G8L6 
 
 1899
 
 GUILDHALL 
 
 
 1899. 
 
 PRICE SIXPENCE nett
 
 I'lwlo. tiy ilie I. 
 
 THE HOME OK THE CITY ARCHIVES. 
 
 A Corney of the Town Clerk's Muniment Room, containing Paichment Rolls 
 and Volumes of the i^th, i^tH, and i^th centuries, sec page 147.
 
 C. K. OGDEN 
 
 ZU 6uiiaDall 
 
 . . or tDc . . 
 
 dtp or Condon. 
 
 CoactDcr luiti) a sDort Account or 
 Its historic Ussociations, 
 M(X m inunicipal Work 
 Carried on tDcrcin. 
 
 printed bp order of 
 
 Cl)C Corporation of Condon, 
 Under the direction of 
 Cl)e Citp Cands Committee. 
 
 Jind Compiled 
 
 Bp 3ol)n 3anie$ Baddelep, 
 Chairman of tDe Committee, 1898* 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 iT iT 
 
 London i 
 SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & Co., Ltd. 
 
 1899. 
 
 Printed by EDEN FISHER & COMPV-, 
 6, 7 & 8, Clement's Lane Sc 96-97, Fenchurch Street, E.C, 
 
 All Rights Reserved. 
 
 I
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Historic Past 
 
 Guildhall 
 
 Monuments 
 
 Court of Husting ... 
 
 Common Hall 
 
 Public Meetings 
 
 Council Chamber 
 
 Aldermen's Court Room 
 
 Old Council Chamber 
 
 Art Gallery 
 
 Library 
 Museu.m 
 
 Lord Mayor ... ... 
 
 Mayoralty : Insignia and Household 
 Lord Mayor's Day ... 
 Lord Mayor's Banquet 
 
 Sheriffs 
 
 Principal Officers 
 
 Court of Aldermen 
 Court of Common Council 
 Work of the Common Council ... 
 Committees : — 
 
 Estates and Management ... 
 
 Educational 
 
 Open Spaces 
 
 Markets 
 
 Police 
 
 Public Health Department...
 
 VA 
 
 y^c I ^^' --SHT OF CALlFORxMA- 
 
 . SAxMA BARBAiU 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 /H^ 
 
 /TlHE Corporation of the City of London has, during the 
 I past half century, published, chiefly under the super- 
 intendence of its Library Committee, a series of volumes 
 compiled from its own archives, which extend back for more 
 than six hundred years. These volumes deal with the City's 
 history, its ceremonials and its ancient historical buildings ; 
 among these may be mentioned for our present purpose, 
 Rilej^'s ' Memorials of London Life,' ' The Ceremonial Book,' 
 ' London's Roll of Fame,' Welch's * Guildhall Library and its 
 Work,' Price's ' Historical Account of the Guildhall,' and 
 Dr. Sharpe's ' London and the Kingdom.' The present 
 book has been almost entirely compiled from the above- 
 named works. The formal description of the Guildhall has 
 been taken, for the most part, from Price's ' Account,' and 
 the historical facts rehearsed in the short summary of the 
 City's history from Dr. Sharpe's volumes ; entire passages 
 have been taken from both, and the compiler desires to 
 make all due acknowledgement of the great assistance these 
 books have been to him in the production of this volume. 
 
 Although this work is chiefly intended as a Guide to 
 the Guildhall, it is thought that the visitor would con- 
 sider it incomplete, were not some information afforded 
 respecting the more important events that have taken place 
 within its walls, as well as the ceremonies and public 
 functions, that are to be witnessed there in these days. 
 A summary of its historic past has been therefore added, 
 together with a short history of the Mayoralty, and the 
 Courts of Aldermen and Common Council. 
 
 It is also thought that a short account of the work now 
 being carried on by the Court of Common Council in the 
 Government of the " one square mile " will be of interest, 
 not only to the citizens, but, also to the stranger who comes 
 within the City's boundaries. 
 
 JJ.B. 
 
 Cjuildhall, 1899.
 
 **5 prag gou, let us satiety our eges 
 TlXflitb tbe memorials an5 tbe tbtngs of fame 
 (Tbat 00 renown tbts Cttg/' 
 
 Twelfth Night, Act iii ; Scene 3.
 
 ^l^G j+istoric past. 
 
 rriHE student of the history of the Cit}' of London, its 
 I Mayors, Aldermen, Common Council and Citizens, will 
 be easily able to conjure up visions of some of the many 
 stirring National and Civic events, that have taken place 
 within the historic walls of Guildhall, and which history, when 
 known, may well cause a thrill of pride to swell in the breast 
 of the most ordinary matter-of-fact citizen of the present day. 
 
 Truly and eloquently did Sir Walter Besant (London's 
 modern historian) describe the City (with its centre at Guild- 
 hall) as the protectress of freedom, when, in a recent public 
 address, he said : " This principle — the necessity of freedom 
 — was handed down from father to son ; it became the 
 religion of the citizens ; they proclaimed it and fought for 
 it ; they won it, and lost it ; they recovered part of it, and 
 lost it again. At last they won it altogether, and, in winning 
 it, they gained a great deal more than they had contemplated 
 or hoped for. They won for their descendants, they won for 
 every town where the English tongue is spoken, the rights 
 of free men in free cities, the rights of the individual, the 
 rights of property." And shall it not also be said that the 
 spirit of freemen which animated our illustrious predecessors 
 still animates many of the citizens of the present day.
 
