The
Guildhall is a building in the
City of LondonThe City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
, off
GreshamGresham Street, in the City of London, is named after Thomas Gresham and runs from St. Martin's Le Grand near St Paul's Cathedral in the west, past Guildhall, to Lothbury in the east...
and
BasinghallBasinghall Street is a street in the City of London, England. It today lies chiefly in the ward of Bassishaw with the southern end in Cheap and Coleman Street wards...
streets, in the wards of
BassishawBassishaw is a ward in the City of London. This small ward is bounded on the east by Coleman Street ward, to the south by Cheap ward, to the north by Cripplegate ward, and on the west by Aldersgate ward...
and
CheapCheap is a small ward of the City of London. It stretches west to east from King End Street, the border with Farringdon Within to Old Jewry, which adjoins Walbrook and north to south from Gresham Street, the border with Aldersgate and Bassishaw to Cheapside, the boundary with Cordwainer.The...
. It has been used as a town hall for several hundred years, and is still the ceremonial and administrative centre of the
City of LondonThe City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
and its Corporation. The term Guildhall refers both to the whole building and to its main room, which is a medieval-style
great hallA great hall is the main room of a royal palace, nobleman's castle or a large manor house in the Middle Ages, and in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries. At that time the word great simply meant big, and had not acquired its modern connotations of excellence...
. The Guildhall complex houses the offices of the City of London Corporation and various public facilities.
The Guildhall should not be confused with
London City HallCity Hall is the headquarters of the Greater London Authority which comprises the Mayor of London and London Assembly. It is located in Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames near Tower Bridge...
, which is the administrative centre for
Greater LondonGreater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
, of which the City of London is only a small part.
The nearest
London Underground stations are Bank,
St Paul'sSt. Paul's tube station is a London Underground station in the City of London on the Central Line, between Bank and Chancery Lane stations, and is in Travelcard Zone 1....
and Moorgate.
Roman, Saxon and Medieval
The great hall is believed to be on a site of an earlier Guildhall (one possible derivation for the word 'guildhall' is the Anglo-Saxon 'gild', meaning payment, with a "gild-hall" being where citizens would pay their taxes). During the
RomanRoman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
period, it was the site of an amphitheatre, the largest in
BritanniaBritannia is an ancient term for Great Britain, and also a female personification of the island. The name is Latin, and derives from the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally designated a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion or Great Britain. However, by the...
, partial remains of which are on public display in the basement of the
Guildhall Art GalleryThe Guildhall Art Gallery houses the art collection of the City of London, England. It occupies a building that was completed in 1999 to replace an earlier building destroyed in The Blitz in 1941...
and the outline of whose arena is marked with a black circle on the paving of the courtyard in front of the hall. Indeed, the siting of the Saxon Guildhall here was probably due to the amphitheatre's remains Excavations by
MOLASMuseum of London Archaeology is a Registered Archaeological Organisation with the Institute of Field Archaeologists and is a self-financing part of the Museum of London Group, providing a wide range of professional archaeological services to clients in London, SE England, the UK and...
in 2000 at the entrance to Guildhall Yard exposed remains of the great 13th-century gatehouse built directly over the southern entrance to the Roman amphitheatre, which raises the possibility that enough of the Roman structure survived to influence the siting not only of the gatehouse and Guildhall itself but also of the church of
St Lawrence JewrySt Lawrence Jewry is a Church of England guild church in the City of London on Gresham Street, next to the Guildhall.-History:The church was originally built in the twelfth century and dedicated to St Lawrence The church is near the former medieval Jewish ghetto, which was centred...
whose strange alignment may shadow the elliptical form of the amphitheatre beneath. The first documentary reference to a London Guildhall is dated 1128 and the current hall's west crypt may be part of a late-13th century building. Legendary British history made the Guildhall's site the site of the palace of
Brutus of TroyBrutus or Brute of Troy is a legendary descendant of the Trojan hero Æneas, known in mediæval British legend as the eponymous founder and first king of Britain...
