June is always a busy month for the Master with several important City events and the annual Livery weekend for Masters and Prime Wardens, in addition to Company events, functions and visits. This year we have also celebrated the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen with a four-day bank holiday weekend.

The Masters and Prime Wardens of the City Livery Companies were not directly involved in the Jubilee celebrations so we decided to pay our own tribute and mark the Queen’s remarkable 70 years of dedicated and selfless service to the nation at our Masters & Clerks Lunch at Armourers’ Hall on 9 June.

The lunch had a royal theme. The Master, Wardens, the principal guest, the Clerk and the Chaplain processed into the Hall accompanied by Honorary Freeman Richard Townend playing “Zadok the Priest” on the piano. We then enjoyed a Royal themed lunch including salmon and sole Balmoral, Crown of Lancashire lamb and a Queen’s duo of puddings. Perhaps the strangest royal connection was the Dubonnet jelly, served with the Windsor red cheese, the Queen’s preferred drink being gin and Dubonnet! The principal guest was Hugo Vickers, the renowned writer, broadcaster and royal biographer who reflected on the Queen’s remarkable reign and told several interesting and amusing anecdotes.

I was delighted to welcome the Masters and Clerks of eight Companies in the Construction Group of Livery Companies to the lunch. The visiting Masters were:
• Architects -Philip Cooper (Clerk: Cheryl Reid )
• Plumbers – Nick Jones (Clerk: Adrian Mumford)
• Constructors – Arthur Seymour (Clerk: Kim Tyrrell)
• Masons – Martin Low (Clerk: Maj Giles Clapp)
• Paviors – Neil Sandberg (Clerk: Jennifer Athill)
• Painter-Stainers – Lewis Cohen (Clerk: Christopher Twyman)
• Glaziers – Phil Fortey (Clerk – Liz Wicksteed)
• Joiner-Ceilers – Christopher Chivers (Clerk – Tanyia Ingham)

I commented in my speech welcoming the guests on the fact that the eight visiting Masters were all male which is surprising in a year when 20 per cent of the current Masters of the 110 Livery Companies are women. Perhaps this says more about the nature of the Construction Group of Livery Companies than it does about the increasing and welcome diversity of the Livery movement.

The Master and Wardens with 7 of the 8 visiting Masters

On the day after our Masters & Clerks lunch, the Masters and Prime Wardens of the Livery Companies and their consorts went to Sheffield for the annual Livery weekend. The Lord Mayor, Lady Mayoress, the Sheriffs and the members of the Livery Committee also joined the party, as did the Masters of comparable livery companies from other cities around the UK. The weekend was generously hosted and superbly organized by the Master and Clerk of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire.

On Friday evening there was a welcome reception and buffet supper in the Millennium Galleries where I had an opportunity to greet old friends and meet Masters who I had not come across so far in my year or who are newly appointed. The Cutlers had organized a full programme of visits for the Saturday, showcasing the history and heritage of Sheffield and its metalworking industries and also showing how industry has adapted and evolved to meet the challenges and requirements of the 21st century. We also had an opportunity to see several craftsmen and women in action and to visit the workshop of an award-winning silversmith. On Saturday evening, we were guests of the Cutlers’ Company for a black tie dinner in the magnificent Cutlers’ Hall in the centre of Sheffield. The Master Cutler, James Teare, welcomed the guests, the Lord Mayor spoke in response quoting (I suspect for the first time in his year in office) the lyrics of the Tina Turner song “Simply the Best” (the link being that Tina Turner apparently played her last ever UK gig in Sheffield) and the Master Mercer proposed the toast to the Company of Cutlers.

On Sunday morning, the Masters and Prime Wardens of the 2021-22 year met to decide on the name for our Past Masters Association and to select an organizing committee. Both were easy decisions: the meeting unanimously agreed that our PMA would be called “The Platinums” and the committee was formed by eager volunteers making their way to the front of the conference room as the rest of us headed for the exits.

We then travelled to Wentworth Woodhouse, a grand house about 10 miles north east of Sheffield, for a private tour. Formerly the home of the Fitzwilliam family who made their wealth from the coalfields of south Yorkshire, the house is now owned by a trust which is undertaking a long programme of restoration. The plan is that part of the vast property (which reputedly is the largest house in England, with 365 rooms, more than 1,000 windows and 5 miles of corridors) will become a hotel and there will also be dedicated space for the local community.

It was a very enjoyable weekend and we were so fortunate to be able to come together in this way after two years in which the Masters’ weekends were cancelled due to lockdowns and covid restrictions.

