THE LEATHERSELLERS
A SHORT HISTORY
06
The Company’s almshouses at Barnet in c1871. Built in 1837 at the personal expense of the then Master, Richard Thornton (below), they now comprise twenty one modernised flats known as Leathersellers’ Close.
Portrait of Richard Thornton with the silver trowel he used to lay the foundation stone of the almshouses.
Portrait of the Reverend Joseph Prendergast, founder of Prendergast School in Lewisham.
The Company was also able to channel its resources into large-scale charitable works, such as the construction of new almshouses. Livery Companies have a long tradition of providing accommodation for the elderly, and the Company’s first almshouses were built on the St Helen’s estate in 1543 at the instigation of John Hasilwood. Further almshouses were built in Lewisham, in accordance with the will of Abraham Colfe, but it was not until the more prosperous Victorian age that the Leathersellers could think about constructing their own. A site on the Company’s Barnet estate was chosen, and the foundation stone was laid in July 1837 by the Master, Richard Thornton, who generously offered to pay for the six new almshouses himself. Further wings were
added in 1849 and 1866 to house the inhabitants of Hasilwood’s almshouses when they were moved out of St Helen’s Place. Originally intended for poor members of the Company or their widows, each almsperson received a weekly pension and a coal allowance. In the 1960s the west and east blocks of Barnet almshouses were rebuilt and the site was renamed Leathersellers’ Close. The remaining block, containing the 1926 chapel, remained but has been renovated since. In the 1880s the Company became involved with Prendergast School in Lewisham. The school was founded under the will of the Reverend Joseph Prendergast, a former headmaster of Colfe’s School.
Although not originally a trustee, the Leathersellers’ Company funded the purchase of a site for the school, which opened in Rushey Green in 1890. Since then the Company has provided financial support, and began to provide governors in the 1950s. In 2008 Prendergast School formed a Federation with Prendergast Ladywell, with Prendergast Vale joining in 2011. Today, the Leathersellers’ Federation of Schools comprises three secondary and two primary schools alongside a Sixth Form. The Leathersellers are one of two Corporate Members of the academy trusts, with members of the Company serving at every level of its governance structure. The Leathersellers fund a range of programmes across the schools, supporting students and staff.
LIVERY COMPANIES HAVE A LONG TRADITION OF PROVIDING ACCOMMODATION FOR THE ELDERLY, AND THE COMPANY’S FIRST ALMSHOUSES WERE BUILT ON THE ST HELEN’S ESTATE IN 1543 AT THE INSTIGATION OF JOHN HASILWOOD.
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