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The Company

supportive of our objectives as Constructors. These include Senior Officers of our military affiliates,
members of the Upper House as well as Mike Bowron (Lately the Chief Constable of the City of
London Police, and now the Chief Constable of Jersey) and of course Lady Valerie Dixon, who has
been extremely supportive of our cause as well as being most generous in her support of our
educational scholarships. We are also now proud to count Alderman Dr Andrew Parmley and
Baroness Scotland QC amongst our Honorary Members.
OUTREACH AND FELLOWSHIP

The Company is particularly focused on its outreach and fellowship activities. Indeed, one of the key
points that Graeme Monteith has made in his year as Master was that previously espoused by our
Immediate Past Master – our fellowship both within, and looking outwards from, the Company.

In addition to the fellowship extended at our many events we always make a particular effort to hold
a Networking Event each year, and this year, through the excellent auspices of Westminster
University (and our fellow Constructors, Jane Wright and Henry Lamb), we also held the second New
Members’ Evening where future and younger members of the construction industry were able to talk
to more experienced members of the Company over a glass of wine and some canapés. This
followed an informative illustrated talk by one of our Military affiliates, Lt Col Dickie Hawkins MBE,
and his commercial colleague from Dynasafe BACTEC Ltd, Philip Norville. Dickie addressed the role
that 101 Regiment played in various theatres of war whilst Philip talked about the minimisation of
risk to construction schemes cause by unexploded ordnance.
This year’s Networking Event was again successful and we moved to a new location – The
Charterhouse. Unlike last year, we were fortunate that the event was sponsored to a large part by
Butler & Young, so it more or less paid its way, although we were unable to contribute as much to
the Charitable Trust as we had hoped. The Master of Charterhouse, Brigadier Charles Hobson, kindly
gave attendees a short, but very informative, talk on how the foundation had started and had been
developed over the years. As usual, we asked attendees to give us their feedback and more than a
third of the attendees responded, with nearly all considering that it was exceptionally good and
hoping that we would organise a similar function next year, even if we had to increase the donation
significantly.
The Coat of Arms
The Company coat of arms is no doubt familiar to all of us, but how many of us
understand why it is what it is? The College of Heralds description is “Gules a
Carpenters Square in chevron throughout proper surmounted palewise of a
T square Or on a Chief Argent a reinforced bridge with two main piers spanning
Water barry wavy of two Azure and Argent. Upon a helm on a Wreath Argent a
Rainbow and issuing from the inner arc thereof a Cubit Arm the hand holding as if
measuring with a Pair of Compasses the points expanded and downwards all
proper.”
In non-heraldic speak – The Company Crest is formed of a hand holding compasses surrounded by a
rainbow. The hand represents God the Great Architect and is based on Blake’s picture of Newton,
which itself is based on a detail from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Autumn 2016 | The Journal of the Worshipful Company of Constructors | 23