The Worshipful Company of Feltmakers 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 Feltmakers, or makers of felt hats, were incorporated by letters patent granted by James I in 1604. They received an extended

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 ...

in 1667. The company gradually lost its role as a trade association for felt hat makers, due to both advancements in technology and the increased popularity of silk hats. Like a majority of Livery companies, the Feltmakers' Company is now primarily a charitable institution, but has a number of milliners amongst its members. The Feltmakers' Company ranks sixty-third 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 ...

for livery companies. Its motto is ''Decus Et Tutamen'', a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

phrase taken from

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

meaning ''An Ornament and a Safeguard.'' (The phrase also appears around the milled edge of certain

pound coin The British one pound (£1) coin is a denomination of sterling coinage. Its obverse bears the Latin engraving ELIZABETH II D G REG () F D () meaning, 'Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen, Defender of the Faith'. Proclamation of 28 May 1 ...

s.) The company's Master is Neil Edwards, who was installed as Master on 7 October 2022. Masters normally serve for one year. The company's Upper Warden is Simon Wilkinson.

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References

Notes Bibliography * {{authority control Feltmakers Hatmaking 1604 establishments in England