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THE
ORIGINS OF THE COMPANY The precise origins of the Company fade unrecorded into the dim mists of time. It is well-known that in earliest days, places of worship were the focal point for social and craft life, which was seen as an integral part of the practical daily expression of the Christian tradition and most trade guilds came into existence in close association with a parish church. In 1375, the Guild of St. James, Garlickhythe, was established and the brotherhood of that guild was certainly an assembly of the early freemen of the Joiners Company. By reason of their origins, it was inevitable that the guilds should become involved in charitable works and education, as well as seeking to establish the principles of fair and honest trading and insist upon the maintenance of good workmanlike standards. This also reflected the natural desire of men with a common bond of trade or craft, to join together for fellowship, mutual aid and protection. The Joiners were originally known as Fusters ( The Roman name for a Carpenter )and later as Carvers, and then also as Ceilers (taken from the Latin Caelatores: Carvers) but these titles may be taken as indicating different aspects of the same craft and its development across long periods of time. Certainly in early days there was a close association with the Saddlers Company, as Joiners or Carvers were employed by that craft as subcontractors in the making of saddle bows, which continued for several centuries, probably from Saxon times, when the Saddlers are definitely known to have been established as a craft guild. In the centuries that followed, the Joiners Company as with other guilds, was evolving, consolidating and developing, as indeed were the early organs of the City government itself. The dual processes became inextricably entwined, as the Livery Companies provided for the representation of the people and became a factor in the beginnings of democratic government. The essential strands in the fabric of every part of City government and establishment can be traced far back in time to the Guilds upon which they were founded. Today there are now 108 Livery Companies; some fairly recent. Twelve are known as "The Great Twelve ", mainly the wealthiest and most powerful, and these reflect the ascendancy of the merchant Guilds over the manufacturers, (represented by the craft trades) of which there is an echo in our social and economic life today. The Worshipful Company of Joiners and Ceilers has ranked 41st since 1515 when the order of the Companies was last approved by the Court of Aldermen. The order of the Companies does not represent chronological antiquity. |