The Modern Era
The good works of the Company continued into the twentieth century, surviving the stock-market crash and Great Depression. However, the outbreak of the Second World War was to prove more cataclysmic. For the first time, bombardment caused huge damage to the City and Clothworkers' Hall itself was destroyed on 10-11 May 1941. Many of the Company's properties were also destroyed, and after the War, the Company sold its suburban estates, enabling it to reinvest the money in building up larger blocks in the City for redevelopment on a substantial scale.
Rationalisation of the properties was accompanied by reorganisation in other spheres and in 1977 The Clothworkers' Foundation was founded as the Company's charitable arm.
In 1984, the Company drew up a new set of Ordinances, the first since 1639. Amongst other changes, these placed female members on an equal footing with their male counterparts, allowing them to be promoted within the Company for the first time.
The Company continues to seek new ways in which to promote excellence: for example, in 1987 the refurbishing of the Hall was awarded a City Heritage Award.
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