the Virgin, St. Ursula and the 11,000 Virgins.
The actual location appears to have been by London
Wall in Aldgate. It is believed to have been similar
in style to the early small colleges of Oxford or
Cambridge.
The second Hall was built about 1585 on the site
of a public house that was willed to the Company by
Thomas Sterne in 1516. It was located in St. Alphage’s
parish between Philip Lane and Little Wood Street.
This was destroyed in the Great Fire in 1666.
The third Hall was built on the same site as the previous
Hall and completed in 1670. It was similar to but
somewhat smaller than the Apothecaries' and Tallow
Chandlers' Halls of that time. By the late 1790’s,
this Hall was in bad repair, as were many of the tenements
in Curriers' Hall Court
With the end of the restrictions on the Company’s
finances in the early 1800’s thanks to the enforcement
of the Flaying Acts, a small and rather austere hall
was rebuilt to the east of the old Hall in 1820.
With growing wealth, the Company approved a new
Hall to be built in 1872 and contracts were placed
in early 1873. At the same time vacant land in front
of the new hall was advertised for sale at a ground
rent of £1,000 p.a. A company wanting to expand rapidly
in the area in 1873 offered to build a new Hall with
frontage on London Wall in exchange for a ground rent
and the land that would remain after the hall was
built. With so little remaining money to pay for the
fifth Hall, the Court consented. So even before delivering
the fifth Hall, this was ripped down and the sixth
Hall was built at a cost of more than £4,000 by the
industrial company and completed in 1876.
The sixth Hall was 30 feet wide and 68 feet in depth
with two floors over an extensive basement. The Livery
Hall on the second floor was about 45 feet long and
22 feet wide with a high vaulted ceiling. The remaining
space on the floor was the Committee Room. While this
was small relative to many Livery Halls, it was quite
appropriate to the Livery membership of the Curriers.
Under the Hall was the Court Room and under the Committee
room was the Clerk’s office.
This Hall was sold to the Imperial Continental Gas
Association in 1921 for £30,000. ICGA sold it to the
Chartered Institute of Secretaries in 1925 who offered
it back to the Curriers in 1938 for exactly the same
sum as ICGA paid for it. The offer was declined. The
building was destroyed by enemy air action on 29th
December 1940.
The
Armorial Bearings
The Coat of Arms of the Worshipful Company was granted
in 1583:
The Arms: Azure, a cross engrailed
or between four pairs of shaves in saltire argent,
handled or.
The Crest: On a wreath or and azure
out of clouds proper, two arms embowed carnation,
the shirt sleeves folded beneath the elbows argent,
in the hands a shave argent, handled or.
Mantling: Gules, doubled argent.
Supporters: Dexter, an elk proper,
attired and unguled or; Sinister, a goat argent, flashed
sable.
1 There are numerous
spellings of the word Mysterie, Mistery etc. The spelling
has changed over time and by author. The word is derived
from the French “métier” meaning trade.
2 See editor's
note on information sources for this article.
3
See the description of the Coat of Arms later in this
article.
4 The original
charter, dating from 30 April 1605, is preserved at
Guildhall.
5 See notes in
the section on the Halls as the building of the fifth
and sixth Halls has a convoluted history.
Contact with the Worshipful Company of Curriers
The Clerk to the Company is Group Captain David M
Moss. The Clerk’s office is operated from Hedgerley,
The Leaze, Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire, SN6 6PE, phone
+44 1285-861017. Contact is easiest by email: clerk@curriers.co.uk.
Information Sources;
This article was constructed from information
obtained from:
- The website of the Worshipful
Company of Curriers, (www.curriers.co.uk)
- The official history of
the Curriers “The Curriers’ Company: A Modern History”
by Edward Mayer and Donald Adamson, ISBN 0 9500338
1 2, ©The Worshipful Company of Curriers 2008, which
was kindly provided by the Clerk to the Worshipful
Company
- Notes on the Worshipful
Company provided by the Clerk
- “The Guilds of the City
of London” by Sir Ernest Pooley, 1945
The article was written by
Peter B. Leach, PM |
