The Arms of The Company
The Arms of The Company
Welcome to our website which we hope you will find of interest and welcome to The Worshipful Company of Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers.
Livery Companies, or Guilds as they were also known, began in medieval times as 'fraternities' or 'misteries' (from the Latin for occupation) to protect the interests of particular trades and practitioners of those trades.
Today there are 108 City Livery Companies, some of very modern origin (Management Consultants, International Bankers, Tax Advisers) and some of very ancient origin (Goldsmiths, Weavers, Fishmongers), but the oldest Companies began as described, protecting the quality and reputation of the trade and the members of the Company.
Our Company was incorporated in 1423 and received our first charter in 1693. The Company was granted Livery status in 1780 and numbered at seventy-four on the City Livery List.
Charitable fundraising for the benefit of education, Housing and Church bodies among other things, have today, largely superseded many of the original trade functions of the livery companies, and combined they dispensed £41m in 2006.
It is hoped that you will find much to interest you here and we look forward to welcoming you to our site again very soon.