Introduction
The purpose of this document is to provide a brief overview of the role and linked obligations of Liverymen serving on, or attending, the Court of the Worshipful Company of Lightmongers. It is not intended to be comprehensive, so if a Liveryman requires more information the Clerk will be pleased to assist with providing this.
This document covers from when a Liveryman first attends the Court as a Court Liveryman, or joins the Court as a Court Assistant, through to the role of Deputy Master and Past Masters and Past Master Emeritus. Membership of, and progression through, the Court, particularly for the Officer roles, ensures a good understanding of the workings of the Company and continuity in the development of policies and initiatives.
The Court
The Court is the governing committee of the Company and its role is to ensure that the Company is being successfully run and acting in accordance with the rules of the Company as set out in its Royal Charter of Incorporation, its By-laws and its Ordinances, all of which are available on the Company’s website. It does this through receiving recommendations from its Standing Committees, namely the Finance & General Purposes Committee (F&GP) and the Livery Committee. Many of these recommendations are received through them from their respective sub-committees. As such it is anticipated that Court meetings will mainly be confirmatory in their nature; however, there is obviously the absolute right for a matter to be discussed more deeply at a Court meeting, and if so decided, rejected.
There is a minimum of four Court meetings every year, the dates of which are published before the start of the year in question. All members of the Court and Court Liverymen are expected to attend. Regularly missing these meetings can result in a Member being asked to stand down from the Court.
The Court of the Worshipful Company of Lightmongers consists of Court Assistants, Senior Court Assistants, the Officers (the Junior Warden, the Senior Warden, the Master and the Deputy Master) and Past Masters (voting and non-voting). In addition to these members of the Court, Past Masters Emeritus and Court Liverymen normally attend the Court but do not have a vote. The Learned Clerk attends Court but is not a member of the Court and as such does not have a vote.
Court Liverymen
The appointment of Court Liverymen is for members of the Company who may not immediately aspire to, or otherwise be able to, become a Court Assistant. The position was introduced originally for Liverymen of longstanding who, for personal reasons such as age, could not commit to progressing through the Court, but who wished to contribute to the governance of the Company. Equally important now is the opportunity the role provides for younger Liverymen to observe the work of the Court prior to formally undertaking the obligations of Court Assistant.
Court Liverymen are expected to contribute to discussions and to serve on at least one sub-committee.
Having been a Court Liveryman progression to Court Assistant, or equally taking a break from Court with a view to returning at a later stage to be a Court Assistant, might be a consideration
Court Liverymen should attend as many as possible of the main Company events each year i.e. The Livery and Members dinners; the Summer Banquet; the Warden’s receptions; the Masters & Clerks Lunch and Common Hall. In addition, they are encouraged to attend some of the more informal social events each year, some of which are fund-raising for the Lightmongers Charitable Trust as well as supporting specific fund-raising events for the Lightmongers Charitable Trust.
Court Liverymen are expected to engage with guests and members when attending Company events, particularly those who are new to the Company. The Clerk may sometimes ask Court Liverymen to welcome specific guests at these events.
Court Liverymen are also expected to attend as many as possible of the most important City of London events each year e.g. the elections of the Sheriffs and the Lord Mayor (at which you are entitled to vote) and United Guilds Service.
Court Assistants
The role and obligations of Court Assistants are the same as for Court Liverymen except that they have voting rights on proposals being voted on at Court meetings. Court Assistants are expected to contribute to the discussions, to vote on proposals before the Court and to serve on at least one sub-committee.
Senior Court Assistants
The role and obligations of Senior Court Assistants are the same as for Court Assistants with the additional obligations of:
- making a firm commitment to progressing through the positions of Junior & Senior Warden, Master and Deputy Master (the Officers of the Company) subject to election as such, and
- giving an additional commitment to attending Court meetings, Company and City events and generally become more aware of, and involved in, the activities and development of the Company in preparation for taking up the Officer roles in due course.
- being prepared to not only attend at least one of the committees but if requested to take the chair of a sub-committee.
