Archives

The Tallow Chandlers Hall contains many hidden treasures, varying from 15th century charters to Victorian photographs and beyond. A project was begun in 2016 to organise this previously uncatalogued collection that had been bundled together in the Company Hall’s basement for decades.

Though still in progress, much of the collection is now catalogued. The archive includes records of members, Company business, Company properties and estates, financial records, Clerk’s correspondence and supporting documents, and records of the Average Market Committee, in addition to the charters, paintings and other artefacts displayed around the Hall.

Much of the archive collection is contained at the Tallow Chandlers Hall at Dowgate Hill, though some older items are held at the London Metropolitan Archives for safekeeping. Also, our court minutes up to 1952, and various accompts and deputations can be found at the Guildhall Library.

If you have any enquiries regarding the collection held at the Hall, please contact the Company Archivist at archivist@tallowchandlers.org

If you are interested in genealogical research and are looking for the names of old members of the Company, the Tallow Chandlers are part of the ROLLCO (Records of London’s Livery Companies Online) partnership. Following extensive work by members of the Company to create a database of all deceased members, you can search for and view details of Company members before 1900 at www.londonroll.org.

This search engine is also useful if you are interested in researching a specific surname, or Livery Company members more generally. The results will show you which company a person was associated with, their level of membership and the date they were enrolled, as well as their occupation and location if the information is available. You can refine your search by company, name, occupation, place of residence and date.

ROLLCO is a not-for-profit project and access is free to all.