 8 THE (;(^nj)FIALL. 
 
 Well has Mr. Lottie written in his book on London 
 (" Historic Towns " series) that " It would be interesting 
 to go over all the recorded instances in which the City 
 of London interfered directly in the affairs of the Kingdom, 
 such a survey would be a History of England as seen 
 from the windows of the Guildhall " ; and Mr. Price in his 
 historical account of the Guildhall writes, "The true history of 
 the Guildhall is to be based on the numerous traditions and 
 interesting associations by which it is connected with the 
 most important Corporation in the world. The stirring 
 episodes, religious, political, and social, with which this Hall 
 has been associated for many centuries, clothe it with a far 
 deeper interest than could any mere technical description of 
 its walls, its masonr}-, the painted glass and sculpture, with which 
 it is adorned.'' 
 
 Let us then, take our stand in this Guildhall, so enthusias- 
 tically spoken of, and allow our thoughts and imagination to 
 revert to the time of the Conquest. We see the citizens strong 
 enough to make terms with the Norman invader, and receive at 
 his hands a Charter by which their liberties and power of self- 
 government are guaranteed. In the contest betiween Stephen 
 and the Empress Matilda (1135-1153) we see the citizens hold- 
 ing, as it were, the balance. Richard, Cceur-de-Lion, is assisted 
 by the City, and we can picture his martial figure striding at 
 times through the Hall. The citizens, in 121 5, are lending 
 their help to the Barons in wresting from the reluctant John 
 the great Charter of England's liberties, and in return, the 
 grateful Barons make provision for the preservation of the 
 liberties of the City. Fitz- Walter, the leader of the Barons, 
 and the Mayor of the City are both among those speciall}' 
 appointed to see the terms of the Charter strictly carried out. 
 
 We cannot linger over the almost continuous fight between 
 the citizens and the Plantagenet kings in defence of the City's 
 liberties and charters, but the citizens are loyal, for on receiving
 
 THE HISTORIC PAST 9 
 
 the news in a letter from Queen Isabel (1312) announcing the 
 birth of Edward, afterwards the Third, at Windsor, they held high 
 festival for a week, and on the last day of rejoicing "The! Mayor, 
 richly costumed, and the Aldermen, arrayed in like suits of 
 robes, with the Drapers, Mercers, and Vintners, in costumes, 
 rode on horseback to Westminster, there made offering, and 
 then returned to the Guildhall which was excellently well 
 tapestried and dressed out. There they dined ; and after 
 dinner went in carols, throughout the City, all the rest of the 
 day and great part of the night." This Edward of Windsor on 
 succeeding to the throne, is popular, and by the City's assistance 
 in men and money is chief!}' enabled to prosecute his wars 
 in France ; gaining the memorable victories of Crecy and 
 Poictiers. Just before Crecy the citizens are in a state of 
 alarm at the prospect of an immediate attack by the French, 
 and protect the Guildhall by " Guns wrought of latten 
 mounted on teleres, and charged with powder and pelletts of 
 lead." On his return, the Mayor entertams at a grand banquet 
 the King, and the Kings of France, Scotland, Denmark and 
 C3'prus (1363). The citizens' influence is chiefly instrumental in 
 deposing Edward's grandson, the weak and uncertain Richard ; 
 the articles accusing him of misgovernment are drawn up and 
 publicly read in Guildhall (1399). We hear the Mayor saying, 
 " Let us apparel ourselves and go and receive the Duke of 
 Lancaster since we agreed to send for him." And, as Henry 
 IV., son of ' time-honoured Lancaster,' he is fairly popular, 
 although again and again he holds the charter to ransom. 
 
 Next Henry of Mcjnmouth ap])ears on the scene, and we 
 may picture that brilliant gathering assemble in our new 
 Guildhall, not yet completely finished, when the King's three 
 brothers John, Duke of Bedford, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester 
 (the "good Duke Humphrey"), Edwanl, Duke of York, with 
 the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Winchester, 
 and others, come to confer with the Mayor, as to what
 
 lo THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 assistance is to be rendered the King in his proposed claim to 
 the crown of France. But now arises a question of precedence 
 — the Ma3'or, as the King's representative in tlic City, claims to 
 occup}- the centre seat — in other words to take the chair, and 
 his claim is allowed, thus making a precedent which future 
 Mayors are to uphold. Visions of the citizens' enthusiasm float 
 around, when the news of the glorious victory of Agincourt 
 on St. Crispin's day is announced (1415), just as the newly 
 elected Mayor is being sworn into office, — of "the solemn 
 pilgrimage of the Mayor, Aldermen and Commonalty, from 
 Guildhall on foot to Westminster, for the purpose of making 
 humble thanks to the Almighty and His saints, especially 
 St. Edward the Confessor, for the joyous victory." Later on, at 
 the termination of the war with France, the King and 
 Queen are entertained in the Guildhall, and we picture 
 Whitington, to the astonishment and delight of the King, 
 throwing into the fire bonds given by the King, stated to be of 
 the value of ;^6o,ooo, and we hear Henry's exclamation, 
 ^' Happy is the King to have such a subject," and Whitington's 
 courtly rejoinder, " Rather, happy is the subject to have such a 
 King." Henr}- passes away and his infant son succeeds him. 
 Guildhall is finished, a building destmed to receive and to 
 welcome generations of England's greatest men, and to witness 
 events of vital importance to the City, to England, and to the 
 world. Within a few 3'ears, Jack Cade and his Kentish 
 followers are in possession of the City, and are holding mock 
 trials in the Guildhall, where they sentence to death Sir James 
 Fiennes, Lord Say and two others, carr}- the sentences into 
 execution in Chepe, and set up the heads on London Bridge, 
 Cade's own head shortly joining them (1450). 
 
