Student artwork exploring the untold story of a grocer's widow in medieval London — her trade, her resilience, and her world.
Physical exhibition
Grocers' Hall, London
Women's History Month
March 2026
Participating schools
Mossbourne & St Mary's Battersea
Portrait of Annabell Furner, Mia, Year 5, St Mary's RC Primary School
About the exhibition
In the records of medieval London, between the lines of guild ledgers and court rolls, lives a woman history almost forgot. Annabell Furner, a grocer's widow, navigated the complex world of medieval trade — a world where a woman's place was anything but simple.
"What would it mean to a young person today to discover that women ran businesses, fought legal battles, and shaped their communities six hundred years ago?"
Students from Mossbourne Community Academy and St Mary's RC Primary School, Battersea were invited to respond to Annabell's story through art. Working with primary historical sources, they imagined her world — the spices she traded, the streets she walked, and the life she built after her husband's death.
Who Was Annabell?
Annabell Furner was the widow of a London grocer who became a member of the Worshipful Company of Grocers in the 1430s — making her one of the earliest recorded female grocer in the Company's records.
Her story was pieced together by Yvette Reinfor, Founder of More Curricular CIC, who connected two separate archives: the Grocers' Company Black Book, researched by Dr Helen Clifford, Company Historian, and the Borromei Bank ledgers — the records of an Italian bank operating in medieval London — digitised by the late Professor Jim Bolton and Professor Francesco Guidi-Bruscoli through the Borromei Bank Research Project at Queen Mary University of London. By linking these sources, Reinfor revealed a woman who traded in saffron and cotton, was fined for Company obligations, and operated within international networks stretching from London to the Mediterranean.
Why This Matters
History is not only made by kings and conquerors. The stories of ordinary people — particularly women — are often hidden in plain sight within historical records, waiting to be discovered and told.
This project invites young people to become historians themselves: to look at primary sources, ask questions, and bring forgotten voices back into the conversation.
The evidence
What the Records Tell Us
Annabell's story survives in fragments across two archives — the Grocers' Company Black Book and the Borromei Bank ledgers. Here is what they reveal.
1403, Grocers' Company Black Book
John Furner Enters the Record
"Rec'd of forfeits John Furner 40d" — the first mention of the Furner name. John appears on over twenty pages through to 1433. He was clothed in the Livery, paid for pepper, was fined, and contributed to the building of the first Grocers' Hall.
1436, Grocers' Company Black Book, Page 231
Annabell Is Fined
"of Anable ffurner vj d" — fined 6 pence. This is an amercements list for Company members. The Company fined its own members, not outsiders. Being on this list means she had obligations to the Company.
1436, Grocers' Company Black Book, Page 245
Not Paid to Our Feast
"Annbyl ffurner" listed under "yese ben ye names y' hath not payd to ob' ffeste" — "these be the names that have not paid to our feast." The annual feast was a Livery function. She was expected to pay — the same obligation as the men on that list.
1437 to 1438, Borromei Bank Ledgers
International Trade
Listed as "Furner, Annabell, widow of a grocer [Forner, Forneria]" in the records of Filippo Borromei & Co., an Italian bank in London — digitised by the late Professor Jim Bolton and Professor Francesco Guidi-Bruscoli. Over eighteen months she bought saffron worth £38, £53, and £40, plus cotton worth £16. A single saffron purchase of £38 represented roughly six years' wages for a skilled craftsman.
October 1438
The Trail Goes Cold
Annabell's final balance with the Borromei Bank was settled on 4 October 1438. After this date, she disappears from the records. What happened to her — whether she continued trading, remarried, or died — remains unknown. The records that survive are enough to tell us she was there.
Understanding the trade
What Was a Grocer in 1437?
Not a shopkeeper. A medieval grocer was a wholesale merchant who traded "in gross" — in bulk quantities. The Worshipful Company of Grocers, ranked second of the Great Twelve livery companies, controlled the import and sale of spices, dyes, and drugs.
1180Guild of Pepperers first recorded
1345Pepperers merge with Spicers to form the Company
1426First Grocers' Hall built — the earliest purpose-built livery hall
2ndIn the order of precedence of the City livery companies
The brief
Three Ways to See Annabell
Each student chose one of three themes to explore Annabell's story through their artwork.
