THE GUILD OF ARTSSCHOLARS, DEALERS AND COLLECTORS

I s s u e N o 8

Winter 2008/9

FOUNDER MEMBERS

The Rt Hon Lord Brooke

Jonathan Horne

Geoffrey Bond

Mark Bridge

Robert Brooks

Robert Butler

Dermot Chichester

Mark Dalrymple

Anthony du Boulay

Michael German

Philippa Glanville

Anna Haughton

Brian Haughton

John Hudson

Valerie Kaufmann

Stephan Ludwig

Nicholas Shaw

Michael Shortall

Kevin Smith

Nicholas Somers

Kim Tassel

Eleanor Thompson

Clemens Vanderven

Alderman Ian Luder, The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor ofLondon leaving the Guildhall on November 8th.Lord Mayor’s Show: see pages 6,7 and 12.

GUILD NEWS

This newsletter is sponsored by Past Master, Geoffrey Bond.Editor: Mark Bridge markbridge@antiquestradegazette.com

THE GUILD OF ARTSSCHOLARS, DEALERSAND COLLECTORSFURNITURE MAKERS’ HALL, 12 AUSTIN FRIARS, LONDON EC2N 2HE

MASTERJonathan Horne OStJ, FSAUPPER WARDEN Dr Geoff Egan FSAMIDDLE WARDENMark BridgeRENTER WARDENPhilippa Glanville FSA

PAST MASTERSGeoffrey Bond OBE, DL, FSAThe Rt Hon. Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville CH, FSA

Court of AssistantsChristopher Claxton StevensChairman Membership CommitteeRalph GoughTreasurer and Chairman Finance CommitteeNicholas Somers FRICS, FRSAChairman Events CommitteeMarie-Françoise Bryan LGSM, LRAMRobert ButlerTom ChristophersonPeter Clayton FSAAlastair DickensonMark DalrympleJohn HudsonAlastair LeslieAlderman Ian Luder FCA, The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor of LondonDavid NeedhamEleanor ThompsonPaul Viney

CLERKGeorgina Gough

BEADLEGeoff Fairfax MBE

CHAPLAINThe Rev Roger Hall MBEChaplain, H.M. Tower of London

page 2

THE Geoffrey Bond Travel Bursary wasawarded to Katherine van Schaik whowas at the annual dinner to collect hercertificate.

She already has a BA in Classicsfrom Harvard, summa cum laude, andis currently working towards a Master'sin classical art and archaeology atKing's College, London. Her thesis willexplore healing practices and rituals inearly Christian and pagan art.

The Master has initiated a new

annual award. Each year the Guild willpresent either a student or tutor atWest Dean College with an award anda cheque for £100 in recognition oftheir contribution to the preservationof our heritage.

The recipient will be nominated byRobert Pulley (Chairman of WestDean). The honour of being the firstrecipient went to Roger Still who runsthe clock restoration courses at WestDean.

EARLY on the morning of the LordMayor’s Show the Master, Past Masterand Wardens of the Guild wereamongst those who gathered in theOld Museum at the Guildhall to presenta gift to the new Lord Mayor.

The special guest of the Guild at thistraditional Presentation of Addressesceremony was Ndidi Ekubia, thesilversmith who designed and made the

Left: the hand-hammered Flamingo candlestand which was the Guild’s gift to Ian Luder.Right: Ndidi Ekubia, the maker, was able to meet the Lord Mayor at the buffet breakfast which followedthe presentation.

Presentation of Addresses

And theaward goes to...

candlestick presented to the LordMayor.

Ndidi is a Manchester-bornsilversmith who works in London, withan established reputation for producingelegant and functional objects raised byhand from silver sheet. Her work ischaracterised by fluid organic formsreflecting the rhythmic process of theircreation.

Right: Katherine van Schaik receives heraward from the Lord Mayor.

David Starkey’sviews on the LordMayor’s Collar – Page 5

Geoff Egan on anew Medieval

discovery – Page 8

page 3

GUILD NEWS

Viney’s 23rd year forradio charity auction

Freemen drive sheep

CONGRATULATIONS to Salisburyauctioneer Paul Viney, who has recentlyjoined the Court of Assistants. For the past23 years he has run the annual liveChildren-in-Need auctions on TerryWogan’s Radio 2 show.

