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Trevor Turner
Medallion worn by the Guild  |
Guild of St BrideIn 1375 Edward III issued a writ in the Tower of London confirming the Charter of the Guild of St Bride. Its first purpose was to maintain a light to burn before the statue of St Brigide the Virgin. Later on, members of the Guild employed a chaplain to say Mass before the statue. The Guild continued until 1545 when it was swept away by Henry VIII. Although the Guild was not active again until it was restored by Cyril Armitage after the Second World War, it maintained its identity. The Rector and Churchwardens continued as trustees of its funds, half of which went in 1893 towards the St Bride Foundation Institute.
In 1975 His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales paid his first official public visit to Fleet Street when he attended a service in the presence of the Lord Mayor and the Bishop of London. The occasion was the 600th anniversary of the Guild. The Guild consists of men and women who undertake to assist in the conduct of public worship in St Bride's. Each Sunday morning ten guild members are on duty and six at Evensong. The livery consists of a russet gown in accordance with Edward III's Sumptuary legislation. Guild members also wear a medallion with a Celtic cross on the flame-coloured emblem of St Bridget's perpetual fire encirlced with grapes and vine leaves and surmounted by a representation of the medieval curfew bell.
The Guild of St Bride
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Members of the Guild at the annual Guild Sunday Service - February 2006