Worshipful Company of Mercers
The Worshipful Company of Mercers (also short: Mercers' Company ) is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London . It was founded in 1394 by Richard II by means of a royal statute, the so-called Royal Charter . It is the oldest of the 110 companies and comes first in the ranking. It is one of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies . Her motto is Honor Deo (Latin: honor for God).
Originally, the purpose of the guild was to protect and represent the interests of merchants, especially those of cloth dealers, exporters of sheep's wool and importers of velvet, silk and other high-quality textile goods. Today the Mercers' Company is a charitable institution that supports various projects in the education sector. She has managed London's St Paul's School since it was re-established in 1509 and has also managed St Paul's Girls' School since 1904 . In addition, numerous other schools were founded by the "Mercers", with which they maintain close connections. More recently, the "Thomas Telford School", a City Technology College , and two City Academies, the "Walsall Academy" and the "Sandwell Academy" were opened.
The company is based in Mercers' Hall in central London. Since it was founded in the 14th century, the company has held its meetings in the "Hospital of St Thomas of Acre" church. In 1517 the first “Mercers' Hall” was built in the immediate vicinity, but it fell victim to the Great Fire of London in 1666 . A second hall was opened ten years later. From 1877 to 1881 it was extensively renovated, rebuilt and refurbished in Victorian style . However, this second hall burned down again, this time caused by the German air raids during World War II. The current Mercers' Hall was rebuilt in May 1958 using old parts of the facade.
In 2006 the company released a balance sheet that showed it had assets of around £ 450 million under management, with real estate accounting for about three-quarters of the total. In 2005, approximately £ 9 million was spent on charity.
Known members
- William Caxton (around 1422–1492), printer
- Sir Richard Gresham (1494–1549), merchant and Lord Mayor of London
- Sir John Gresham (1495–1556), Lord Mayor of London
- Sir John Thynne (c.1513–1580), builder of the Longleat manor
- Thomas Gresham (1519–1579), merchant and investor
- John Dee (1527–1608), mathematician and astrologer
- Roundell Palmer, 1st Earl of Selborne (1812–1895), Lord Chancellor
- William Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne (1859–1942), politician and High Commissioner of South Africa
- Harry Hodson (1906–1999), economist , editor of The Sunday Times
- Robert Baden-Powell (1857–1941), founder of the scout movement
- Cecil Clementi (1875–1947), Governor of Hong Kong
- George Jellicoe, 2nd Earl Jellicoe (1918–2007), keeper of the Lord Seal