Last week I was delighted to be invited to attend a reception and Beating Retreat at Brompton Barracks, the home of the Corps of Royal Engineers. The Tylers and Bricklayers greatly values its affiliation with the CRE and events such as these strengthen the bonds of friendship. I was welcomed to the reception by Lieutenant Colonel Guy Cheesman, Commander of the Chatham Station and also met Major Paul Hurst who represented Colonel Cheesman at our Craft Awards Lunch in March and many other RE officers. Also present were Brigadier Guy Boxall, Commandant RSME, and Mrs Rachel Boxall, who attended the Company Annual Guest Dinner last month.

Beating Retreat was performed on the parade ground in the centre of the barracks and was, as always, a faultless display of music and drill on a lovely June evening.

I look forward to returning to Chatham in September 2023 when we will have an opportunity to try some hands-on bricklaying and visit the Royal Engineers museum.

I realised at the end of March that I was exactly halfway through my year as Master. Previous Masters had told me that the year would fly by and that certainly has been my experience over the first 6 months and there is so much still look forward to.

Membership and Diversity

I am also increasingly aware that a Master has to work in close harmony with his or her predecessors, the Wardens and, of course, the Clerk as there is only so much that can be achieved within the compass of an individual Master’s year. By way of example, I have focussed this year on our membership, seeking to build on the recommendations of the 2020 strategic review. There are three related challenges: attracting new members, retaining new and existing members and ensuring that all members are informed about and engaged with the life and work of the Company (attending events, participating on committees and working groups and supporting our charities). This work will continue long after I step down as Master, and rightly so, but initiatives that we start this year clearly need to be (and are) supported by those who follow me.

We also participated in a discussion on equality, diversity and inclusion led by Sheriff Alison Gowman and Erica Stary, the Upper Warden of the Tin Plate Workers, at which about 30 Livery Companies were represented. Equality, diversity and inclusion (“EDI”) is a challenge for all Livery Companies but we were pleased (but not, I hope, complacent) to find that we had made more progress than many other Companies in both discussing the issues and taking some practical steps. There is much more to be done but I encourage you to read the Company’s EDI statement which can be accessed via the home page of the website.

Climate Change

Another important initiative which we have started this year has been to consider in what ways the Company might support the aims of the Livery Climate Action Group (“LCAG”). The LCAG was formed by Sheriff Alison Gowman on the back of the City of London’s climate action strategy. The declared aim of the LCAG is to provide practical guidance on net zero emissions and climate resilience measures that are appropriate for Livery Companies. We established a LCAG working group which made recommendations to the Court in March.

I was pleased that the Court adopted almost all of the recommendations made by the working group. Some of the main recommendations and agreed actions were:

• the Company has joined the LCAG and the Renter Warden will be the Company’s representative and report to the Court periodically on the Company’s progress against the agreed actions and other initiatives proposed by LCAG members;
• we will add a section on the LCAG and climate change on our website, with a link to the LCAG website, and a suggestion box for members;
• the Clerk will obtain sustainability statements from our caterers. Our aim will be to reduce the climate impact of the menus that we choose (so, for example, eating vegetables grown in the UK in season, rather than those imported by air from overseas). We also had an interesting debate as to whether the Master might choose a menu with a vegetarian main course, with an option for meat eaters to choose a meat alternative;
• the Craft Committee will work up plans for new awards at the Craft Awards and/or the Triennial Awards, to recognise environmentally friendly design and construction;
• the Finance Committee will request an update on ESG issues from our investment advisors when they next present to the Committee; and
• we will seek to organise one or more lectures, to be held on Zoom, on the topic of sustainable building and the challenges of climate change within the building industry, to which members of the Company and members of other Companies within the Construction Group of Livery Companies might be invited.

This represents a good start but there is undoubtedly more that we can do individually and collectively. For example, we need to think about the impact of the way we run the Company: should Committees continue to meet on Zoom to reduce the need to travel or do the benefits of meeting in person outweigh the climate impact?

Events

This blog might give the impression that the Master’s role is all work and no play. This would be misleading! There have been a number of excellent and enjoyable Company and City events in the last month.

On 28 March 2022, a group of members and guests enjoyed a private visit to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane to see the spectacular £60 million restoration, completed last year. The visit was organised by Jacqueline Wheeler from the architects Haworth Tompkins who worked on the project for the owners, LW Theatre Group. It was a privilege to be able to see the theatre “out of hours” and hear about some of the challenges of the restoration from one of the architects who worked on the project.

Patrick Hayman from architects Haworth Tompkins

The United Guilds Service was held at St Paul’s on 1 April 2022. This is one of the great City occasions with all the Masters present in gowns, chains and badges, the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs, Aldermen, Bishop of London and Dean of St Paul’s. Wonderful singing from the choir and lunch afterwards at Carpenters’ Hall, where I was asked to reply on behalf of guests.

