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The Company

Our Members

Max Tillson joined the Company in February as a Freeman. He is 60 years of age and
has been married to his wife, Denise, for 34 years. They have 3 grown-up sons and
have lived for the past 29 years in Littlestone, a village on Romney Marsh. Max is
currently a project manager for Niblock Builders Limited, a South London company,
and he has been with them for 8 years. Max’s main interests outside work are Crystal
Palace Football Club, classic cars, fine wine and dining, cinema and theatre. He has
joined the Livery to become part of an ancient cause as well as meeting with like-minded people and
becoming a valued and active member of the Worshipful Company of Constructors.
He writes “Having been a Freeman of the City of London since 2003 I didn’t actually come across the
Constructors until 2005. I have been involved in various membership organisations, both social and
professional, and felt that this Livery Company would offer the best of both worlds – a fellowship
organisation made up of like-minded people with a shared interest in the built environment. I was
not disappointed and soon found how this fundamental ethos is embodied by the Company’s
structured social activities and enriched by its professionally diverse membership.”

Alicia Burrell joined the Company as an Apprentice in 2007. She is now a Freeman
of the Company. She writes “Most of my childhood was filled with Constructor talk.
My father’s certificate of freedom hung proudly above our sitting room door. His
scarlet (now purple) robes carefully stuffed into a wardrobe. Every now and again
my parents would dress up to the nines and swoosh off to London for glamorous
evenings called banquets at great halls.
Sometimes a night without them brought riches when they sequestered cow-shaped chocolates
from the Butchers’ Hall for me to gobble the next morning. Do they still have those? If so, can I
request a dinner at the Butchers’ Hall as soon as possible?
Our family roots run deep within the Company. My grandfather, Merrick, was one of the 12 founding
Constructors and Master from 1980-81. My father, John, was Master twenty years later and of
course, my mother, Michele, shouldered much of the duty, too. Now, my sister, Alexandra, and I are
both members.
I became an apprentice in 2007, just after my 17th birthday and after seven long years of avoiding
taverns and playing dice - two of my absolute favourite vices - I became a Yeoman. It was terrific to
be inducted in front of my parents in 2013. I felt proud and honoured to join a company that means
so much to my family.
I’ll hold my hands up now and say I’m not in or in any way (bar membership of the Company)
involved in the industry. Maths and science were never my scholastic strong points. Instead, I
become a journalist and I must admit there’s always a little pang of guilt that I never followed the
path into the family business. I may not be a Constructor by profession but I love being part of the
company which invited me in so openly and warmly.
I love being able to meet as many different people as possible - seeing the table plans is one of the
most exciting parts of the evenings. I love how we get access to the city’s incredible livery halls I
otherwise would unknowingly march past, buildings steeped in history and of beautiful architecture.
Every Constructors event brings something new and interesting to learn whether that be gin
distilling or bomb disposal. And, every year I am amazed at the sheer determination and capability of
the prize-winning scholars who attend the Livery and Awards Dinner.

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