The Guild of Master Craftsmen - promoting excellence.

Nightingale Bathrooms® Ltd are delighted to announce that we are now proud members of The Guild of Master Craftsmen. The Guild of Master Craftsmen is an organisation devoted to the promotion of excellence and the engendering of craftsmanship.

Origins of The Guild of Master Craftsmen

The Guild of Master Craftsmen continues a great tradition established by the guilds of medieval Europe. The earliest of these were 'frith' or 'peace' guilds - groups bonded together for mutual protection following the breakdown of the kins, which were groups related by blood ties. Merchant guilds - associations of international trades - were powerful in the 12th and 13th centuries, but lost their ascendancy with the rise of the craft guilds - associations of master craftsmen, journeymen, apprentices and the various trades connected with a particular craft.

Guilds were devoted largely to the regulation of their crafts and the endeavours to support their members' interests against the competing ones of their suppliers or of related trades. Undoubtedly there is as much need today for a guild to represent skilled craftspeople as there has ever been.

Members of The Guild of Master Craftsmen are required to maintain the Aims & Objectives, or membership will be terminated.

1. To bring together all artisans engaged in a craft, art, trade, profession or vocation, in order to safeguard the interests of both craftsmen and the public.
2. To ensure that the minimum qualifications for membership preserve the high standards of The Guild by excluding unskilled tradesmen.
3. To publicise these high standards through national and local media, thus increasing public awareness of the ideals and aims of The Guild and its members.
4. To promote to the public the trading assets of its members, their honour, integrity, professional expertise, high standards of workmanship and the value for money which they offer.
5. To provide clear identification and recognition for members, in order to enable the public to distinguish them from unskilled tradesmen who try to pass themselves off as master craftsmen, and so to attract and direct work to members of The Guild.
6. To assist all members and to protect them against the damaging and devaluing activities of the unskilled, against bureaucratic discrimination, against penal taxation and adverse legislation. Equally, to protect the public by instilling in our members a greater sense of responsibility, alerting them to the national importance of the services they render, monitoring these standards to ensure that The Guild’s high standards are being maintained, and by encouraging members to always strive for excellence.
7. To encourage an interchange of views amongst members, to unite these views and to bring them to the attention of the Government and local authorities in order to safeguard the livelihood and welfare of members and their dependants.
8. To constitute a pressure group to seek the support of one or more Members of Parliament to make sure that someone speaks out for the interests of Guild members where it matters most.
9. To promote continual research within the craft, trade, art, profession or vocation in which members are engaged, thus benefitting both members and the public.
10. To foster learning amongst apprentices and students in order to perpetuate the survival, evolution and success of their particular craft.
11. To promote sponsorship of The Guild by persons, firms and organisations, whether by financial support, by endorsement of the activities of The Guild, or by patronage.

You can find more information about The Guild by clicking here. To contact us to arrange your free survey and quotation please complete our contact form or call us on 0800 566 8889.