Junior and Senior Wardens
The role and obligations of the Junior and Senior Wardens are the same as for Senior Court Assistants with the additional obligations of:
- Becoming a member of the Lightmongers Standing Committees, namely the Finance & General Purposes (F&GP) Committee and the Livery Committee; both of which meet four times a year and which support the Clerk in ensuring the effective operation of the Company and the development of its future policies. The F&GP Committee is responsible, on behalf of the Court, for monitoring the financial aspects of the Company and making recommendations to the Court on such matters. It is also supports the Clerk in dealing with any such matters that arise between Court meetings and reporting actions taken to the next Court meeting. The Livery Committee is responsible for all matters relating to membership of, and progression through, the Company and making recommendations to the Court regarding such matters.
- Supporting the Master during their year of office, attending events with, or on behalf of the Master, when requested;
- Consider whether there would be a benefit to the members for an event/s during the year and if so, discuss it/them with the Clerk and then seeking approval from the Court, F&GP Committee or Livery Committee as necessary;
- Assisting and supporting one of the fundraising events in support of the Lightmongers Charitable Trust;
- Attending all formal Company events, being part of the Officers Welcoming Group and formal processions as well generally socialising with members and guests during the events, thus encouraging a two-way flow of information with members.
- ensure that the Company complies with its Royal Charter, By-laws and Ordinances in all its affairs.
In addition, the Junior Warden has the responsibility of making the speech of welcome to the Guests at the Summer Banquet
Master
The role and obligations of the Master are the same as for the Junior and Senior Wardens with the additional obligations of:
- being the main representative of the Company and the Court during their year of office, attending as many events as possible within the Livery, the City, the Industry, the Company’ Affiliations and within other organisations and through this representation to uphold, promote and enhance the reputation of the Lightmongers Company;
- hosting the Company’s formal dinners and other events as requested and making speeches and presentations for and on behalf of the Company as required;
- chairing the F&GP and Livery Committees and the Annual Members meeting (Common Hall), ensuring efficient meetings, adherence to established policies and the continuous development of new initiatives and policies, some of which take many years and therefore require continuity between Masters of different years;
- supporting the Clerk, as required, in their dealing with day-to-day business of the Lightmongers between formal meetings;
- e) ensure that the Company complies with its Royal Charter, By-laws and Ordinances in all its affairs.
Deputy Master
The additional obligations and responsibilities are:
- To act as Deputy to the Master in terms of representing the Company when the Master is unable to do so e.g. due to multiple bookings, and chairing meetings when the Master is unable to attend.
- To provide support to the Master in respect of continuity of Lightmonger activities, policies and initiatives from one Master’s year to the next.
- ensure that the Company complies with its Royal Charter, By-laws and Ordinances in all its affairs.
Past Masters
Past Masters remain Members of the Court, however they only retain voting rights for four years following relinquishing the role of Deputy Master.
Past Masters Emeritus
At a certain point in time, after becoming non-voting, a Past Master will either offer to resign, or be asked to resign, from the Court and take the honorary title of Past Master Emeritus. This is necessary in order to keep the number of members of the Court below 30 (as set-out in the Company’s Bye-laws). Past Masters Emeritus will continue to receive invitations to attend Court if they wish to do so and to participate fully as a Past Master without voting rights.
Appendix 1 – Terms of office for the various Court roles
The roles on Court have set terms of office, which have been established through the constitution of the Company and through related Court decisions and are as follows:
Court Liveryman
Appointed for a term of two years, in order that they can observe the working of the Court and learn more about the Company. At the end of the two years they may be invited or put themselves forward to become a Court Assistant. By exception the Court may ask a Court Liveryman to undertake a second two-year term.
Court Assistant
Appointed for a first period of office of three years at the end of which, and with the agreement of the Court and the Member, the following options are available:
- Step down as a Court Assistant, leaving the possibility of applying to become a Court Assistant again at a future date.