The Master, Upper Warden and Clerk, windswept on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral

Finally, on 7 April 2022, a group of 25 members and guests attended the Lord Mayor’s Big Curry Lunch at Guildhall. This is an annual lunch for some 1,200 guests to raise funds for ABF The Soldiers’ Charity and the other two principal service charities - the RAF Benevolent Fund and the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity – with the funds being used to support veterans undertaking the Pain Management Programme at King Edward VII Hospital and the RBLI Lifeworks programme. We were joined by Sean Bonnington, the Director of National Fundraising at ABF TSC, who outlined the work of the charity and the importance of helping injured veterans back into employment.

Full reports on all three events can be found in the events section of the website.

It is an honour and a privilege to have the opportunity to serve as Master of a Livery Company for a year. There are many different aspects to the Master’s role and responsibilities and the events which I have attended in the past week gives a good illustration of this.

Thursday 5 May: Christ’s Hospital Appeal Committee meeting (on Zoom)
The Christ’s Hospital Appeal Committee was formed in September 2021 to oversee the appeal to raise funds to send another child from a disadvantaged background to Christ’s Hospital School. I launched the appeal at the start of my year as Master. The target was £36,600 but we have already raised nearly £47,000 to date, including matched funding from the Company of £18,000. This is a staggering achievement for a Company of fewer than 200 members. I am sure that one of the reasons that so many people have responded so generously to the appeal is that we can see a direct connection between our charity and the outcome – a life changing education for a young person.

And there is more to come. Past Master David Szymanski and his good friend Mark Vose will be cycling from Lands End to John O’Groats, setting off on 22 May. David has kindly offered to seek sponsorship for this epic ride from family, friends and business associates. At the time of writing this blog, David has already raised over £10,000. You can follow David and Mark via a link on the T&B home page.

Thursday 5 May: dinner with the Court Leet of the King’s Manor in Southwark at the Old Bailey
I was invited by Liveryman Ernest Smart to be the principal guest at this dinner held in the Judges’ Dining Room at the Old Bailey. The Court Leet trace their origins back to Alfred the Great in 871, with their first Royal Charter being awarded in 1327 and a second charter by Edward VI in 1550. This is a much longer lineage than most Livery Companies and certainly predates the Tylers and Bricklayers – we received our Royal Charter from Elizabeth I in 1568. Ernest is the Hon Clerk and Archivist of the Court.

I was pleased to find that no fewer than seven of the 24 Jurors on the Court Leet are also members of the Tylers and Bricklayers so I was amongst friends. The honour of being principal guest almost always carries with it the requirement to make a speech on behalf of the guests but Ernest had instructed me that it should be brief! A memorable evening.

Tuesday 10 May: Craft Committee meeting
The Company relies on the often-unseen work of members contributing to various Committees for its efficient and effective administration. The Craft Committee, chaired by Court Assistant David White, is one of these committees. The Craft Committee has responsibility for overseeing the Company’s support for and relationships with relevant bodies and individuals associated with our three crafts: bricklaying, roof tiling and slating and wall and floor tiling. Most members of the Committee are men and women with craft backgrounds and the Master sits on the Committee in his or her year in office. As I do not have a craft background, this has been a most welcome opportunity to learn more about all aspects of the Company’s support for the three crafts.

The two main items for discussion were a proposal that the Company should seek to support three young men and women to undertake an apprenticeship in one of our related crafts. Our support would take the form of funding and mentoring. There are some significant questions to consider including how will we find deserving candidates, how will we raise the funds needed, how can we best support the apprentices during and perhaps after their training and what relationship will the apprentices have with the Company? The other major discussion was around a proposal from the Court that we should introduce a new award in the Company’s Triennial Awards for the best environmentally sustainable scheme. The Craft Committee discussed the feasibility, form and criteria for such an award which, if introduced, would first be awarded at the next Triennial Awards in 2024.

Wednesday 11 May: View Day at St Bartholomew’s Hospital
One of the great joys of serving as Master is the opportunity to participate in services, ceremonies and visits in and around the City. St Bartholomew’s Hospital is a great City institution, founded in 1123 by Rahere, Henry I’s Court Jester. The View Day was first held in 1551 and was an occasion for the City authorities to inspect the Hospital. View Day now provides an opportunity for supporters to visit the Hospital, to learn about the extraordinary work that is undertaken and to hear about plans for the future.

The programme included Choral Evensong in the Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great and a Reception in the Great Hall. The Priory Church was also founded in 1123 and is London’s oldest church. It is well worth a visit and will be familiar to many people as the venue for the last wedding in Four Weddings and a Funeral. The service was simple but moving, with lovely singing by the choir.

The Reception in the Great Hall was well attended and I had the chance to catch up with many Masters of other Companies as well as hearing more about the Hospital’s plans to mark its 900th anniversary in 2023.

