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WCOBM City & Awards Luncheon
Apothecaries’ Hall
Black Friars Lane
London, EC4V 6EJ
This event is open to Liverymen and Freemen of the Worshipful Company of Builders’ Merchants and their guests only.
The 2026 14th City & Awards Luncheon is held at Apothecaries’ Hall on Monday 16th March. The event begins at 12.15pm, with lunch served at 1pm. There will be a tour of Apothecaries’ Hall at 11.45am for our guests.
Cost: £150pp including VAT, or £105pp including VAT for guests in the “emerging talent” category. The cost includes a reception and three-course sumptuous lunch including wines. Please scroll down on this page to purchase tickets.
The Company’s annual City & Awards Lunch is an occasion to celebrate success, both within our industry and in organisations with which we are associated. This is also your opportunity to showcase emerging talent in your own company, by bringing along ‘rising stars’/’emerging talent’ as guests. “Emerging talent” refers to an individual who is showing signs of progression within your business and with potential to advance to management positions. They are typically junior and are motivated and skilled.
This prestigious event gives you the opportunity to entertain valued customers in the unique surroundings of one of London’s historic Livery Halls, as well as to celebrate the achievements of a range of inspirational people connected to our industry and affiliations (see list of Awards below).
Our Guest of Honour is Dr Lois Rowe, Principal of the City & Guilds of London Art School. Dr. Lois Rowe joined the Art School in 2022 after a successful career at the University of the Arts London (UAL), where she was Programme Director of Fine Art and led Knowledge Exchange. She is also an active artist and researcher with a background in theatrical costume design from Canada and Japan. Her work focuses on textiles, soft sculptures, film, and video, and she has published on cultural topics. Lois has initiated international research partnerships, curated projects, and organized academic conferences. She holds degrees from Dalhousie University, and Concordia University in Canada, Glasgow School of Art, and Goldsmiths College. More information on Dr Lois Rowe can be found at: https://www.cityandguildsartschool.ac.uk/dr-lois-rowe/
REFUNDS: Refunds can only be requested before Monday 2nd March 2026 by emailing the Clerk at jane.hilliard@wcobm.co.uk
DRESS CODE: Business Attire (including ties for men/skirt/dress/trouser suit for women). Livery Badges and decorations.
PARKING: Very limited meter parking is available in Black Friars Lane. There is an NCP car park nearby at Baynard House car park: https://www.ncp.co.uk/find-a-car-park/car-parks/london-baynard-house/
ACCESSIBILITY: There is an accessible entrance and the Hall is on the ground floor.
LIST OF AWARDS
WCOBM AFFILIATIONS
- Outstanding Service to the Royal Navy
- All Round Contribution to unit effectiveness
Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment (3PWRR):
- Best Soldier
- Best Recruit
Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF):
- Excellence Award
- Aviator of the Year
- Outstanding Cadet
INDUSTRY AWARDS
Builders’ Merchants Federation (BMF):
- Best Performing Diploma Student
- Best Performing Apprentice of the Year
Build Up Foundation: Build up runs practical construction projects for young people aged 10 – 23, giving them the opportunity to design and build structures that benefit their local communities to run and manage construction sites, make decisions and see the real-life impact they can have.
- Design & Construction
City & Guilds of London Art School:
- Historical Carving
OTHER
- Rising Star Award – ex-offender who has thrived through the Livery movement supporting offender rehabilitation.
Master’s Award: Awarded to a WCoBM Liveryman who has raised the reputation of the Company in the City, through his/her committed and consistent involvement in various Livery and City-wide projects.
A Short History of Apothecaries’ Hall
The current Hall of the Apothecaries’ Society is the oldest extant Livery Company Hall in the City of London; the Apothecaries acquired their Hall in Blackfriars in 1632. Formerly the guesthouse of the Dominican Priory of the Black Friars, the original Hall burnt down in the Great Fire of 1666 and was rebuilt in 1672.
A major restoration was carried out in the 1780s, when an ‘Elaboratory’ was included for the first-ever large-scale manufacture of drugs, located on ground level along the eastern side of the courtyard, underneath the Great Hall. Although the Hall underwent major redevelopment 200 years later, its external appearance has altered little since the late-18th century.
The beautifully furnished Great Hall remains as it was in 1670 with a carved screen at the south end of the room and a minstrels’ gallery at the north end. The room is full of life sized portraits and stunning stained glass containing Coats of Arms of Past Masters and former Officers of the Society.
The central 24-branch candelabrum suspended from the ceiling was presented to the Society by Sir Benjamin Rawling, who was Sheriff of London and Master in 1736.
The oak panelled Court Room is reminiscent of the Great Hall in look and dates from the same period. The room is dominated by two large stained glass windows, one depicting the Society’s Coat of Arms, the other the Stuart Royal Arms. Portraits adorn the walls, and the painting which hangs over the fireplace is that of Gideon de Laune, Royal Apothecary to Queen Anne and founder of the Society, which was presented to the Society of Apothecaries in 1641.
The Parlour contains a large, wall-to-wall showcase in which many of the Society’s apothecaries’ drug jars and pill tiles are displayed. It adjoins the Court Room and there is a connecting oak door between them.
The Champagne Bar forms an elegant entrance and foyer to the Hall, complete with a roaring fire. From 1672 until 1922, the Society of Apothecaries manufactured medicinal and pharmaceutical products onsite and sold some of their products from a retail outlet known as ‘The Shop’ opening onto Water Lane (now Blackfriars Lane). Much of the manufactured drugs were to supply clients of the society which included the navy and the army. Reimagined, the bar takes its inspiration from the original dispensing counter and drawers whilst original apothecary jars decorate the walls.
French doors open to the adjacent Courtyard, which has been refurbished to a stunning white with blue façade.