2024 – 2025 Dr.William Otter

President- Alderman Robert Howard

Vice President-  Alderman Sir Charles Bowman

Master  Dr. William Otter

Upper Warden  Mrs Teresita Cutting

Lower Warden Dr. Louise Otter

Hon Secretary Mrs. Patricia Dinsdale

Hon Treasurer  Mr. Chris Otter

Independent Examiner Michael Brecknell

Hon Chaplain Rev. William Taylor

Annual General Meeting/Installation Dinner  29th February 2024 – Cutlers Hall

The Master, President, Vice President and 32 Members were in attendance at the AGM, held in the Court Room of Cutlers Hall.

They heard a report on his year from the outgoing Master, Philip Somervail .

Treasurer Mr Chris Otter was pleased with the overall finances of the Club and confirmed that our regular donations would be continued  to:-

Lord Mayor’s Charity
St Peter upon Cornhill
Sheriffs’ and Recorder’s Fund
COLA Shoreditich Park
Lord Mayor’s Big Curry (H.M. Forces)

They saw the installation of Dr. William Otter  , as our new Master , Mrs Teresita Cutting as Upper Warden and Dr Louise Otter as Lower Warden.

As the President and the Vice President had agreed to swap roles every year, Alderman Robert Howard  was elected as President for the forthcoming year .

Peter Cave reported on Honorary Membership and New Members of which, there were 6 people nominated and approved to join the Ward Club .

President Alderman Robert Howard proposed a vote of thanks to Immediate Past Master , Philip Somervail , and the meeting was declared closed by the new          Master at 19.00 hours .

At the Dinner, a really warm welcome was given to our new Master, William Otter  by the 57 in attendance.   Immediately after Grace given by Past Master James Cross, the Master made a short speech of introduction, touching on his chosen charity for the year, ”MID & SOUTH ESSEX HOSPITALS CHARITY -for the Essex Cardiothoracic Centre ”and had great pleasure in presenting Philip Somervail  with his Past Masters Jewel and introducing our new Upper Warden, Mrs Teresita Cutting and Lower Warden, Dr Louise Otter .

Dinner was provided by Cook and Butler and consisted of :-

Individual Fillet of Scottish Salmon Wellington ,stuffed with Spinach & Sundried Tomaotoes , Watercress Sauce   – Neethlingshof Unwooded Chardonnay 2016 Stellenbosch Fine Cape Estates
Selection of Breads –

Fillet of Rare Breed Cornish Grass Fed Beef Tarragon Sauce, Dauphinoise Potatoes ,Honey Roast Root Vegetables  – The Pavillion 2019 Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon Western Cape Boschendal

Pineapple Tart Tatin ,Star Anise reduction , Caramel Ice Cream – Barao de Vilar Port or Cognac

Fair Trade Rich Roast Coffee, Tregothnan Cornish Estate Grown Tea  and  Chocolate Truffles,

The Master’s Guest speaker, who proposed the Toast to the Lime Street and Cornhill Ward Club on behalf of the guests, was The City of London Remembrancer Paul Wright, whose speech was interesting, amusing and thought provoking.

The President thanked everyone for coming to the Dinner , also to Cutlers Hall for allowing the Ward Club to use their splendid hall,  the caterers Cook and Butler and wished the new Master well for his year.

Guided Tour of the Royal Opera House – 26th March 2024

The first event in the Msster- Dr William Otter’s year was a  Guided Tour of the Royal Opera House, which was held on Tuesday 26^th March 24

We had the priveledge of being guided on the Tour by not only a highly qualified Guide but to add interesting details we were accompanied by Mr Salvatore Scalzo who is the House Manager at the ROH

It was explained in the tour that the current building is the third theatre on the site, following disastrous fires in 1808 and 1856 to previous buildings.The façade, foyer, and auditorium date from 1858, but almost every other element of the present complex dates from an extensive reconstruction in the 1990s. The main auditorium seats 2,256 people, making it the third largest in London, and consists of four tiers of boxes and balconies and the amphitheatre gallery..

On the private tour, an expert guide shared with the members and their guests the history of the beautiful Victorian theatre and tales of the many stars that have performed on the stage. The Guided Tour took the attendees  to  explore spaces that are off-limits to the public and witness first-hand the production-making       process in one of the world’s most renowned theatres.

The Tour lasted 75 minutes, and following the tour the Group adjourned to the Piazza Restaurant in the ROH with views across Covent Garden for a two course meal & wine

The Moonwalkers: A Journey with Tom Hanks – 23rd April 2024

The second event in the Master’s  year, The Moonwalkers: A Journey with Tom Hanks was held on Tuesday 23^rd April 24

The event was in the  ‘Lightroom’  located in Kings Cross  and started at 6.45 pm .

