First Scot presides over historic London institution which commissioned stunning portrait of King

Drapers Company is a former medieval trade guild that now distributes £5m a year to charitable causes

One of the City of London’s oldest but least known institutions has a Scot at the helm for the first time in its 650-year history.

The Drapers’ Company is a livery company, a former medieval guild that regulated and protected the woollen cloth trade and trained apprentices, including from Scotland.

It is now a philanthropic body which grants £5 million a year to support causes such as education, prisoner rehabilitation, the homeless and old people's care.

The company’s magnificent Drapers’ Hall, close to the Bank of England, which was founded more than 300 years later, is a favourite among TV and film companies, standing in for Buckingham Palace in films such as in The King’s Speech, and a location for dramas such as Goldeneye, Killing Eve and The Diplomat.

The Livery Hall has been used as a film and TV location | Richard Kalina

The Drapers also has close links with the Royal Family, and commissioned a vivid 8.5ft-high portrait of the King to mark his 50 years as a member of the company, which was seen by 500,000 people after being unveiled at Buckingham Palace last year.

Morag Shiach, from Rothienorman in Aberdeenshire and a former professor of cultural history at Queen Mary University of London, is this year’s elected Master of the Drapers, which can trace its history to at least 1364, when it was granted its first royal charter.

Master of the Drapers' Company Professor Morag Shiach beside Jonathan Yeo's portrait of King Charles | Alastair Dalton/The Scotsman

She was invited to join the company 12 years ago following her involvement with several schools it sponsors.

Prof Shiach told The Scotsman: “The broad understanding of what modern livery companies do is really not very widespread despite the fact the names of the companies are very visible.

“Over time, we have become primarily a philanthropic organisation after being given legacies by Drapers who asked us to use them to support various charitable purposes. We administer bequests, we give grants to various charities, and overwhelmingly we support education.

“We have endowments made over hundreds of years and are not reliant on individual donations, so our charitable capacity has not declined and we have seen a significant increase in the number of people applying to us for support.

“Our aim is to be an enduring force for good.”

The main entrance to Drapers Hall in Throgmorton Street in the City of London | Alastair Dalton/The Scotsman

Prof Shiach’s links with the Drapers were forged while vice principal of Queen Mary University of London, which was established with support from the company.

She said: “I was in charge of the teaching and learning, and as such began to work with the vompany because they were giving grants to our students and had members sitting on our governing body.

“Then we decided we would jointly sponsor a new academy - secondary school - in the London Borough of Havering, and that has now become a multi-academy trust with a number of schools.

“For a few years, I was chairing the board of that trust, so the company invited me to join and then asked me if I’d like to get more involved.”

Although Prof Shiach has lived in London for 30 years, she said: “The connection to Scotland is quite important - my parents were both in education and very involved in their communities. There was a sense you had a kind of responsibility in terms of community and civic events, and I feel that quite strongly.

“It’s something that I’ve found worthwhile and that I can do. So there is some of that culture of the north east of Scotland that comes down with me.”

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The company’s main link to Scotland is with the University of Glasgow, supporting its textile conservation centre by providing funding for postgraduate students.

Prof Shiach said: “The university has invested quite a lot in the centre at the Kelvin Hall, building up research and teaching facilities and labs. As an investment in the city, it’s pretty impressive, so we’re keen to support that.”

Membership of the Drapers is split between those with family links and others who are invited to join - a bit like the House of Lords.

Since 2001, 60 per per cent of those admitted are in the former category and 40 per cent in the latter. Since then, when admission rules were equalised for women and men, nearly half of those joining have been female, although membership is still two thirds male. The company currently has 910 members.

My own family, the Daltons, is believed to be one of two with the longest association with the company, stretching back 245 years to 1780.

The Dalton family crest in the Court Dining Room of Drapers Hall | Alastair Dalton/The Scotsman

The first, eight generations ago, was William Edward Dalton, a linen draper, based, rather appropriately in my case, in Fleet Street.

Prof Shiach said there was an increasing expectation that members became involved in the company’s work.

She said: “The culture is changing. We talk very clearly about the expectations of being a Draper and making a contribution.

“I think that’s important because the history of this organisation is about people collectively working to achieve clear benefits, and that is how we see the future.”

If there is low public awareness of the company, Jonathan Yeo’s portrait of King Charles has helped raise its profile.

Prof Shiach said: “We feel very lucky to have it and it raises the quality of the environment in our hall.

Master of the Drapers' Company Morag Shiach beside Jonathan Yeo's portrait of King Charles | Alastair Dalton/The Scotsman

“It’s fascinating - for everybody who has come to anything here, the first thing they want to do is to look at the portrait and see what the power of it is in this enormous space. We’ve had a lot of selfies.

“It was commissioned when the King was still the Prince of Wales, to recognise his 50 years as a member of this company.

“One of our past masters, William Charnley, very kindly offered to sponsor this painting. He had connections with the artist, so we were able to get something that’s not only a striking portrait but also a really important work of art.

“It’s a very fresh approach to royal portraiture, which can sometimes be quite rigid in its form, and this is quite free and expressive.”

The painting is on public view during London’s annual Open House Festival - similar to Doors Open Day in Scotland - with which Drapers Hall is expected to take part again in mid-September.