This year he raised £502,000, whichwas the second ever highest total. Thehighest individual bid was £100,000 forthe chance to have a one-to-one guitarlesson with Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits.

Paul Viney in the studio with Terry Wogan

Why has it taken so long for ourcalling to form its own Guild?I wouldn’t dare to suggest that

we are the oldest profession – that acco-lade has already been claimed – but asdealers in second-hand goods, we mustbe a close second.

We may have been a bit slow on theup-take, but the Guild is now making upfor lost time, and has flourished in themost remarkable way, far greater thanever hoped or expected and our member-ship now stands at about 160.

It was never a forgone conclusion thatour application for Guild status would beaccepted by the Court of Aldermen andmuch preparation was required. We wereaccepted thanks to the help of our spon-soring Alderman, Mr. Ian Luder, now ourLord Mayor.

There are many ancient LiveryCompanies who have never had a LordMayor in their membership, or not so forseveral hundred years. We therefore feelincredibly honoured that we should haveour first Lord Mayor as a member afteronly four years. Surely something for theGuinness Book of Records.

For the first time we entered a float inthe Lord Mayor’s Show in November.Because of our emblem, the head ofMithras, we chose a Roman theme andpersuaded the Ermine St. Guard of Romanlegionnaires to come and join us.

In order to lighten our war-like appear-ance, it was decided to mix in a dozenVestal Virgins. The task of finding suitableyoung ladies was landed on me, and tak-ing my newfound responsibilities very seri-ously, I set forth interviewing any likelycandidates I came across. Not an easytask as you can imagine when one suchyoung person actually admitted in all seri-ousness that she didn’t think she qualified,until I assured her that the job descriptionwas not that critical.

Despite the weather the show was atremendous success. Everybody kept smil-

ing and great fun was had by all: thankyou to all the supporters and helpers whomade the day go so successfully.

Our membership continues to grow.We have indirectly contributed to the LordMayor’s charities by way of participating inthe Lord Mayor’s Show.

This year we have sponsored a numberof projects including contributing towardsthe publication of a book through theMuseum of London.

We have held our second annual lec-ture, ‘Pirates of the East End’ given by DrFrank Meddens, which proved very popu-lar, being written up by Country Life andThe Evening Standard.

Next year’s lecture will be given byHazel Forsyth from the Museum ofLondon who will talk about the CheapsideHoard, an amazing discovery of a collec-tion of 17th century jewellery made in theCity 100 years ago.

Described as one of the great treasuresof Europe, this will be a major event anddue to the generosity of the Lord Mayor,the venue for this will be the MansionHouse on the 2nd November – an easydate to remember.

The Guild’s next goal is to seekCompany Status without Livery. However,we need to reach the magic target of£150,000 in our charitable accounts byApril next, and then to hold that balancefor two years. Everybody please note –although our funds are buoyant we needa bit extra to reach that goal. I am delight-ed to say that we have another benefactorwho will be contributing £10,000, a sumfrom which we can also claim tax relief.This is a great help but we are still short byabout £25,000.

If we don’t reach our target by April wewill be put back another year in our questfor Company status. So this year morethan ever, prompt payment would beappreciated!

Jonathan Horne OStJ FSA, Master

It has been a greatyear – we must keepup the momentum

GUILD members Nicholas Somers andJohn Benjamin were among those whoexerted their rights as Freemen of the Cityof London to drive sheep over LondonBridge on September 15.

They joined the Master and around 500other Freemen who took it in turns tolead a flock of specially trained Romneysheep. The event was organised by theWorld Traders in aid of the Lord Mayor’sAppeal.

page 4

For Kang Hsi and cabriole legs,For mezzotints and Fabergé eggs,For Damien Hirst and gilded bronze,For tin glazes and Augustus Johns,For guests and friends at such a time,For Master, wardens and flowing wine,For all sworn to the fine new City Guild,For the food, with which we shall be filled,Gracious Lord, we thank you.

All pictures by Peter Holland 020 8973 0844

Left to right: Geoffrey Bond, Alderman and Sheriff Roger Gifford, Jane Oxenford,Philippa Glanville, The Lady Mayoress, The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor, Dr David Starkey,Jonathan Horne, Rachael Horne, Geoff Egan, Mark Bridge, Dianora Bond, GeorginaGough.