 Later on, we see many meetings of the Common Council, 
 for the purpose of aiding Henry of Monmouth's son, but, weary 
 at last of his weakness and favouritism, it welcomes the Duke 
 of York to the City, acknowledges his title to the crown,
 
 THE HISTORIC PAST. ii 
 
 and on his death at Wakefield Green, proclaims his son, King, as 
 Edward IV. Popular in the early part of his reign, and the 
 darling of the citizens, who supply his needs again and again, 
 we may picture him paying the Guildhall frequent visits. 
 On his death, we see the Duke of Buckingham attempting 
 to induce the citizens to petition the crafty Gloucester to 
 accept the crown, and then returning to his treacherous 
 master with the news, " The citizens are mum, they say not a 
 word." On Richard's death on Bosworth Field, Henry Tudor 
 receives a hearty welcome from the City, and great rejoicings 
 are held on his marriage with Elizabeth of York (1485), as 
 happily ending the disastrous Wars of the Roses. 
 
 Our first glimpse of the Eighth Henry is when, as a boy 
 of seven, he receives from the citizens a pair of gilt goblets ; 
 and we listen to his j^outhful words of gratitude: " Fader Maire, 
 I thank you and your Brethren here present of this greate 
 and kynd remembraunce which I trist in tyme comyng to 
 deserve. And for asmoche as I can not give unto you 
 according thankes, I shall pray the Kynges Grace to thank 
 you, and for my partye I shall not forget yo'. kyndnesse." 
 
 In later years, we see this boy, who had returned such a 
 gentle reply, and who hoped not merely to deserve, but who 
 promised not to forget their kindness, transformed into a Royal 
 despot, constantly at variance with the citizens. We may picture 
 to ourselves in 1529 (Ralph Dodmer, Mayor) the first of the 
 recorded Banquets on Lord Mayor's day, " with the Mayor's 
 Court boarded and hung with cloth of Arras for the occasion," 
 one table set apart for peers of the realm, at the head of which 
 sits the new Lord Chancellor (Sir Thomas More), and at the 
 bottom the Lords Berkeley and Powis, at either side of the table 
 more peers, among whom are the Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk, 
 the one, the Treasurer, and the other, the Marshal of England, 
 Sir Thomas Grey Marquis of Dorset, the Earl of Oxford the 
 High Chamberlain, and the Earl of Shrewsbury Lord Steward
 
 12 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 of England, Tunstal Bishop of London, and Sir Thomas 
 Boleyn, whose daughter Anne is shortly to experience the peril 
 of sharing Henry's throne. Scenes other than banquets rise 
 to the mind's eye — we see Anne Askew arraigned in the 
 Guildhall for '' speaking against the sacrament of the altar," and 
 condemned to be burnt alive as a heretic at Smithfield. Yet, at 
 the same period, in this same Guildhall of ours, we are pleased 
 to picture grave citizens pacing the floor, full of pious schemes 
 for the advancement of learning, which resulted in the 
 establishment of the world-famed schools of the Mercers, St. 
 Paul's, the Merchant Taylors, and others in the City ; while 
 natives of the provinces, who had been successful as merchants 
 in the Cit)', were founding, in the place of their birth, schools 
 such as Reading, Bristol, Drayton, Oundle, Tonbridge, and 
 Bedford — centres destined, in years to come, to produce a 
 more tolerant spirit throughout the land. 
 
 Their example is followed by the mild and gentle boy 
 King, Edward VI., who still further encourages learning, 
 while we see his Uncle, the Protector Somerset, in his eager- 
 ness to raise and furnish his stately mansion ii; the Strand, 
 borrowing and carrying away from the Guildhall Library, 
 several cartloads of books, the noble gift of Whitington and 
 Carpenter, which are destined never to be returned. In the 
 early struggle between the Protector and the Lords of the 
 Council, then in possession of the King's person, we hear the 
 Common Council at Guildhall promise " that they will, to the 
 uttermost of their wills and powers, maintain and defend the 
 King's person." During the later years of Edward's reign, we see 
 the citizens busily engaged in laying a proper foundation for 
 the management of the hospitals they have acquired — viz., St. 
 Bartholomew's for the sick poor, St. Thomas's for the indigent, 
 aged and infirm. Bridewell for the lazy and vagabond, 
 Bethlem for the mentally afflicted — and receiving permission 
 from the King, at the suggestion of Bishop Ridley, to set apart
 
