The Worshipful Company of Cutlers

www.cutlerslondon.co.uk

Autum Court Dinner
October 9th 2024, Cutlers' Hall, London

 

Captain Boot's Dinner
July 10th 2024, Cutlers' Hall, London

 

Surgical Award Dinner
March 13th 2024, Cutlers' Hall, London

 

The Feast of The Boar's Head
December 6th 2023, Cutlers' Hall, London

   

 

 

The Feast of The Boar's Head
December 7th 2022, Cutlers' Hall, London

 

The Worshipful Company Of Cutlers
March 9th 2022, Cutlers' Hall, London

 

The Worshipful Company Of Stationers & Newspaper Makers Court Dinner
February 1st 2022, Cutlers' Hall, London

 

The Red Balloon Giving Dinner
October 21st 2021, Cutlers' Hall, London

 

Autumn Court Dinner
October 13th 2021, Cutlers' Hall, London

 

 

The Feast of the Board's Head
December 2019, Cutlers' Hall, London

 

 



 

Surgical Award Dinner
March 2019, Cutlers' Hall, London

 




Captain Boot's Dinner
July 2018, Cutlers' Hall, London

 




Surgical Award Dinner
March 2018, Cutlers' Hall, London

 




The Feast of the Board's Head
November 2017, Cutlers' Hall, London



   






Stewards' Dinner
November 2017, Cutlers' Hall, London

 






Surgical Award Dinner
March 2017, Cutlers' Hall, London

 




The Feast of the Boar's Head
December 2016, Guildhall, City of London



 



 

Surgical Award Dinner
March 2016, Cutlers' Hall, London

 

THE CUTLERS’ SURGICAL PRIZE 2013

The Cutlers' Surgical Prize was instituted in 1981 by the late Past Master Tony Clarke to promote innovation in the design or application of surgical instruments and surgical techniques. This annual award is open to anyone who has performed outstanding work in the field of instrumentation or technical development in any branch of surgery. Entries are judged by representatives of the specialist surgical associations, in conjunction with the Royal College of Surgeons, who recommend which of the entrants should receive the award. This year's prize, comprising The Clarke Medal and g2,500 in cash, has been awarded to Mr. Pankaj Chandak, BSc(Hons) MBBS MRCSEng FRAS, Mr. Nick Byrne MPhys MSc, Dr. Andrew Coleman MSc PhD FIPEM CSci MBA, Mr. Nicos Kessaris BSc MSc FRCS(Gen) and Professor Nizam Mamode BSc MD FRCS FRCS(Gen), who have developed a technique utilising 3D printing to assist with complex paediatric renal transplantation.

THE CUTLERS' FELLOWSHIP IN SURGERY

The Cutlers' Fellowship in Surgery was instituted to mark the new Millennium, The Fellowship is open to recently qualified surgeons at St. Bartholomew's and The Royal London Hospitals, who wish to visit hospitals outside the United Kingdom, in order to study surgical techniques that are relevant to their chosen specialism. This year's fellowship has been awarded to Mr, Samer-ul Haque BSc MBBS MRCS Dip(Lap Surg) PhD, a Speciality Training Registrar, who intends to visit the Saint Antoine Hospital in Paris to study advanced techniques for the management of inflammatory bowel disease.

The Feast of the Boar's Head
December 2015, Cutlers' Hall, London





  

  

Court Ladies' Dinner
October 2015, Cutlers' Hall, London

  

THE CRESWICK FRIEZE

The delicate terracotta frieze which decorates the façade of Cutlers' Hall is a feature that is admired by many a passer-by. The Company commissioned Benjamin Creswick (1853-1946) to model the frieze for the newly built Hall in 1887. Creswick grew up in Sheffield and served a short apprenticeship as a knife-grinder, but illness prevented him from pursuing this unhealthy and potentially hazardous occupation. His doctor encouraged him to take up sculpture instead, and after producing a bust of John Ruskin in terracotta Ruskin soon took him under his wing.

In total there are thirty-three figures in the frieze depicting the four main facets of the cutlers' craft, forging, grinding, hafting, and finishing. The first panel depicts the forgers at work and the figure on the far left can be seen plunging a pair of hot scissors into the hardening trough. The next is forging scissors and to his right is a man at the bellows, heating the iron and hardening table knives. The fourth and fifth figures are the maker or 'smith' and the 'striker' forging table knives, and approaching them is a man bringing a bundle of steel into the smithy.

The next panel illustrates the grinding process. First we see a man taking away a box of finished knife blades from the grinding wheel whilst an old man sits polishing or 'buffing' the next batch. The boy to his right is glazing the blades and holding them up to see if the stone marks have all been removed. Then we see two men, one hewing the grindstone and the other grinding. The next man is setting blades prior to putting them on the grindstone and another is remonstrating with him, possibly over the non-payment of his 'natty' or trade union contribution. To their right we see a young man approaching the grinding wheel with a box full of new work, followed by two older men carrying a large grindstone.

