The Clio messenger., 1920-07-08
The Garden a. me Drapers' Hall.

forth upon the Thames, "at her COM
ing from Greenwich by water,p In
"Barges freshly furnished with Ban
ners and Streamers of Silke, rechely
beaton and bagges of their Crafts"
At these times the barges of the Dra-
pers company were decked with cloth
Of blue or red, and their trumpeters
were resplendent in crimson hats,
while their floating banners were
adorned with silken fringe "beaten with
gold"
OF their land professions, probably
the grandest was that i'm honor of their
mayor, Sir Robert Clayton, in 1879,
which included a moving stage, and
was "dignified with divers delightful
varieties of Presenters, with speeches,
songs and actions, properly and pune
tually described, all set forth at the
proper cost and charges of the wor-
shipful Company of Drapers."
Catastrophe of 1866.
The ancient hall of the drapers was
in ST. Swithins Lane, but in 1541 the
company ended its negotiations with
Henry VIII for Cromwell House," the
site of the present hall, which had
come to the crown through the at
tainder of Cromwell, earl of Essex.
The great fire of 1865 stopped its
northward fury at Drapers' hall, but
great damage was done to the build
ings, and the unfortunate clerk OF
those days, whose house had been
demolished, had to take refuge in the
Garden house, which, until the fire,
had been the house of Mr.. Miners, the
beadle.
AS it remains today, the Drapers'
hall displays all the tempered rich
ness of an English country house; and
the magnificent suites Of ROOMS, two or
which are adorned with perfectly pre-
served pieces of Gobelin tapestry, and
whose walls are hung with splendid
pictures, betoken the hospitality OF this
ancient company. But the feature
which fingers most in memory Is the
quiet and ancient garden, with Its
shimmering trees, including aged mui-
berries-from one of which dish of
fruit can still be plucked-its bright
hued flower beds, and its leaden tanks
filed with flowers. And though In the
very midst of the city's greatest tur.
moil It still looks so reposeful that it
Is easy to remember those other days
when "my Lord Ambassador from
France" walked the plaisaunce In the
September of 1862, or when one Rob-
ert Ratford, the gardener, complained
to the court "that by drying of naperye
clothes in the Drapers garden, the
knolls and borders Of erbys therein are
destroyed" which resulted in prompt
measures being taken to suppress the
practice.
Benevolences.
Today the Diapers company Is
actively engaged in administering its
trusts, and in promoting education and
charitable work In many different
ways, by means of its corporate funds.
Among the various benefactions may
be mentioned its annual scholarships
and exhibitions of students In the five
chief branches of the textile trade, in
their respective districts, and its an
nual grant of Fl 900 toward the
chair of agriculture at the University
of Cambridge. But the most interest
ing OF It's activities is the East Lon
don college, with which II is most inti-
mately associated, and which is a uni
versity college, giving a full course in
natural science, engineering, or art,
for the small sum Of FLO los.
The students. both men and women,
are mainly drawn from the working
classes. The company has expended
fully f250.000 upon this college, and
contributes large sum annually
toward its maintenance. It's work In
connection with both the college and
the Peoples palace" is marked by
most enthusiastic and personal inter-
est, and the diapers are justly proud
that this college Is the only one In the
British isles where an aeronautical
department has been established.