Worshipful Company of Cordwainers
The
Worshipful Company of Cordwainers is one of the
Livery Companies of the
City of London. The Cordwainers were workers in fine leather; the Company gets its name from "cordwain", the white leather produced from goatskin in Cordoba, Spain. All fine leather makers, including
Glovers and
Girdlers, were originally classified as Cordwainers; however, the term eventually came to include only fine leather footwear.
The Cordwainers, who received the right to regulate the trade in the 1272, received a Royal Charter of incorporation in 1439. The status of the company as a trade association has lessened over the years; the Company is now, as are most other Livery Companies, a charitable body.
The Company ranks twenty-seventh in the order of precedence of Livery Companies. The Company's motto is Corio Et Arte, Latin for Leather and Art.
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