Master’s message – January 2026

Fellow Liverymen,

I hope you can look back on 2025 with a sense of achievement, and that 2026 has started well for you.

This month began with a series of committee meetings during the first full week of the year, so straight back to business! One of our distinctive practices is that the Membership Committee, when considering potential new Liverymen, organises several dinners throughout the year in one of the smaller dining rooms in The Guildhall, so a few Court members can meet candidates and get to know more about them. I don’t know of another Livery Company that does this, but it is a convivial way of gauging the suitability of candidates, and provide them with information about the Company, and our place within the City Livery movement.

We had such a dinner on 7th January, arranged jointly by the Chairman of MemCom, Sir Kevin Leeson KCB CBE and our Clerk, Lt Col Craig Hallatt. As ever we had a strong group of candidates, and each of us talked about ourselves by way of introduction, giving us the chance to learn more about them, and explain what makes membership of the Coachmakers special for us. We approved all six candidates, and the Court confirmed their election later in the month.

There are numerous committee meetings throughout the year, with a long-established process whereby proposals to be considered by The Court are initially presented at the Finance and General Purposes Committee. Occasionally, if the matter needs further consideration, it might first be put to the Master and Wardens’ meeting. The F&GP is made up of the Master and Wardens, the Chairmen of each of the primary Committees and the Immediate Past Master (IPM). If approved, the proposal is then put before The Court for discussion and approval (or otherwise), so these meetings happen in a set order to allow the correct scrutiny and discussion to take place.

In January we have the Winter Court Meeting and Dinner, which took place on 22nd, so the various meetings I have described must happen in advance such that the proper process is observed.

The Court Meeting and Dinner were held at the lovely Watermen’s Hall, close to The Monument and Pudding Lane. Watermen’s is a quaint and historic hall, with a capacity of only 75 for dinner, so quite intimate and cosy. Our guest speaker was celebrity auctioneer Charlie Ross, a friend of many years, who entertained us with anecdotes from his career selling everything from turkeys for Christmas, to record-breaking classic cars.

The Clerk and Membership Committee arranged for eight newly elected candidates to jointly attend a ceremony earlier in the day at The Guildhall to receive their Freedom of the City of London. This was a first for us, and it was a wonderful experience, as the candidates had their partners with them, and I went along to witness the ceremony, which was really memorable. Then everyone attended the Court Meeting that afternoon where they were clothed in the Livery, and became full Liverymen, and then joined us for the reception and dinner. All in all, it was a very special day, one we are going to repeat in the future.

As ever, a busy month, but a memorable and positive one, so I look forward to a busy year ahead as we prepare for our 350th next year.

May I once again ask you to try and attend at least one dinner this year. The next opportunity is the Automotive Dinner on 25th March at Vintners Hall, where our guest speaker is Adrian Hallmark, CEO of Aston Martin, so it will be a great occasion.

I wish you a successful and enjoyable 2026.

Best wishes from Zoë and me,

Richard