The moonwalker Journey told the stories of the Nasa’s Apollo missions through the Lightroom’s immersive technology and voyaged to our closest celestial neighbour and we followed in the footsteps of the 12 astronauts that set foot on the moon. This experience was created and narrated by Tom Hanks with past credits on the subject including the HBO miniseries From Earth to the Moon and the film Apollo 13.

We saw a large crowd who had assembled in Rice Football stadium, near Houston Texas.  It was a hot and sticky morning, as President John F. Kennedy takes to the stage to address the crowd. He speaks of the accelerated pace of human progress in the last few decades, and how America’s new space program is now taking shape We then saw the ‘Liftoff ‘ of Apollo 11 at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. 16 July 1969.–

Through the Lightrooms immersive technology we were introduced to the Crews of Artemis 2  and  Apollo 9 through to Apollo 17

The event lasted  for 50minutes  and was especially spectactular as our seating made us feel that we were in with the launches and at one point on the Moon with Neil Armstrong when he first stepped onto the Moon – fantastic !!

Following this very different and exciting  event the group adjourned for a 1 course supper and a glass of wine at Morty & Bob’s.

Guided Tour of Drapers Hall- Monday 20^th May  24

The Guided Tour of Drapers Hall in May , was the Master’s choice  for a Member’s Group visit .

The Guide explained the history of the Hall , that in the 1420s the Drapers’ guild decided to build its own Hall. This first Hall was in St. Swithin’s Lane. The present Hall, situated in Throgmorton Street, was bought from King Henry VIII in 1543 for the sum of 1,800 marks (approximately £1,200). This had been the house of Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex and Chief Minister to Henry, but had been forfeited to the King on Cromwell’s execution in July 1540.

Destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666, Drapers’ Hall was rebuilt between 1667 and 1671 to designs by Edward Jarman. In 1772, it was again rebuilt after a fire which did considerable damage and, in the 1860s, the frontage was changed and the interior altered by Herbert Williams. It was later altered once more in 1898-9 by Sir Thomas Graham Jackson.

The Tour was conducted by the Archivist, and the Tour lasted approximately 2 hours .

We were shown the magnificent and very impressive Rooms ; festooned with gorgeous reliefs, chandeliers, tapestries, carpets, sculptures and paintings – each item with its own story to tell. Also impressive was the silver vault.

Following the Tour the members adjourned to the Anthologist Restaurant in Gresham Street  for a pleasant and relaxing one course meal with wines .

Over discussions at the Lunch it was thought by many to be the grandest of the livery halls which was suggested , befits their standing at No.3 on the order of precedence.

Civic Lunch  – 17th June 24 

On Monday 17th June the Civic Service at St. Peter’s Cornhill , led by the Rev’d Henry Eatock Taylor was attended by 35+ Members and guests .

Our Past Master James Cross once again ,accompanied the singing of Hymns by playing the historic church organ throughout the service.

This year we had both Beadles ( Lime Street – Charlotte Kipping  and Cornhill – Joanna Collins ) – in attendance both wearing their colourful ceremonial robes and tricorn hat, the colour of their gowns varying based on the Ward

Following the very successful service, attendees made their way to the Crypts at Guildhall to enjoy the Civic Lunch, preceded by a Sparkling Reception .

This year was an important year for the Lime Street & Cornhill Ward Club as we were able to have in attendance the Lord Mayor Michael Mainelli and Lady Mayoress, Sheriff Alderman Bronek Masojada and his wife Jane Masojada .

The meal was provided by the caterers Cook and Butler was as is usual an excellent meal consisting of :-

Starter  –  Hampshire Chalk farm Stream Fillet of Trout

Main –  The Smithfield Porter Pan fried Beef Steak

Dessert –  Garden of English Fruit Summer Pudding

Loyal Toasts were followed by the Master’s Speech with a presentation from the Master of two cheques to The Lord Mayor Michael Mainelli in attendance, for his Lord Mayor’s Appeal

The second for the Sheriff and Recorders Fund  (and a bouquet for the Lady Mayoress.  )

This was followed by a speech from Teresita Cutting , Upper Warden, highlighting attendees from other City Ward Clubs and Liveries – finalising with the introduction of the Master’s Guest Speaker.

On the actual day of the Civic Lunch . The Master’ s Guest Speaker unfortunately was unwell and so unable to attend the event .

Therefore the Hon Secretary asked the clubs Deputy CC  of Cornhill  and  Chief Commoner – Peter Dunphy if he could step in to cover the Guest Speaker role

This was at very short notice and Peter Dunphy made an excellent speech , covering the activities of the Chief Commoner , which everyone enjoyed with the information being enlightning  for many of the guests .

