The Court of Assistants
The Governance of The Company of Merchant Adventurers of the City of York is directed by a Court of Assistants, similar to a board of trustees. In accordance with the Royal Charter of 1581 the Court has nineteen members. The Governor is the Chairman and they are supported by eighteen assistants all who are elected annually at Charter Day, our equivalent of an Annual General Meeting.
The Court of Assistants consists of:
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The Governor and the four other Officers; Immediate Past Governor, Deputy Governor, Senior and Junior Wardens.
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The five most recent Past Governors.
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Nine Elected Members each serving for three years.
Officers
The Governor and four Officers meet regularly to deal with the day-to-day management of the Company in conjunction with The Clerk and to advise the Court of Assistants as necessary. In order of precedence they are:
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Immediate Past Governor
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Deputy Governor
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Senior Warden
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Junior Warden
Mr Martin Vander Weyer
Governor 2024-25
Martin Vander Weyer is a business editor and weekly Any Other Business columnist for ‘The Spectator’.
He is also a regular contributor to the ‘Daily Telegraph’, the ‘Literary Review’ and ‘Oxford Dictionary of National Biography’. He has recently published ‘The Good, the Bad and Greedy: Why We’ve Lost Faith in Capitalism’ and ‘January Poet’, a collection of his poetry.
A Yorkshireman of Flemish ancestry, Martin has had a long involvement in theatre, opera and music in the North of England. He is a former chairman of the Ryedale Festival and Trustee of Helmsley Art Centre.
View Full Biography
Dr Andrew Green
Junior Warden 2024-25
Committees
The Company has seven Committees which provide specialist knowledge in key areas of the Company’s management and business. All committees report regularly to the Court of Assistants.
The Committees are made up of a combination of Officers and ordinary Members.
Executive
The Executive is led by The Clerk, Brigadier Jim Richardson MBE and assisted by The Beadle, Membership & Finance Manager and Museum Director. They lead a team of seven full time and nine part time staff, all based at the Hall.