 THE HISTORIC PAST. 13 
 
 what remained of Grey Friars, as Christ's Hospital, for the 
 education and support of fatherless and helpless children. To 
 consolidate this great work, the King, on his death bed, grants 
 a Charter of Incorporation to the Mayor, Aldermen, and 
 Commonalt}-, as Governors of these Royal Hospitals in the 
 City. In a letter to the Mayor, Sir Richard Dobbs, Bishop 
 Ridley writes, " O Dobbs, Dobbs, Alderman and Knight, thou in 
 thy year didst win my heart, for evermore, for that honourable 
 act, that most blessed work of God, of the erection and setting 
 up of Christ's Holy Hospitals and truly religious houses which 
 by thee, and through thee, were begun." Mary Tudor has 
 not long been on the throne when we witness the trial of 
 the aged Cranmer, the youthful Lady Jane Grey (she 
 "that wolde a been qwene"), her husband, and two of her 
 husband's brothers, who plead guilty and are condemned to 
 death. Three months after, we see the Queen (with Wyatt, 
 in open rebellion, in Southwark), full of the courage of her 
 family, " addressing a spirited harangue to the assembled 
 citizens," in the Guildhall, asking and receiving at their hands 
 loyal assistance — which she afterwards repaid with the fires of 
 Smithfield. Sir Nicholas Throckmorton stands his trial in 
 Guildhall for being implicated in Wyatt's rebellion. The trial 
 is remarkable for the display of intellectual power of his 
 advocates, and for the verdict of the Jury, in opposition to the 
 wishes of the Queen, which costs them imprisonment and fine. 
 
 The glorious reign of Elizabeth has now commenced 
 (1558), and from the Guildhall can be heard and seen signs of 
 rejoicing. The Guildhall is alive and astir with the 
 merchant adventurers, whose minds are deeply engaged in 
 plans for the extension of trade wherever they can set foot 
 in a world for the most part as yet unknown; or, as Kingsley 
 says, " pick the lock of the New World." We catch glimpses 
 of Sir Thomas Gresham pondering how he may best carry out 
 his father's scheme for founding a " Burse " or Exchange, for
 
 14 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 the use of the rising merchants, and how he may best arrange 
 his noble scheme for a college ; of the famous Lord Mayor, 
 Edward Osborne, whose descendant (the present Duke of 
 Leeds), three himdred years later, is now renewing the ancient 
 family connection with City life ; of Sheriff Spencer, the 
 wealthy Cloth worker ; of Martin Frobisher and of Humphrey 
 Gilbert, both residents close by, in Cripplegate Without ; of 
 John Hawkins, and of Walter Raleigh, the friend of all 
 adventurers. Early in April, 1588, the Common Council 
 assemble with grave and troubled, but courageous looks, 
 knowing full well that England's time of trial has come^ 
 and agree to fvirnish and fully equip for war, sixteen of the 
 largest and best merchant ships that can be found in the 
 Thames, and four pinnaces to attend on them ; and we 
 again see them on that eventful Saturday, when an en- 
 gagement with the Spaniard is expected, obeying the precept 
 of the Lord Mayor (Sir George Bond) to attend church, " in 
 order that humble and hearty prayers might be offered to 
 Almighty God by preaching and otherwise, as the necessity of 
 the times required." 
 
 One might ponder for long, over the causes which led to 
 the City's prosperity, during the reign of the last and greatest 
 of the Tudors, but we must travel on to Stuart times and 
 picture the first of that race on the English throne. We see 
 him inducing the citizens to assist with men and money in 
 the plantation of Ulster, which is effected after much pro- 
 tracted negotiation and a considerable expenditure of City's cash. 
 Assistance is also given, at his suggestion, to the Virginia 
 Companv, which carried out successfully Raleigh's idea of 
 colonies over the sea. But these outside projects drain the 
 supplies which were needed for home uses. The New River 
 Act for supplying the City with water has been obtained. But 
 the City funds are low, and, in consequence, its powers are 
 made over to Hugh Myddelton, who, by selling to the King
 
 THE HISTORIC PAST. 15 
 
 one half of the shares, is, at the cost of his personal fortune, 
 able to complete this much-needed work, which in the future 
 is to make its possessors " rich beyond the dreams of avarice." 
 
 On the proposed Royal alliance with their ancient enemy 
 of Spain, we can imagine the bold and independent City 
 apprentices assembling around the Guildhall, full of contempt 
 for their haughty foe, and venting their feelings against its 
 representative, Gondomar, who, upon giving directions to the 
 Mayor, is met with the reply, "It is not to you that I have 
 to give an account for the government of this City." 
 The King comes with a threat to place a garrison in the 
 City and withdraw the Charter, but, on second thoughts, and 
 becoming calmer, returns with ''divers Lords of the Council, 
 and scolds the Mayor and Aldermen for their misgovernment 
 and for the illcarriage of the rude sort of people." 
 
 We have Avitnessed the citizens, in the reign of Great Queen 
 Bess, freely giving their aid, in repelling from these shores, the 
 attempted invasion of the foreigner, we now see them doing 
 their best to defend the liberties of their country against the 
 attempts of an arbitrary monarch. 
 
