City & Civic Commitments
Annual National Service for Seafarers
The Annual National Seafarers Service is a service dedicated to all seafarers past and present representing both the civil and military fleets as well as the maritime schools colleges and youth organizations. The Service is held at St Paul’s Cathedral and run by the Mission to Seafarers. The Shipwrights are always well represented at the Service and are very proud to support it financially.
Corporation of Sons of the Clergy
The Corporation of the Sons of the Clergy is a leading grant-making charity helping Anglican clergy and their families in times of need. It was founded in 1655 in response to the desperate plight of clergy who had suffered under Cromwell. The Shipwrights support is in response to both its Christian ethics and its commitment to City institutions.
The United Guilds Service
The origins of the United Guilds Service stem from the meeting of the Masters and Clerks of the Great Twelve Livery Companies held on 1st February 1943 when it was resolved to hold a service and to unite and help to solve the problems facing the blitz-damaged City during the Second world War. The first service was held on Lady Day, 25 March 1943. The United Guilds Service now takes place each year and members of all companies join the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, filling St Paul’s Cathedral to capacity.
Sheriffs’ and Recorder’s Fund
For more than two hundred years, the Sheriffs' & Recorder's Fund has helped ex-prisoners to get a new start in life and has relieved hardship for the families of serving offenders. In common with many Livery Companies, the Shipwrights' Company makes an annual donation to the Sheriffs' and Recorder's Fund. Founded in 1808, the Fund gives small, practical and timely grants to ex-offenders in Greater London. The Sheriffs' and Recorders' Fund website can be found at: http://www.sr-fund.org
Lord Mayor’s Appeal
Each year the Lord Mayor's Appeal raises funds for different initiatives. The Shipwrights Company supports the Appeal with an annual financial contribution and, where appropriate, practically.
St Paul’s Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is an icon in the City, representing a long heritage of Christian tradition and plays an important part in the lives of all Livery Companies. The Shipwrights have been proud to support the ongoing upkeep and refurbishment of this important landmark and place of worship.
For some time the Shipwrights' Company had worshipped at St Mary Bothaw, which was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and was never rebuilt, although its Churchyard remained in use until Cannon Street railway station was built over the site. St Mary's had stood alongside the then open cut of the Walbrook, in which vessels were repaired by professional shipwrights. It is understood that Bothaw is a corruption of Boat House or Boat Haul or Hawl, evidently, where vessels could be slipped.
