Welcome to the Guild of Freemen of the City of London

Dear Guild members,
We live in unprecedented times and things are not as they were or what we usually expect. However, the Guild goes on and I hope to contact you as frequently as is feasible!
This is the day that we should be holding our Installation of Master and Wardens, when we celebrate the year of Neil Redcliffe JP and welcome the new Master. But not this year! Instead we are doing a ‘virtual’ handover. I would like to thank Neil and Emma for all they have done to make 2019/20 such a happy and very successful year, and I hope that David and I will be able to fill the big shoes that they leave!
It is a great privilege and honour to be the Master of The Guild of Freemen of the City of London, something that I never expected to happen when I joined the Guild in 2002, sponsored by Past Master Raymond Holl, and Guild Assistant, Prof. Joe Herzberg. It was through the kind invitation of Joe and Helene Herzberg to a Guild Annual Banquet that David and I were introduced to the Guild. The friendliness of the members, the warmth of their welcome and the traditions and fun made us want to be part of the organisation. Those qualities are still true today, and makes me proud to be associated with and to lead such a prestigious group of people.
It is a great pity that the events for the first part of my year have had to be cancelled or postponed. Christine Cook, our Clerk, and Judith Westall, our Assistant Clerk, have been working tirelessly to try and move events and keep participating members up to date with information and refunds where applicable. Please bear with us while we keep updating the situation which you can find on the Guild website. Be assured, that once we are able, the Guild will be holding events as usual and we will try to include postponed events where we can so that you have a range of events to attend, to meet new friends, renew old acquaintances and enjoy the fun and fellowship for which the Guild is renowned.
It is at these difficult times that we need to remember the charities we support through the Guild Charity. These charities work with some of the most vulnerable in our society and with young people, and it is at times like this that their work is even more vital. If you would like to support the Guild Charity, please use the Donate button on the website or contact the Guild Office who will be able to help you.
Please keep well and safe in these difficult times and I look forward to seeing you all in the not too distant future.

With best wishes to you and your families,


Ann-Marie and David
25th March 2020



CORONAVIRUS UPDATE 16th MARCH 2020
We are currently going through the programme of events and will update members in the coming days about cancelled and postponed events. Please look at the Events page to see the status of each event.


Welcome to the Guild
The Guild of Freemen of the City of London is a large association of almost 2000 members with a special interest in the City.

All Freemen are welcome to join, whether or not they belong to a Livery Company. Our members are men and women from all backgrounds, with a wide variety of interests. Our social programme is the City’s most extensive, and includes events with privileged access for Guild members, as well as opportunities to dine in some of London’s finest Livery Halls and at our Guildhall Banquet. Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal is an Honorary Member of the Guild and, while our Centenary Master in 2008, attended the Banquet as well as many other events during her year.

On this site you can find information about our organisation, our charitable activities and the 30 or so social and educational events that we run for our members every year.

We are currently offering a special opportunity for members to invite a prospective member to a Guild event and enjoy the event for half price. We will offer a warm welcome, and in return hope that the prospective member will join the Guild. There are up to 20 of these special tickets available on a first-come first-served basis and can be applied to any Guild event in 2020, apart from holidays. Please contact the Clerk to apply for these special tickets so that she can be sure to follow up with the prospective member.