Sally-Ann Newstead, Shirley Meyer and Jonathan Meyer

Dinner at Girdlers’ HallTHE Guild’s Annual Dinner, held at Girdlers’ Hall on November27th was a splendid occasion, with the Pikemen and Musketeersof the HAC in attendance and The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor asprincipal guest. The Lord Mayor spoke first as our sponsoringAlderman, taking delight in the steady progress that the Guildhas made, and pointing out that he was wearing the City’s rarestand finest chain of office to mark the occasion, a subject thatwas later taken up by Dr David Starkey.

Having stressed the continuing need for vigilance in maintain-ing the position of the City of London as a financial centre, TheLord Mayor turned his attention to the largely untapped poten-tial of the City’s cultural assets. Referring to the visitors who are“coming up Ludgate Hill and over the Wobbly Bridge in everincreasing numbers”, he outlined his vision for regular summerexhibtions at Guildhall, drawing on the combined cultural legacyof the Livery Companies. He hinted at a possible future role forthe Guild in helping to deliver to the world “the Cultural City tosit alongside the Commercial and Civic City”.

The surprise package of the evening was the Cinque PortsCorps of Drums who marched in to play a medley of tunesbetween courses. The busiest man in the room was our Beadle,Geoff Fairfax, who shed his official robes to reappear, resplen-dent in scarlet, at the head of the Corps as their drum major.

It was a colourful evening of good food, good fellowship andshared interests, all preceded by a wonderful Grace given by RevJonathan Meyer:

Above: Geoff Fairfax prepares the Cinque Ports Corps of Drums for their entry intothe hall.Below: the Corps performing in front of one of the great treasures of the Girdlers’Company, an India carpet presented by a former Master in 1634.

page 5

The Lord Mayor gave the Guild a great privilege at theannual dinner at Girdlers’ Hall when he wore the City’streasured and rarely-seen Tudor gold collar, made up of S-

links and enamelled roses, rather than the handsome Victoriancopy normally worn at the Lord Mayor’s installation and at Cityceremonies.

As he himself explained: “A Lord Mayor wears it very, veryrarely as it is almost pure gold and very pliable but wear it he canto his mother company and to the Guild he is sponsoring. As youhave done me great honour, so I wish to respond.”

Dr David Starkey, curator of the forthcoming British Libraryexhibition on Henry VIII marking the 500th anniversary of hisascent to the throne, sat at Ian Luder’s right hand. He wasprincipal speaker and appreciated the chance to talk withcharacteristic verve about the collar.

Stirring up controversy as ever, he reminded us of the power offilm to create retrospective myths. In the past 50 years, a falseassociation of the collar with Sir Thomas More has grown up,based on those evocative scenes in A Man for All Seasons wherefirst Cardinal Wolsey on his death bed, and then Sir ThomasMore on his disgrace, are stripped of their heavy gold collars,symbols of Royal office, by the Duke of Norfolk who drapedthem over his arm in a menacing manner. But the Lord Mayor’scollar is not Sir Thomas More’s collar.

Collars of S-links are mysterious and evocative objects, with arich and confusing history! But there is no doubt that the Lord

Mayor’s collar is a Tudor treasure.Sir John Alen bequeathed this beautiful piece of goldsmiths’

work to the City in 1543. He was a contemporary of Sir Thomas,a Mercer and Lord Mayor, and a classic generous benefactor.

As the chronicler John Stow noted: “He gave to the prisons,hospitals, lazar houses and all other poor in the City, or two mileswithout, very liberally and long to be recited”. He also built achapel and left a fund to buy coal.

As Sir John served on the Privy Council of Henry VIII, this waspresumably the source of his collar. Privy Counsellors had theirspecial service to the Crown marked out by their gold collars,displayed on occasions of state, just as Knights of the Garterwore their collars with pendant Georges, as in Holbein’s portraitof Sir Henry Guilford in the Royal Collection.

Gold or silver-gilt S-link collars were worn quite widely both asmarks of rank and of Royal service in the 15th and early 16thcenturies, as can be seen on tomb monuments, but the Tudormonarchs restricted their use in an attempt to enforce sumptuaryrules.