The third panel portrays the hafters preparing knife handles and fitting them to the blades. The first man is standing by his workbench filing a handle. The next man is filling handles with compound prior to attaching them to the blades. A young boy, who has brought his father's dinner, stands beside him watching intently what is going on. Next is a figure seated at the glazing frame polishing a knife handle, or 'dollying', as cutlers would have called it. After him there is a man filing a handle at his workbench. To his right stands a man who appears to be giving words of advice to an apprentice engaged in drilling holes in the handles.

A second youth can be seen scraping or 'shaving' knife handles with a piece of flat steel. Next to him a man is riveting handles, whilst his neighbour is wiping off the finished work and holding it up to the light to see if it is true. The fourth and final panel begins with an old man lotting scissors at his bench. Then we see the scissors hardener reaching for some tongs and blowing the bellows with the other hand. Standing next to him is a little boy poking the fire. Alongside him is a man boring the scissors and turning the lathe with his feet. Standing to his right is a man glazing the scissors, and next to him is the scissor filer. The last figure is finishing off' the scissors and testing that they are in working order before they leave the workshop.

The frieze is a lasting example of Creswick's skill as a sculptor, and the superlative detail of his work continues to attract the eye. This summer, the façade of Cutlers' Hall has been cleaned, with Creswick's frieze being restored to its full glory.

Court Ladies' Dinner
October 2014, Cutlers' Hall, London

  

HISTORY OF THE SITE OF CUTLERS' HALL

Following the destruction of the Royal College of Physicians rented premises at Amen Corner during the Great Fire of London, the College met in Fellows' houses whilst raising funds for a new building. The first institutional home of the College was provided by a new building designed by Robert Hooke, which was erected on this site and opened in 1675.

The building was conveniently located next door to Newgate Prison, which provided a ready supply of cadavers for dissection. It was arranged around a courtyard with public rooms occupying the central section and apartment wings for letting on each side. Entry to the courtyard was by means of an archway beneath a large octagonal dome housing an anatomy theatre. The theatre was funded from a gift made by the London merchant and financier Sir John Cutler (1607 — 1693), and a model thereof is currently on display in the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons. Statues of Cutler (who had no connection with this Company) and Charles II by the Flemish sculptor Arnold Quellin decorated the building, and these are now in the collection of the Guildhall Art Gallery.

In 1680 Henry Pierrepont, Marquess of Dorchester, presented his magnificent library to the College, on the condition that the collection should never be broken up or sold, the books should remain in the same order, and that the College would build a suitable library to house them. The College also boasted a public gallery known as the Long Room, lined in Spanish oak panelling donated by Baldwin Hamey. Some of this panelling decorates the Censors Room in the present College building situated in Regent's Park.

For the first time, the College had a large and elegant home, which attracted visitors and tourists, but the City location gradually grew less desirable. The diarist John Evelyn wrote that it was a pity the College was built 'in so obscure a hole'. Public life and fashionable society were moving west, away from the crowded City and in 1799 the College decided to follow suit. After the Physicians left, Hooke's College was used as a foundry. The Cutlerian Theatre was demolished in 1866 and was later replaced by our Hall in 1888 when the Company moved from its former home in Cloak Lane.

Captain Boot's Dinner
July 2014, Cutlers' Hall, London

  

The Feast of the Boar's Head
December 2013, Cutlers' Hall, London



 

 

THE FEAST OF THE BOAR'S HEAD

It is said that the tradition of feasting with a boar's head during the winter solstice arose because the Nordic god Frey, who watched over the fertility of crops and livestock, was often symbolized by a boar. Thus boar were often sacrificed in the hope of securing a prosperous spring herd.

As Christian beliefs overtook pagan customs the presentation of the boar's head at Christmas later came to symbolize the triumph of the Christ Child over sin. However, during the Middle Ages wild boar became increasingly scarce and — with turkey, goose and beef taking its place as traditional Christmas fare — this ceremony eventually fell into decline.

Our own Feast is not of great antiquity. It was first instigated in 1924 by the then Master, Sir Thomas Cato Worsfold, Bart., as an adornment of the Company's traditional Christmas dinner and apart from the years of the Second World War has been held in December ever since.

The pageant you will witness during dinner originated in the 14th. century at Queen's College, Oxford where, according to legend, a certain student once displayed great valour and remarkable ingenuity on being confronted by a wild boar.