.
1441-present
Parts of the current building date from 1411, and it is the only stone building not belonging to the Church to have survived the
Great Fire of LondonThe Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...
in 1666. The complex contains several other historic interiors besides the hall, including the large mediaeval
cryptIn architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
s, the old library, and the print room, all of which are now used as function rooms.
Trials in this hall have included those of
Anne AskewAnne Askew was an English poet and Protestant who was condemned as a heretic...
(Protestant martyr),
Henry Howard, Earl of SurreyHenry Howard, KG, , known as The Earl of Surrey although he never was a peer, was an English aristocrat, and one of the founders of English Renaissance poetry.-Life:...
, Sir Nicholas Throckmorton,
Lady Jane GreyLady Jane Grey , also known as The Nine Days' Queen, was an English noblewoman who was de facto monarch of England from 10 July until 19 July 1553 and was subsequently executed...
, Guildford Dudley,
Thomas CranmerThomas Cranmer was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build a favourable case for Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon which resulted in the separation of the English Church from...
, Henry Peckham, John Daniel,
John FeltonBlessed John Felton was an English Catholic martyr, who was executed during the reign of Elizabeth I.Almost all of what is known about Felton's background comes from the narrative of his daughter, Frances Salisbury...
(Catholic), Roderigo Lopez,
Henry GarnetHenry Garnet , sometimes Henry Garnett, was a Jesuit priest executed for his complicity in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Born in Derbyshire, he was educated in Nottingham and later at Winchester College, before moving to London in 1571 to work for a publisher...
(in connection with the Gunpowder Plot),
Sir Gervase HelwysSir Gervase Helwys , also known as Jervis Yelwys, was a Lieutenant of the Tower of London found guilty of complicity in the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury and hanged in 1615. The scandal provoked much public and literary conjecture and irreparably tarnished King James I's court with an image of...
(in connection with the
OverburySir Thomas Overbury was an English poet and essayist, and the victim of one of the most sensational crimes in English history...
plot) and it contains memorials to Pitt the Elder, Pitt the Younger, Admiral Lord Nelson, the
Duke of WellingtonField Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
,
William BeckfordWilliam Beckford was a well-known political figure in 18th century London, who twice held the office of Lord Mayor of London . His vast wealth came largely from his plantations in Jamaica...
, and
Winston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
. It also played a part in
Jack CadeJack Cade was the leader of a popular revolt in the 1450 Kent rebellion during the reign of King Henry VI in England. He died on the 12th July 1450 near Lewes. In response to grievances, Cade led an army of as many as 5,000 against London, causing the King to flee to Warwickshire. After taking and...
's 1450 rebellion.
The Great Hall did not completely escape damage in 1666; it was partially restored - with a flat roof - in 1670. The present grand entrance (the east wing of the south front), in "Hindoostani Gothic", was added in 1788 by
George DanceGeorge Dance may refer to:* George Dance the Elder, English architect* George Dance the Younger, English architect, son of George Dance the Elder* George Dance , Canadian politician* George Dance , English lyricist and librettist...
(and restored in 1910). A more extensive restoration than that in 1670 was completed in 1866 by City of London
architectAn architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Sir Horace Jones, who added a new timber roof in close keeping with the original. This replacement was destroyed during
The Second Great Fire of LondonThe "Second Great Fire of London" is a name used at the time to refer to one of the most destructive air raids of the London Blitz, over the night of 29/30 December 1940. Between 6pm and 6am the next day, more than 24,000 high explosive bombs and 100,000 incendiary bombs were dropped...
on the night of 29/30 December 1940, the result of a Luftwaffe fire-raid. It was replaced in 1954 during works designed by Sir
Giles Gilbert ScottSir Giles Gilbert Scott, OM, FRIBA was an English architect known for his work on such buildings as Liverpool Cathedral and Battersea Power Station and designing the iconic red telephone box....
