The Goldsmiths’ Company Charity becomes a founding partner of the new London Museum at Smithfield
In 2017 the Goldsmiths’ Company Charity and the London Museum announced that the Charity was to become a Founding Partner of the new London Museum, in Smithfield. The Charity’s donation of £10million going towards the Museum’s plans to create a spectacular new home for the history of London and its people in the beautiful and historic market buildings in Smithfield.
In 2017 the Goldsmiths’ Company Charity become a Founding Partner of the new London Museum and pledged a £10m donation
A gallery bearing the Goldsmiths’ name will be at the heart of the new Museum, showcasing the Cheapside Hoard together with highlights from the Company’s world-renowned Collection of historic and contemporary silver.
Partnering with the new London Museum will play an important role in the way that The Company and its Charity contribute to national life
Spring 2021 - In 2017 the Goldsmiths’ Company Charity and the London Museum announced that the Charity was to become a Founding Partner of the new London Museum, in Smithfield. The Charity’s donation of £10million going towards the Museum’s plans to create a spectacular new home for the history of London and its people in the beautiful and historic market buildings in Smithfield.
A gallery bearing the Goldsmiths’ name will be at the heart of the new Museum, showcasing the Cheapside Hoard together with highlights from the Company’s world-renowned Collection of historic and contemporary silver.
View of the General Market Basement, featuring the Goldsmiths' Gallery
The Cheapside Hoard
Laying undisturbed for nearly 300 years, only to be discovered by workmen in 1912 on land owned by the Goldsmiths' Company, the Cheapside Hoard is the greatest single collection of Elizabethan and Stuart jewellery in the world. Following the outbreak of the First World War, the hoard was put into storage, only to be displayed again nearly a century later. The new London Museum will provide it with a permanent home.
The Hoard’s Cheapside presence is significant. Not only was the street a central business location for the City of London, but it was also at the heart of the goldsmiths trade. The Hoard reflects London’s position in the international jewellery trade at the time, through its inclusion of gems and jewels from across the globe, spanning multiple historical periods.
Goldsmiths’ Gallery
The plans for the new Museum include the installation of the Goldsmiths’ Gallery. The developing context of the gallery envisages a focus on Cheapside in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Cheapside Hoard, and on craft and global networks of the period.
Alongside this we wish to feature stand out pieces from the Company Collection, to include a mixture of historic and contemporary jewellery and silver works, mapping the trades progression throughout history. Through this collaboration we look forward to inspiring the next generation of jewellers, silversmiths and enthusiasts alike.
Not only will this opportunity allow us to reach new, wider audiences but it will also further display jewellery making, silversmithing and their allied trades as quality crafts that are deeply connected to the City’s rich history.
The General Market
“We are proud and excited to be a Founding Partner in the visionary project to create a new London Museum.
This is a very tangible realisation of our core purpose to contribute to national life. Schoolchildren will be able to make meaningful connections with the past and present, inspired by the craft of jewellers and silversmiths in techniques handed down over centuries.
Visitors will be able to see our unique Collection and marvel at the Cheapside Hoard, unlocking fascinating stories about our craft and trade through the ages. Our partnership will enable us to do even more to nurture creativity and promote new generations of craftspeople.” - Dame Lynne Brindley, Prime Warden of the Goldsmiths' Company (2021-22)
Supporting the important work of the new London Museum is part of the Goldsmiths' Company’s 2027 Company Strategy, which includes a programme of philanthropic activity leading up to our 700th anniversary in 2027.
About the Goldsmiths’ Company Charity
The Goldsmiths’ Company Charity is a grant funder that was founded in the late nineteenth century with investment income on assets given by the Goldsmiths’ Company over the centuries. Its Board of Trustees is made up of members of the Goldsmiths’ Company’s Court of Assistants (equivalent to a board of non-executive directors).
The Goldsmiths’ Company Charity is focused on improving the life chances of people and communities. Today it does this by awarding grants across four priority areas - support for our trade & craft; support for development of technical and vocational skills; support for activities in the City of London and at national institutions; support for activities that improve life chances, currently in the criminal justice sector, and through literacy, numeracy and oracy interventions at early years and primary age.
Images courtesy of the London Museum