Officers such as the heralds wore simpler and lighter silver-giltcollars. One found by mudlarks on the Thames foreshore some20 years ago is now in the Museum of London. The city waits ormusicians in Kings Lynn and York wore similar collars .

By the 1590s, wearing gold collars had become morerestricted, confined for example to senior judges on ceremonial

What’s in a chain?

Right: after dinner Dr David Starkey gave aninspirational address on the true value of a

nation’s tangible assets and relished theopportunity to draw inspiration from one of theCity’s greatest treasures – the Tudor collar worn

specially for the occasion by the Lord Mayor.

The Lord Mayor with Roger Still of West Dean College. Simon and Kathryn Berti. Penny and Philip Chapman.

Continued on page 9

The Master led from thefront, greeting televisioninterviewers and cheeringcrowds with equal aplomb.It was his 51st Lord Mayor’sShow, though his first incivilian dress.Despite their relativeinexperience, thelegionnaires, Vestal Virgins,banner bearers andwardens (not to mentionhorses, groom and driver)kept right behind him tothe end.Carefully polished helmetsbegan to tarnish, bowlerhats were literally filled tothe brim, but everyone keptsmiling to the end. See back page.

Pictures by Justin P

iperger

The LordMayor’sShow

page 8

Several members of the Guild have expressed an interest inpilgrim souvenirs, so the opportunity to report here a recentfind from a Thames-side archaeological excavation at

Riverbank House in the City, funded by Pace (City) Investmentsand the City of London, and excavated by Museum of LondonArchaeology, is welcome.

A devotional lead openwork panel, with four scenes from thelife and death of (‘St’) Thomas of Lancaster is so large that itmust have been intended to be set up for contemplation in thehome rather than worn as a political/religious favour in themanner of most pilgrim badges.

It probably dates from the mid 14th century. It gives, almost inlatter-day comic-book style a visual record of the last days of EarlThomas, cousin and principal political opponent of Edward IIduring the early 1300s. Thomas was executed in 1322 atPontefract in Yorkshire following his capture and trial there. Thetown subsequently became the centre of his popular cult as anunofficial saint.

This remarkably accomplished and complete find is one of thelargest known pilgrim souvenirs from the Middle Ages (a coupleof small side panels may be missing). It has several parallels, mostbeing small fragments, with a limited but marked focus of findsin the North of England. It is recorded that the king expresseddispleasure at the report of some form of devotional imagerelating to the cult of Thomas which had been set up in St Paul'sCathedral and required that it should be removed.

The British Museum has long held a near-complete six-panelledversion in markedly poorer style. This latest discovery has acommentary in slightly garbled French, which for the first timereveals the maker’s intended message (a few other fragmentshave nonsensical jumbles of letters).

Geoff Egan

A newly discoveredpanel from the cult ofThomas of Lancaster

ALL those who toured the UK’s most famoius criminal court onSeptember 8th were deeply affected by our visit to the Old Bailey.So many of the cases tried there – mainly shootings and knifings –involve youngsters still in their teens.

Charles Henty, Secondary Under Sheriff and High Sheriff ofSouthwark, showed us the cells, the hangman’s walk, part of theold Roman wall and, of course, Court No 1.

Historically interesting as it is, this is no tourist attraction. Wewere only too aware of the realities behind its life as a workingcourt and by the end of our visit we certainly needed the cham-pagne so kindly provided by Alderman and Sheriff Ian Luder.

Georgina Gough

Sobering thoughts from Old Bailey

The Knights of St JohnFROM Jerusalem toClerkenwell – The magnificentjourney of the Knights of StJohn will be the theme of aspecial loan exhibition at theBADA Antiques and Fine ArtFair at the Duke of YorkSquare, off Sloane Squarefrom March 25 to 31.

St John’s Gate and theGrand Priory Church inClerkenwell have been theEnglish home of theHospitallers since 1140. The

exhibition will bring to lightsome of the many artefactswhich illustrate the Order’sillustrious past.

Dr Alan Borg, librarian tothe St John’s Gate museum,will be giving a talk onThursday, March 26th at11am.

Guild members get freeentry to the fair. Telephone020 7589 6108 to claim yourinvitation and remember toquote the Guild when you call.

