1300
|
The first reference to gold and silver
standards, the 'guardians of the craft' and the
leopard's head in a statute of Edward I |
| 1327 |
The Goldsmiths' Company's first
royal charter from Edward III marks the beginning of the Company's
formal existence as a craft guild, with St. Dunstan as its patron
saint |
| 1339 |
Purchase of a merchant's house in
Foster Lane to the north of the goldsmithing area in Cheapside
which is still the site of Goldsmiths' Hall today |
| 1363 |
Goldsmiths and silversmiths required to
have a mark unique to them to be struck on all their wares to
identify the maker |
| 1393 |
A second royal charter, from Richard II,
allowing the Company to own property and rents to the value
of £20 yearly for specific charitable purposes |
| 1478 |
The Assay Office in Goldsmiths' Hall
established with a paid official. A date letter was introduced
to the marking system and workers were required for the first
time to bring their wares to Goldsmiths' Hall to receive
the hallmark |
| 1544 |
The lion passant mark introduced on gold
and silver possibly related to the placement in the Assay Office
of two appointees of Henry VIII |
| 1564 |
The first educational grant from the Company's
charities for exhibitions at Oxford and Cambridge |
| 1571 |
Grant of coat-of-arms from Robert Cooke,
Clarenceux King of Arms |
| 1588 |
The Goldsmiths' Company appointed
as one of the Keepers of the Troy Weight, the measurement of
weight used for gold and silver. The nest of standard weights
has remained in the Hall ever since |
| 1603 |
The start of written records of the Trial
of the Pyx, which had been carried out by goldsmiths since the
13th century |
| 1609 |
London Livery Companies forced by James
1 to purchase land in Ireland. The Goldsmiths' Company
together with the Cordwainers, the Painter-Stainers and the
Armourers acquired land jointly to the south-east of Londonderry.
The Company sold its share to the Earl of Shelburne in 1728 |
1634
-36 |
The second Hall erected on the site of
the original merchant's house, incorporating ten shops.
The Palladian red-bricked building was the work of Nicholas
Stone, the King's Mason, with advice from Inigo Jones,
the King's Surveyor |
| 1657 |
John Perryn's estate in Acton, West
London, left to the Company |
| 1666 |
The new Hall gutted by the Great Fire leaving
only the walls standing. The Company's treasures and records
were saved by Sir Charles Doe who commandeered a cart and took
them to safety to a house in Edmonton |
| 1669 |
Restoration of the Hall completed by Edward
Jerman |
| 1681 |
Part of the southwest corner of the building
destroyed by a major fire in the Assay Office |
| 1697 |
A higher standard of silver, the Britannia
standard, made compulsory for silver wares in order to protect
the new milled coinage from being melted down by silversmiths
for their raw working material |
| 1720 |
The sterling standard for silver restored,
coexisting with the higher Britannia standard |
1740
-41 |
A large collection of domestic and buffet
(display) plate purchased by the Company from the four main
silversmiths of the day: Paul de Lamerie, Thomas Farren, Humphrey
Payne and Richard Bailey, and still displayed in the Livery
Hall today. The total weight exceeded 2,300 ounces and replaced
plate sold over the previous century to meet the Company's
financial requirements |
| 1773 |
Two new Assay Offices opened at Birmingham
and Sheffield |
| 1784 |
Duty imposed on gold and silver wares and
a new mark, the sovereign's head, introduced to denote
payment of duty |
| 1798 |
A lower standard of gold, 18ct, introduced
coexisting with 22ct gold |
| 1812 |
Twenty almshouses erected on the Perryn
estate in Acton. At this time the Company decided to rebuild
the Hall and began to set aside corporate funds for that purpose |
| 1829 |
The old Hall demolished and work started
on the third Hall designed by the Company's architect,
Philip Hardwick |
| 1832 |
New schoolhouse built by the Company in
Stockport for the school which was founded by Sir Edmund Shaa,
a benefactor of the Company, in the fifteenth century |
| 1835 |
The new Hall opened, the third Goldsmiths'
Hall on this site since its purchase in 1339 |
| 1851 |
The Company offered £1000 in prizes
at the Great Exhibition of 1851 for manufacturers of plate |
| 1871 |
A scheme to encourage design in gold or
silver started as an annual competition with prizes awarded.
