From leatherworking craft to modern Glasgow charity
The Cordiners grew from the craftspeople who made and worked with leather goods in Glasgow. Their surviving records show an organised craft before the Seal of Cause of 1558. The modern Incorporation continues that history through charitable giving, education and community support.
Key dates
- 1550: a Michaelmas minute records the election of officers by the craftsmen.
- 1558: the Seal of Cause formally incorporated the Craft and confirmed its responsibilities for apprenticeship, standards and trade within the burgh.
- 1605: the Trades House of Glasgow was founded, bringing together the city’s incorporated crafts.
- 1788, 1794 and 1815: surviving Cordiners’ bells associated with the Choosing Dinner date from these years.
- 1919: the Incorporation was reincorporated by Royal Charter.
- 2017: Body and Sole was established, connecting the Cordiners’ footwear heritage with support for young people.
- 2024: Deacon David McClements represented the Incorporation at the annual festival of Basel’s E. E. Zunft zu Schuhmachern.
What the Craft once did
The historic Incorporation regulated entry to the trade through apprenticeship, monitored the quality of goods offered for sale and represented those working in the leather trades. As industrial production transformed shoemaking, its function changed.
A living tradition
The Incorporation now supports charitable causes, students, apprentices and community activity. It sends six representatives to the Trades House and maintains historic ceremonies, records, objects and offices, including the annual Choosing Dinner.
The Glasgow–Basel connection
The Incorporation enjoys a continuing friendship with Basel’s E. E. Zunft zu Schuhmachern, the city’s historic Shoemakers’ Guild.
The two organisations are connected by a shared craft heritage and by the friendships built when members meet at guild occasions. Basel’s Basler Banner described active relationships with the cordwainer bodies in London, York and Glasgow as part of this wider international fellowship.
In June 2024, Deacon David McClements represented the Glasgow Cordiners at the Basel guild’s annual festival. He was welcomed among the visiting guests in the guild’s own publication, Dr Pfriem.
The friendship has grown through visits, invitations and shared traditions rather than a single formal twinning ceremony. It remains a living connection between two historic craft bodies with strong identities in their respective cities.
Objects and traditions
The Incorporation’s former website records bells used at the Choosing Dinner, dated 1788, 1794 and 1815. It also illustrates the Craft’s silverware and its section of the frieze in the Grand Hall. These objects connect the Incorporation’s present-day fellowship with its longer history.
Portraits of past office-bearers
The former website identifies Great Hall portraits of John Stevenson, Deacon in 1705, 1706, 1709 and 1710, and William McTyer, Deacon in 1816 and Deacon Convener in 1823.