 Charles is now on the throne, and in an hour of need 
 (November, 1641), pays his first visit to the City ; a banquet 
 is given in his honour, the cost defrayed out of the Chamber, 
 the Ma3'or and Recorder receive the honour of Knighthood, 
 and to show still more clearly his gratitude for the brilliant 
 reception given him, he confers on the two Sherifis and five of 
 the Aldermen the same dignity. But, gratifying as these favours 
 may be to some, a deeper issue lay below. Were there any real 
 checks on the Monarch's personal authority, or were there 
 not ? Three months later, this question came to the front, 
 his officers having failed to arrest the five members (Pym, 
 Hampden, Holies, Hazelrigg, .and Strode), the King proceeds 
 to the House of Commons to demand their arrest. Looking
 
 1 6 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 round, and not seeing them present, he asks the Speaker 
 '' Do you see any of them ? '' to which the Speaker, with 
 due obeisance to the King, answers " Ahiy it please your 
 Majesty, I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak 
 in this place, but as the House is pleased to direct me, whose 
 servant I am here." Foiled thus in the House, and hearing 
 that the five members had taken refuge in the City, the King, 
 accompanied by his retinue, presents himself next day, before 
 the assembled Court of Common Council, and demands that 
 the five members, who he says, are " lurking in the City," 
 shall be delivered to him. Ominous silence reigns, which 
 shortly afterwards is broken by a cry, " Parliament, privileges 
 of Parliament ! " from some, and " God bless the King ! '' from 
 others. This is all the answer vouchsafed him ; on leaving the 
 Council Chamber the same cries greet him in Guildhall itself. 
 He invites himself to dine with one of the Sheriffs, whom he 
 knows to be the least favourable to him, and leaves the City, 
 to which he is destined never to return. The Council 
 continue sitting, and humbly desire his Majesty to take steps 
 for the redress of certain grievances, and also request him 
 not to proceed against the five members. 
 
 Imagination may run riot in thinking of the meetings in 
 the Courts of Aldermen, of Common Council, and of the 
 Citizens, in Common Hall during the next few eventful 
 years ; the citizens, for the most part full of energy in the 
 Parliamentary cause, occasionally wavering, but, on the whole, 
 requiring very little inducement to keep firm. The fate ot 
 King and Parliament is in their hands. We picture to 
 ourselves deputations from both Houses of Parliament — 
 Cromwell among them — waiting upon the Common Council, 
 sometimes with thanks for prompt assistance in raising 
 additional regiments of trained bands, sometimes asking for a 
 supply of arms for the use of the Parliamentary forces, and at 
 times begging for money to carry on the war.
 
 THE HISTORIC PAST. 17 
 
 At a specially convened Common Hall, in 1644, Vane, 
 Warwick, Essex, Pembroke, and Holies, thank the assembled 
 liverymen for past services, and exhort them to be firm for the 
 future. We see the Common Council taking active steps to 
 relieve Gloucester, at that time besieged by the king, and 
 sending forward several regiments, supplied with cannon, to its 
 relief. This is effected, and the City claims to have contributed 
 much, in this " turning point in the war.'' We may picture the 
 pride and enthusiasm with which the Common Council in their 
 Guildhall receive the news from Newbury fight, that their 
 trained bands had stood their ground, " like so many stakes," 
 against the charges made by the fiery Rupert's royalist cavalry. 
 Clarendon himself says, " They behaved themselves to 
 wonder, and were in truth the preservation of that army, that 
 day." By-and-bye this Parliament becomes only a skeleton of 
 its former self, and the real power is now wielded by the newly- 
 modelled and now dictatorial army ; and new demands, on 
 behalf of the army are made on the City, much as they had 
 been made under former Kings. Because of delay in providing 
 moneys demanded,, and as a menace to the citizens, the Mayor, 
 Sir John Gayer of " lion sermon " fame), one of the Sheriffs, 
 and three Aldermen were ordered, on a specious pretence, to 
 the Tower, and on disputing the jurisdiction of the iiorc House of 
 Lords the Mayor and Aldermen were heavily fined, but on the 
 Commons finding that the attitude of the citizens was still 
 wavering, the prisoners (while the enemy was at the gates) 
 were discharged without trial, once more showing that, in an 
 important crisis, the feeling of the City has to be reckoned 
 with. The citizens do not forget the threats and insults they 
 have recently suffered. We hear bitter words spoken of the 
 Army ; a Royalist reaction is in the air ; yet the general 
 feeling of distrust in Charles's promises is a barrier to every 
 agreement. At liis trial we see five Aldermen and two wealthy 
 citizens named on the Commission. Two of the Aldermen 
 and the two citizens sit at the trial — but only the two latter
 
 1 8 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 sign the death warrant, for which they suffered in after 
 years. The long struggle being at last ended, the City now 
 entertains, first, the Commons, and then the Council of 
 State and other High Officers, and, later on, distinguished 
 leaders of the Parliamentary Army. Fairfax and Cromwell 
 thev present with plate, to the value of £\,\\2 75s. We see 
 Cromwell again feted b}^ the City after Worcester, and on 
 being proclaimed Lord Protector ; and we hear with imfeigned 
 sorrow of his death — the death of the greatest Englishman of 
 the age — on 3rd September, 1658, his "fortunate da\-,'' the 
 anniversary of Dunbar and Worcester. 
 