Above: the episodes depicted in the newly excavated panel areto be read clockwise – top row left to right, then lower row rightto left.

Scene 1: Thomas held by two men (‘Here I am taken prisoner’).Scene 2: Thomas, held by an official, is set before a judge

(‘I am judged’[?]). Scene 3: Thomas, condemned and set humiliatingly on a horse

lacking a bridle, rides before a hostile crowd to his place ofexecution (‘I am under threat’).

Scene 4: Thomas is executed with a sword, which fails initiallyto sever his neck completely (‘la mort’).

In the lozenge at the apex Christ and the Virgin look downfrom heaven, ready to receive Thomas’s soul (the gilded sun andmoon, also previously unknown features, emphasise theuniversality of their eternal power)

page 9

The Guild visit to Windsor Castle in July centred on the Royalfurniture workshops, known as ‘C’ Branch. Adrian Smith,assisted by Nigel Goldsmith, has been in charge of ‘C’

Branch in Pug Yard since 1996. His small staff of around 9 ischarged with looking after the furniture and soft furnishings, notonly at Windsor Castle, but all the other Royal houses.

Adrian’s aim is to change the ‘C’ from traditionally standing for‘craft’ to standing for ‘conservation’ and this was well illustratedby the careful approach that is now followed in upholstery, forexample.

Rather than complete renewal as was practised in the past, thefinest pieces are now approached non-intrusively using a sub-frame to locate on the rails, only pure linen webbing, and staplesrather than traditional tacks. Where chairs are regularly used,such as in state apartments, top covers should now last around30 years and upholstery up to 50.

In the gilding workshop it was pointed out that the ‘shabbychic’ country house look so beloved of the English was notappropriate for state visitors who are used to shiny gold and glitz.An ingenious system has been devised here to record all repairsso that they are visible by X-ray beneath regilding.

The cabinet and polishing shops look after considerable storesof furniture waiting to be restored, as well as all the pieces oncurrent display and in use. Today nothing is ever disposed of andthere is a constant variety of work in hand from restoring thefinest pieces to making rosewood medal blocks for the Queen’scoin collection or finding the best way to repair the plastic-backed ‘Hepplewhite’ shield-back chairs which were introducedsome 30 years ago!

We were treated to a truly fascinating look at what goes onbehind the scenes in order to keep the Royal Householdfunctioning in its traditional manner.

Christopher Claxton Stevens

Monday, January 26th 2009 Admission ceremony followed by Dinner at the Royal College of Physicians

Wednesday, February 18th Visit to the Geffrye Museum (exhibition: Choosing the Chintz)

Tuesday, March 3rd Court MeetingWednesday, March 18th Lunch at Butchers’ Hall, followed

by talk on William HogarthFriday, March 27th United Guilds Service, St Paul’sTuesday, May 19th Court Meeting, Installation of

new Master and Wardens followed by dinner

Wednesday, June 24th Election of SheriffsTuesday, September 22nd Court meetingTuesday, September 29th Election of Lord MayorTuesday, October 6th Lunch at Watermens’ Hall Monday, Nov 2nd Lecture – Cheapside Hoard – at

Mansion HouseSaturday, Nov 14th Lord Mayor’s ShowWednesday Nov 25th Court meetingThursday, Nov 26th Annual dinner

Future Events Diary

Picture by Jane O

xenford

The Royal furnitureworkshops, Windsor

Right: Adrian Smith demonstratingconservation techniques in the gilding

workshop at Windsor.

occasions and the Knights of the Garter. The Lord Mayor’s collaris thus an extraordinary survival, passing in continuous ownershipand preserving a vanished world of ceremony.

Originally worn far more frequently, for example whenever theLord Mayor rode out to welcome the King, the collar’s fragileenamel and some of the gold links had to be renewed evenbefore 1600, as recorded in the City archives.

Continued from page 5

Rare as they are, early gold collars have been in the news thiswinter. Christie’s sold one in November, slightly different from theLord Mayor's because it is made up of cast Garter knots and S-links terminating in portcullises and a Tudor rose.

Tests on the gold showed that the rose is of a greater puritythan the rest, perhaps re-cycled from an earlier collar and maywell have been enamelled originally. This collar was the one wornby the Chief Judge of the Court of Common Pleas and had beenin the possession of successive Lords Coleridge since the courtwas finally abolished in 1880.

