Hunnan Article[48071]
Currently studying for his Degree Apprenticeship in Building Services with LSBU, Harry Day, Graduate Mechanical Engineer receives his Worshipful Company of Fan Makers CIBSE Bursary for 2022. As a leading committee member of the CIBSE Young Energy Performance Group, Harry is extremely passionate about sustainability and a keen advocate for the encouragement of STEM subjects […]
Article from Past Master Dr Michael Smith
In 2021 Past Master John Allen reached the Fiftieth Anniversary of his joining the Livery. To mark the occasion and to commemorate the contribution to the Company of his father James Allen who was Master in 1976 John commissioned the making of a splendid speaker’s lectern from the workshops of fellow Fan Maker Assistant Ian […]
Rod Brafield will be taking over as Beadle of the Worshipful Company of Fan Makers. He had a full career in the Metropolitan Police retiring as an Inspector in the Special Escort Group (Royalty Protection Command). He is a Licensed London Taxi Driver (Black Cab) and a fully qualified Toast Master. He has experience as […]
The Worshipful Company of Fan Makers has launched a specially designed hand fan to mark the impact of COVID-19 on so many lives in 2020 and to raise funds for the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Appeal. The Fan Makers’ Company began in 1709 as a trade guild for the makers of traditional folding fans but now […]
The Young Members group of the Company had a successful year in 2019. It started in January when a group of us went Go Karting at Capital Karts, followed by dinner at Canary Wharf. A great time was had by all. In May, Past Master John Hayes was kind enough to take us on a […]
The restoration to flight of an extremely rare Spitfire with its amazing provenance; and the associated nation-wide Sandy Gunn Aerospace Careers Programme. Prime Minister Winston Churchill was concerned, very concerned, as to the location of Tirpitz, sister ship to Bismarck, the pride of the Nazi fleet. A ship so menacing it threatened all the Royal […]
In keeping with tradition since the time of HM Queen Victoria, on particular occasions the Worshipful Company of Fan Makers present a unique fan to Members of The Royal Family. Consequently, following her marriage to HRH The Duke of Sussex last year, the Master (Dr Jeffrey Bines), the Immediate Past Master (Dr Michael Smith) and […]
It is often said that the Mansion House Banquet in December is the culmination of the Master Fan Makers’ year. In a sense, it is. It takes place almost at the end of the calendar year, ten months into the Company’s annual cycle, and is undoubtedly a truly wonderful highlight. Nevertheless, it is not the […]
After the summer break, business as usual commenced in September with a General Purposes and Finance Committee meeting. Other work that month included the Livery and Recruitment Committees, and the production of a suitably fine fan for potential presentation to a lady member of the Royal Family. The highlight of the month for the Mistress […]
The Worshipful Company of Fan Makers, one of the 110 Livery Companies in the City of London is pleased to announce that it has received a substantial bequest that will be used to help re-establish the craft of fan making within the United Kingdom. In May 2017 the Heritage Crafts Association published a report identifying […]
December 13, 2018
As usual the Banquet was a glittering and memorable occasion. The attendance was high and the guests distinguished and numerous. There is no more impressive venue than Mansion House and the Company is doubly fortunate to be able to use it and to do so in the festive season. The Master, the Wardens, the Court, […]
The third article in this series starts with the Master and Mistress’s attendance at the Ironbridge Gorge Livery Weekend from 8th. to 10th. June, a superb event bringing together all the Livery and Guild Masters, Prime Wardens and their Consorts, and the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress. For a Master and Mistress Fan Maker it […]
The first article in this series concluded with a reference to the April Court Dinner where the company not only clothed five new Liverymen, but also celebrated the Centenary of the Royal Air Force with the Master’s Principal Guest and Speaker being the former Chief of the Air Staff, Sir Andrew Pulford. There was a […]
This article is the first in a series in which Dr Michael Smith describes his year as Master Fan Maker. The series runs from February to February, and features the February, April and October Court Dinners, the June Summer Dinner, and the December Banquet at the Mansion House. Of course the activities of the Mistress […]
November 30, 2017
On 30 November 2017, the Free Warden was delighted to exercise the Company’s right to inspect any fan making company ‘within 20 miles round the Cities of London and Westminster’ – Rockcoco Fans. It is often the case that members of the Fan Makers’ Company are asked why their senior and junior wardens are called, […]
September 19, 2017
On Tuesday 19th September, 34 Fan Makers and their guests made their way through crowds of West Ham fans to enjoy an evening at H Forman & Son, the East End’s last smokehouse. We were treated to a fascinating talk from the owner, Lance Forman, a truly inspirational character who described the history of the […]