The Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers

At a first look it may not be easy to see the relevance of an organisation that is nearly 400 years old to the modern world of eye health. It holds meetings in a building constructed in the 17^th century. It is governed by its ‘master and wardens’ who preside over ‘the Court’, its ‘learned clerk’ is effectively the CEO of the Company and its membership is made up of ‘freemen’ and ‘liverymen’, the latter of whom may attend ‘common hall’ each year to vote for the ‘sheriffs’ and Lord Mayor of the City of London. But start to look behind the pageantry and traditions of the company and you start to see a unique, vibrant, multi-disciplinary organisation as passionate and dedicated to preventing and treating vision impairment today as it was when it was founded in 1629.