The frieze on Cutlers' Hall

Image: © Marathon Taken: 6 Dec 2017

The Cutler's Company is one of the most ancient of the City of London livery companies and received its first Royal Charter in 1416. Its origins were among the cutlers working in the medieval City of London in the vicinity of Cheapside. 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. Their business was producing and trading in knives, swords and other implements with a cutting edge. Over time the emphasis shifted from implements of war to cutlery and other domestic wares such as razors and scissors. The terracotta frieze which decorates the facade of Cutlers' Hall in Warwick Lane was modelled by Sheffield sculptor Benjamin Creswick (1853-1946). Creswick grew up in Sheffield and served a short apprenticeship as a knife-grinder, but illness prevented him from pursuing this unhealthy and potentially hazardous occupation. His doctor encouraged him to take up sculpture instead and, after producing a bust of John Ruskin in terracotta, Ruskin soon took him under his wing. In total there are 33 figures in the frieze depicting the four main facets of the cutler's craft. Its setting can be seen at http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5633673

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