Merchant Taylors’ Company wins Prince Arthur Cup at Inter-Livery Golf Tournament

Pictured above: Master Coachmaker Stephen Fitz-Gerald presents the trophy to the winning team from the Merchant Taylors

The prestigious Prince Arthur Cup was presented to the Merchant Taylors by Master Coachmaker Stephen Fitz-Gerald at Walton Heath Golf Club on 15th May. The runners-up were the Tallow Chandlers, and other awards went to the International Bankers, Apothecaries, Framework Knitters and Furniture Makers. The Coachmakers recorded a creditable top-ten performance though sadly we have not won our own trophy since 1969!

The trophy was first presented in 1927 and the annual Inter-Livery Golf Tournament, which the Coachmakers organises and hosts each year, continues to attract entries from many Livery Companies, making this the biggest one-day amateur event in the UK.

The annual event was first held in 1927 at Walton Heath Golf Club, which was the year in which Prince Arthur of Connaught was invited to become a guest of the Coachmakers’ Livery Company. He then went on to accept the Freedom and Livery of the Company later that year and was elected Master in 1932.

His admission in 1927 to the Coachmakers was a great honour and to commemorate the event, that year’s Master Arthur Hungerford Pollen presented the Coachmakers’ Company with the Prince Arthur Cup – a truly magnificent silver gilt trophy that would be competed for annually by the Livery Companies of London in a foursomes’ golf tournament.

Ater that first tournament at Walton Heath, the event was held at a number of different golf clubs before St George’s Hill became the venue from 1930 to 1958, then Wentworth from 1960 to 1978. The Prince Arthur Cup returned to Walton Heath in 1979 and the event has been held there ever since.

Up to 54 teams participate – the maximum that can be accommodated – which means up to 216 players take part in what has developed into one of the City Liveries’ most prestigious and fiercely contested annual sporting events. For the Coachmakers it is a wonderful and unique opportunity to host other Livery Companies and raise our profile in the City of London.

The Prince Arthur Cup, first presented in 1927