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A guildhall, also known as a guild hall or guild house, is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, with many surviving today in
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
and the
Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...
. These buildings commonly become town halls and in some cases
museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...
s while retaining their original names.


As town hall in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, a guildhall is usually a
town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
: in the vast majority of cases, the guildhalls have never served as the meeting place of any specific guild. A suggested etymology is from the
Anglo Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to Ge ...
"''gild'', or "payment"; the guildhall being where citizens came to pay their rates. The London Guildhall was established around 1120. For the Scottish municipal equivalent see
tolbooth A tolbooth or town house was the main municipal building of a Scotland, Scottish burgh, from medieval times until the 19th century. The tolbooth usually provided a council meeting chamber, a court house and a jail. The tolbooth was one of th ...
.


List of guildhalls in the United Kingdom

* Andover Guildhall * Barnstaple Guildhall * Bath Guildhall * Beverley Guildhall * Bewdley Guildhall * Blakeney Guildhall * Bodmin Guildhall *
Boston Guildhall Boston Guildhall is a former municipal building in Boston, Lincolnshire. Built in 1390 and altered through the centuries, in the early 21st century it was restored and now serves as a local museum and also as a venue for civil ceremonies and priv ...
*
Bradninch Guildhall Bradninch Guildhall is a municipal building in Fore Street, Bradninch, Devon, England. The structure, which is now used as a community events venue, is a Grade II listed building. History The first municipal building in Bradninch was an ancient ...
* Brecon Guildhall * Bristol Guildhall *
Bury St Edmunds Guildhall Bury St Edmunds Guildhall is a municipal building in the Guildhall Street, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. The building currently operates as a heritage centre and also serves as the meeting place for Bury St Edmunds Town Council. It is a Grade I list ...
*
Cambridge Guildhall Cambridge Guildhall is a civic building in the centre of the historic city of Cambridge, England. It includes two halls, ''The Large Hall'' and ''The Small Hall'', and is used for many disparate events such as comedy acts, conferences, craft fai ...
*
Canterbury Guildhall Canterbury Guildhall, formerly the Church of the Holy Cross, is a municipal building in St Peter's Place in Canterbury, Kent, England. The structure, which is the meeting place of Canterbury City Council, is a Grade II* listed building. Histor ...
*
Cardigan Guildhall Cardigan Guildhall (), is a municipal building in Pendre, Cardigan, Ceredigion, Wales. The structure, which is now used as an art gallery and community events venue, is a Grade II* listed building. History The first municipal building in the ...
*
Carmarthen Guildhall Carmarthen Guildhall () is a municipal structure in Guildhall Square, Carmarthen, Wales. The guildhall, which was the headquarters of Carmarthen Borough Council, is a Grade I listed building. History The building was commissioned to replace a ...
* Chard Guildhall * Chester Guildhall *
Chichester Guildhall Chichester Guildhall is a building in Chichester, West Sussex, England. The name is a bit of a misnomer, as the building was constructed as a chancel by the Grey Friars of Chichester, an Order of Franciscans. The Grey Friars received the land, no ...
*
Conwy Guildhall Conwy Guildhall () is a municipal structure in Rose Hill Street, Conwy, Wales. The guildhall, which is the meeting place of Conwy Town Council, is a Grade II listed building. History The first building on the site was a medieval hall complete ...
*
Derby Guildhall Derby Guildhall is a municipal building in the Market Place, Derby, England. It is a Grade II listed building. History A moot hall was first established in the Market Place area in 1204. This was replaced by a timber and plaster guildhall in 15 ...
* Devonport Guildhall * Dunfermline Guildhall * Derry Guildhall * Exeter Guildhall * Faversham Guildhall * Gloucester Guildhall *
Grantham Guildhall Grantham Guildhall is a municipal building on St Peter's Hill, Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. It is a Grade II listed building. History The building was commissioned to replace the aging guildhall and jail on the corner of Guildhall Street a ...
*
Guildford Guildhall The Guildford Guildhall is a Guildhall located on the High Street of the town of Guildford, Surrey. It is a Grade I listed building. History The Guildhall, which initially accommodated a market hall on the ground floor and a courtroom on the ...
* Harwich Guildhall * Helston Guildhall * High Wycombe Guildhall * Hull Guildhall * King's Lynn Guildhall * Guildhall of St George, Kings Lynn * Kingston upon Thames Guildhall * Lavenham Guildhall * Leicester Guildhall * Lichfield Guildhall * Lincoln Guildhall *
Liskeard Guildhall Liskeard Guildhall is a municipal building in Pike Street, Liskeard, Cornwall, England. The structure, which was the meeting place of Liskeard Borough Council, is a Grade II* listed building. History The first municipal building in the town was ...
* Llantrisant Guildhall * London Guildhall * Looe Guildhall * Lostwithiel Guildhall * Lydd Guildhall * Lyme Regis Guildhall *
Middlesex Guildhall The Middlesex Guildhall is a historic court building in Westminster which now houses the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The building stands on the south-western corner of Parliament Square, ...
* Much Wenlock Guildhall *
Newcastle-under-Lyme Guildhall The Guildhall is a municipal building in High Street, Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is a Grade II listed building. History The building was commissioned to replace an earlier guildhall located just to the north of the current building. The new guild ...
* Newcastle upon Tyne Guildhall * Merchant Adventurers' Hall, York * Newport Guildhall, Isle of Wight * Newport Guildhall, Shropshire *
Northampton Guildhall Northampton Guildhall is a municipal building in St Giles' Square in Northampton, England. It is a Grade II* listed building. History The first guildhall in Northampton was a 12th-century building at the junction of Gold Street and Horsemarke ...
*
Norwich Guildhall Norwich Guildhall is a municipal building on Gaol Hill in the city of Norwich, Norfolk, England. It is a Grade I listed building. History The guildhall was commissioned after Henry IV of England, King Henry IV awarded a charter to the City of ...
* Oswestry Guildhall *
Peterborough Guildhall The Guildhall is a municipal building in Cathedral Square, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building. History The current structure replaced a medieval guildhall which was situated on the northern side of Cathedra ...
*
Plymouth Guildhall Plymouth Guildhall is located on Guildhall Square in the city centre of Plymouth, Devon, England. It is a Grade II listed building. History The first guildhall can be dated back to the 15th century and is believed to have been located in the ...
* Plympton Guildhall * Poole Guildhall * Portsmouth Guildhall * Preston Guildhall * Rochester Guildhall * Salisbury Guildhall * Saltash Guildhall * Sandwich Guildhall * Southampton Guildhall * South Molton Guildhall * St Ives Guildhall * St Mary's Guildhall, Coventry * Stratford-upon-Avon Guildhall *
Swansea Guildhall The Guildhall () is one of the main office buildings of the City and County of Swansea Council. The Guildhall complex, which includes the City Hall, Brangwyn Hall (concert hall) and the County Law Courts for Swansea, is a Grade I listed building ...
* Thaxted Guildhall * Thetford Guildhall * Totnes Guildhall * Weymouth Guildhall *
Winchester Guildhall Winchester Guildhall is a municipal building in the High Street, Winchester, Hampshire. It is a Grade II listed building. History Prior to the opening of the current Guildhall in 1873, the Guildhall had, since the time of King Edward IV, stood ...
*
Windsor Guildhall The Windsor Guildhall is the town hall of Windsor, Berkshire, England. It is situated in the High Street, about from Castle Hill, which leads to the main public entrance to Windsor Castle. It is a Grade I listed building. History A deed of ...
* Worcester Guildhall * Wrexham Guildhall *
York Guildhall The Guildhall York is a municipal building located in St Martins Courtyard, Coney Street, in York. Located behind the Mansion House, York, Mansion House, it is a Grade I listed building. History The building was constructed as a meeting place ...
File:Windsorguildhall.jpg,
Windsor Guildhall The Windsor Guildhall is the town hall of Windsor, Berkshire, England. It is situated in the High Street, about from Castle Hill, which leads to the main public entrance to Windsor Castle. It is a Grade I listed building. History A deed of ...
in
Windsor, Berkshire Windsor is a historic town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch. The town is situated we ...
also served as market, town hall and courtroom File:London Guildhall.jpg,
Guildhall, London Guildhall is a municipal building in the City of London, England. It is off Gresham and Basinghall streets, in the wards of Bassishaw and Cheap. The current building dates from the 15th century; however documentary evidence suggests that a ...
, 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 ...
, is the seat of the
Corporation of London The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's fi ...
, the governing body of the city. File:Northampton Guildhall.jpg, Guildhall, Northampton File:Guildhall, Chester.jpg,
Guildhall, Chester The Guildhall, formerly Holy Trinity Church, is a redundant church in Watergate in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. The church closed ...


