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of the Worshipful Company of Scriveners
of the City of London
NEWS
A New Master Installed
At the Court Meeting on 30 January 2012 at Information Technologists' Hall, William Brignall Kennair was installed as Master in succession to Ruth Margaret Campbell. Bill Kennair previously served as Master of the Company in 2008/09 and has returned to office for a six-month period owing to the withdrawal from office, for health reasons, of Peter Duncan Esslemont.
Bill Kennair is Senior Partner at John Venn & Sons, Scrivener Notaries & Translators, based in Aldwych, London. He has an LL.B (Hons.) from University College London and qualified as a Scrivener Notary in 1983. He speaks fluent German, French and Spanish.
He is a committee member of the Society of Scrivener
Notaries, having been its Chairman from 2003 to 2009. He is a member of the
General Council of the International Union of Notaries (UINL), where he is the
Secretary of its Commission of European Affairs. He is also Chargé d’Affaires
for the UINL to the United Nations Commission for International Trade Law
(UNCITRAL). Bill is also a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists.
Past Master Sylvia Tutt
With great sadness, we note the passing of one of our most senior members and Master of the Company in 2007-o8. Sylvia had the distinction of being the first ever lady Master when she was Master of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators in 1983-84. She was also the first lady President of the City Livery Club. She was a very well-known figure in the City and very active in many organisations including the United Wards Club, the Royal Society of St George and the Farringdon Ward Club. Her funeral took place on 5 December. It was her request that only one representative of each of her two livery companies should be present. The Scriveners Company was represented by Past Master Robert Reeve.
Quill Pen Lunch and Quill Pen Reception
Our annual lunch at Mansion House took place on 13 December. It is our custom to present the new Lord Mayor with the quill pen with which he signed himself into office at the Silent Ceremony, along with a donation to his Appeal. The Lady Mayoress is presented with a more day-to-day writing implement, namely a Parker Duofold fountain pen engraved with the Company coat of arms, the Lord Mayor having already received one during his year of office as Sheriff. In return the Lord Mayor presented the Master with... a fountain pen - a splendidly equal exchange - and surprised the Clerk by also presenting him with a specially commissioned Emma Bridgewater mug. Other Masters and Clerks are no doubt being accorded the same generosity.
On 12 January, we presented the Sheriffs with their quill pens in similar manner, at a reception held in the Judges' Dining Room at the Old Bailey. The Sheriffs very kindly supplied the champagne, and the Secondary and Under-Sheriff, Mr Charles Henty, took guests on a short tour of the courts and cells - a feature especially enjoyed by the winners of our Karen Nehammer Handwriting Prizes for Schools.
The 2011 winners of the Karen Nehammer prizes for clarity and excellence of handwriting are:
Year 7 - Aisling Blythe (City of London School for Girls)
Year 8 - Gus Strong (Reed's School)
Year 9 - Sadia Barry (City of London School for Girls)
Sadia is to be especially congratulated on winning the prize in all three years that she has entered. All winners receive a certificate signed by the Master and Clerk and an Amazon voucher - as well as the opportunity to meet the Sheriffs!
Autumn Dinner
Our Autumn Dinner was held on 18 October at Stationers' Hall, at which His Honour Sir Gavyn Arthur was the principal guest. The Renter Warden proposed a toast to the guests, who included the Master Upholder and Clerk, the Master Arbitrator and Clerk, the Master Lightmonger, the Master Tallow Chandler and Clerk, and the Master Mariner. The Scriveners Prize for Calligraphy and Illumination was presented by the Master to Helen Scholes of the Reigate School of Art.
The Mastership 2011/2012
At the Court Meeting on 14 July at Barber-Surgeons' Hall, it was decided that the Mastership for the ensuing year should be divided between the incumbent Master, Ruth Campbell, and Immediate Past Master Bill Kennair, the former continuing until January 2012, and the latter taking over thereafter until July 2012. This was occasioned by the withdrawal from office of Upper Warden Peter Esslemont for reasons of ill health, and to whom we wish a very speedy recovery. It is clearly disappointing for him and for his wife, Ann, who have always been staunch supporters of the Company and of the Livery generally, and who are very active and well known in City circles. Please see the Court and Livery List for the full list of officers of the Company.
