Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths wave a magic wand and donate £10 million to the Cheapside Hoard

In April, after a private visit to the Cheapside Hoard deep in the vaults of the Museum of London, Luxury Topping made a wish for a fairy godmother to donate funds to ensure the Cheapside Hoard could be on permanent display. Our wish was granted! Judith Cobham-Lowe, the first woman Prime Warden of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths in over 690 years, waved a magic wand and a gallery bearing the Goldsmiths’ name will be at the heart of the new Museum when it opens in 2022 with this magnificent donation from their affiliated Charity.The Museum of London has long been the home of the collection of the Cheapside Hoard. There is currently only a small fraction of the collection on display, but now thanks to the generous donation by Goldsmiths Company we will all be able to marvel at the 500 year old collection in its entirety. The Hoard was discovered in Cheapside in 1912 by a group of builders upon the demolition of a house near St Paul’s, which had been hidden for over 350 years. For more information about this fascinating discovery, read our articles on Luxury Topping.London was the centre of global goldsmiths working in gold and trading gemstones from all over the world. The Hoard is regarded as the single most important find of its type in the world, and gives a whole new meaning to hiding your jewellery under the floorboards. Today, as demonstrated in the annual Goldsmiths’ Fair, London is the capital of creativity and design. The joining together of the Goldsmiths’ world renowned collection of history of silver and jewellery, plus the dedication of Hazel Forsyth, the Curator and expert on the Cheapside Hoard, gives an opportunity to show to the world these amazing collections combined to glitter and glisten together.

There are still more magic wands to be waved, as there is another £60 million to be raised before 2022, a large hurdle requiring more fairy godmothers with large magic wands! However, the good news is that you can see the creative work of modern contemporary jewellery designers and silversmiths at Goldsmiths’ Fair, which will run from the 28^th September for two weeks and put a sparkle into your life by buying directly from a contemporary jewellery designer.

For more information:
www.goldsmithsfair.co.uk
www.museumoflondon.org.uk
www.thegoldsmiths.co.uk

First image courtesy Goldsmith’s Company; All other images courtesy Museum of London.