As meeting houses for guilds

A type of guild was known in Roman times. Known as ''collegium'', ''collegia'' or ''corpus'', these were organised groups of merchants who specialised in a particular craft and whose membership of the group was voluntary. One such example is the ''corpus naviculariorum'', the college of long-distance shippers based at Rome's port,
Ostia Antica Ostia Antica () is an ancient Roman city and the port of Rome located at the mouth of the Tiber. It is near modern Ostia, southwest of Rome. Due to silting and the invasion of sand, the site now lies from the sea. The name ''Ostia'' (the pl ...
. The Roman guilds failed to survive the collapse of the Roman Empire. Merchant
guilds 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 ...
were reinvented during Europe's medieval period. In England, these guilds went by many different names including: fraternity, brotherhood, college, company, corporation, fellowship, livery, or society, amongst other terms. In Europe, merchant guilds were known as "natie", "consulado", or "hansa". A fraternity, formed by the merchants of
Tiel Tiel () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a town in the middle of the Netherlands. The town is enclosed by the Waal (river), Waal river and the Linge river to the South and the North, and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal to the Eas ...
in
Gelderland Gelderland ( , ), also known as Guelders ( ) in English, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands, located in the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Nethe ...
(present-day Netherlands), in 1020 is believed to be the first example of a medieval guild. The first instance of usage of the term, "guild", was the ''gilda mercatoria'' used to describe a body of merchants operating out of
Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; ; Picard: ''Saint-Onmé'') is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Sa ...
, France in the 11th century and London's ''
Hanse The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...
'' was formed in the 12th century. The merchants of
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
had their house in London as early as 1157 and the Guilda Teutonicorum (German merchants warehouse) was located at Cosin Lane and Thames Street in London on the 12th century. These guilds controlled the way that trade was conducted in their region and codified rules governing the conditions of trade. Once established, merchant guild rules were often incorporated into the charters granted to
market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...
s. By the 13th and 14th centuries, merchant guilds had acquired sufficient resources to erect guild halls in many major market towns. Medieval guild halls were used to store goods and as places for celebratory events. When not required for guild members' events, the hall often became place where townspeople could hold entertainments such as Passion plays. Guild members often cleaned streets, removed rubbish, maintained a nightwatch and provided food relief to the poor. Some medieval guilds allowed market trading to occur on the ground floor of the guildhall. 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 ...
, the guilds are called "
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 ...
", and their guild halls are called livery halls.


