We have been invited to a private visit to Mansion House and the Guild Hall on the 14th July 2016.
Private Tour of Mansion House 11.00 to 12.00 Followed by Trip around the Guild Hall, see the Mace, Art Collection, Amphitheatre , followed by Lunch in the Guildhall.
See Events Page for Details and to Book Tickets are £10 Make your own way there. Lunch notb included but is good quality and very well priced.
Short history of the Mansion House
Until the mid-18th century, Lord Mayors used their own houses or livery (Guild) halls for their work as head of the City’s governmental, judicial & civic functions.
The idea of creating a permanent residence arose after the Great Fire of 1666 to provide a house for Lord Mayors who did not have their own livery hall. But it was almost three quarters of a century later that the architect & Clerk of the City’s work, George Dance the Elder, was chosen to design and build the Mansion House. The first stone was laid in 1739 but it was not built until 1752 that Lord Mayor Sir Crispin Gascoigne was able to take up residence there. Work was completed in 1758.
The Mansion house is literally at the heart of the City, above Bank tube station and on the site of a livestock market over the River Walbrook sharing a five-way junction with Royal Exchange, the Bank of England & Hawksmoore’s St Mary Woolnoth. With the exception of Queen Victoria Street, all the streets nearby (Cheapside, Cornhill, Poultry) are Roman.
Imposingly Palladian in style, it is faced by a grand temple portico at the front approached by flights of steps each side. The entreating rooms were built on the first & second floors. The floor had a roofless courtyard (later converted to form the Salon, the entertainment space) and the great Egyptian Hall. The second floor has a ballroom and private apartments of the Lord Mayor & family. The third floor & fourth floors contain meeting rooms & staff rooms. The callers have storage space & once held prisoners’’ cells, reflecting the former use of the Mansion House as Lord Mayor’s court. There have been refurbishments carried out in the 1860s, 1930s & 1991-3
Mansion House is the official home of the Lord Mayor. This unique building provides a spectacular setting for business meetings, civic & livery activity, & conferences.
Charitable & business related organisations also use Mansion House for fundraising events. Receptions & dinners. A number of high profile events are held each year which provide a platform for cabinet ministers, visiting Heads of Government, and other prominent figures. Some 50,000 people visit the Mansion House every year.
Today the Mansion House is home to a magnificent plate collection and an art collection including sculptures and the 84 Dutch paintings of Harold Samuel Art Collection.
Leave a Reply