Where In the City of London near Moorgate, the Salters’ Company and its hall are neighbours to the Barbican, lying next to part of the old London Wall and the remains of the medieval tower of St Alphege Cripplegate. Salters’ Hall on Fore Street has been the home of the company for the past 40 years. The salters previously had premises nearby in Bread Street (until 1533) and St Swithin’s Lane (until 1941).
What Ranked ninth in the order of precedence, the Salters’ Company is one of the Great Twelve livery companies of the City of London. “The liveries began as trade associations or guilds for groups of medieval traders to protect their trading interests,” says Daniella Hadley, the outreach and volunteer coordinator there. “Salters – salt tradesmen – set standards for measures and quality of salt, and provided for one another in sickness and old age.” These days, the company is responsible for several charitable foundations and champions the engagement of young people in science.
Opened “The Salters’ Company was first licensed by King Richard II in 1394, though it is likely that a salt trade fraternity was in existence long before then,” Hadley says. The hall reopened this year following a two-year redevelopment, providing a new exhibition and archive space, paid for by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
Collection The salters’ archives go back to 1216 with a property deed that belonged to the Fraternity of Salters, an organisation that predated the company. “Though many items were lost in the Great Fire of London in 1666, the company has maintained many of its records for hundreds of years,” Hadley says. The collection includes property records, royal charters and accounts. While many are specific to the Salters Company, the collection has wider connections to the history of the City of London and the salt trade. The hall houses a large collection of domestic silver salt cellars. The silver vault and this collection can be viewed by appointment.
Highlights Hadley selects a 17th-century delftware plate that once belonged to a salter named Francis Mercer and his wife, Elizabeth. Hadley says: “Mercer joined the company in 1638, although he did not trade in salt. As a mealman, he dealt in flour. He served as a parliamentarian officer during the English civil war, but in 1660, during a period of political upheaval, he was arrested under suspicion of involvement in a plot against the restoration of Charles II. The couple eventually settled for a quieter life in pottery production in the 1660s. This plate is an excellent example of an ordinary object with an extraordinary story, and illustrates the range of individuals connected with the salters.” The plate was found in New Mexico, US, and acquired in 2010 by the salters, who brought it home to London.
Help at hand HLF funding has allowed the venue to increase its small team by one part-time staff member – Hadley. She is responsible for delivering the salters’ history and heritage project, and planning tours, events and workshops. The project is also supported by volunteers.
Budget The company was awarded £98,500 by the HLF for its history project. All events, admission, tours and school workshops are provided for free.
Visitors “Just over 100,” says Hadley, who points out that the hall only reopened in June. This autumn there are plans for visits by tour groups and schools programmes, the latter in partnership with the London Metropolitan Archives.
Survival tips “The key is excellent organisation and communication,” says Hadley. “It sounds simple, but our project is far-reaching and it takes a lot of work for a small team to deliver it.”
Future plans Digitising the archive and ensuring a legacy of accessibility beyond the history project, which ends in September 2017.
Louise Gray is a freelance journalist. www.salters.co.uk