Privacy

FAQ iconIntroduction

The Worshipful Company of Coopers (the "Company") works to ensure that your privacy is protected when using our services. We therefore have a policy setting out how your personal data will be processed and protected. Please stay updated to any changes to this Privacy Policy by visiting our website.

This Privacy Policy only concerns Company members and users of our online services. If you are applying for a position at the Company this Privacy Policy is not applicable. The privacy policy for applicants is available on request.

Who is responsible for your personal data?

The Worshipful Company of Coopers, is the controller of the personal data you submit to us and responsible for your personal data under the British Data Protection Act 1998, which implements the EU Data Protection Directive (95/46/EC).

Where is your personal data stored?

The data that we collect from you is stored within the European Economic Area (“EEA”) but may also be transferred to and processed in a country outside of the EEA. Any such transfer of your personal data will be carried out in compliance with applicable laws.

What types of personal data do we collect?

We will collect personal data that you submit to us, for example, when you place orders, contact our customer service or participate in competitions. The personal data that you submit to us may for example include contact information, date of birth and payment information. In addition we may collect certain personal data from external sources such as credit information and address updates.

How do we use your personal data?

We may use your personal data for the following purposes:

  • To create and manage your personal account at the Worshipful Company of Coopers;
  • To send marketing communication such as newsletters and catalogues;
  • To notify those registered in our system of forthcoming events, news, and information that we believe could be of interest to them;
  • To personalise website content;
  • To provide members with our Livery List/ members directory;
  • To facilitate historical research and for academic, literary and statistical purposes.

We will keep your data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes above or for as long as we are required by law. After this your personal data will be deleted.

What are your rights?

You have the right to request information about the personal data we hold on you at any time (free of charge once a year). If your data is incorrect, incomplete or irrelevant, you can ask to have the information corrected or removed. We cannot remove your data when there is a legal storage requirement, such as book-keeping rules or when there are other legitimate grounds to keep the data, such as unsettled debts. You can withdraw your consent to us using the data for marketing purposes at any time. You can contact us either by sending a letter to The Worshipful Company of Coopers, Coopers' Hall, 13 Devonshire Square, LONDON, EC2M 4TH or by sending an email to cclerk@cooperscompany.co.uk.  Your rights under the Data Protection Act 1998 will not be affected.

Who has access to your personal data?

Your data may be shared within the Company. We never pass on, sell or swap your data for marketing purposes to third parties outside the Company. Data that is forwarded to third parties, is only used to provide you with the services mentioned above, for example media agencies for distribution of newsletter.

How do we protect your personal data?

We have taken technical and organisational measures to protect your data from loss, manipulation, unauthorised access. We continually adapt our security measures in line with technological progress and developments. When you pay by card, we reserve the right to carry out an identity check.

Cookies

A cookie is a small text file that is saved to, and, during subsequent visits, retrieved from your computer or mobile device. The Company uses cookies to enhance and simplify your visit. We do not use cookies to store personal information, or to disclose information to third parties.

There are two types of cookies: permanent and temporary (session cookies). Permanent cookies are stored as a file on your computer or mobile device for no longer than 12 months. Session cookies are stored temporarily and disappear when you close your browser session. We use permanent cookies to store your details if you select "Remember me" when you log in. We use session cookies when you use the product filtration function, to check whether you are logged in or if you put an item in your shopping bag.

You can easily erase cookies from your computer or mobile device using your browser. For instructions on how to handle and delete cookies please look under "Help" in your browser. You can choose to disable cookies, or to receive a notification each time a new cookie is sent to your computer or mobile device. Please note that if you choose to disable cookies, you will not be able to take advantage of all our features.

Third-party cookies 

We use third-party cookies to collect statistics in aggregate form in analysis tools such as Google Analytics and Core Metrics.  Read more about it and how you can opt out here: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/. The cookies used are both permanent and temporary cookies (session cookies). The permanent cookies are stored on your computer or mobile device for no longer than 24 months.

Links 

The site coopers-hall.com and our Twitter feed may include links to other websites which do not fall under our supervision. We cannot accept any responsibility for the protection of privacy or the content of these websites, but we offer these links to make it easier for our members and online visitors to find more information about specific subjects.

