Archives

The Archives of the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers date from the 13th century with most records surviving from 1454 onwards. Older archives are stored on behalf of the Company by the Guildhall Library in the City of London and may be consulted there and via their online catalogue.

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Please note that this resource is a work in progress and may not yet contain all the more recently transferred items. To consult the Ironmongers’ records in the Guildhall Library reading room you will need to use the relevant Guildhall Library manuscript reference (MS) number at the end of the CLC/L/IB reference. So for the reference CLC/L/IB/A/002/MS16965/001 you will only need to put MS16965/001 on your order form.

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These Ironmongers’ records mainly cover the period from 1454 up to 1979, but also include deeds dating from 1273. Registers of freedom admissions from 1555 and of apprentice bindings from 1511, as well as records relating to the Company’s Irish estates, can also be found.  A summary of the Ironmongers’ archives at the Guildhall Library (as well as those of other livery companies) can also be found in the printed handbook City of London Livery Companies and Related Organisations: A Guide to their Archives in Guildhall Library (City of London, 2010 [fourth edition]).​

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The Company’s original charters, a list of Apprentices and Members of the Company from 1511 and more recent Court Minutes (from 1973) and other modern records are still held by the Company at Ironmongers’ Hall and may be consulted at the discretion of the Archivist.​  ​​