Philippa Glanville

What’s in a chain?

page 10

THE 2008 annual Guild lecture was given by Dr Frank Meddens of Pre-Construct Archaeology. He explained to the audience in St Ethelberga’son October 30th how recent excavations have proved that 16th/17thcentury East London was home to a prosperous community of privateerswho grew rich from plundering French and Spanish ships.

Excavations took place on thelandward side of Narrow Street inthe Ratcliff area of London, just to

the west of what is now the entrance toLimehouse Docks. In the 17th century thewhole waterfront was crowded withwharfs and shipyards with houses behind.The pits and ditches uncovered were filledwith ceramics, glass and other objects, asignificant proportion of which came fromthe Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain,Italy, Portugal, Turkey, Iran and China.

Many of these items have otherwiserarely, if ever, been discovered in Britain.This rich assemblage is seen as theremains of booty and of global mercantileand illicit trade at a time when the NewWorld and the Far East were being openedup and fought over. This communityappears to have had more in commonwith those engaged in similar activities inthe New World and Madagascar thantheir country folk elsewhere in England.

The developments observed on theNarrow Street site from the end of the16th to the final decades of the 17thcentury show that this was a period ofincreasing wealth for those who wereinvolved in private naval ventures. Theirpossessions increase in range of origin andvariety. The houses grow bigger and moreluxurious. Privateer and pirate crews werenormally volunteers and had a say and ashare in enterprises they were involved in.

Their material culture demonstratestheir taste for foreign commodities whenthey returned home.

Estate, property, wills, marriage, anddeath data indicate that the people ofNarrow Street interacted intensively inprivate matters of a social nature such asmarriages, as well as property deals andbusiness ventures.

Two main remote theatres of operationexisted in this period for privateer captainsand merchant adventurers. These werethe Indian Ocean and the Caribbean,which have both been linked throughdocumentary research to individuals wholived in and around the excavated area.

The existence of identifiable, closedcommunities of pirates and privateerssuch as appears to be the case at NarrowStreet was known before the NarrowStreet finds were made. A pirate socialstructure (with a recognisable subculturein which social connections and familylinks were the norm) is, however,confirmed here archaeologically for thefirst time.

Geographically definable areas wherecommunities interacted and which formedthe basis for an international network ofsuch groups can now be identified.

This formed the basis for much of thesuccess of pirate, bucaneer and privateeractivity from the 16th through to the 18thcenturies and formed the basis of some ofthe later business practices characteristicof multinational trading companies andintervention. Some of these corecommunities are well documented, suchas Tortuga, Jamaica, the Caymans,Madagascar, and Sierra Leone. Thecommunity at Narrow Street during the17th century was part of this pattern.

Ratcliff in the 17th century was notedfor social unrest and religious non-conformity, perhaps the result of itsinternational connections. The inhabitantscombined enterprise and violence at seawith Puritanism and republicanism onshore. The maritime activities continuedafter the Restoration of the Stuarts in1660, but by then the elements of piracyand privateering had probably gone.

Pirates brought riches ofthe East to the East End

ANNUAL LECTURE

Michael Shortall of Ballylorcan FRICS1934-2008Founder Member of the Guild

MICHAEL Shortall was born in Cork,Southern Ireland in 1934. He waseducated in England, entering the RoyalMilitary Academy, Sandhurst in 1953. Hewas commissioned into the RoyalEngineers in 1955, seeing active service inSuez, Cyprus and Northern Ireland. Heattained the rank of major and wasawarded the General Service Medal withthe appropriate bars.

After leaving the army he developed hisinterest in art and antiques into a career,working for a time as an inspector forCustoms and Excise examining shipmentsof antiques and qualifying for the RoyalInstitution of Chartered Surveyors bycorrespondence course.

By the latter half of the 1970s Michaelwas the Christie’s representative for theSouth East. Other posts followed at Phillipsbefore he branched out to run his ownauction rooms in Bristol.

It was as a collector that Michael joinedthe Guild as a founder member and hewas extremely proud when he was askedto lend his pictures to the NationalMaritime Museum exhibition Nelson andNapoleon.

The Shortall family connection with theCity will continue as his daughter Clare isshortly to be admitted to the WorshipfulSociety of Apothecaries as a yeoman.