- Start a second term of three years as a Court Assistant, at the end of which the member must either step down as a Court Assistant on a permanent basis or progress to the role of a Senior Assistant, making the firm commitment to progress to the Officer roles.
- Progress to the role of Senior Court Assistant, making the firm commitment to progress to the Officer roles.
Senior Court Assistant
The term of office varies depending upon how many Senior Court Assistants are in place. The maximum period of time a member may be a Senior Court Assistant is three years. If after that time they have not been elected to the role of Junior Warden, they step down from the Court. It is useful for a Senior Court Assistant who is elected as Junior Warden to start thinking about what they wish to achieve in their year as Master and to regularly review that with the Clerk. The process then continues during their year as Senior Warden with the objective of ensuring the main structure of their year as Master is mapped out before the year starts.)
Officers (Junior Warden, Senior Warden, Master and Deputy Master)
The term of office for each Officer role is one year and the officer moves forward each year to the next role i.e. Junior to Senior Warden, Senior Warden to Master and Master to Deputy Master.
Past Master
There is no term of office, other than that Past Masters become non-voting members of the Court four years after relinquishing the office of Deputy Master.
Past Master Emeritus
Past Masters Emeritus are no longer formally members of the Court but are eligible to attend Court meetings if they wish to do so.
Appendix 2 – Financial obligations of Court members
Court Liveryman
There is no Fine for becoming a Court Liveryman, so the only costs involved are those of attending events, as for all other Lightmonger members.
Court Assistant
On joining the Court there is a one-off Fine (fee) of £500 but otherwise it is the cost of attending events, as for all other Lightmonger members.
Senior Court Assistant
There is a Fine of £500. The appointment to Senior Court Assistant is likely to result in the need to attend more events.
Junior and Senior Warden
There is a Fine of £1000 for each year as Junior and Senior Warden.
The Senior Warden pays for the entertainment at the Installation Dinner The Clerk will confirm in advance how much that will be. There may be other costs the Junior and Senior Warden respectively incur through the events/activities in which they become involved and wish to promote during their year(s), but this down to them. Examples might include Charity Fund-raising events or a new initiative that a Warden wishes to undertake. In the latter case any such new initiative would need to be supported by the Court or by the F&GP or Livery Committee/s.
The other costs are those of attending events, both Lightmongers and other City based events, and the Junior and Senior Warden roles will result in the need to attend more such events as part of supporting the Company.
Master
There is a Fine of £5,000 for the year as Master.
Personal costs of attending events to represent the Company are borne by the Master e.g. travel, accommodation etc. The Master also fund the following:
- Livery Dinner and Installation Dinner Stirrup Cups, around £500 each;
- Entertainment at the Livery Dinner, around £600 (more if the Master wishes extra);
- During their year in office the Master has, in addition to any personal objectives to mark their year, an obligation to maintain and further raise the profile of the Lightmongers in the City/Livery and across the lighting related industry. This does involve costs for the Master, some of which may be significant depending on the choices made from year to year. These are best discussed and agreed with the Clerk well before the start of each Master’s year.
Some examples are:
- The Master’s Weekend, which is organised by the Master and includes the Master handling all the financial arrangements. Generally, the Master aims to make this self-funding but costs for the Master can arise depending on the arrangements they make.
- Additional VIP guests at formal dinners and Court Dinners. The Company has a budget for inviting a limited number of VIP guests to these events. The Master, in discussion with the Clerk, may decide that additional VIP guests need to be invited, which would be at the cost of the Master, in additional to any personal guests they are inviting.
- Additional events – the Master is responsible for any balance of costs that might arise if they wish to hold additional events e.g. a Consorts Lunch.
- Red Cross jail and Bail Appeal. The Master has the choice whether to support this Appeal or not each year. Historically it has always been fully funded by member’s donations, but the Master underwrites the minimum £1000 donation to the Red Cross, in case that level of donations is not reached.
- Lord Mayor’s Show – In the event that a Master, with the agreement of the Court, requests a Lightmonger entry to the Lord Mayor’s Show, the Master would be responsible for the costs.