Today, the Worshipful Company of Horners maintains both its ancient links to the City of London and to the Plastics Industry and seeks to support the horner’s craft. Its Liverymen hail from many backgrounds, including the City, the Plastics Industry and the professions.
Its Charities and Awards support activities in education, design, the City and industry.
The first historic reference to the Company was recorded in 1284, although the craft of the horner dates centuries earlier. The craft of the Horner was essential in medieval communities using the discarded horns of cattle and sheep to produce eating utensils, drinking containers, buttons, combs, boxes, powder horns and of course, shoe horns. In 1476 the Bottlemakers whose trade in leather bottles was being eroded by glass bottles joined the Horners’.
The Company operates under a Charter received from Charles I in 1638, although it is believed that there were earlier charters. As the craft of working with horn declined, in 1943 the Company had the vision to adopt horn’s modern equivalent, plastics, at a time when that industry was in its infancy.
The Horners' encourage creative, innovative and sustainable design ideas and practises through a number of distinguished awards given annually.
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Industry
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Plastics Manufacturing
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Company size
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51-200 employees
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Headquarters
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Evesham, Worcestershire
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Type
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Nonprofit
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Founded
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1284
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Specialties
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Plastics, Design, Horn, City of London, Bottlemakers, Polymer, Science, Education, Fellowship & Support, Industry, Traditions, Students, Livery Company, Design Innovation in Plastics, Charites, Annual Awards, Scholarships, Excellence in Plastics, Tradition, and Sustainability
