History

History of the Company

Tradition has it that in 975 AD in the Ward of Farringdon Without, there are “divers slaughterhouses and a Butchers' Hall where the craftsmen meet,” - so begins an unbroken connection between the Butchers, a Butchers’ Hall and Smithfield.

The Arms of The Company, granted by the College of Heralds in 1540, features our motto, “Omnia Subjecisti Sub Pedibus, Oves et Boves” which translates into “Thou hast put all things under his feet, all Sheep and Oxen”. The various Heraldic emblems represented in the armorial bearings relate to the Butchers’ craft. The winged bull is an allusion to St. Luke, the patron saint of the Butchers.

The Charter of Incorporation for The Worshipful Company of Butchers, granted by James 1 in 1605, gave the Butchers’ Company control and jurisdiction of the trade within the City of London and within a radius of one mile outside the City. As part of the Charter the governing body is listed as comprising a Master, five Wardens and fifteen Assistants, a structure still in place in the current composition of the Court.

The Worshipful Company of Butchers has had more than its fair share of ill fortune. Five of our seven Halls were burned down including one that perished during the Great Fire of London in 1666.

The fourth Hall, in Pudding Lane, was subject to a compulsory purchase order in 1883 when it was demolished to make way for The Metropolitan District Line, the second underground railway in the world to be built (the first being the Metropolitan Railway between Paddington and Farringdon Street).

Proximity to the City meant we were vulnerable to enemy attack and indeed the Hall in Bartholomew Court suffered considerable damage from a large bomb dropped from a Zeppelin in 1915 and again after a V1 bomb landed in the courtyard in July 1944.

Our current Hall was originally opened by the Bishop of London in 1960 after a service at St Bartholomew the Great. Building work then took about a year with funding for much of the furnishings and equipment coming in the form of donations from members of the Company and by companies and organisations involved in the meat industry at home and abroad.

The new Butchers' Hall re-opened in September 2019 after a major multi-million pound refurbishment and retains many of its features, finely balancing the traditions of a Livery Hall with first-class, modern facilities.

For example, the Great Hall continues to feature the fine Southland Beech donated by the New Zealand Government, stained glass windows, early 19th century chandeliers, the Vestey Tapestry (the largest in the City, presented by Liveryman Ronald Vestey in 1964), and Canadian Maple flooring hidden beneath the carpet.

The Court Suite features the Black Bean panelling donated by the Australian Government in front of a fine white marble fireplace made in Paris in 1794 while the reformulated reception area houses the Borthwick Screen donated by the family and an imposing grand staircase leading the way to the delights of the upper floors. Artwork donated by Past Master Michael Katz can now be enjoyed as people enter the Roof Garden, a new and quite wonderful addition.

Following completion of a Mansard roof in 1996 the hall was acclaimed as, “one of the first modern City Livery Halls to be built in London.”

The new Butchers’ Hall is already generating similar acclamation.