“Lock & Co. is a small family business, and one with a great sense of social responsibility. We are the oldest shop in London, and for 347 years we have tried to look after our employees and our customers really well. It matters to each of us here to ‘do the right thing’, so each year Lock & Co. makes a number of donations to charities that are close to our hearts. It is motivating, I think, to know that your hard work goes some way to supporting others, and I believe that this shared value makes a real difference to those who need help the most. In a typically British way, our charitable giving is done quietly and respectfully, but I think it is important for these charities to be able to share their message to as wide an audience as possible. If you have a moment, please do follow the links on this page and hear their stories – and we hope you will also want to support them."

 Managing Director Ben Dalrymple

"We are the privileged custodians of the oldest hatters in the world, and one of the oldest family businesses too. With privilege comes responsibility and we all want to make our contribution however small to the communities in which we live.We try hard to choose, and then support, charities which may not be the most familiar but which have identified real needs where support can make a significant difference."

Chairman Nigel C. Lock Macdonald

"As a family business, we seek to apply our values to our whole team which includes our customers. Each year we ask our Board members and the whole team alike, to suggest causes that are close to their hearts, whether that be for personal reasons or what they see a need for in their communities. We look for charities where our contribution can make a real difference, not just monetarily, but practically too. That way we try to make a positive change for good and help those who need it most.”

Deputy Chairman Roger Stevenson

The Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity offers dyslexia support and advice to anyone who may need it, whether they think they have dyslexia or care for someone who may have dyslexia. They support children, young people and adults alike.
Since 1971, the charity has been removing barriers to learning and life for people with dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties by providing expert, personal and life-changing support to over 1000 people a year.

They also support parents of dyslexic children, their teachers, and employers of dyslexic staff.

The charity’s team of specialists do this through dyslexia assessments, consultations, 1:1 tuition and training as well as a variety of courses, workshops, information and advice.  

Following their founder Helen’s mantra, to help people regardless of their ability to pay, they provide free support to many individuals from lower-income backgrounds. Together we inspire people to believe in themselves, achieve their goals and succeed on their own terms.

Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) are taking a stand against suicide. That means standing against feeling rubbish, standing up to stereotypes, and standing together to show life is always worth living. CALM run a life-saving helpline and webchat open every day from 5pm-midnight.

Chestnut Tree House is the children’s hospice for Sussex and South East Hampshire and provides care for around 300 children and young people with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions every year. Thanks to support from the local community, children and families who know they don’t have long together have the chance to live life to the full and say goodbye in the way that is right for them.

On a visit to Chestnut Tree House, kids can be astronauts for the day in the multi-sensory room, discover creepy crawlies on a woodland walk, or form their very own pop group in the music room. It is a place where parents can just be parents, and not carers, and where siblings have people to talk to who understand what they are going through.

As well as care provided at the House, nurses visit families at home, taking children out to explore their local community, or simply giving tired families and carers the chance to take a well-earned break.  

Then, when the time comes, they help families say goodbye, in whatever way feels right for them, at home or in the hospice itself. They also offer ongoing bereavement support for the whole family.

It is thanks to the generosity of the local community who make this happen. Over £4 million is needed every year to provide hospice care for local children and their families. Very little of this comes from central government. The rest comes from the donations received, fundraising, gifts in wills, shops, the Chestnut Tree House lottery and volunteering.

“We Are Beams is a local charity that supports disabled children and their families in Kent and Medway.

The disabled children and young people who access our services are aged between 4-19 years. They will usually have one or multiple learning difficulties, complex health needs such as Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy or another life limiting disease, physical or sensory impairment, challenging behaviour as a result of their disability, Autism or severe ADHD.

We currently have 450 families as members accessing our support. Our work is divided up into four key areas. These are Short Breaks Services, Family Advice Service, Direct Payment Service and Dragon’s Retreat 6 bedded Respite Unit.”

Lock & Co. Hatters work very closely with Emma Willis to support her Headley Court ‘Style for Soldiers’ initiative at least once a year Lock & Co. Hatters visit injured servicemen to fit them with hats and caps that are specially made for them.

The charity was set up by Emma in 2008 to outfit injured servicemen and women with adapted garments and accessories. Lock & Co. has supported Style for Soldiers since the beginning and we continue to do so today.

Brain Tumour Research is the only national charity in the UK that is dedicated to raising funds for continuous and sustainable scientific research into brain tumours. Scientists at dedicated Brain Tumour Research Centres of Excellence work tirelessly to gain a deeper understanding of brain tumours to get closer to a cure.

Brain Tumour Research has been a recipient of monetary donations from Lock & Co. Hatters for many years and our staff are committed to raising money through additional fundraising events.This year we launched the Brain Tumour Research Panama for each hat sold we donated, £50 to the charity in support of their dedication to working towards finding a cure.

Lock & Co. are honoured to have worked with the wonderful pupils and teachers of Blakesley Primary School, Northamptonshire, for Wear A Hat Day . Each pupil learned from members of the team at Lock’s about the history of hats and how they are made, and then had the opportunity to design, make and trim their own hats, using their own imagination and inspiration! A selection of the fabulous creations by the pupils of Blakesley Primary School were displayed in the shop at Lock & Co., 6 St. James’s Street. Wear A Hat Day seeks to raise much needed funds for the Brain Tumour Research charity.

Established in 1990 and to mark the 150th anniversary of the Royal Warrant Holders Association, QEST was founded to provide a scholarship programme to champion and promote British craft. Lock & Co. actively supports and participates in QEST and RWHA activities to further the message of craftsmanship.

In 2021 Lock & Co. teamed up with QEST scholar Manuel Mazzotti, an incredible bookbinder, to display his contemporary works in our shop for London Craft Week 2021. The aim was to celebrate the QEST scholars crafts and to share these with the general public be it through displays, demonstrations or pop-up shops.