LORINERS' CHARTER CELEBRATION AT ST PAULS: 2 MARCH

The Loriners' Company's spirited coat of arms.

The Loriners almost certainly held the livery function of the year on Wednesday.  Two highly important anniversaries were celebrated in a way that included almost all of the other masters of livery companies in a celebration of evensong at St Pauls.

This year the Loriners celebrate two significant anniversaries.  These are the 750th anniversary of the first grant of Ordinances to the Worshipful Company in 1261 and the 300th anniversary of the granting by Queen Anne of the Company's Royal Charter in 1711.

The service was beautifully done and the sermon by the Rt Hon and Rt Rev Dr Richard Chartres, Bishop London, he is also a liveryman of the Company, was equally memorable.  Starting with a review of other  notable events of 1261 that included the restoration of the Byzantine Empire under the Palaeologi and the 'founding' of Macclesfield - in fact it was the grant of the first charter.  He then went on to view the Loriners' trade, that involves the making and selling of bits, bridles, spurs, stirrups, saddle trees and the minor metal items of a horse’s harness, as a metaphor of the need for human self control enjoined by St Thomas Aquinas.  Finally he wished the Loriners would 'bit and bridle' flourish for ever.

This was followed by an enjoyable party at Stationers' Hall.  Overall a most impressive evening. It said in the notes attached to the service sheet that in the nineteenth century the Company had a great reputation in the City for its sociability.  This tradition is certainly being sustained in the twenty-first.

For those who find all the various components of horse's tack a bit of a mystery I include a diagram to get you started but it self-evidently does not include some of the more obscure elements.  If you want to find out more go to www.loriner.co.uk