Controller of personal data 
The Clerk
The Worshipful Company of Coopers
13 Devonshire Square
LONDON
EC2M 4TH

Telephone: +44 (0)20 7247 9577
E-mail: The Clerk

Authorised representative: Wg Cdr Stephen Borthwick
VAT registration number: VAT NO. GB 524547054

Welcome

Leigh Johnson, Master 24 - 23

Master - Mr Leigh Johnson

The Worshipful Company of Coopers is based in the City of London and received their Royal Charter in 1501. In modern times it has evolved into the trustee of six principal charities and a social and charitable enterprise that retains an identity focused on the ancient craft of cask making.

We welcome members to enjoy a fellowship around our shared values and an interest in the history, culture and charitable endeavours that our company has pursued for the last 500 or so years.

Following on from our successful Autumn Prospective Members' Evening our next evening, which is designed to help those considering joining as Freemen to the Company, will be held in Spring 2025 with the date to be confirmed.  You are welcome to email events@cooperscompany.co.uk to be kept informed or if you require further information, please email clerk@cooperscompany.co.uk. Those interested in joining require a sponsor (an existing member of the Company) who should email the Clerk to notify us of your intention. 

Membership

Thinking of Joining?

We welcome those from within and outside of the industry.

 

FIND OUT MORE

 

Family History

 

If you want to find out more about your relatives connected with the Freedom of the City, or simply learn more about your past, contact the

London Metropolitan Archives

Ajax - Our Mascot

Coopers News

Cask Race #3
Cask Race #3 The Worshipful Company of Coopers held its third Annual Cask Race in Guildhall Yard on 8th June 2024.  Planning started early in the year with other Livery Companies, businesses in the City, with our military and uniformed affiliates and the Coopers’ Company & Coborn School all...
read more
The Cooper Magazine - February 2024
The Cooper Magazine - February 2024 Issue 40 of The Cooper Magazine has recently been sent to all Company Members but can be viewed here in electronic form. Open the Cooper Magazine
read more
St Abdon’s Day Celebrated at Coopers’ Hall
St Abdon’s Day Celebrated at Coopers’ Hall We celebrated St Abdon's Day with 80 guests at the Coopers' Livery Company
read more

Our Location

Corporate Affiliates’ Programme

The Worshipful Company of Coopers
“Charity, Education, Fellowship, Civic Life”

Corporate Affiliates’ Programme

Join us to form long-term, mutually beneficial relationships and assistance in fulfilling your Corporate Social Responsibility goals.

Potential Corporate Affiliates

The Worshipful Company of Coopers has launched the Corporate Affiliates Programme with a view to partnering with likeminded public companies, with whom we share common aims and objectives in areas such as ethics, diversity, charity, education and sustainability.

Benefits of Corporate Affiliation

Affiliates will nominate four Senior Company Executives/Directors to ensure the Affiliation is managed and enjoyed at the commensurate level.

Please download the brochure from the link below to find more details and contact clerk@cooperscompany.co.uk if you have any questions or are interested in exploring this opportunity further.

pdf icon Download the brochure

Charitable Work

The Coopers’ Company itself is not a Charity but the Master, Wardens and Court of Assistants for the time being are the Trustees of Coopers Charity which is a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation (“the Charity”).

The Charity is an amalgamation of five former charitable trusts of varying ages of foundation which have derived their income from bequests made throughout the Company's history and the distribution of this income is governed by the Charity’s constitution.

The Charity was granted formal approval by The Charity Commission in December 2013.  The Trustees are responsible for the proper distribution of funds, which in practice is administered by the Charities Committee which reports to the Trustees annually.

The former charitable trusts comprise the Ratcliff Pension Charity, the Palmer Foundation, the Harold Griffin Gift Fund, the Strode’s Egham Pension and Eleemosynary Charity and the William Alexander’s Coopers’ Liverymen Fund.

The Charity is established for the public benefit to make grants for the following charitable purposes as the Trustees in their absolute discretion may determine:
  • To assist persons in conditions of need, hardship or distress in the Greater London area, the County of Surrey and members of The Worshipful Company of Coopers, their widows and dependants; 
  • To advance education generally, but not exclusively connected to the trade of cooperage and pupils of the schools associated with The Worshipful Company of Coopers, namely The Cooper’s Company & Coborn School (Academy) and Strode’s College; 
  • To preserve the history and heritage and to advance the public’s education of the ancient trade of Cooperage; and
  • To support such other general charitable purposes as the Trustees may in their absolute discretion determine. 

Benefactors

The Coopers' Livery Housing Fund (CLHF)

In partnership with the Shaftesbury Housing Group and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, the CLHF created an innovative project and a significant step in the improvement of services for older people in Tower Hamlets through the building of Coopers Court. To celebrate our quincentenary in 2001 the Company raised over £500,000 to create sheltered accommodation, comprising 40 flats, in Tower Hamlets.