Sea Shanty Supper raises over £1,100
The Scriveners' Sea Shanty Supper at St Peter's Eaton Square on 23 June raised over £1,100 towards the Sexcentenary Charity Fund. Members and guests were treated to an excellent home-made fish pie with a crayfish starter, personally prepared by the Chairman of the Charity Committee, Bill Kennair, who - in full chef outfit, and with the expert assistance of his wife Karen - also served the buffet. Guests were then entertained by the six-strong band, Capstan Full Strength, who completed the nautical flavour of the evening in tremendous style. Puddings and desserts were donated by members of the Company and proved equally delicious. "We should do this more often!" declared one very enthusiastic Court member. And indeed there is always good reason both to raise funds and to have a jolly evening's entertainment in the company of other Scriveners and their guests. Any suggestions for further fundraising ideas will be warmly welcomed by the Clerk.
Stratford trip a sparkling success
The Master led a ten-strong party of Scriveners and other livery members and guests to see two productions in the newly rebuilt Royal Shakespeare Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon on the 1st and 2nd of July. The productions were the Las Vegas-style 'Merchant of Venice' with Patrick Stewart as a noble Shylock (opinions were divided on the style of the production, which included a Launcelot Gobbo as an Elvis impersonator) and a more conventional 'Macbeth' with Jonathan Slinger in fine blood-drenched form as the Thane. A happy coincidence was that that weekend also saw the Stratford River Festival, with a gathering of very colourful narrow-boats and cruisers, and an excellent firework display.
Honorary Freeman in Honours List
We also congratulate the current Renter Warden on succeeding his father and becoming the 14th Baronet. He is now styled as Sir Henry Paston-Bedingfeld, Bt. He is also, of course, Norroy and Ulster King of Arms at the College of Arms.
Seminars get off to a flying start
Spring Dinner 2011 at Painters' Hall
This year's Spring Dinner took place on Thursday 14th April 2011. As the Master pointed out in her speech, the Scriveners Company has a long association with the Painter-Stainers, not least because of our magnificent barge flag, which is housed there, and two Garter Kings of Arms who have been both Scriveners and Painter-Stainers, Sir Colin Cole and Sir Peter Gwynn-Jones.
We are also delighted - while on the subject - to announce that the current Garter, Thomas Woodcock LVO, has become an Honorary Freeman of the Company and is on his way to becoming an Honorary Liveryman.
The principal guest at the Spring Dinner was Sir Anthony Jolliffe GBE who, in his response on behalf of the guests, reminded us that many organisations, but especially livery companies, must attract younger members in order to stay vibrant and active in modern society. As if in response (though purely coincidentally) the Master welcomed four of our five young apprentices who were present at the dinner - Graham Lewis, Julian Nehammer, Sophie Nehammer and Victoria Humphery-Smith - as well as two new Freemen - William Conde and Scrivener Notary Michelle Scott - and three new Liverymen - Peter Cobb, Fraser Brown and Scrivener Notary Robert Kerss.
The toast to the guests was made by the Upper Warden, Peter Esslemont. Other guests of the Company included the Master of the Master Mariners, Captain Graham Pepper; the Master and Clerk of the Musicians Company, Mr Paul Campion and Mrs Margaret Alford; the Master and Clerk of the Tax Advisors, Ms Barbara Abraham and Mr Paul Herbage; the Master Fan-Maker, Mr Jim Moore; and the Master of the Guild of Scriveners of York, Mr Graeme Robertson, and Mrs Ann Robertson.
