History of the Livery

1600's

1670 – Guild of Fanmakers petition to Parliament
1697 – Date on Company Mace

1700's

1709 – Charter granted on 19th April by Queen Anne
1710 – Company’s Hall in Red Cross Street
1711 – Drawing up of (failed) By-laws
1726 – Silver fan added to the Company Mace
1741 – By-laws revised
1747 – First Extant Records
1759 – Company Arms added to the Mace
1775 – Earliest surviving Minute Book

1800 - 1850

1809 – Company granted livery of 60 on
20th June by the Court of Aldermen
1846 – Company entertained the
Lord Mayor for the first time

1850 - 1880

1870 – The first competitive exhibition of fans, under Queen Victoria’s patronage at South Kensington Museum. Also a period of low interest in the Company due to declining trade caused by foreign competition
1877 – Rebirth of the Company under Master Sir Homewood Crawford Banner of Company Arms presented
1878 – Master’s Badge purchased by the Court Company Seal presented Second competitive exhibition of fans at the Drapers’ Hall
1879 – Permission granted by the Court of Aldermen to increase the Livery Company from 60 to 100

1880 - 1900

1888 – Sir James Whitehead became the
first Fan Maker to become Lord Mayor
1897 – The prize-winning fan from the Company’s exhibition was presented by the Fan Maker’s Company to Queen Victoria to commemorate her Diamond Jubilee.
1899 – Sir Alfred Newton becomes the second
Fan Maker to be elected Lord Mayor

1900 - 1910

1902 – Presentation of fan to Queen Alexandra on 24th June on her Coronation
1904 – Sir John Pound becomes third Fan Maker to be elected Lord Mayor
1907 – Sir John Bell becomes fourth Fan Maker to become Lord Mayor

1910-1920

1910 –The Company presented a Honiton lace fan to Queen Mary on the Coronation of George V
1915 – Wardens’ Badges of Office
presented to the Company
1917 – Cook Fund established to benefit
Liverymen of the Fan Makers in need
1918 – Freedom of the Company presented to The Rt
Hon Lord Morris for services to the British Empire

1920 - 1930

1926 – Honorary Freedom of the Company presented to HRH The Princess Royal, Princess Mary

1930 - 1940

1934 – Sir Stephen Killik elected fifth Lord Mayor, Inauguration of the Latchford Prize Competition
1937 – Master Heywood presented a fan to Queen Elizabeth for her coronation with George VI
1939 – Air conditioning recognised by the company as a modern form of the craft of fan making

1940 - 1950

1944 – St Dionis Hall, Lime Street, first
used as the Company Hall
1945 – Sir Charles Davis elected as the
Company’s sixth Lord Mayor
1946 – First presentation of a fan to the
Lord Mayor’s Lady
1947 – An antique fan was presented at Buckingham Palace to Princess Elizabeth
1948 – Honorary Freedom of the Company presented to HRH Princess Alice, The Duchess of Gloucester.

1950 - 1960

1951 – The Poor Fund was instituted by
Trust Deed for the relief of poverty
1952 – Church Hall of St Botolph Without, Bishopsgate, restored and opened on 23rd October
1953 – Master George Pykett MC presented to
Queen Elizabeth II on her coronation a
specially commissioned fan
1956 – HRH The Duchess of Gloucester became the first member of the Royal Family to dine with the Company
1959 – Company celebrated its 250th Anniversary of Charter at the Fishmongers’ Hall and the Mansion House attended by TRH The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester

1960 - 1970

1960 – A fan was presented to Princess Margaret on her marriage to the Earl of Snowden. Gowns for the Master and Wardens presented to the Company
1963 – Burglary at the Hall resulted in the loss of Princess Alice’s fans (inherited from Princess Louise)
1966 – Increase in the Livery from 200 to 250 granted
1968 – Ladies permitted to attend the Annual Livery Dinner, at the Mansion House, for the first time. Past Master Hector Young initiated the Hector Young Fund

1970 - 1980

1972 – HRH The Prince and Princess Richard of Gloucester attend the Annual Livery
Banquet at the Mansion House.
1973 – Fan Makers’ Charitable Trust Fund established
1974 – HRH The Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, presents 30 fans to the Company collection.
1975 – HRH The Duchess of Gloucester (formerly Princess Richard of Gloucester) received the Honorary Freedom of the Company on 10th April. The Fan Circle International inaugurated at the Fan Makers’ Hall

1980 - 1990

1981 – Lady Diana Spencer received a fan on her marriage to the Prince of Wales.
1985 – Presentation to Diana, Princess of Wales, as special guest at the Mansion House dinner.
1986 – Presentation to Miss Sara Ferguson on her marriage to Prince Andrew, the Duke of York.
1988 – 217 (London) Field Squadron Royal Engineers adopted by the Company. The first traditional fan maker for at least 60 years is admitted to the Freedom and the Livery

1990 - 2000

1991 – Letters Patent issued for the Company’s
Coat of Arms
1992 – Company moved to Skinners’ Hall in Dowgate Hill
1993 – Elizabeth Lansbury Nursery School
adopted by the Company
1994 – HMS Westminster adopted by the Company
1999 – Sophie Rhys-Jones received a special edition of the Company’s Millennium fan and an 18th century silk fan with ivory sticks on her marriage to Prince Edward

2000 - Present day

2000 – Millennium Exhibition2005– HRH The Duchess of Gloucester is installed as the first Lady Liveryman in modern times
2006 – Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall presented with a fan by Master Tony O’Hagan following her marriage to the Prince of Wales.
2009 – The Company celebrated the 300th anniversary of the granting of its Royal Charter2012– Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge presented with a fan by Master Jim Moore following her marriage to Prince William
2012 – Her Majesty the Queen presented with an English fan made to commemorate her Diamond Jubilee (as did Queen Victoria in 1897)