Through its interest in apprenticeship, The Clothworkers' Company has had a long-standing concern for education. After the Company ceased to have direct links with its craft in the nineteenth century, it sought to support the textile industry in Britain through grants to bodies offering technical education. These included the institutions which preceded the Universities of Leeds, Bradford and Huddersfield. The Company continues to have a very strong link with The University of Leeds and has recently established a connection with The University of Manchester.
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n conjunction with other Livery Companies, the Clothworkers also played an instrumental role in setting up the City and Guilds of London Institute.
Nowadays, this interest is fostered primarily through the charitable work of The Clothworkers' Foundation. The Foundation continues to support a variety of educational bodies, in particular those relating to textiles, such as the Royal School of Needlework, the Royal College of Art, the Textile Conservation Centre at the University of Southampton and others.
Find out more about our links with the University of Leeds >>
Find out more about our links with The University of Manchester >>
Find out more about the City and Guilds of London Institute >>