 His son Richard is proclaimed, but he has not his father's 
 genius, and whispers are soon heard in Guildhall of a 
 restoration of the old regime. Monk makes his appearance on 
 the scene, and takes up his quarters in the City, much to the 
 chagrin of the Council of State. We see him feeling the pulse 
 of the citizens, who now begin to speak freely of the instability 
 " of present arrangements," and some, even of a restoration. 
 The Common Council, in touch with the rising feeling, is 
 now anxious to put itself in a proper attitude, and to vindicate 
 its action throughout the late troubles. 
 
 It is now ^i^^y. 1660, the Common Council are appointing 
 sixteen Commissioners to wait on the new King at the Hague, 
 who receives them graciously, and confers the honour of 
 knighthood upon those members who are not already 
 knighted. Charles II., under conditions believed by the citizens 
 to be real, is now "come to his own again,'' and proclaimed King 
 by the Lord Mayor " in a new crimson velvet gown specially 
 provided for the occasion." In July, the Guildhall witnesses 
 scenes far different from those it has lately been accustomed, 
 for Charles, his Court and his Parliamc;nt, are dining with 
 the Lord Mayor and citizens, and receiving, at his Lordship's 
 hands, " a welcome cupp, according to the usual custome," as 
 a token of lo3-alty and duty. This entertainment seems to
 
 THE HISTORIC PAST. 
 
 19 
 
 give the King a taste for the City's hospitality, for, in later 
 years, he is here again and again. 
 
 In 1663. we picture a Lord ^Mayor's Banquet with Samuel 
 Pepvs as a guest, who thus lucidly describes his experience : 
 "We went up and down to see the tables, where, under every 
 salt, there was a bill of fare, and at the end of the table 
 the persons proper for the table. Man}- were the tables, but 
 none in the Hall but the IMayor's and Lords of the Privv 
 Council that had napkins or knives, which was very strange. 
 We went into the Buttr_v and there sta3-ed and talked, and 
 then into the Hall again, and there wine was offered and 
 they drunk, I onl}- drinking some h3-pocras, which do not 
 break nw vowe, it being, to the best of my present judgment, 
 only a mixed compound drink, and not any wine ; if I am 
 mistaken, God forgive me ! but I hope, and do think, I am not. 
 . Bv-and-by, about one o'clock, before the Lord Mayor 
 •come into the Hall, from the room where thev were first led 
 into, the Lord Chancellor (Archbishop before him), with the 
 Lords of the Council and other Bishopps, and they to dinner. 
 Anon comes the Lord Mayor, who went up to the Lords and 
 then to the other tables to bid welcome ; and so all to dinner. 
 I set . . . at the merchant strangers' table where ten good 
 dishes to a messe, with plenty of wine of all sorts, of which I 
 drunk none ; but it was very unpleasing that we had no napkins 
 nor change of trenchers, and drunk out of earthen pitchers and 
 wooden dishes. . . . The dinner, it seems, is made by the 
 Ma\-or and two Sheriffs for the time being, the Lord Mayor 
 paying one half and the\- the other." 
 
 Two years after (1665) there is no feasting in the City 
 The plague is raging and many thousands of its citizens have 
 perished. The Guildhall lias fallen upon evil times, for, in the 
 following year, we must again picture a scene of desolation, this 
 time of another character. No time to linger here now. The 
 building, with all its historic memories, is placed in the midst
 
 20 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 of a sea of fire. The roof is alight and the \vf)rst is feared. 
 Yet the " horrid, maHcious, bloody flame,'' as Pepys calls it, 
 burns itself out without serious injury to the walls. But 
 public business, although impossible here, must be carried on, 
 so a remove is made to Gresham House in Bishopsgate Street, 
 from which the Common Council issues its orders for the 
 Guildhall to be cleared of its debris, and the City's records 
 (fortunateh' uninjured) to be removed to Gresham House, 
 there to remain in charge of the Town Clerk. Although not 
 now from the Guildhall itself, we see the citizens bestirring 
 themselves in the rebuilding of their citw This is no light 
 task, for around us are seen the ruins of 13,200 houses, 
 many of the City Companies' halls, and 8q parish churches. 
 Wren, the great architect, submits a plan for the re- 
 arrangement of the streets, but, handsome and useful as such 
 might have been, to carry it out in its entirety is found to be 
 impracticable. A certain amount of re-modelling takes place, 
 and, from the still roofless Guildhall, we see the new approach 
 from Cheapside, called, in honour of his Majesty, " King 
 Street." Wren examines the Guildhall and finds that the walls 
 are almost uninjured, and three years after places thereon a 
 roof, it is said, intended only to be temporary, though destined to 
 remain for nearly 200 years. The Council Chamber is again 
 fitted for use, the work resumed in its former quarters, and we 
 are again able to take our position in the Hall and watch 
 current events. In 1672, the portraits of the twenty-two 
 Judges, who have just completed their work in defining the 
 boundaries of properties, and settling disputes in re-building, 
 are ordered to be hung on the walls of the Guildhall, and in 
 the same year the Prince of Orange (afterwards William HP) 
 is handsomely entertained b}- the City, at the King's request. 
 During the remainder of the so-called 'Alerr}- Monarch's' 
 reign, there is constant friction and strife between the King and 
 the City, for although the latter had, in a very great degree,, 
 been instrumental in his restoration, it sufi'ered more at his
 
