History of The Horners Award

On the 25th April 1945 the British Plastics Federation received a letter from Thomas F. Clarke, the Clerk to the Worshipful Company of Horners, suggesting an award for craftsmen in the Plastics Industry should be established.  The letter stated that the award should be...

“expended at the discretion of the Council of the British Plastics Federation in the provision of awards to craftsmen in the Plastics Industry, consideration being given to the encouragement of the younger craftsmen, such awards to be known as the Worshipful Company of Horners’ Awards.”

This letter marked the formal start of discussions which led to a link between the Horners ancient craft and the modern plastics industry.  This relationship between the Federation and the Worshipful Company blossomed strongly over the ensuing years and still flourishes to this very day.

On the 16th May 1945 at a Council meeting of the BPF (held at 47/48 Piccadilly, London) it was agreed that a sub-committee "would consider the terms of the Award and make recommendations thereon to the Executive Committee".

In 1946 the award was officially launched and The Worshipful Company of Horners donated 50 guineas to the BPF "to be expended at the discretion of the Council on awards to craftsmen in the plastics industry" and to mark the occasion an an exhibition of plastics was staged at Guildhall.

In 1947 there were two classes, one for the designer a mould in which the first ever prize was won by W. Westwood of the Tool Makers, Fox & Offord Ltd. and a drawing for the arrangement of a moulding tool in which the first prize was won by F Seed of United Ebonite and Lorival.

A few years later the regulations for the award were modified to cover the design of a product made from plastics materials. 

To mark the twentith year of the award, in 1966 moves were made to modernise it.   The regulations were altered to enable the judges to set a specific subject for the award each year (in 1966 it was 'an article of furniture') and the prize money was increased to 200 guineas.  It was noted at the time that "these changes produced a significant upsurge in the number and standard of the entries". 

The Homers Award was again reviewed in 1974 with the Worshipful Company and a major change was instituted to state that to be eligible for the competition the entry needed to be "the design of a product or a process which had already been in commercial production for at least two years", the criteria for judging was expanded to include "entries on the basis of the beneficial contribution made to society through the imaginative use of plastics".   In the same year official trophy was commisioned - the trophy, which was described at the time as "a new and handsome" was decorated with the arms of the Worshipful Company. 

This horn has been presented annually ever since but remains the property of the Company.  Certificates and mini-horns are also presented to winners for them to keep.  

In 1467 The Worshipful Company of Horners' merged with the Bottlemakers Company (who made bottles from leather) and in October 2002, at the Interplas Exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham, a new award was announced the award for Bottlemaking.

The David Williams award was launched in 2022 and was created in the memory of Horners Past Master David Williams.  David was a committed Horner whose contribution to the Company was immense.  David was also a Past President of the British Plastics Federation.  It is awarded ‘for social contribution through plastics.’

Previous Winners

• BPF Horners Bottlemakers Award For Plastic Packaging (2002-Present Day)
• BPF Horners Award for Polymer Innovation and Design (1947-Present Day)
• David Williams Award (2022-Present Day)

Horners Award Trophy	Worshipful Company of Horners Crest	Bottlemakers Award	David Williams Award

History of The Worshipful Company of Horners

The earliest extant written reference to the Worshipful Company of Horners was in 1284 but the craft of the Horner dates back to "tyme out of mynde". Cornucopia, the horn of plenty, featured in classical literature; bronze age artefacts often contain horn and sounding horns (shofars) are described in the Old Testament.

Horn was inexpensive and readily available and was used for containing solids and liquids and for bugles and simple musical instruments. In addition elaborately decorated horns were used for the conveyancing of land and property. Horn is a natural thermoplastic and can be worked by heat and pressure to make a wide variety of artefacts, such as beakers, buckles, combs and buttons. It can also be pressed into thin translucent sheets that can be used for windows and lanterns .

The Livery Companies of the City of London had their origins well before the Doomsday Book and are similar to the fraternities and guilds (or mysteries) that flourished throughout Europe for many centuries. The Worshipful Company of Horners originally controlled the purchase and sale of raw horns within 24 miles of the City of London and the early statutes were to protect these rights. In addition, the Company controlled the trade by limiting its membership, assuring quality and controlling the admittance of apprentices. It also acted as a welfare organisation, looking after widows and attending to funerals. The term "Livery" refers to the practice of wearing a distinctive form of clothing.

The Horner's Company operates under a Charter received from Charles I in 1638 but it is known that there were earlier charters and the Company is currently 54th in the order of precedence of the City Livery Companies. Quite when this position was established is not known but it was confirmed by the Commissioners on Municipal Corporation in 1837. In any case, the position is somewhat arbitrary because in 1376 the Horners had been listed as 26th out of 41 (some sources claim 48) "mysteries of the City of London". However, there is also some doubt as to whether the position in that list represented the official seniority in the City at that time.

The Industrial Revolution and the subsequent dislike of trade restrictions led to a reduction in the influence of the trade guilds. However, some retained their ancient rights and others became associated with their modern equivalents. Many, if not all, of the artefacts previously made in horn began to be made from plastics and in 1943, the Horners became closely associated with the plastics industry. The association became even closer with the introduction of plastic bottles. The leather bottlemakers were amalgamated with the Horners in 1475 and three leather bottles have been part of their arms ever since. However, the arms had not been officially recognized and in 1992 a Grant of Arms was obtained and references to the plastics association were incorporated into the blazon and crest. The Narwhal Horn surmounting the crest - a Narwhal Horn is in reference to the narwhal Horn that is carried at the head of the procession into dinner at the Annual Banquet ).