After a flourish of trumpets the boar's head, finely dressed and garnished, is borne in state around the room led by the Beadle dressed in his ceremonial robes. Behind him come a young page carrying the mustard pot, trumpeters, soldiers, and choristers singing the Boar's Head Carol. As the procession parades in front of the top table the Master summons the senior chorister and rewards him with an orange. The page then offers the Master the mustard pot, mustard having always been regarded as an indispensable condiment to accompany wild boar. A slice is carved from the boar's head and presented to the Master. A junior member of the Court then delivers the Boar's Head Oration, following which the beast is removed to the kitchen for carving.

The Stewards' Dinner
November 2013, Cutlers' Hall, London

  

Court Ladies' Dinner
October 2013, Cutlers' Hall, London

  

Captain Boot's Dinner
July 2013, Cutlers' Hall, London

  

Surgical Award Dinner
Cutlers' Hall, London, March 2013

 

THE CUTLERS’ SURGICAL PRIZE 2013

The Cutlers’ Surgical Prize was instituted in 1981 by the late Past Master Tony Clarke to promote innovation in the design or application of surgical instruments and surgical techniques. This annual award is open to anyone who has performed outstanding work in the field of instrumentation or technical development in any branch of surgery. Entries are judged by representatives of the specialist surgical associations, in conjunction with the Royal College of Surgeons of England, who recommend which of the entrants should receive the award.

This year’s prize, comprising The Clarke Medal and £1000 in cash, has been awarded to Professor Michael Nicholson MD, DSc, FRCS and Dr. Sarah Hosgood BSc, PhD of the University of Leicester, who have jointly developed a system of ex-vivo normothermic perfusion for renal transplantation.

THE CUTLERS’ FELLOWSHIP IN SURGERY

The Cutlers’ Fellowship in Surgery was instituted to mark the new Millennium. The Fellowship is open to recently qualified surgeons at St. Bartholomew’s and The Royal London Hospitals, who wish to visit hospitals outside the United Kingdom, in order to study surgical techniques that are relevant to their chosen specialism.

This year a Fellowship has been awarded to Mr. Martin Griffiths BSc(Hons), MBBS(Hons), FRCS(Ed) FRCS(Gen.Surg.), a locum consultant trauma and vascular surgeon, who intends to visit the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Centre in Baltimore to study techniques for the treatment of penetrative injuries and injury prevention.

Jubilee Luncheon
Cutlers' Hall, London, June 2012

Surgical Award Dinner
Cutlers' Hall, London, March 2011

  

THE CUTLERS’ SURGICAL PRIZE 2011

The Cutlers’ Surgical Prize was instituted in 1981 by the late Past Master Tony Clarke to promote innovation in the design or application of surgical instruments and surgical techniques. This annual award is open to anyone who has performed outstanding work in the field of instrumentation or technical development in any branch of surgery Entries are judged by representatives of the specialist surgical associations, in conjunction with the Royal College of Surgeons of England, who recommend which of the entrants should receive the award.

This year’s prize comprising The Clarke Medal and £1000 in cash, has been awarded to Professor Norman Williams MS FRCS FMed Sd, and Mr. Lee Edwards BSc FRSA, who have jointly invented a circular stapling device and associated instrumentation to effect innovative techniques for ultra low sphincter saving resection, and stoma trephine reinforcement to prevent herniation.

Captain Boot's Dinner, July 2010

  

EXTRACT FROM THE WILL OF CAPTAIN FRANCIS GEORGE BOOT

By his Will CAPTAIN FRANCIS GEORGE BOOT, who served the Office of Master of the Company in the year 1894, gave the residue of his Estate upon trust for his Wife during her life, and after her death, ‘UPON TRUST [in the words of his Will] for the said Worshipful Company of Cutlers, of which Company I have been a member many years, and the Society of the members of which I have spent many agreeable hours; AND I declare that this trust is for the said Company in its corporate capacity absolutely for it to dispose of the property subject to the trust exactly as it may fancy, free from the control or interference of any Government, or Parliamentary Commission or body, or any other body or individual whatsoever or whomsoever; and while expressly declaring that I attach no trust conditions or directions to such a trust, I express a hope; First, that the income arising therefrom, or a part thereof, may be applied in defraying the cost of a banquet to be given annually in the Hall of the said Company on the 29th day of July (my birthday), or as near thereto as convenient, and to be known as “Captain Boot’s Dinner” when the Master, Wardens, Court of Assistants, and Livery of the Company, with or without visitors, will dine together and drink to my memory; and that at such banquet an extract from my Will may be read, and that the viands, wines, and appointments shall be the best of their kind, and that hospitality be dispensed with no niggard hand; and secondly that any balance of Income over, after defraying the cost of such banquet, be devoted to helping respectable, intelligent, and promising boys needing assistance in acquiring a knowledge of foreign languages, by sending them to France, Germany, Russia, Spain, Italy or elsewhere abroad.’