The Livery Newsletter and Gazette Issue 32 Spring 2020 | Page 15

Howse. It was our good fortune that Mel’s work
on a huge installation at Durham Cathedral was
drawing to its end so she had the time to design and
manufacture our panel before another large project
was due to begin. The Tallow Chandlers also put us
in touch with specialist sign-writer, Philip Surey,
to commission him for a gilt inscription to appear
besides the oriel window.
Conforming to the designs of the other Livery
Companies’ panels, the design of our panel consists
of the Company’s shield which depicts a tobacco
plant in flower set on a swirling pattern background
suggestive of smoke. Centrally positioned, the shield
itself is set in a background of unfurling scrolls
and a banner at the foot which bears the name
‘Tobacco Pipe Makers’. The design and reference to
the Company capture all three of the Tobacco Pipe
Makers’ Livery Companies which share the same
shield motif. The full name of the third Company is
written in the gilt inscription acknowledging our role
in the installation of the panel.
By September 2019, the panel had been
manufactured and was ready for delivery. It was
presented at the Autumn Court on board HQS
Wellington where Court Members could view the
finished product first hand before its installation
to the oriel window at Tallow Chandlers’ Hall.
The Master took the opportunity to call for a vote
of thanks to those involved in the project and in
particular to Assistant Christopher Sawyer and his
wife Jane who funded the project as a gift to the
Company. An act of generosity greatly appreciated.
Words of blessing were administered by the
Honorary Chaplain, Canon David Parrott.
The panel was installed on 19th September 2019
providing the Tobacco Pipe Makers with an
exceptional, permanent symbol of our existence in
one of the City’s oldest and most charming Livery
Halls. For us, the panel is also a symbol of fellowship
and generosity not just within the Company but also
between Livery Companies. We thank the Master
and Wardens of the Worshipful Company of Tallow
Chandlers for the kindness that they have shown.
Roger Brookes, Immediate Past Master
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