On Saturday 8 June 2024, Deacon David McClements represented the Incorporation of Cordiners in Glasgow at the annual festival of Basel’s E. E. Zunft zu Schuhmachern.
A warm welcome in Basel
The Basel guild’s 2024 publication, Dr Pfriem, welcomed David by name among the guests attending the festival. His visit continued a friendship between craft bodies whose histories are rooted in shoemaking and leatherworking.
Basel’s Shoemakers’ Guild traces its organised history to 1250. Glasgow’s Cordiners were formally incorporated by Seal of Cause in 1558. Although the two organisations developed in different cities and traditions, both have carried an ancient craft identity into modern charitable and civic life.
A friendship built through shared craft
The connection predates David’s visit. In 2020, Basel’s guild paper Basler Banner described active relationships with cordwainer organisations in London, York and Glasgow. These links have been sustained through personal contact, invitations, hospitality and attendance at guild occasions.
David’s visit therefore formed part of a continuing exchange rather than a one-off ceremonial appearance. It placed the Glasgow Cordiners alongside other historic craft bodies that continue to share fellowship across national boundaries.
Keeping an old tradition alive
There is no single formal “twinning” date attached to the friendship. Its character is more personal: members meeting one another, taking part in each other’s traditions and maintaining relationships built around a common craft heritage.
For the Incorporation, the Basel connection is a reminder that the story of the Cordiners reaches beyond Glasgow. Shoemaking guilds once regulated a vital trade; today their shared traditions create opportunities for fellowship, charitable exchange and international friendship.
Further reading
- Dr Pfriem, issue 2, 2024, including the report of the Basel festival.
- Basler Banner, issue 59, November 2020, describing the guild’s British friendships.
- E. E. Zunft zu Schuhmachern, Basel.
