Key Historical Dates
- 1170 Early mention of Cooks in Fitz-Stephen’s ‘Description of London’
- c1300 Guilds of Pastlers (makers of pasties), Piebakers and Cooks merge
- 1309 First records of Cooks found in the Guildhall Library
- 1393 Earliest record of Masters being sworn in
- 1461 Coat of Arms first granted
- 1482 Granting of first charter to the Cooks’ Company by King Edward IV
- c1500 The company purchases land and builds its Hall in Aldersgate Street
- 1567 The first record of a Clerk of Cooks
- 1600 Introduction of forks to the table
- 1609 Summons from King James I to raise funds for plantation of lands in Ulster
- 1613 Division of lands in Ulster
- 1616 Charter granted by King James I
- 1664 Charter granted by King Charles II
- 1665 The first record of a Beadle
- 1666 The Great Fire of London
- 1674 New Hall built
- 1764 New Hall destroyed in a fire
- 1771 Hall and buildings burnt down by fire
- 1906 Irish estate sold
- 1907 The Albion - the Cooks’ Aldersgate meeting place - is demolished
- 1941 The Clerk’s office suffers a direct hit in the Blitz. Many records are destroyed
- 1975 Link formed with the catering branch of the Army
- 1981 Links formed with the catering branches of the RAF and Royal Navy
- 1982 The Company celebrated its quincentenary
- 2003 Admission of women to the livery
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