In the Low Countries

The
Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...
used to have guildhalls in every city, often one ''gildenhuis'' (Dutch, literally "guild house") for each trade. They were often elaborate, ornate buildings, demonstrating the guild's status. Occasionally a single hall would be used by all the city's guilds. The guildhall was used as the offices of the ''deken'' (deacon) and other guild officers, and for meetings by the ''overlieden'' (board of directors). The guild members would occasionally be called to the guildhall for meetings on important matters.Johannes Gouw, ''De gilden: eene bijdrage tot de geschiedenis van het volksleven''. Portielje & Zoon, 1866, p. 38 (Dutch) The guildhall of the merchants' guild also served as de facto market place. Therefore, there was no need in the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
for a separate building for this purpose. In the Low Countries, each guildhall was marked by the coat of arms of that guild, hanging from the facade of the building. Occasionally, the coat of arms was replaced with a gable stone depicting a member of the guild, surrounded by the tools of his trade.


In the Netherlands

In
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
, every guildhall had its ''gildeknecht'' (guild servant), often the guild's youngest member, and was guarded by a ''gildehond'' (guild dog). Every evening, the guild brothers gathered in the tavern room of the guildhall to discuss the events of the day while the ''gildeknecht'' served beer. Once a year, the guildmen would gather in the guildhall for a communal
meal A meal is an occasion that takes place at a certain time and includes consumption of food. The English names used for specific meals vary, depending on the speaker's culture, the time of day, or the size of the meal. A meal is different from a ...
.


In Belgium

* The Round Table (or ''Tafelrond'', in Dutch) in
Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...
. Designed 1479 by Matheus de Layens, guildhall built 1480–1487 internally comprising three houses, demolished 1817, reconstructed following original plans 1921. The old building's meeting rooms had been let to the guilds; the new had been in use by a bank and became a personal private property. * The Salmon (or ''De Zalm'', in Dutch) in
Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...
. Built c. 1530 in early
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
style by architect Willem van Wechtere for the prosperous fishermen's guild, it is one of the city's finest historical houses. The artist (1839–1919) used to live there. In the mid-20th century it became city property and held a museum, then the Tourist Information Office, and later again a museum. * In
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, the Grand-Place/Grote Markt is famous for its many
Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
guildhall A guildhall, also known as a guild hall or guild house, is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Europe, with many surviving today in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commo ...
s, each one belonging to one of the former
Guilds of Brussels The Guilds of Brussels (; ), grouped in the Nine Nations of Brussels (; ), were associations of craft guilds that dominated the economic life of Brussels in the late medieval and early modern periods. From 1421 onwards, they were represented in ...
. File:Makelaers Comptoir 1.jpg, The Makelaers Comptoir (brokers' guildhall) in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
File:Edificios en la Grand-Place, Bruselas, Bélgica, 2021-12-15, DD 07.jpg, Grand-Place/Grote Markt of Brussels. From right to left: Le Roy d'Espagne, La Brouette, Le Sac, La Louve, Le Cornet and Le Renard. File:Antwerp GroteMarkt3-13 017 7938.jpg, Guildhalls at the Grote Markt in
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
File:Tafelrond Leuven - 385958 - onroerenderfgoed.jpg, The Round Table (''Tafelrond'') at the Grote Markt in
Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...


See also

* Company of Merchant Adventurers of London *
Company of Merchant Adventurers to New Lands The Company of Merchant Adventurers to New Lands was an early joint stock association, which began with private exploration and enterprise, and was to have been incorporated by King Edward VI in 1553, but received its full royal charter in 1555. I ...
*
Germania (guild) (in Catalan; literally "brotherhoods") were guilds of artisans in the Kingdom of Valencia in Spain. Each ''germania'' () represented a single trade. The ''germanies'' are similar to the (also "brotherhoods", but in Castilian Spanish In Engli ...
*
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 ...


References


External links

* * * {{Wiktionary inline Seats of local government