1-231-751 - Reproduced by permission of Historic England/English Heritage/Heritage Images

Swan-uppers, Staines, Surrey, c1885. Swan-uppers from the Dyers' Company pose around the London Stone, in Staines, which marks the limit on the River Thames of the jurisdiction of the City of London. All the swans on the Thames belong to the monarch, with the exception of birds granted to the Dyers' and the Vinters' Companys. Once a year the liveried swan-uppers inspect their adult birds and mark the year's cygnets for ownership. The Dyers' and the Vintners' Companies are now the only owners of private swans on the Thames, the Worshipful Company of Dyers marking theirs with a nick on one side of the beak, and the Worshipful Company of Vintners marking theirs with a nick on each side.