Habs Company and Schools
The Haberdashers’ Company of London is an ancient merchant guild associated with the silk and velvet trades. Today, part of the company’s activity involves trusteeship of several educational charities which support 18 schools.
At Habs, we are proud to be part of a family of mutually supporting schools of all types and sizes. These range from brand new state academies to centuries-old independent schools like ours.
The company’s amazing history
Founded in 1371, the Haberdashers’ Company (previously the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers) is one of the ‘Great Twelve’ City livery companies; the 12 highest ranked among all 110 livery companies in the City of London.
Livery companies were set up as fraternities. In this case, it was a group of people who lived in the same area of London, doing the same sort of work, who worshipped at St Paul’s Cathedral. The members were haberdashers selling ribbons, beads, purses, gloves, pins, caps and later, hats.
In 1448, the company was granted a charter of incorporation by King Henry VI. The first of its livery halls was built on the corner of Gresham Street, just around the corner from St Paul’s, in 1459.
By 1650, London had grown so large it was no longer possible to control the haberdashery trade. A change in the company’s direction led to an emphasis on education and charitable giving.
Among its other activities, the Haberdashers’ Company is now a trustee of several charitable trusts which operate 18 schools, broken into four groups.
Haberdashers' Elstree Schools
Our two independent day schools are located in Elstree in Hertfordshire. They take day students from 4 to 18, with both schools sharing a fabulous co-educational campus:
- Habs Girls, founded in 1875
- Habs Boys, founded in 1690
Haberdashers’ Academy Trust South
This London multi-academy trust can trace its schools’ history back to 1876. There are four state secondary schools and five state primary schools:
- Haberdashers’ Knights Primary
- Haberdashers’ Crayford Primary
- Haberdashers’ Slade Green Primary
- Haberdashers’ Hatcham Primary
- Haberdashers’ Hatcham Free School (primary)
- Haberdashers’ Borough Academy
- Haberdashers’ Crayford Academy
- Haberdashers’ Knights Academy
- Haberdashers’ Hatcham College
Haberdashers’ West Midlands Academy Trust
Established in 2012, the trust runs two state schools:
- Haberdashers’ Abraham Darby, a co-educational academy for boys in Telford
- Haberdashers’ Adams, a selective grammar school for day students and boarders in Newport
Haberdashers’ Monmouth Schools
Fully co-educational from September 2024, Haberdashers’ Monmouth Schools in South Wales is an independent school made up of four previously-linked, but separate schools:
- Monmouth Prep School for girls and boys
- Monmouth School for Girls (senior)
- Monmouth School for Boys (senior)
- Monmouth Schools Sixth Form