This was the historic centre of the cooperage industry, from which the City, port and river were served. The loan of £500,000 was returned to the Company when Shaftesbury Housing Group sold its stake in Coopers Court and the Company then looked for another deserving case and potential recipient. In 2010, the CLHF loaned £500,000 for Coopers Chase in Enham for residents who require the opportunity to establish financial and social independence, whilst acting as a stepping stone from an institutional environment to life in the community. 

The building contains ten study bedrooms fully equipped for the disabled with private bathrooms and communal areas. The CLHF has entered a co-operation agreement with Enham to ensure that the centre would continue to be used for the purpose it had been made. Whilst the intention was to assist Service personnel, it has not materialised as first thought, but Coopers Chase is being used to great effect by those needing remedial training and preparation to live within the community.
The Harold Griffin Fund (HGGF) Charity Commission Scheme No. L.2/234612 A/1 

This Charity was established in 1937 by the late Past Master Harold Griffin through the benefaction of six freehold houses in Thessaly Square, Battersea. Originally, they were to be offered, free of rent and all outgoings, to any Liveryman or Freeman of the Company or to their widows or dependants, or thereafter to needy old persons of Battersea, or, at the entire discretion of the Court, to any other charitable purposes.

The site was bombed during the second world war.  Two houses were destroyed and the remaining four heavily damaged, and when the area was subsequently rebuilt by the Local Authority the site was classed as “added land”.  With the approval of the Charity Commissioners, it was sold under a compulsory purchase order and the proceeds reinvested in Trustee securities. Part of the proceeds were used for the purchase and installation of stained glass windows in the Stepney Parish Church of St. Dunstan and All Saints and in the City Church of St. Magnus the Martyr.

This is the least fettered of all the Company's charities and the income may be applied to any charitable purpose.  In practice the Court acts on the recommendations of its Charity Committee.


The Palmer Foundation (PF) - Charity Commission Scheme No. 278666

This Charity, which incorporates the former Benevolent Fund, receives substantial annual donations from the Company’s corporate funds and other charitable bequests to the Company.

The Foundation was founded in 1979 by the late Past Master E.W. Palmer, who subsequently bequeathed to the Worshipful Company of Coopers a property company, Waverley Court Limited, stipulating that half of the income received should be for the benefit of the Palmer Foundation and half for the Coopers’ Company and Coborn Educational Foundation.

A new Board of Directors was appointed under the chairmanship of Pastmaster Brian Atchley.  Over a period of a few years the mainly residential properties were sold at a substantial profit to valuation.  Waverley Court Limited was eventually “wound up” and the proceeds distributed accordingly.
Grants are made regularly to selected charities and to other registered charities in response to appeals; and awards of scholarships, bursaries and grants are made to the Company’s School and College.


Strode's Egham Pension and Eleemosynary Charity (EPC) - Charity Commission Scheme No. L.2/234396 A/3 


This was founded under the Will of Henry Strode, a London merchant and son of a Cooper, who served as Master in 1703 a year before he died, having previously served as Auditor, Assistant, Renter Warden and Upper Warden.  It originally provided for the building of Almshouses and an endowed elementary school, but in 1824 judgement was given against the Company in proceedings in the Chancery Court alleging maladministration of the Charity.  This led the Charity Commissioners to step in and to set up successive schemes under which the almshouses were finally replaced by pensions payable to residents of the parish of Egham as constituted on 22 September 1911.

This scheme was superseded by another, sealed in January 1977, which allowed the few remaining pensions to continue, other funds to be applied to the relief of needy persons in the original parish - and exceptionally, and at the Trustees' discretion, to the residents immediately outside.


The Ratcliff Pension Charity (RPC) - Charity Commission Scheme No. L.2/234613 A/1 

In 1536 Nicholas Gibson, who had served as Prime Warden of the Grocers’ Company, caused to be erected and endowed alms-houses for fourteen men and women and a school for thirty boys. His widow, who subsequently married Sir Anthony Knyvett and became known as Dame Avice, transferred them to the Company shortly before her death in 1554, when the school became known as the Coopers' School.

Henry Cloker (see below) also left property to benefit this charity: other substantial benefactors include Peter Thelloe, Tobias (Toby) Wood, Richard Young, Henry Strode and John Banfield.

