The Company was a founder member of the City and Guilds of London Institute in 1880 along with a number of other City livery companies, reflecting the Company’s growing interest in technical education.
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, technical examinations, lectures and exhibitions on woodworking and joinery were regularly held at Carpenters’ Hall. After the Second World War, interest in the technical examinations declined, and in 1955 the Company launched an annual Carpenters’ Craft Competition which still runs today.
In 1890, the Company helped create a body for woodwork instructors and other craftsmen, known today as the Institute of Carpenters. The Institute was founded by 11 craftsmen who had achieved high grades in the Company’s examinations. Its role was to oversee training for carpenters and joiners at a time when many feared traditional skills were being lost.
The Carpenters’ Company established its own Trades’ Training School in 1893, now the Building Crafts College, in the West End of London. It relocated to a purpose-built building in Stratford, East London, in 2001 and continues to represent the Company’s commitment to training in the woodworking crafts.
The Company still supports our students through various ways, mainly funding the college and acting as our main contributor, but also directly funding a portion of our students by covering course fees, equipment costs, and travel costs.