Scholarships available to those who had been successful over
several years |
| 1878 |
The Goldsmiths' Company, together
with other City Livery Companies, a prime mover in the establishment
of the City and Guilds of London Institute which is today one
of the main examining bodies for vocational qualifications |
| 1880 |
Two reports issued by the Royal Commission
set up to enquire into the conduct of the City of London Livery
Companies, one in favour of abolition of the companies, the
other proposing continuation. This Commission undoubtedly galvanised
many of the Companies into adopting more proactive initiatives,
particularly in the field of education |
| 1891 |
The New Cross Technical and Recreative
Institute opened by the Goldsmiths' Company and run with
the help of a Warden. In 1904 it was handed over, lock stock
and barrel, to the London County Council to run and became known,
as it is today, as Goldsmiths' College |
| 1903 |
The collection of economic literature owned
by Professor Foxwell purchased by the Company and given to the
University of London Library |
| 1908 |
The Goldsmiths', Silversmiths'
and Jewellers' Art Council of London established by George
Booth Heming as an annual competition for craftsmen and schools
in London. The Goldsmiths' Company has been a prominent
supporter along with the trade itself and the competition continues
to this day under the title of The Goldsmiths' Craft and
Design Council
Readerships endowed by the Company in metallurgy at Cambridge
and in English at Oxford |
| 1919 |
A chair in bacteriology established by
the Company at the London Hospital Medical School |
| 1926 |
Design competitions for Ascot trophies
begin a long and continuous involvement in modern design for
silver wares through competitions, exhibitions and lectures |
| 1938 |
A major exhibition of modern silverwork,
held at Goldsmiths' Hall for the first time, deemed a
great success |
| 1941 |
The South West corner of the Hall badly
damaged by bombs in April. Assay Office temporarily moved to
Reigate |
| 1946 |
A Design and Research Centre established
with financial help from the Company and government grants |
| 1951 |
A series of major exhibitions of historic
and contemporary silverwork staged at the Hall during the decade |
| 1958 |
A scheme for travelling grants for teachers
introduced |
| 1959 |
The Stone Committee on hallmarking recommended
inter alia the closure of two of the six existing offices (Chester
and Glasgow) and the repeal of previous legislation in order
to make the law clearer and more easily enforced |
| 1961 |
The International Exhibition of Modern
Jewellery 1890-1961 held at the Hall, marking the Company's
first interest in jewellery, leading subsequently to its collection
of contemporary work |
| 1966 |
The establishment of the Technical Advisory
Committee in July to provide technical assistance to the trade |
| 1975 |
The 1973 Hallmarking Act enacted on 1 January.
All four Assay Offices adopted the same date letter sequence
for the first time. Platinum marking introduced. |
| 1976 |
The first Loot exhibition held, precursor
to today's Goldsmiths' Fair |
| 1977 |
Celebration of 750 years since the Company's
first charter and a commemorative mark for the Queen's
Silver Jubilee approved for use on silver wares |
| 1978 |
An exhibition of the history of the Assay
Office and its five hundred years in Goldsmiths' Hall |
| 1986 |
A chair in education management created
by the Company at Goldsmiths' College |
| 1987 |
A major exhibition of the French art nouveau
jeweller Rene Lalique at the Hall |
| 1988 |
The millennium of St. Dunstan, the patron
saint of the Goldsmiths' Company |
1989
-90 |
Major refurbishment of the Hall undertaken |
| 1999 |
Changes to the usage of hallmarks: the
sponsor's mark, the standard mark and the town mark being
compulsory, the date letter and other standard marks such as
the lion passant voluntary. New standards of gold, silver and
platinum introduced |
| 2000 |
A commemorative millennium mark approved.
The staging of a major exhibition of the Company's collection
of 20th century silver, jewellery and art medals |
| 2002 |
Queen's Golden Jubilee commemorative mark approved |
| 2006 |
First off-site hallmarking facility in modern times established in Greville Street |
| 2006 |
Mrs Lynne Brindley elected as the first female member of the Court |
| 2007 |
25th anniversary Goldsmiths' Fair runs for two weeks |
