Early Origins

Cutlers are known to have been practising their craft in London from at least the 2^nd or 3^rd century AD. Indeed, the word 'cutler' is derived from the Latin 'cultellarius' through the Old French 'coutelier'  and signifies a maker or seller of knives and weapons with a cutting edge.

Although Cutlers traded in all manner of cutting instruments, it was their skill at producing fighting weapons that brought them wealth and prosperity. From earliest times until the end of the 16th century, with wars in France and internal civil wars, the demand for edged weapons was both constant and profitable. Only later did the emphasis shift from implements of war to cutlery and other domestic wares such as razors and scissors. 

It is known that a Gild of Cutlers existed in the City of London in the 13th century, comprised of cutlers who had settled in the vicinity of Cheapside.    As was the case with the other trade guilds of the day, its function was to protect the interests of its members, to attend to their welfare, and to ensure that high standards of quality were maintained. The first Ordinances were granted in 1344 by the Mayor and Aldermen, which gave the Gild power of search and assay of all manner of cutlery.

The cutler was not simply an artisan but a designer and assembler of parts who produced the finished article, which he then sold in the market place.  The blades were made by the bladesmith, and the scabbards or sheaths by the sheathers, whilst the skills of other trades such as the gilders and furbishers and grinders would be used to produce the finished article. Eventually, all these subsidiary crafts were absorbed into the Cutlers Company and by the 16th century the Company controlled the entire trade.

Royal Charter

By the early 15th century the Mystery of Cutlers, as they were then called, felt that their position was of sufficient importance to petition the King for a Charter. They were successful in their plea, for on 4th December 1416, the year following the battle of Agincourt, Henry V granted to the Company its first Royal Charter. This can be no coincidence for the King had assembled his army in haste and this was the only Livery Company to which he granted a Charter. One can speculate that the grant may have been made in part payment for arms supplied.

The importance of this Charter cannot be overstressed as it granted considerable powers to the Company, all guaranteed by the King’s authority. It created the offices of a Master and two Wardens to govern the Company, assisted by a Court of Assistants. These offices have continued through nearly 600 years down to the present day. The Charter also gave to the Company the right to own property, whereas previously all its property had to be held by trustees; and confirmed the right of the Company to oversee the Cutlery trade in and around London, a right which they had already held for many years from the Lord Mayor and Aldermen.

The Company continued to prosper, and in 1515 it was ordained that they should be placed 18th in the order of precedence of the City Companies, where they remain to this day. Over the years various monarchs have cancelled and reissued the Charter and the one under which the Company operates today was granted by James I in 1607.

Victorian Era

By the middle of the 18th century much of the cutlery trade had moved to Sheffield, where raw materials and water power favoured the production and working of steel. However, as late as 1879 there were still some thirty Cutlers actively working in the City of London.  That year Company held an Exhibition in its Hall awarding medals for various classes of work. 

Coat of Arms

Arms were first granted to the Company on 17th May 1476, but the elephant and castle crest was not granted until 1622. The original blazon reads: 

‘Gules, three pairs of swords in saltire argent, hilts and pommels or Crest: An elephant’s head couped gules, armed or’

 The elephant is presumed to allude to the ivory employed in the work of hafting swords, knives and other weapons: a costly material only fit for the best of implements.

The motto was originally ‘Pervenir a bonne foy’, which later became ‘Pour Parvenir a bonne foy’ — ‘To succeed through good faith.’