.
Present
The day-to-day administration of the City of London Corporation is now conducted from modern buildings immediately to the north of the Guildhall, but the Guildhall itself and the adjacent historic interiors are still used for official functions, and it is open to the public during the annual London Open House weekend. The
Guildhall Art GalleryThe Guildhall Art Gallery houses the art collection of the City of London, England. It occupies a building that was completed in 1999 to replace an earlier building destroyed in The Blitz in 1941...
was added to the complex in the 1990s. The
Clockmakers' MuseumThe Clockmakers' Museum in London, England is a collection of clocks, watches and other horological items which belongs to the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, which is one of the City of London Livery Companies. It is housed in a gallery at the Guildhall. Admission is free.The Clockmakers'...
and the
Guildhall LibraryThe Guildhall Library is administered by the Corporation of London, the government of the City of London, which is the historical heart of London, England. It was founded in the 1420s under the terms of the will of Lord Mayor Dick Whittington...
, a public reference library with specialist collections on London, which include material from the 11th century onwards, are also housed in the complex.
The
marathonThe marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
route of the
2012 Summer OlympicsThe 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
is planned to pass through Guildhall Yard.
Gog and Magog
Two giants,
Gog and MagogGog and Magog are names that appear primarily in various Jewish, Christian and Muslim scriptures, as well as numerous subsequent references in other works. Their context can be either genealogical or eschatological and apocalyptic, as in Ezekiel and Revelation...
, are associated with the Guildhall. Legend has it that the two giants were defeated by
BrutusBrutus or Brute of Troy is a legendary descendant of the Trojan hero Æneas, known in mediæval British legend as the eponymous founder and first king of Britain...
and chained to the gates of his palace on the site of Guildhall. Carvings of Gog and Magog are kept in the Guildhall and taken out and paraded in the annual
Lord Mayor's ShowThe Lord Mayor's Show is one of the longest established and best known annual events in London which dates back to 1535. The Lord Mayor in question is that of the City of London, the historic centre of London that is now the metropolis's financial district, informally known as the Square Mile...
.
An early version of Gog and Magog were destroyed in the Guildhall during the Great Fire of London. They were replaced in 1708 by a large pair of wooden statues carved by Captain Richard Saunders. These giants, on whom the current versions are based, lasted for over two hundred years before they were destroyed in
the BlitzThe Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
. They, in turn, were replaced by a new pair carved by David Evans in 1953 and given to the City of London by
AldermanAn alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
Sir George Wilkinson, who had been
Lord MayorThe Lord Mayor is the title of the Mayor of a major city, with special recognition.-Commonwealth of Nations:* In Australia it is a political position. Australian cities with Lord Mayors: Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Newcastle, Parramatta, Perth, Sydney, and Wollongong...
in 1940 at the time of the destruction of the previous versions.
Functions
The Guildhall hosts many events throughout the year, the most notable one being the Lord Mayor’s Banquet, which is held in honour of the immediate-past Lord Mayor and is the first to be hosted by the new Lord Mayor of the City of London. In keeping with tradition, it is at this Banquet that the
Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
makes a major World Affairs speech. One of the last acts of the outgoing Lord Mayor is to present prizes at the
City of London SchoolThe City of London School is a boys' independent day school on the banks of the River Thames in the City of London, England. It is the brother school of the City of London School for Girls and the co-educational City of London Freemen's School...
prize day at the Guildhall. Other events include those of various law firms, award evenings for the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET), and the famous banquet for the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC). The
Worshipful Company of CarmenThe Worshipful Company of Carmen is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Carmen, or drivers of carts, caused upset in 1481. The King conscripted carts to carry his wine allowing rural carters to force food prices up. By offering to provide the King's carriage and clean the streets the...
holds its Cart-Marking ceremony in the courtyard each July. See
www.thecarmen.co.uk
External links