The Worshipful Company of Mercers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. It was incorporated under a Royal Charter in 1394. Originally, its aim was to act as a trade association for general merchants, and especially for exporters of wool and importers of velvet, silk and other luxurious fabrics. However, by the sixteenth century, many members of the Company did not retain connections with the original trade. Today, the Company exists as a charitable institution, supporting a wide variety of causes. In education, the Company has administered St Paul's School since 1509, and retains close links with Collyer's College, Dauntsey's School, Abingdon School, Peter Symonds College and Gresham College, all founded by Mercers. Livery Companies are trade associations based in the City of London. ... This article is about a small section of central London. ... In the United Kingdom and Canada a Royal Charter is a charter granted by the Sovereign on the advice of the Privy Council, which creates or gives special status to an incorporated body. ... Events Expulsion of the Jews from France. ... St Pauls School is a British public school, located in Barnes in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. ... The College of Richard Collyer, or Collyers, is a coeducational sixth form college in Horsham, West Sussex, England. ... A co-educational independant boarding school nestled in the Pewsey Vale, Wiltshire. ... Abingdon school is an independent day and boarding school for boys in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. ... Peter Symonds College is a sixth form college in Winchester, Hampshire, in the south of England. ... Gresham College is an unusual institution of higher learning in London which enrols no students and grants no degrees. ...

There was also a Mercers' school which was granted its first charter in 1447. It closed in 1959. The school was most recently based in Barnard's Inn in Holborn, London. This is now the home of Gresham College. Holborn (pronounced ho-bun or ho-burn) is a place in London, named after a tributary to the river Fleet that flowed through the area, the Hole-bourne (the stream in the hollow). ... The Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster which contains Big Ben Tower Bridge at night A red double-decker bus crosses Piccadilly Circus. ... Gresham College is an unusual institution of higher learning in London which enrols no students and grants no degrees. ...

The Company is the premier Livery Company of the City; it ranks first in the order of precedence. It is thus one of the "Great Twelve City Livery Companies". The Company's motto is Honor Deo, Latin for Honour God. An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance of people; it is used by many organizations and governments. ...

The Mercers' Company is based at Mercers' Hall, Ironmonger Lane (off Cheapside), London EC2. From the 14th century onwards the Company held its meetings in the Hospital of St Thomas of Acon on Cheapside. Between 1517 and 1524 the Company built a small chapel of its own on this land, with the first Mercers' Hall above it, fronting Cheapside. The building was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The second Hall, designed by Edward Jarman and John Oliver, opened in May 1676. The Hall was extensively refurbished during the period 1877 to 1881. The frontage was remodelled by George Barnes Williams and the interiors were redesigned by John Gregory Crace, the renowned and fashionable Victorian designer. The Hall was completely destroyed by fire in 1941, during the Blitz. The third and present Mercers' Hall was opened in May 1958. The architect was E Noel Clifton of Gunton and Gunton. The Hall incorporates fittings from the old Hall, including some 17th century woodwork and Victorian stained glass. The Mercers' Company is the only City Livery Company to have its own private chapel. Cheapside is a common English street name, meaning market-place. There are Cheapsides in Birmingham, Bristol, Derby, Halifax, Lancaster, Leicester, Luton, and Manchester. ... London EC2 is the London postal district covering the area around Bishopsgate and Liverpool Street in the City of London. ... Great Fire of London - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... German bomber over the Surrey Docks, London The Blitz, a popular English contraction of the German word Blitzkrieg, meaning Lightning War, was the sustained and intensive bombing of the United Kingdom by Nazi Germany during 1940-1941. ...

Among famous Mercers were:

• William Caxton, printer
• Richard Whittington, Lord Mayor of London
• Thomas Gresham, merchant and financier

William Caxton (c. ... Richard Whittington, medieval merchant and politician, was the real-life inspiration for the pantomime character, Dick Whittington. ... Sir Thomas Gresham (~1519 - 21 November 1579) was an English merchant and financier who worked for King Edward VI of England and for Edwards half-sister Queen Elizabeth I of England. ...

External link

• The Mercers' Company