 THE HISTORIC PAST. 21 
 
 hands, than at those of any of his predecessors. In a dispute as 
 to whether the City was going beyond its chartered powers, a 
 Quo Wai ninio was issued in 1682 ; and although the citizens, as 
 has been their wont, boldly fight for their Charter and their 
 chartered rights of electing their own ]\Iayor, Aldermen, and 
 Common Council — there is no election of the last-named for six 
 years, and the Lord i\Iayor and Aldermen are appointed by the 
 King. His brother and successor, James, maintains the same 
 policv, until circumstances compel him to see the folly of 
 alienating the citizens ; he is then ready to make concessions 
 and restore their Charter, and does so, but too late to save his 
 throne. The King has fled from London (1688). A meeting is 
 held in the Guildhall, fraught with consequences of the greatest 
 importance both to the City and the Kingdom. A number 
 of the Lords spiritual and temporal come to the Guildhall, 
 as to " a place of security," the better to take measures, 
 and consult for the commonweal. They inform the Court 
 of Aldermen of the King's flight, and then retire into the 
 '' galler}- adjoining the Council Chamber," where they draw up 
 a declaration containing, in effect, their resolution to assist the 
 Prince of Orange, (whose landing in England had caused King 
 James to take to flight), in " maintaining the religion, the 
 rights, and liberties which had been invaded by Jesuitical 
 Counsels." At a meeting immediately after, the Conunon 
 Council implore the Prince's protection, and promise him a 
 heartv welcome to the City, while the Court of I^ieutcnancy 
 assure his Highness that measures had been taken for preserving 
 the peace of the City till he should arrive. The Prince and 
 his Consort are crowned in April, and on the next Lord 
 ^Liyor's Day, witness the Show from Cheapside, and, in the 
 evening are, with the members of both Houses and High 
 Officers of State, entertained at a Banquet in the (Tuildhall. 
 
 The decision in the (Jiiu Warnnil') proceedings is reversed, 
 and we see the citizens restored to the full enjoyment of all
 
 22 THE (;CILDH.iLL. 
 
 their ancient rights and privileges, and anxious to do all in 
 their power to strengthen the position of their new Sovereign, 
 who, in return, is most gracious, and honours them with 
 his presence on Lord Mayor's Day, 1692. William and Mary 
 pass awa}^ and good Queen Anne reigns. On the Hrst Lord 
 Mayor's Day after her accession, she attends the usual banquet, 
 and, as an acknowledgment of the City's welcome, she confers 
 the honour of knighthood on several distinguished citizens, 
 and does not forget the claims of "Mr. Eaton," Linen Draper of 
 Cheapside, from the windows of whose house she had witnessed 
 the pageant pass. 
 
 We now see that famous General, John, I-)ukc of 
 Marlborough, frequently entertained by the City, and are able 
 to view twenty-six standards and sixty-three colours, taken at 
 Ramillies, brought in great state into the City and displayed on 
 the walls of the Guildhall. 
 
 Queen Anne is dead, to the great grief of ihe citizens. 
 George of Hanover succeeds, and, as has become the custom, 
 attends the first Lord Mayor's Day Banquet after his accession. 
 His successor — the second of that name — together with the 
 Queen, the great officers of State and a large number of the 
 nobility, continues the custom (1727). 
 
 The Rebellion of '45 causes for a time much consternation 
 in Guildhall, and we see the citizens expressing their thankful- 
 ness at their dehverance, by unanimously resolving to present to 
 the Duke of Cumberland, the " Freedom of the City " in a gold 
 box, both for his " magnanimous behaviour against the rebels as 
 well as for his vigilant care in protecting the City in a late time 
 of imminent danger." Towards the close of this reign, we see 
 the " Freedom of the City " conferred on one, whose name is still 
 held by his countr}- in the highest esteem — William Pitt, 
 afterwards P^arl of Chatham, "who had done so nuich to 
 restore the ancient reputation of the British F^mpire." The
 
 THE HISTORIC PAST. 23 
 
 third George succeeds (1760), and attends (following the 
 custom of his predecessors) the first Lord Mayor's Banquet 
 after his accession. Pitt also is there, and is received with 
 even greater acclamation than the King himself. We next see 
 the citizens entering on a conflict partly with the King, — who 
 was suspected of trying to restore again, in political matters, the 
 personal ascendanc}^ of the Sovereign, — and partly with the 
 House of Commons, for the freedom of the electors to choose 
 their own representatives, and for the liberty of the Press. We 
 see them (1764) conferring the " Freedom of the City " on Chief 
 Justice Pratt for deciding that general warrants were illegal. 
 The citizens support Wilkes, because they believe him to be 
 fighting at the first, a battle against personal government, and 
 afterwards in defence of the rights of the people to elect their 
 representatives. In 1770, Lord Mayor Beckford, after pre- 
 senting an address to the King from the City and receiving 
 his Majest3''s unfavourable reply, remonstrates with him on the 
 indifference and disregard with which the citizens' addresses to 
 the King had been received. On hearing this, the Earl of 
 Chatham observed, '' The spirit of Old England spoke that 
 never-to-be-forgotten day." In the following year, we see 
 Brass Crosby, the Lord Mayor, Member for Honiton in 
 the House of Commons, and Alderman Oliver, a representa- 
 tive of the Citv in that House, sent, by order of the 
 Commons, to the Tower, because, as magistrates of London, 
 the}- had discharged two printers who had publicly reported the 
 debates in the House, contrary to its rule, and who had 
 disobeyed the summons to appear at its bar. We hear the 
 shouts of the populace greeting them as the ' people's friends, 
 the guardians of the City's rights and of the nation's liberties.' 
 It is worthy of note that these debates have ever since been 
 regularl}- reported. 
 