Thursday 12 May: Annual Livery Dinner at Haberdashers Hall
The Annual Livery Dinner is one of the main events in any Master’s year. The Dinner was held this year at Haberdashers’ Hall. The Hall was opened by Her Majesty the Queen in 2002 and won a Tylers & Bricklayers Brickwork Award in the 2005 Triennial Awards. The judges noted the “supreme craftsmanship in both exterior and interior face brickwork, with lovely detailing” so it was an appropriate venue for the Tylers and Bricklayers annual dinner. There were 120 members and guests present at the dinner.

My principal guest was Professor Dame Carol Black. Dame Carol has had a long and distinguished career in medicine and in public service. She is currently an independent adviser to the Government on illicit drugs and chairs the Boards of the British Library, the Centre for Ageing Better and Think Ahead, the Government’s fast-stream training programme for Mental Health Social Workers. Dame Carol made an interesting and thought-provoking speech on the mental health challenges faced by many who work in the construction industry.

It was a wonderful evening which I greatly enjoyed (particularly after I had given my speech in response to the toast to the Company!).

Friday 13 May: Worshipful Company of Educators’ Military Education Lecture, HMS President
Many Livery Companies hold lectures during the course of the year to which Masters, Wardens and sometimes members of other Companies are invited. I was invited to the Worshipful Company of Educators’ annual military education lecture. This was held at HMS President, a Royal Naval Reserve and sea cadet training centre in St Katherine Docks, which was very apt as the subject of the lecture was “The impact and value of the military cadet forces of the UK”. Although topic of the lecture appeared somewhat dry, the lecture was very interesting, reporting on research undertaken by a team from the University of Northampton which has been able to demonstrate that children from disadvantaged backgrounds who participate as cadets achieve better outcomes at school and in life than those who do not. This was supported by inspiring personal testimonies from two former cadets, both of whom now serve as adult volunteers. The lecture was followed by a drinks reception on the deck outside HMS President with a wonderful view up river to Tower Bridge and a chance to tour a sail training ship, T/S Royalist, which was tied up alongside.

A great end to a busy and interesting week.

The Craft Awards Lunch

It was wonderful to have a full house for the Craft Awards Lunch which was held in the magnificent Library at Trinity House, overlooking the Tower of London, on Thursday 10 March. This is one of the most important events in our calendar when we celebrate the achievements of those in the early stages of their careers as tilers and bricklayers, as sappers with the Royal Engineers or cadets and adult volunteers with the RE affiliated cadet units within Greater London. We also recognise the excellence of those who have achieved Master Craftsman status.

The principal guest at the Lunch was Dr Anna Keay OBE.  Anna is a historian, writer, broadcaster and the Director of the Landmark Trust. The Landmark Trust is one of the UK’s leading building conservation charities. The Trust rescues and restores buildings of architectural or historical interest which might otherwise be lost forever and then makes them available to anyone and everyone for self-catering holidays. By rescuing and restoring these buildings, the Landmark Trust also helps to preserve traditional craft skills. I was delighted to be able to pass on a cheque to Anna from the Company’s Craft Trust to support the work of the Landmark Trust.

The Company recognised three Master Craftsmen. Master Craftsmen status is awarded to those who achieve higher levels of competence in our crafts of bricklaying, roof slating and tiling and wall and floor tiling. Master Craftsman status was awarded this year to:

Liveryman John Gorman – Heritage Bricklayer
Danny Lyon – Roof Slater and Tiler
Mark Exley – Wall and Floor Tiler

An additional special award was made to Bob Coutts in recognition of services to education. Bob has been teaching, training and mentoring apprentices in the roof slating and tiling since 1975.

A full report on the Craft Awards Lunch can be found in the events reports on the website.

Visit to Christ’s Hospital School

I announced at my Installation Lunch on 30 September 2021, an appeal to raise £36,600 to fund the cost of sending another young person to Christ’s Hospital School when our current (and second) presentee, Kiyan Rahmann, finishes his time at the School. I am delighted to report that we have achieved the target. I am truly grateful for the support and generosity of so many members. The Court has agreed that the Appeal will remain open until the end of the year and all funds raised in excess of the original target will be invested in a designated fund in the Company Charitable Trust and will be put towards the education of a fourth child at Christ’s Hospital School in the future.

On Monday 14 March, I was delighted to meet Simon Reid, the Headmaster of Christ’s Hospital School, and present a cheque for £36,600. I was accompanied by Past Master Lesley Day, Liveryman Keith Aldis and Freeman Onyinye Udokporo, who was the Company’s first presentee at the School from 2009 to 2016. We were also delighted to meet our current presentee, Kiyan Rahmann. We also had an opportunity to tour the School and watch band practice.

The Master, Onyinye Udokoporo, Simon Reid, Kiyan Rahmann, Keith Aldis and Lesley Day