The Company was founded as The Fraternity of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, and like most guilds, held Christianity at it heart. The Hall includes a chapel and altar for worship, and details of the chapel's contents and decoration are recorded in the Company's medieval cartulary. 

The fraternity also did charitable works. Early funds were directed to the founding of a hospital for the care of the poor of York - Trinity Hospital - which was based in the guild hall. Much later in the Company's life, this would also become the setting for another charity providing care to the poor of York - the York Dispensary.  

The Company has a rich collection of prayer books, both for personal use and for Company use. These can provide interesting insights into the religious life of the guild and of the people working within it. The image above is taken from a unique volume - a Finnish hymnal dating to 1772 - believed to have come from an island community near Narva in Estonia, which was on one of the Company's trade routes. 

One of the longest-standing bequests to the Company is that of Jane Stainton. Jane was the grand-daughter of a former Company Governor.  In 1692, her will left money for support of a widow of the Company and the payment of a schoolmistress to teach six poor girls of York. She also left instructions for a sermon to be preached on or near the anniversary of the execution of Charles I. Over three hundred years later, this sermon is still preached using the Company's bible, on the Sunday closest to 30th January.

Explore the Jane Stainton sermons through our online catalogue.