Membership & Governance

Membership

Our Membership

More than half the membership of the Company comprises people engaged in the trade, which includes silversmiths and jewellers as well as those in allied areas such as design, retail and auction. The remainder of the membership incorporates a broad range of backgrounds and experience, with industry, commerce, education and the arts well represented.

The Company’s affairs are regulated by the Court of Assistants (our Board), whose members chair a variety of Committees consisting of liverymen and freemen.  A permanent staff headed by the Clerk (CEO) runs the Company on a day-to-day basis for the Court.

As with most other Livery Companies, the membership is made up of Freemen, Liverymen, and Assistants.

Freemen

Freemen, of whom there are over 1,400 in total, enter the Company by one of three routes:

• By Service – on completion of an indentured apprenticeship to a master who is a freeman. The apprentice will have had to bring his or her 'masterpiece' to the Hall for inspection by the Wardens.
• By Patrimony – for any person born after the date of a parent's freedom, having attained the age of 25 and been elected by a Selection Committee.
• By Redemption – by application and on paying an entrance fee, having been elected by a Selection Committee.

Enquiries concerning membership of the Company should be addressed to the Membership Team. Please click here to email your inquiry.

Liverymen

A Call to the Livery is made by the Court of Assistants every two to three years, as necessary, to maintain a sufficient total within the Livery. The election process is by application and subsequent selection from the Freedom.

Assistants

The Assistants are in turn elected from within the Livery. The Court of Assistants is the governing body of the Company. Each year, four members are elected to become Wardens, who meet regularly and act as the Company's executive committee. The senior warden is known as the Prime Warden and serves for a year, changing over in May.

The Court of Wardens and Court of Assistants are the governing bodies of the Company, with overall responsibility for its affairs. The Court of Assistants appoints the members of the 11 Committees which direct the day-to-day running of the Company. The Committee members are drawn in the main from the Livery and sometimes the Freedom; there are also co-opted advisors and Company staff who provide support to each Committee. There are always two members of the Court of Assistants sitting on each Committee, one of whom is the Chairman and they are elected indefinitely at three year intervals. Liverymen and freemen are elected initially for three years, with the opportunity to serve a further term of three years. Liverymen are also given the opportunity to experience the workings of the Committees by being invited to sit on the Committee for three years as supernumerary members.

Governance

The Court of Assistants

This is the Management Board of the Company.  Chaired by the Prime Warden, the Court is made up of the four Wardens and all Assistants aged 80 or under.  Its prime purpose is to scrutinise and ratify the actions and recommendations of all the Company's committees and the Court of Wardens.  By virtue of also being Directors of the Company’s corporate trustee, the Assistants are also responsible for the overall administration of the Company’s charities.

The Court of Wardens

Chaired by the Prime Warden, this comprises the four Wardens with the Clerk and senior staff in support.  It is responsible for all matters relating to the policy and direction of the Company.

The Investment Committee

Responsible for all key issues relating to the Company's investment and property portfolios.

The Assay Office Management Board

Responsible for directing the Company's hallmarking business.

The Communications & Marketing Committee

Responsible for the promoting the Company and its activities, for maintaining the websites and social media, and for Goldsmiths' Fair. The Fair is supported by the Fair Advisory sub-committee.

The Charity Committee

Responsible for allocating general charitable grants.

The Education Committee

Responsible for directing the Company's grants and initiatives aimed at assisting schools and teachers.

The Antique Plate Committee

Responsible for scrutinising silver articles suspected of contravening the Hallmarking Act.

Contemporary Craft Committee

Responsible for directing the purchase and commissioning of contemporary articles for the Company's collection.

Collections Committee

Responsible for overseeing the maintenance of the Company's collection of silver, jewellery and fine art.

Library and Archives Committee

Responsible for the management of the library and archives, spanning nearly 700 years of history.

The House Committee

Responsible for overseeing the maintenance of the fabric and the running of the Hall. It is supported by a Food and Wine Sub-Committee.

The Membership Committee

Responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Company membership of Freemen and Liverymen. It is supported by an Events Sub-Committee.

The Digital Committee

The Digital Committee is responsible for the oversight and coordination of all IT and digital services across the Goldsmiths’ Company.

Court of Wardens

Chaired by the Prime Warden, the Court of Wardens comprises the four Wardens with the Clerk and senior staff in support.  It is responsible for all matters relating to the policy and direction of the Company. The positions on the Court change annually, as the Prime Warden holds the post for one year, before returning to the Court of Assistants.

 

Prime Warden, Charles Mackworth-Young CVO

Charles Mackworth-Young is a Consultant Physician specializing in Rheumatology. His main roles have been at Westminster and Charing Cross Hospitals and at Imperial College as Professor of Practice. Major interests have been in medical research, education and in ethics. Other roles have included Medical Director at King Edward VII’s Hospital, London, Master of the Society of Apothecaries and Commissioner at the Royal Hospital Chelsea. His interests include music and skiing.

Second Warden, Richard Reid

Richard spent the majority of his career at KPMG: appointed a partner in 1991 and Chairman of KPMG London in 2007. He worked internationally and particularly closely with China and Far East markets; he retired in 2015. 

He is currently on the board of Associated British Foods plc; Deputy Chairman of Berry Bros & Rudd; senior advisor to Bank of China UK and Chairman of National Heart & Lung Foundation.

Working with local communities, he was Chair of Safer London and the East London Business Alliance and helped set up the City Academy in Hackney.

Third Warden, Ed Butler CBE DSO

Ed has extensive experience spanning nearly 40 years of managing risk in both the public and private sector.  Following 24 years of front line operations in the British Army, he has worked in the risk consulting, nuclear and insurance sectors. 

Ed chairs the Lloyds Patriotic Fund, supports the Clocktower Foundation (the SAS charity), and is City Colonel, Rifles’ Regiment for Greater London. He enjoys all country pursuits, looking after his flock of Jacob sheep and bee keeping.

Fourth Warden, Edward Braham

Edward Braham is the Chair of M&G plc, the international pensions and asset management group, and a non-executive member of the Board of HMT Treasury and of TheCityUK. He was previously the Senior Partner of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, the global law firm.

Trade Warden, Joanna Hardy

Joanna has over 40 years' experience working with jewellery, beginning her career as a goldsmith. She then had a varied career at De Beers, Philips the Auctioneers, and then finally Sotheby’s, with responsibility for jewellery auctions worldwide.

Joanna is now an independent fine jewellery specialist, curating and lecturing worldwide. She is author of the books Collect Contemporary Jewelry, Emerald, Ruby, and Sapphire, and a regular jewellery specialist on the BBC Antiques Road Show.