Worshipful Company of Mercers
The senior livery company of the City of London, now principally a charitable institution supporting education, heritage and community causes.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
The Worshipful Company of Mercers, commonly called The Mercers' Company, is one of the historic livery companies of the City of London. It ranks first in the order of precedence among the Great Twelve City Livery Companies and has played a major role in London's commercial, civic and charitable life. Its medieval identity was connected with mercery and long-distance trade, but the term mercer historically covered a broad range of merchants and luxury goods rather than only the haberdashery trade associated with the word today. The Company's corporate existence developed from an earlier fraternity or merchant association that was operating by the twelfth century, during or before the reign of Henry II. Its members included prominent London merchants and civic leaders, and the organisation became closely involved in the export of wool and the importation of velvet, silk and other high-value textiles. A surviving royal charter from 1394 formally incorporated the Company. In the medieval and early modern periods, membership and commercial influence were closely linked to London government, overseas trade and the administration of charitable trusts. The Mercers have also been associated with important figures in English commercial, political, religious and cultural history. William Caxton was apprenticed into the Company and later became a pioneering printer. Sir Thomas Gresham, founder of the Royal Exchange and Gresham College, was a member, as were several Lord Mayors of London and other leading merchants. The Company’s buildings on or near Cheapside served as a centre for meetings, worship and civic display. Its first major hall and chapel complex was built in the early sixteenth century, replacing earlier use of the Hospital of St Thomas of Acon. The Company’s physical headquarters have been repeatedly rebuilt. The first hall was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, and a replacement designed by Edward Jarman and John Oliver opened in 1676. That building was refurbished in the nineteenth century but was destroyed during the Blitz in 1941. The present Mercers' Hall opened in 1958 and incorporates surviving historic fittings, including seventeenth-century woodwork and Victorian stained glass. The Mercers are distinctive among City livery companies in maintaining their own private chapel. In the modern era, the Mercers' Company is principally a charitable grant-making and educational institution rather than a trading association. Its charitable work is supported by endowments and property interests, including residential property in Covent Garden. Education has been a central priority for centuries. The Company has administered St Paul's School since 1509 and St Paul's Girls' School since 1904, and has supported or maintained links with a range of schools and colleges. More recent educational initiatives include support for Thomas Telford School, Walsall Academy, Sandwell Academy and Hammersmith Academy, the latter established with the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists and focused on creative and digital media and information technology. The Company's emblem is the Mercers' Maiden, a crowned female figure used on its seal and heraldic arms. The device was recorded by the College of Arms in the sixteenth century, while a formal confirmation of the arms, crest and motto followed in 1911. Its motto, Honor Deo, means Honour to God. Today the Company combines ceremonial and fellowship functions with charitable giving, educational stewardship, heritage conservation and the management of its historic assets.
History
The Mercers' Company emerged from the merchant and religious fraternities of medieval London. Although its exact foundation date is not known, its corporate origins reach back at least to the twelfth century. By the early thirteenth century, members were linked with London’s civic leadership, and a branch or related group operated in Antwerp, then a major centre of the cloth trade. Serlo le Mercer, a member associated with the Company, was among the figures involved in the negotiations surrounding Magna Carta. The Company received its earliest surviving royal charter in 1394. The charter established its role as an organised association of general merchants, particularly those involved in exporting wool and importing luxury textiles such as silk and velvet. The word mercer derives from the Latin merx, meaning merchandise, reflecting the broad commercial activities of early members. From the fourteenth century, meetings were held at the Hospital of St Thomas of Acon in Cheapside, where the Company later developed its own chapel and hall. The Company's membership connected it to major developments in English commerce, religion, printing and civic government. William Caxton entered the Company through apprenticeship and became a full member in 1452 before pursuing his printing and commercial activities in the Low Countries. In the sixteenth century, Sir Thomas Gresham joined the Mercers and used his commercial network in the Low Countries while acting in financial and diplomatic matters for the Crown. Other members included civic leaders such as Richard Whittington, Sir Richard Gresham and Sir Thomas Gresham. Between approximately 1517 and 1524, the Company constructed Mercers' Chapel and its first hall on the Cheapside site. The complex became a setting for worship, meetings and civic pageantry. It was also associated with religious and cultural tensions of the Reformation period. A late medieval sculpture of the Dead Christ survived the destruction of religious imagery by being concealed beneath the chapel floor and was rediscovered during post-war repairs. The Company’s buildings were destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. A second hall, designed by Edward Jarman and John Oliver, opened in 1676. It was extensively renovated between 1877 and 1881, with a remodelled exterior by George Barnes Williams and interiors by John Gregory Crace. The building was destroyed by fire during the Blitz in 1941. The present Mercers' Hall opened in May 1958, designed by E. Noel Clifton of Gunton and Gunton. Historic elements from the earlier hall, including seventeenth-century woodwork and Victorian stained glass, were incorporated into the new building. Membership traditionally developed through patrimony, redemption and apprenticeship. Children of members could have an automatic right to join through patrimony, while others could be admitted by redemption following recommendation and approval. Apprenticeship was historically a major route into the Company, although it has not been a recent route. The Company has also admitted distinguished individuals by redemption, including Thomas More and Winston Churchill. The Mercers' charitable role expanded over time. It has administered St Paul's School since 1509 and St Paul's Girls' School since 1904, and has maintained relationships with schools and colleges founded or supported by Mercers, including Collyer's College, Dauntsey's School, Abingdon School, Peter Symonds College and Gresham College. The former Mercers' School, chartered in the fifteenth century, eventually closed in 1959. In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the Company supported new forms of state education, including Thomas Telford School, Walsall Academy, Sandwell Academy and Hammersmith Academy. The Company’s heraldic identity is centred on the Mercers' Maiden, a crowned female figure whose exact original symbolism is uncertain. The figure appeared on the common seal by the fifteenth century and was recognised as the Company's arms by the heralds in the sixteenth century. The College of Arms confirmed the arms and granted a crest and the motto Honor Deo in 1911. In the present day, the Mercers' Company is primarily a charitable institution. It combines grant-making, educational administration, property stewardship, heritage preservation and the ceremonial functions of a City livery company.