This Charity was formed in 1896 because of the 'splitting' of the original Ratcliff Charity into two separate schemes - the Stepney & Bow Educational Foundation, concerned solely with the administration of that part of the bequest concerned with education, and the Ratcliff Pension Charity to continue the alms-house and pensioners’ purposes of the original Gibson bequest. It financed the Company's Charitable work in Stepney and Bow and the wider Tower Hamlets area by making grants to needy residents and to welfare organisations.


The Coopers' Company and Coborn Educational Foundation - Charity Commission Scheme No. L.2/234613 A/1 

Under a scheme made by the Charity Commissioners in 1891, two schools at Bow, one for boys founded in 1536 and one for girls founded in 1701 by Mrs Prisca Coborn, were administered by a Board of Governors nominated by the Company, various public bodies and local parish churches.
During the second world war the local population had considerably decreased and by 1945 many pupils were living out in Essex. The difficulty in attracting pupils, the mounting cost of travel and the reluctance of the County Educational Authorities to continue financial support, rendered a move inevitable.

On 6 May 1970, the Foundation Stone of a new coeducational, school, to be known as The Coopers' Company and Coborn School, was laid at St. Mary's Lane, Upminster, Essex, in the London Borough of Havering, and the School was officially opened by the Lord Mayor of London in September 1974. The Coopers' Company nominate seven Governors to the Governing Body of the Foundation.

The Company appoints six of the 21 School Governors responsible for the appointment and remuneration of the Head Teacher and staff and for the general supervision of the school.

The school premises are owned by the Coopers' Company and Coborn Educational Foundation, which also holds property and some securities. The Company appoints seven of the twelve Governors of this Foundation, the whole income of which is applied to the payment of such annual amounts as the Governors of the school may require meeting their obligations under various Education Acts or similar orders; to establish financial reserves against extraordinary repairs, additions or improvements and to subsidise a Sunday School in the parish of Bow to the extent of £20 p.a. Any residue is to be applied to educational benefits to persons who have attended the school for two or more years and who have not yet reached the age of 25, or to support voluntary organisations in the boroughs of Tower Hamlets or Havering having educational objectives.


The Cloker Bequest

In accordance with the Will of Henry Cloker dated 1573, an annual sermon is required to be preached on New Year's Day. In May 1974, it was agreed, with the consent of the Worshipful Company of Grocers, (because New Year's Day would in future be a Bank Holiday) that the Cloker Service should in future be held on the second Wednesday in January. For various reasons, it has subsequently been changed and a Service is now held in October in the Church of St. Botolph’s, Bishopsgate. The Grocers’ Company is concerned under the terms of the Will.

This service is attended by the Master and Wardens and the Master and Clerk of the Grocers’ together with any members of the Company who may so desire. A portion of the Will is read by the Clerk, and after the sermon various small sums of money prescribed in the Will, amounting to about £20 in all, are distributed in the Vestry. The Grocers' Company is under obligation to verify each Midsummer Day that the terms of the Will have been strictly observed, for which they are entitled to be paid two guineas. Such monies as have arisen from his bequest have long since been absorbed into the Company's charitable resources.


Strode's Foundation


In 1910 the school was taken over by the Surrey County Council and elevated to secondary status. In 1975 it was made co-educational and became Strode’s Sixth Form College.

It is important to differentiate between the College and its Governors (who are now known as Members of the Corporation of Strode’s and who have responsibility for all educational aspects of the College) and the Foundation and its Trustees who own, and are responsible for, the extensive site and buildings in the centre of Egham which form the College (including those erected by the Surrey County Council), but none of the moveable fixtures or fittings or scholastic equipment of the College itself.  Of the 18 members of the Corporation of Strode’s College 4 are nominated by the Trustees of the
Strode's Foundation.

The Foundation was established under a Scheme dated 9 November 1915, later superseded by three further Schemes.  There are 9 Trustees of whom 2 are Members of Strode's Corporation, nominated by the Company.

The income of the Foundation is applied to the provision and upkeep of the buildings, to maintenance allowances to pupils, to the award of leaving exhibitions and to general educational benefits for leaving members of the College who are qualified under the Scheme.
At the date of writing, 2017, five of the Foundation Trustees are Liverymen of the Company.

A pupil of the College is apprenticed to the Master every year and on successful completion of the apprenticeship may apply for the Freedom of the Company (fees waived) and thus of the City of London.


