Membership

The Freedom

There are four avenues of entry into the Salters’ Freedom:

Freedom by Patrimony: The children of members of the Freedom or Livery born after the date of their parents’ admission to the Company are eligible for membership of the Freedom by Patrimony when they are 21 years old. A letter is put forward to the Clerk by the member having confirmed the member is interested.

Freedom by Redemption: Applicants are nominated by another member who will be then processed by the Court & Livery Selection Committee and they will make the decision as to whether an application form is forwarded to the Applicant.

Honorary Freedom: From time to time, the Company will recognise outstanding achievement in relevant fields of endeavour by offering Honorary Freedom (Honoris Causa) to individuals with no previous association with the Salters.

Freedom by Service: After satisfactorily serving four years of their Apprenticeship Programme (see below), Apprentices are normally nominated for the Freedom by their Apprentice Master.

New members of the Freedom are entitled to obtain the Freedom of the City of London.

All avenues lead to a vote at Court where they have reviewed the application form and vote to decision whether the applicant is successful. The successful candidate will be invited to a Court meeting to have their formal admission and receive a certificate that is stamped with the Company Seal and signed by the Master, Upper Warden and Second Warden and declare the Oath of the Freeman, which the Clerk reads;

Yee shall swear that you shall be faithful and true to our Sovereign Lord King Charles, his heirs and successors. Yee shall, to the best of your power and skill, observe and keep all the lawful ordinances and statutes made for the good rule and politic guiding of the Fellowship of Slaters. Yee shall also keep all the lawful secrets of the said fellowship. All these points and articles above rehearsed, yee shall justly and truly observe, perform and keep.

You then reply: “I do so swear.”

The Livery

Traditionally, the members of the Livery are drawn from the Freedom and are the full members of the Company. As such, they enjoy the status, privileges and responsibilities that this membership bestows on them.

Election and admission to the Livery of members of the Freedom (who must be a Freeman of the City of London) is the business of the Court. Freemen who become more involved and interested in the Company will be encouraged to apply to join the Livery. They may be invited to put their name forward for election by the Clerk, or by a member of the Livery, or they may apply to the Clerk at any stage. A letter to the Clerk outlining the reasons for wanting to join the Livery is expected. This is then reviewed by the Court & Livery Selection Committee and a recommendation made to Court. Progression to the Court is also by election, recommended by the Court & Livery Selection Committee.

The Salters’ Apprenticeship Programme offers an opportunity for young people aged between 18 and 25 to join the Company under the guidance of an Apprentice Master. The Apprenticeship Programme normally takes four years, at the end of which the Apprentice Master will normally nominate the Apprentice for membership of the Freedom.

To be eligible as a Salters’ Apprentice, applicants need to have either:

Received an Institute prize or award or
Held a SCF Sixth Form bursary, a Salters’ Arkwright Scholarship, or a Salters’ Guildhall School of Music & Drama technical bursary

Entry into the Company

Entry into the Livery

The Apprenticeship Programme