Goldsmiths' Hall is a

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

listed building at the junction of Foster Lane 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 and Moorgate at its eastern end, to St. Martin's Le Grand in the west. Gresham Street was created in ...

in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

. 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 bett ...

and the headquarters of London's

goldsmith A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and servicea ...

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

, the

Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, commonly known as the Goldsmiths' Company and formally titled 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 of Londo ...

, one of the livery companies 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 Baren ...

, a goldsmith who served twice as

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...

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

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no marit ...

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 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 Thursday 6 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, while also extending past th ...

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

Queen Victoria's Procession to Goldsmiths' Hall by James H

The third and present hall was designed by Philip Hardwick, who commissioned sculptor Samuel Nixon (sculptor). 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 1922. It was the first to use the term '' magazine'' (from the French ''magazine'' ...

'' 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' Plaisterers Hall at One London Wall.

The Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication ...

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 Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister o ...

and

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

. In 1941 a bomb exploded in its southwest corner, but the building largely survived and was restored after the Second World War. The Seasons by Samuel Nixon, London Illustrated News, 13 Jan 1844

The Seasons by Samuel Nixon, London Illustrated News, 13 Jan 1844

From time to time, the Master 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 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