Glass Sellers roll to top 10 finish in cask race

On 4 July this year, a willing squad of middle-aged Liverymen from The Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers of London gathered at Guildhall Yard to participate in their first ever ‘Cask Race’.

The event was hosted by The Worshipful Company of Coopers and supported by the Lady Mayor of London to raise charity funds and support an increasingly popular social event, which was created to bring Livery members and families back together after COVID.

Now in its fifth year, there were a record 32 teams competing, ranging from the defending champions Merchant Taylors, to Glovers, Leather Sellers, Bakers, Innholders, Engineers and many more.

Drawn in Pool D, the enthusiastic Glass Sellers rolled their casks with style to win the first race handsomely against the Engineers, Waterman and Lightermen and Communicators.

Everyone was said to be somewhat in shock, not least the Glass Sellers who wanted to replay the 80-yard dash again and again to understand how they could repeat the success.

The casks reportedly had a life of their own once the rolling began, and the trick seemed to always be in the cornering so there was much to learn.

The team’s “strict” training regime had been based purely on watching a YouTube clip they had found online the night before the event, so in truth they had performed well above expectations.

Perhaps still recovering from the shock, or peaking too soon, they drew breath and fell back in the next race to a 3rd place before finishing well with 2nd in the last race, narrowly beaten by the Beefeaters at HM Tower of London.

When all the scores were in and confirmed, the Distillers pulled through this year as champions for 2026.

The Glass Sellers team came in 10th out of 32 teams and wandered off to a quiet bar in Liverpool Street to celebrate their newly found skills and thankfully, no injuries.

For more information about the Glass Sellers, visit, visit: The Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers of London