Why We Formed a Guild of Nurses

The Guild of Nurses was the first stage in becoming a City of London Livery Company. In 2016 the Guild came into being and was recognised as a 'Company without Livery' on the Bicentenary of Florence Nightingale's birthday in 2020. The Court of Aldermen of the City of London considered the Petition submitted by the Court of The Company of Nurses on May 15 2023 and approved the Company's recognition as the Worshipful Company of Nurses. The Company joins the other 110 Livery Companies, the oldest of which dates back to the 12th Century and will take its place as No.111 in the Livery Companies’ order of precedence.

The Founders all trained in the City of London, at St Bartholomew's Hospital School of Nursing.  We saw first-hand the value and contribution that the Livery Companies offer and we felt that nurses should be included amongst the noble professions who are represented within the Livery world. We also saw this as an opportunity to promote the nursing profession and to leave a lasting legacy to the nursing profession that will live well beyond our careers and life times.

We believe that the training and the skills we gained left us well equipped to go on to the wide variety of careers that we have pursued - both within nursing and beyond. We were taught to a very high standard and would like to ensure that whilst these skills endure, nursing also continues to embrace all that recent research and modern technology can offer.

For more information about our profession and the Livery - see Livery and History

To help you understand the work of the Company and what we do, there is a short summary, available here.