- 2011
Hammersmith Academy supported
[1]The Company co-sponsored Hammersmith Academy with the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists, supporting specialisms in creative and digital media and information technology.
- 1958
Present Mercers' Hall opens
[1]The present hall opened in May, incorporating historic fittings recovered from earlier buildings.
- 1941
Hall destroyed during the Blitz
[1]The nineteenth-century Mercers' Hall was destroyed by fire during the Second World War Blitz.
- 1904
Association with St Paul's Girls' School
[1]The Company began administering St Paul's Girls' School.
- 1676
Second Mercers' Hall opens
[1]A replacement hall designed by Edward Jarman and John Oliver opened in May.
- 1666
First hall destroyed in the Great Fire
[1]The Company's hall and associated buildings were destroyed in the Great Fire of London.
- 1517
Construction of Mercers' Chapel and first hall
[1]The Company constructed a chapel and hall complex on its Cheapside property during the early sixteenth century.
- 1509
Administration of St Paul's School
[1]The Company began its long-standing administrative association with St Paul's School.
- 1452
William Caxton becomes a full member
[1]William Caxton, later a pioneering English printer, completed his progression from Mercers' apprentice to full member.
Early fraternity and merchant origins
[1]The Company's corporate roots extend at least to the twelfth century, when a mercantile fraternity was operating in London.
Products and positioning
A historic City of London institution whose medieval merchant identity has evolved into a prominent charitable, educational and heritage-focused organisation.
Philanthropy
Charitable grant-making
The Company's principal modern function is charitable activity. It supports education and other causes through its endowments, property interests and grant-making structures. Its work reflects the transformation of a medieval merchant organisation into a civic and philanthropic institution.
Education · 1509
Educational stewardship
The Mercers administers or supports a network of schools and educational institutions. Its best-known long-term relationships include St Paul's School and St Paul's Girls' School, alongside links with schools, colleges and academies founded or supported by Mercers.
Heritage and events · 1958
Mercers' Hall
Mercers' Hall in the City of London is the Company's headquarters and ceremonial centre. The current building opened in 1958 after earlier halls were destroyed by the Great Fire and wartime bombing. It contains historic fittings and is associated with the Company's private chapel.
Membership organisation
Livery company membership
Membership provides the institutional framework for fellowship, governance, ceremonial participation and charitable activity. Historical routes included patrimony, redemption and apprenticeship, with distinguished individuals also admitted by redemption.
Marketing campaigns
- 2011Hammersmith Academy
United Kingdom · London
The Mercers co-sponsored the creation of Hammersmith Academy alongside the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists. The academy was established with a focus on creative and digital media and information technology.
Outcome. The academy became part of the Company's modern contribution to specialist secondary education.
Brand decisions
2011
Expansion of academy-school supportStrategyBackground
The Company extended its educational philanthropy beyond historic independent-school relationships into newer academy and specialist-education models.
Action taken
It co-sponsored Hammersmith Academy with the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists, supporting a school specialising in creative and digital media and information technology.
Aftermath
The initiative broadened the Company's contemporary education portfolio and civic role.
1958
Opening of the present Mercers' HallOtherBackground
The previous hall had been destroyed during the Blitz in 1941, requiring the Company to replace its historic headquarters.
Action taken
The Company opened a new Mercers' Hall designed by E. Noel Clifton, incorporating surviving historic furnishings and architectural elements.
Aftermath
The building became the Company's continuing headquarters, ceremonial venue and heritage setting.
- Formal incorporation as a merchant companyStrategy
Background
The Mercers had older fraternity and trading origins, but the Company required a formal legal structure to organise merchants and regulate its corporate affairs.
Action taken
A royal charter incorporated the Company and defined its association with general merchants, including the wool and luxury-textile trades.
Aftermath
The charter became the foundation for the Company's enduring corporate identity as a City of London livery company.
Sources2 sources
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