The William Alexander Coopers' Liveryman Fund (WAC) - Charity Commission Scheme No. L.2/234614 A/1


This Fund results from the amalgamation for administrative convenience of two charities with similar purposes under a scheme agreed with the Charity Commissioners and sealed in June 1976, their purposes remaining unaltered.

That of William Alexander, who was the son of a publican and had survived four wives, was established under a Will dated 1725, the year before he died, but not proved until 1729. In 1943 the Charity Commissioners sanctioned the sale of land in the parish of Woodham Mortimer in Essex, from which the Fund had derived rent, and the investment of the proceeds in gilt-edged securities.

The other charity, the Old Coopers’ Liverymen Fund was instituted in 1844.

Application of Funds
Restricted to grants of money to needy members of the Livery or the Freedom, their wives, their widows and their dependants.


The Old Boys' Prize Fund

This fund was established by the Association of Old Coopers' School Boys under a Trust Deed dated 1885. It is applied to the Old Boys' Essay Prize, the winner of which is apprenticed to the Master each year. If he has served faithfully, he is invited to apply for the Freedom of the Company, and thus of the City of London. If accepted, Freedom fees are waived.

It is important to distinguish between the former Stepney & Bow Foundation, the Coopers' Company and Coborn Educational Foundation and its Govenors, and the Coopers' Company and Coborn School and its Govenors.

As with Strode's Foundation, the Company is not financially involved in its affairs, nor has it any direct interest other than through its six nominated School Governors and its seven nominated Foundation Governors; but it does support both the School and the College with the annual award of bursaries and with other substantial gifts.  In 1986, for example, the Company presented the School with a new Steinway grand piano to mark its 450th. Anniversary.

 

*An obelisk still stands on the site in Woodham Mortimer in Essex bearing the Company’s Coat or Arms.

Grant Making Policies

Grants are usually made on annual basis and may not be repeated.


Needy individuals (especially the elderly and infirm) who are receiving all of their national and local financial support or support in kind to which they are entitled but still remain “needy”.  Subsidising or compromising an individual’s right to national and local support must not occur.

Local organisations that provide help and support to needy individuals or clubs serving a local community in the operative areas of the Charity.

City of London causes sponsored by the Lord Mayor or the Corporation or other “worthy” bodies in the City to raise funds for charities aimed at individuals.

National organisations which work in the operative areas of the Charity and which are financed on a local basis (e.g. Age Concern).

Donations will not normally be made in relation to:
  • Individuals and organisations outside the operative areas of the Charity;
  • The education of individuals;
  • National or international bodies which work on a centralised basis;
  • Projects involving the erection and/or maintenance of buildings or other structures;
  • Organisations with large overheads;
  • Organisations with large unexplained capital reserves;
  • Sponsorship, marketing or other fundraising activities;
  • Bursaries or long term (more than 3 years) projects;
  • Organisations outside the UK or overseas expeditions or travel;
  • Environmental projects.

Further Information


The application process and application forms
Our existing charitable benefactors

Charity Applications

A copy of the application form will download by clicking the link below:

Application form

The Charity Committee will review applications in February, June, September and November. The application process might take up to 3 months to gain approval.
  1. Initial Assessment; if on assessment the application is within the terms written above, it will be forwarded to the Charities Committee for consideration.
  2. Committee Consideration; the Committee will either approve (or not) the application outright, or may direct a visit to verify the terms of the application.
  3. Committee Visit Assessment; Applications may include an examination of the applicant’s accounts and online information in addition to a visit or interview by members of the Charities Committee.


Successful Applications

  1. Short term, one off grants up to £1,000 may be made as determined by the Charities Committee and depending on the level of emergency;
  2. Long term grants, of up to £5,000 annually, for up to a period of 3 years may also be made as determined by the Charities Committee, after which the grant will be reviewed if a further period of support is sought. 


How to Make an Application

  • Short or long-term applications should be completed online or by hard copy and sent via email to: clerk@cooperscompany.co.uk or post to The Clerk, The Worshipful Company of Coopers, Coopers' Hall, 13 Devonshire Square, London EC2M 4TH.
  • Please ensure that the application is correctly completed and falls within the guidelines and clearly identifies the purpose of any grant and that any costs associated with any project have been realistically assessed.
  • We will endeavour to contact you within two weeks of the meeting of the Charities Committee at which the application is considered.
  • Written reports on progress may be required during the term of any grant.


A copy of the application form will download by clicking the link below:

Application form

Further Information

How and when we make grants
Our existing charitable benefactors