Goldsmiths' Hall is a

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

listed building at the junction of

Foster Lane Foster Lane is a short street within Cheap ward, in the City of London, England. It is situated northeast of St Paul's Cathedral and runs southbound Gresham Street to Cheapside. "Foster" is a corruption of 'St Vedast' to whom a church on the ...

and

Gresham Street Gresham Street in the City of London is named after the English merchant and financier Thomas Gresham. It runs from the junction of Lothbury, Old Jewry and Coleman Street at its eastern end, to St. Martin's Le Grand in the west. Gresham St ...

in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. It has served as an

assay office Assay offices are institutions set up to assay (test the purity of) precious metals. This is often done to protect consumers from buying fake items. Upon successful completion of an assay (i.e. if the metallurgical content is found be equal or bette ...

and the headquarters of London's

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

, the

Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths (commonly known as ''The Goldsmiths' Company'' and formally styled ''The Wardens and Commonalty of the Mystery of Goldsmiths of the City of London''), is one of the Great Twelve Livery Companies of the City ...

, one of the

livery companies A livery company is a type of guild or professional association that originated in medieval times in London, England. Livery companies comprise London's ancient and modern trade associations and guilds, almost all of which are Style (form of a ...

of the City of London. The company has been based at this location since 1339, the present building being their third hall on the site.

History

Little is known about the first hall. It was rebuilt in 1407 by

Drugo Barentyn Sir Drugo Barentyn (died 1415), sometimes spelled as "Drew", "Dru", "Barentine" or "Barrington", was an English goldsmith and politician who served twice as Lord Mayor of London.The Worshipful Company of Goldsmith"The London Goldsmiths"pg. 4 Bare ...

, a goldsmith who served twice as

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

. The second hall was built circa 1634–36. In 1665,

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

viewed the funeral of Sir Thomas Vyner from Goldsmiths' Hall. Pepys wore his best silk suit for the occasion, but the hall was so full of people that he left for

Paternoster Square Paternoster Square is a former historic square, renamed from Newgate Market c. 1872, and now a post-war urban redevelopment, owned by the Mitsubishi Estate, next to St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. The area was previously named Patern ...

to order a new, ordinary silk suit. The hall was restored after the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...

in 1666 and eventually demolished in the late 1820s. Goldsmiths Hall

The third and present hall was designed by

Philip Hardwick Philip Hardwick (15 June 1792 in London – 28 December 1870) was an English architect, particularly associated with railway stations and warehouses in London and elsewhere. Hardwick is probably best known for London's demolished Euston Arch ...

, who commissioned sculptor Philip Nixon. Marble statues by Samuel Nixon of children representing the Four Seasons stand on pedestals on the lower flight of the grand staircase, which ''

The Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1907, ceasing publication altogether in 1922. It was the first to use the term ''m ...

'' described as “a work of the highest merit ... such beautiful personifications.” The hall is entirely detached and occupies an entire block. Despite its great size, it is the second largest livery hall after the

Worshipful Company of Plaisterers The Worshipful Company of Plaisterers is one of the livery companies in the City of London. The Plaisterers' Company was incorporated under a Royal Charter in 1501 and whilst the spelling used in the charter was "Plaisterer", some later charters ...

' Plaisterers Hall at One London Wall.

The Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'', founded by Herbert Ingram and first published on Saturday 14 May 1842, was the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. The magazine was published weekly for most of its existence, switched to a less freq ...

declared “’The Goldsmiths’ is the most magnificent of all the Halls of the City of London.”London Illustrated News. 13 January 1844, p. 21
/ref> Those present at the opening dinner in 1835 included the

Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...

and

Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850), was a British Conservative statesman who twice was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835, 1841–1846), and simultaneously was Chancellor of the Exchequer (1834–183 ...

. In 1941 a bomb exploded in its southwest corner, but the building largely survived and was restored after the Second World War. From time to time, the

Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

and

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically ident ...

s provide for

open days Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gerd Dudek, Buschi Niebergall, and Edward Vesala album), 1979 * ''Open'' (Got ...

to visit Goldsmiths' Hall.

References

External links

The Goldsmiths' Company
{{authority control 1339 establishments in England Buildings and structures completed in 1835 Grade I listed buildings in the City of London Grade I listed livery halls Livery halls Philip Hardwick buildings