The Worshipful Company of Bakers is one of the Livery Companies of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

. The Bakers'

Guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

is known to have existed in the twelfth century. From the Corporation of London, the Guild received the power to enforce regulations for baking, known as the Assize of Bread and Ale. The violations included selling short-weight bread and the addition of sand instead of flour. The Bread Assize remained in force until 1863, when

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

repealed it. In the 14th century, the Guild divided into the Brown-Bakers' Guild and the White-Bakers' Guild. The Brown-Bakers were bakers of nutritious bread, while the White-Bakers were bakers of the less nutritious but more popular bread. The White-Bakers were incorporated by a

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but s ...

of 1509, while the Brown-Bakers were incorporated in 1621. The White and Brown Bakers united into one Company in 1645. The new Company acquired a new Charter in 1686, under which it still operates. Bakers Hall in Harp Lane,

Billingsgate Billingsgate is one of the 25 Wards of the City of London. This small City Ward is situated on the north bank of the River Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge in the south-east of the Square Mile. The modern Ward extends south to the ...

, has been the site of the

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

of the bakers since 1506. It contains a courtroom where trade-related misdemeanours could be tried. There are many such associated trades guilds, such as the Incorporation of Bakers, one of the fourteen Incorporated Trades of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, who meet in their

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his ...

designed Trades Hall. In the medieval town of Orvieto, bakers were one of the thirty-one organized crafts. Now largely ceremonial and charitable, these crafts and guilds formerly fulfilled the role of regulation much of which is now covered by local government. The Bakers' Company ranks nineteenth in the

order of precedence An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance and can be applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments, for very formal and state o ...

of Livery Companies. The company's motto is ''Praise God For All''.

External links

Bakers Hall

The Bakers' Company

Bakers A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ha ...

Baking industry 12th-century establishments in England {{London-stub

See also

External links