The President Robert Howard then gave a Vote of Thanks which concluded the lunch

Guided tour of St.Michael’s Church Cornhill – 16th July 24

St. Michael’s stands near to the site of a church founded by King Lucius in AD179, the oldest site of Christian worship in London. The name ‘Cornhill’ is first mentioned in the 12th century, the ‘hill’ indicating the rising ground, and ‘corn’ derived from the corn market which was once held there.

Members joined the tour of St.Michael’s guided by Rev’d Henry Eatock-Taylor . We were informed by Henry that St Michael, Cornhill is a medieval parish church in the City of London with pre-Norman Conquest parochial foundation. The original church was first mentioned in 1055, but was destroyed with only the tower remaining during the Great Fire of London. The present building was traditionally attributed to Sir Christopher Wren. It was further beautified in 1701 and 1790. The interior was extensively remodelled in the High Victorian manner by Sir George Gilbert Scott between 1857 and 1860

Beneath St Michael’s lie the remains of the Roman Basilica – the great Forum built in the first century AD. Here (or nearby) in AD 179, King Lucius is said to have established the first Christian place of worship in London.

We also enjoyed an in depth overview with History of the Church’s Organ by our Past Master – James Cross

James advised the present organ began life in 1684 as a 2-manual instrument built by Renatus Harris. It stood in a (now-demolished) west gallery. When it was completed, the Church Wardens invited “eminent Musick Masters to a Dinner and to try the Organ”. These were John Blow, Giovanni Battista Draghi and Henry Purcell, and many of the pipes which sounded on that occasion are still incorporated in the present organ. Over the centuries, some of the country’s leading craftsmen added ranks of pipes and refined the specification and the mechanics – and the organ was moved to the north-east corner of the church.

James played the organ explaining how the sounds are produced, which was very interesting .

We then retired to  St,Michael’s Garden where we enjoyed Wines and a finger buffet . ,

Excellent evening .

Beating of the Bounds  24th September 24

The tradition of Beating the Bounds goes back to time immemorial, to an era when virtually everybody in any Ward or Parish was unable to read or write. So, the “elders” would lead the group to show them (and members of adjoining Wards or Parishes) their Ward or Parish Boundaries, beating the core points with sticks, as a marker.

The Master, and our two Aldermen invited members and friends  to join them on a tour of the boundaries of our two Wards “beating” the core points as they go along. The event  was led by Past Master Peter Cave  and was a  simple, friendly and fun early evening event and a great way to get to see and know our Wards better.  The group started from outside Leathersellers’ Hall in St Helens Place, working the way round the Lime Street Ward Boundary, led by Alderman Sir Charles Bowman and then around Cornhill Ward led by our President, Alderman Robert Howard

As a Ward Club we were supporting City Giving Day by raising funds for our Master’s Charity Mid and South Essex Hospitals Charity and specifically to the benefit of the Essex Cardiothoracic Centre, a very special unit.

After a short “refreshment break” on the way round, the group finished at Haz in Bishopsgate for an early evening Supper with Wine.

Members Evening  AON Centre  – Tuesday 29^th October 24

The Master invited Members and guests to  join him for an evening with some of the Lime Street voters, at the AON Centre , Leadenhll Street

The event was made special by the attendance of Eric Parry and Andrew Highton .

Eric Parry ,  the Principle of Eric Parry Architects who designed 1  Undershaft in the City of London.

Andrew Highton , Senior Development Director from Stanhopes – the Developers and Asset Managers for 1 Undershaft.

Eric and Andrew provided an excellent talk and presentation explaining  the progress of 1 Undershaft  which is the 74 storey building, designed by Eric Parry Architects, will comprise three stacked buildings with terraces, reaching 309.6m and making it the tallest tower in the City of London cluster. The latest design for the soaring structure will increase the floor area from the previous proposed scheme by 30%.

They explained works are expected to start in 2024, with completion scheduled for 2030 and that 1 Undershaft will offer the capital’s highest accessible public viewing gallery — boasting stunning views of the capital, along with unique education spaces curated by London Museum at levels 72 and 73. Visitors will also be able to explore a lush public garden on the 11th floor, or enjoy a meal or a drink on the 10th floor below.

The event was very well attended by Members and their guests plus  our two Aldermen, Common Councillors and Lime Street & Cornhill Officers .

Attendees enjoyed a glass of wine (or two) and nibbles,with the  opportunity for everyone to learn more about 1 Undershaft and meet the people at the helm of the design and development of the Building  , plus the opportunity to  mingle and meet old friends and make new ones and generally have a good relaxing evening.