The Merchant Taylors' Company, or to give it the full name by which it is described in its royal charter of 1503, The Guild of Merchant Taylors of the Fraternity of St. John Baptist in the City of London, is one of the twelve “Great” City livery companies surviving from mediaeval times.
The Guild was originally a religious and social fraternity founded before the beginning of the 14th century by an association of citizens who were tailors and linen- armourers. Linen-armourers made the padded tunics or gambesons worn under suits of armour. By virtue of various royal charters, commencing with that of Edward III in 1327, the functions and privileges of the guild were extended, and by c.1500 it controlled the trade. However, as many of its members ceased to be actual working tailors, and became instead general merchants trading with other parts of the world, so the position of the Company gradually changed too, so that by the end of the 17th century its connection with the tailoring trade had virtually ceased. It had become what it is today - an association of philanthropic and social character, devoting its energies to educational and charitable activities.
The history of the Merchant Taylors' Company is an integral part of the history of the City of London; it was upon fraternities of this kind - based on religion, the skills of their crafts, the initiative of their merchants and the humanity of their members - that the enterprise and the integrity for which the City has long been renowned were established.