Theme one
The Portrait
Imagining the woman behind the name — paintings, drawings, and sculpted clay heads.
No portrait of her survives, so each student became the first to picture her. They imagined her clothing, her bearing, the face of a woman who ran a business in medieval London.
Theme two
The Evidence
Responding to the guild records and bank ledgers that prove she existed.
Students examined the primary sources — the Grocers' Company Black Book and Borromei Bank ledgers — and responded to the evidence of Annabell's trade, her fines, and her place within the Company.
Theme three
The Symbolic
The visual language of medieval records brought to life.
Students responded to the look and feel of medieval manuscripts, creating their own illuminated and decorated pages inspired by the Grocers' Black Book and the Borromei Bank ledgers.
The artwork
Student Responses
Each piece reflects a young person's encounter with Annabell's medieval world. Select any piece to see it large and read the full description.
Mossbourne Community Academy
Year 7, Hackney
St Mary's RC Primary School
Year 5, Battersea
In their own words
What the Students Said
"I enjoyed this project a lot because I got to try new art techniques like embroidery instead of doing normal 2D portraits."
Wulf, Mossbourne Community Academy
"It's actually very interesting to see the history in the small parts that we don't really know about and see important people that weren't recognised. I really liked drawing Annabell because it was like trying to figure out a puzzle without all the puzzle pieces."
Sahaaya, Mossbourne Community Academy
"It was really fun, and I felt like I could be really creative."
Miray, Mossbourne Community Academy
"I liked that I took part in something important."
Narlee, Mossbourne Community Academy
Quotes collected on exhibition day at Grocers' Hall, 10 March 2026
Reflections
From Those Who Made It Happen
"Watching the students walk into Grocers' Hall, proud of the artwork they had created through critical thinking and genuine engagement — that is what learning is about!"
Yvette Reinfor
Founder & Director, More Curricular CIC
"It's been a privilege to have these children here; they've really brought Grocer History alive with their questions but most importantly with their artwork which is of an extraordinary high quality. It’s been an absolute pleasure having them here, hope they will come back."
Dr Helen Clifford
Company Historian, The Worshipful Company of Grocers
"It is the second project we have done with More Curricular CIC. What was most fascinating was bringing a person from the past to life, and the children realising they could not Google so they had to use their imagination to piece together information. For the children it’s been really enlightening."
Andrea Rowlandson
Art Teacher, St Mary's RC Primary School
"The Grocers’ Company is living history and embodies all that is good about the modern world. By learning about those that went before us, both good and not so good, we can live more enriched and better lives ourselves. What better role model than Annabell Furner? We cannot help but to be inspired by her and similar stories throughout our Country’s rich history."
Brigadier Greville Bibby (retd) CBE
Clerk, The Worshipful Company of Grocers
The exhibition day
Grocers' Hall, 10 March 2026
The students visited Grocers' Hall to see their artwork exhibited, received a tour of the Hall, and celebrated with refreshments.
A circle completed
Why Mossbourne & Grocers' Hall
Mossbourne Community Academy stands on the site of the Grocers' Company School, founded in 1876 in Hackney. The Worshipful Company of Grocers remains the principal sponsor of Mossbourne today, with Grocer governors on every Federation school board.
This exhibition brought Mossbourne students back into Grocers' Hall to explore the story of one of the Company's earliest female members — in the very Hall of the Company that founded the school on the site where those students now learn.
Exhibition Credits
Curated & produced by
Yvette Reinfor Founder & Director, More Curricular CIC
Bukunmi Jasanya Programme Coordinator, More Curricular CIC
Schools
Mossbourne Community Academy, Hackney St Mary's RC Primary School, Battersea
Teaching staff
Charlotte Iles, Head of Art, Mossbourne Community Academy
Andrea Rowlandson, Art Teacher, St Mary's RC Primary School
Venue
The Worshipful Company of Grocers Grocers' Hall, Princes Street London EC2R 8AD
Historical research
Dr Helen Clifford Company Historian, The Worshipful Company of Grocers
Borromei Bank Research Project
Professor Francesco Guidi-Bruscoli Professor of Economic History, University of Florence
The late Professor Jim Bolton Professor of History, Queen Mary University of London