Personal guests of the Master included the Dean of Lincoln, the Very Reverend Philip Buckler and Mrs Linda Buckler, and Commander Mike Knott of our affiliate ship HMS Portland. We were also honoured with the presence of Vice-Admiral Charles Montgomery CBE and Mrs Adrienne Montgomery, who were personal guests of Past Master Alan Cope.
A musical interlude was provided by Mr Bruce Graham (baritone) and Mr William Godfree (piano) who delighted us with a selection of English comic songs by Gilbert and Sullivan and Flanders and Swann.
Retirement of the Beadle
Our Beadle, Vic Alden, has retired after 15 years' wonderful service to the Company, and will be presented with a retirement gift at the Court Reception on 14 July at Barber-Surgeons Hall. He has seen many Masters - and one or two Clerks - come and go, and was always a very reassuring presence at Company meetings and events. We will miss him and we wish him well in his retirement.
Quill Pen Lunch and Presentation of Quills to the Sheriffs
The reception at which quill pens were similarly presented to the Sheriffs took place on Tuesday 18th January 2011 at the London Capital Club. Alderman and Sheriff Fiona Woolf, accompanied by Mr Nicholas Woolf, and Sheriff Richard Sermon, accompanied by Mrs Rosemary Sermon, received their quill pens in engraved presentation cases, and were also presented with Parker Duofold fountain pens engraved with the Company coat of arms, in recognition of the fact that quills and inkwells can be awkward to carry around in one's pocket. The Master also presented a donation from the Company to the Sheriffs' and Recorder's Fund.
Karen Nehammer Handwriting Competition
Scriveners' Prize for Calligraphy 2010
This year's prize for calligraphy was awarded to Mrs Margaret Stanley, who has been studying at Reigate School of Art and Design. Margaret is a fine calligrapher and illuminator with much experience as a teacher; she is Chairman of North Downs Scribes in Surrey. She was awarded her prize by the Master at this year's Autumn Dinner at Haberdashers' Hall. We were pleased to welcome both Margaret and her husband Gavin.
Office Holders 2010-2011
(left to right:) Edward Gardiner (Notarial Deputy), Ruth Campbell (Master), Peter Esslemont (Upper Warden), Henry Paston-Bedingfeld (Renter Warden)
Scriveners' Prize for Spanish, City of London Freemen's School
Scriveners' Keenest Reader award, City of London Academy
The Scriveners Company
In the case of the Scriveners the legal connection is now represented in particular by the Scrivener Notaries who have traditionally practised in the City of London and who are obliged to become members of the Company on qualification. Scrivener Notaries hold 14 out of the 27 places on the Court of Assistants, the Company's ruling body.
Nowadays members of the Scriveners' Company come from a wide range of professional backgrounds and include solicitors, barristers, genealogists, financial advisers, accountants, patent attorneys, teachers, civil servants and many others.
The Company's principal activities are a mixture of social, professional, charitable and civic functions. The Company maintains a charitable fund, from which annual grants are made, including a donation to the Lord Mayor's charities, a number of school bursaries and grants for institutions associated with the Company's traditional links with heraldry and the College of Arms as well as support for the Welfare Funds of our two services affiliations - HMS Portland and LXX Squadron at RAF Lyneham.
Social activities include a variety of lunches, receptions and visits to places of interest. The latter have included the Bell Foundry in Whitechapel, Sir John Soane's Museum at Lincoln's Inn Fields and a visit to the Freemasons' Hall. Outings further afield have included Oporto and Lincoln, while a visit to St Petersburg is scheduled for May 2010.
The Company's Spring and Autumn Dinners in April and October are enjoyable formal occasions, as is the annual luncheon at Mansion House, at which the Lord Mayor is presented with the Scriveners' Quil Pen with which he signed himself into office.
See also History.
Membership
The Beadle, Liveryman Alistair Forsyth, Honorary Liveryman Sheila Cameron, Liveryman Francois Dumonteil-Lagreze
Events Membership Contact Details History Qualification as a Scrivener Notary