Cruise Cycle

Review of Turners

Skinners Hall dates from 1670 when it reopened ha...

Skinners Hall dates from 1670 when it reopened having been rebuilt after the Great Fire of London. The Hall comprises a variety of outstanding inside and outdoor spaces. This fine facility combines stately halls, elegant chambers and homely rooms with a warm atmosphere and modern amenities. Sknners Hall, a scheduled Ancient Monument, has an unrivalled collection of art, artefacts and historic furniture.

Skinners Hall is the home of The Worshipful Company of Skinners, one of the City of London s Great Twelve Livery companies. The Livery developed from the medieval trade guild of furriers; the part religious, part secular fraternities of men involved in the fur trade eventually came together in one guild, dedicated to Corpus Christi, which became the Skinners Company.

The Company were responsible for ensuring the quality of furs and had control over the London fur trade throughout the country. Foreign competition and change in fashion saw the industry decline, and by the end of the 16th century the majority of prominent Company members were not skinners by trade. Nowadays the Skinners Company is a major not-for-profit organisation with main activities being education and philanthropy. One of the very desirable things the Company does is make their premises available for event hire thus ensuring that there is an ongoing connection with past and present.

We were guests of the Fan Makers Livery, and can vouch for the magnificent premises and the The Hall is a truly beautiful backdrop for dinner. As the saying on the two pound coin says, "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants", a concept which has been traced to the 12th century, attributed to Bernard of Chartres. Its most familiar expression in English is by Isaac Newton in 1675: "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants."

And as Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." The Skinners Company and deserves a lot of appreciation and respect for their endeavors and offerings to present day businesses and people to assist us in remembering where we came from, and help us decide where and what we should be moving toward.

If you have need a venue for your event, or just to visit and tour, I can't recommend a better place to do so. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

PS - bonus information: the Skinners are one of the two Companies that lost track of their rank in the Livery standings - No. 6 or No. 7 - hence the saying "At the sixes and sevens". That has been sorted for many years, and the Skinners are No. 6 at the time this review was written. A visit to the Skinners doesn't get more English and unique than this.