John Hudson

Obituary

page 11

THE CLERK’S COLUMN

Georgina Gough, Clerk, 12 Austin Friars, London EC2N 2HE

The Lord Mayor’s Show was greatfun, so don’t be shy to join in

New MembersJane Anderson – Independent fine artvaluer formerly with Phillips/Bonhams(1989-2002).

Richard Aydon – Former Group LegalDirector of Christie’s. On sabbatical beforestarting post-graduate law degree.Collects paintings and drawings.

Alan Cook – Dealer in arms and armoursince 1984. Liveryman of Gunmakers.Collects stained glass.

John Hawkins – A dealer and collector inTasmania, author of several books andspecialist in silver and other fields. Past

President of Australian Antique Dealers’Association.

Jonathan Hood – Managing Director ofCadogan Tate. Collects first editions andwatercolours.

Ian Kelly – Collector of porcelain. Wardenand Chairman of Fine Arts and ArchivesCommittee of Butchers’ Company.Churchwarden of St Bartholomew theGreat. Trustee of Highgate Cemetery.

Simon Langton FRSA. – Auctioneer andvaluer – Denhams, Hove. Liveryman ofBasketmakers. Member of HAC.

Rohan Masson-Taylor – Founder andchairman of Cadogan Tate Group.Collects 18th and 19th century furnitureand porcelain.

Herbert Upton – Fine art valuer andspecialist in furniture. Consultant toLAPADA since 1976. Former Mayor ofEpsom.

Francelle White – Director of Gander &White Shipping. Liveryman of WorldTraders.

Sophie Wootton – Jeweller withBentley’s. Liveryman of Fletchers.

Since our last Newsletter, quite a lot ofmy time has been taken up with theLord Mayor’s Show. I certainly could

not have managed it alone and I would liketo begin by expressing a number of bigthank-yous.

Firstly to our Master. Jonathan’s 51 yearsof experience with the Lord Mayor’s Showenabled the day to run so smoothly and,despite the rain, enjoyably.

To Christopher Claxton Stevens, NicSomers, Tom Christopherson, AlastairDickenson, Robert Luck and BrianRolleston for carrying the banners withrain dripping down their necks and thewind blowing them along Cheapside.

To the gorgeous vestal virgins andespecially Rachael Hewitt who made allthe costumes whilst nursing a sickhusband, and to the sick husband himself.David Hewitt has done so much for theGuild. He designed and organised all thebanners which were perfect.

Eleanor Thompson helped me deliveritems to the hall and together we raidedthe nearby Tesco, trundling back downBishopsgate with our trolley filled withbeer and bananas!

I am indebted to all those who came to

help on Saturday morning and afternoon –Marie-Françoise Bryan, Tara DraperStumm, Jane Anderson, Robert and JoyButler, Francis Grew and ValerieKaufmann. They nobly looked after theErmine Street Guard, making endless cupsof welcoming tea and coffee.

Looking to the future, we are keen tobuild up a list of members who would be

prepared to give talks within the City.Many of you have already notified me ofyour subjects, but I know there are anumber of you who would speak mosteloquently yet from whom I have heardnot a jot! Do let me know and I will addyou to the list. I would also like to hearfrom any auctioneers willing to offer theirservices with the gavel for charity auctions.

I know that some of you play golf and Iwant to organise a Guild day next year, soplease tell me if you wish to participate.Likewise, if there are any members whoplay tennis or other sports do get in touchso that I can keep a list.

We are delighted to welcome 11 newmembers to the Guild whose detailsappear below.

This gives me an opportunity tomention that all members of the Guildmust be sworn in as Freemen and in realityshould not be permitted to take part inany events until they have done so!

We do not intend to take this rathersevere step, but it is important that allmembers of the Guild sign our register.Our next admissions’ ceremony takes placeon January 26th, 2009, combined with abuffet supper and tour at the RoyalCollege of Physicians. Be there!

GG

They also serve...Heartfelt thanks goes to all those who worked

behind the scenes to make sure the marcherswere fed, watered and properly turned out.

“In the end it couldn’t have

been wetter, but none of us wouldhave missed it for

the world”

Pictures by Justin P

iperger and Mark B

ridge