The History of the Guild of Essex.
Craftsmen.
A series of meetings were arranged by the Rural Community Council of Essex, following a notice they had placed in a local newspaper. Cllr. Chris Manning-Press was head of the RCCE at that time and his deputy, Bob Richmond, ran the monthly meetings in their offices in Springfield Road, Chelmsford. In 1984 the RCCE prepared a directory of Essex Craftsmen. Following this compilation it became apparent that there was a need for a Guild of Craftsmen working in Essex, and so the Guild was formed. David Coleman, a cabinet maker, was the 1st Guild Chairman, with Jenny Harrison as Secretary, and she carried on writing a monthly newsletter until 1989 when Frances Elliott became chairman, along with a small committee. In 1990 the Guild moved from the offices of Rural Community Council of Essex in Chelmsford, as a larger room was needed for meetings and the AGM. There were 56 Members in that first directory. Our current membership is 180.
From the very beginning all new members had displayed their crafts at the AGM, but in October 1996 we began a selection system to join the Guild. If the craft work was deemed to be of a very high standard, the craft worker was awarded membership. This was changed to April and made an annual event from 1997, so as to coincide with the Guild's financial Year, and to enable the new members details to be included in that years Annual Directory. This system continues today, although venue's have changed as the need arose.
Past and current Chairman
1984 and 1985 David Coleman - first Guild Chairman. (Retiring due to ill health in 1986)
1986 Les Parker.
1987 and 1988 George Roberts
1989 till 1995 Frances Elliott (Founder Member)
1996 Ann Wood
1997 to date Celia Reed - Current Chairman
Past and Current Presidents
1984 - 2004. Cllr. Mrs Con Johnson - Past Mayor of Chelmsford with special interest in the Arts.
2005 to date The Lord Petre - The Lord Lieutenant of Essex
Guild Vice Presidents
2000 Frances Elliott - in recognition of her services to the Guild.
2005 Cllr. Chris Manning-Press - in recognition of his assistance in starting the Guild.
2005 Ms Chris Cole - Retired Arts Officer, Havering Council.
Founder Members of the Guild who are still members
Pauline Dowse (Served as Guild Membership Sec. from 1987 till 1995)
Frances Elliott (Past Chairman)