Guildhall

Last Thursday Lisa and I toured the City of London's historic Guildhall. These tours are only available on the days of the City's Court of Common Council meetings which are held about nine times a year. We had to book over a month in advance!

The City of London (the square mile at the heart of the city, not the Greater London area) has been governed from this spot for more than 800 years. The present Guildhall was built between 1411 and 1430. Grammatical note: it is not referred as "the Guildhall" only "Guildhall."

The Great Hall is the site of the Court of Common Council meetings, state banquets, and the annual installation of The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of London. The Lord Mayor of London acts as a spokesperson for local authority rather than as a political figure. 

The west gallery of the Great Hall is guarded at both corners by the statues of Gog and Magog, giants who represent the conflict between ancient Britons and Trojan invaders. Legend has it that the two giants were defeated by Brutus and chained to the gates of his palace on the site of Guildhall. You can see one of these giants in the the photo below. 

Guildhall was not destroyed during the Great Fire of 1666, but it did need some repairs to the roof. Some of the statues, windows, and galleries were damaged during a Luftwaffe fire-raid in 1940. 

Immediately beneath Guildhall lies the oldest medieval crypt in London. The western crypt was thought to date from the 13th century and the eastern crypt dates from the 15th century. 

The Old Library is a gothic hall designed by Sir Horace Hones, who designed London's famous Tower Bridge. 

This statue of Margaret Thatcher used to be in the Guildhall Art Gallery (open to the public every day, unlike Guildhall) but was moved to this more secure location after a disgruntled man came in and broke off the head. They were able to restore the statue but you can still see a faint seam on the neck. 

Our tour guide was really knowledgeable and animated. She even took us to a former church sight nearby. The church of St Mary Aldermanbury was destroyed in the Great Fire and rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren. After it was destroyed again in World War II the remains were moved to Missouri and restored as a memorial to Winston Churchill. Fascinating!

I really enjoyed the tour of Guildhall. It is rare to find such a well preserved building from the 15th Century in this part of the city.