The Worshipful Company of Turners is one of the Livery Companies

Livery Company

The Livery Companies are 108 trade associations in the City of London, almost all of which are known as the "Worshipful Company of" the relevant trade, craft or profession. The medieval Companies originally developed as guilds and were responsible for the regulation of their trades, controlling,...

 of the City of London

City of London

The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...

. The Guild of Turners, or operators of the lathe, the predecessor of the Company, existed in 1310. In 1435, it received the power to oversee and regulate turners in the City of London; it retained the power until the eighteenth century. It was incorporated under a Royal Charter

Royal Charter

A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...

 in 1604.

Over the years, the Company has lost its original function of a trade association, mostly due to the technology and the obsolescence of the craft of turning. Now, the Company is mostly a charitable institution.

The Company ranks fifty-first in the order of precedence

Order of precedence

An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance of items. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments...

for Livery Companies. Its motto is By Faith I Obteigne, or, in Modern English, By Faith I Obtain.

External links

• The Worshipful Company of Turners