 During the war with the American Colonies, we may fancy 
 ourselves present at a meeting of the Livery in Connnon Hall,
 
 24 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 in support of the claims of the Colonists, and hear them draw 
 up a " respectful but solemn warning against the fatal policy 
 pursued by the King's Ministers toward the American Colonies," 
 in which they state that the measures which the Government 
 have recently adopted are '' big with all consequences which 
 can alarm a free and commercial people," and, later on, the 
 Common Council passes a resolution that a humble address 
 and petition be presented to his Majesty praying him " to 
 suspend hostilities, and adopt such conciliatory measures as 
 might restore union, confidence and peace, to the whole 
 Empire." If the King will but listen to the prayer of his 
 faithful citizens, the American Colonies will remain with us 
 loyal and united ; but no, the King's eyes are " holden," and 
 Providence decrees that the ' United States of America ' shall be 
 founded and become the wonder of the world. 
 
 We see "Halls" and Common Council supporting the 
 youthful Minister, Pitt, the son of their favourite, Chatham, 
 and hail, with enthusiasm, the energy with which the citizens 
 enrol themselves as Volunteers, when invasion is threatened 
 by the " Scourge of Europe." We picture, in 1805, Pitt, 
 though broken down in health b}' the burden he cheerfully 
 bore, attending, at a cost of much personal suffering, the Lord 
 Mayor's Banquet, and when the Lord Mayor, in proposing his 
 health, styles him the Saviour of Europe, we ma}- hear his 
 short and modest reply, " I return you many thanks, my Lord 
 Mayor, for the honour you have done me, but Europe is not to 
 be saved by any single man. England has saved herself b}' her 
 exertions, and will, I trust, save Europe by her example." 
 These were the last words he ever spoke in public. 
 
 Two years later, we again witness the renewal of the 
 struggle, both for the freedom of speech and for the freedom of 
 the Press. Sir Francis Burdett is committed to the Tower by 
 order of the House of Commons, for questioning the right of 
 the House to commit a man to prison, for proposing to discuss
 
 THE HISTORIC PAST. 25 
 
 in a Debating Societj-, the proceedings of that House. The 
 Liver}- assemble in Common Hall to take into consideration '' the 
 alarming assumption of privilege, by the Honourable the House 
 of Commons, of arresting and imprisoning, during pleasure, the 
 people of England, for offences cognizable in the usual Courts 
 of Law." and thank Sir Francis Burdett for having upheld 
 the right of freedom of speech. 
 
 This meeting of Common Hall, — the forerunner of many 
 during succeeding years, — renews the claim for reform — first put 
 forward after Wilkes' return for Middlesex, constantly urged by 
 Common Halls up to Pitt's unsuccessful attempt to realize it in 
 1785, and then for a time stilled by the excesses of the French 
 Revolution, — which led, in 1832, to such an extension of the 
 franchise, and such a redistribution of seats, as gave the nation 
 in general a real and effective control over the Government of 
 the day. We see both the Common Council and the Common 
 Halls presenting strongly-worded addresses with this end in 
 view, and the long struggle only ceases, when the Bill of Earl 
 Grey, for Reform, has passed both Houses. The victory is 
 celebrated in Guildhall, when Lord Grey and Lord Althorp 
 are admitted as the fellow " freemen " of those who had 
 fought so long for victory. At a specially-arranged banquet in 
 honour of those who, by their exertions, had contributed to 
 this great result, we hear Lord Grey paying a deserved tribute 
 to the City's influence in the commercial world, its loyalty 
 to the constitution, and its love of freedom, "never more 
 conspicuously manifested ''' than during recent events. 
 
 During the latter years of this agitation, the citizens 
 are active in supporting in their Guildhall the repeal of 
 the Test Acts, the demand for Catholic Emancipation, and, 
 even when rejoicing at the downfall of Napoleon, careful that 
 the noble work of abolishing the trade in slaves, which was 
 secured by the perseverance of William Wilberforce, should 
 not be undone.
 
 26 THE GUILD//. UJ.. 
 
 Turning one's thoughts away from politics, we see the 
 City, after the occupation of Paris, antl the overthrow of 
 Napoleon (1S14), entertaining at Guildhall, at a magnificent 
 banquet, a brilliant assembly — the Czar of Russia, the King of 
 Prussia, the newl3'-restored scion of the Bourbons, Louis XVIIT., 
 the Prince Regent, and a host of other distinguished personages. 
 In a few weeks there follows another gathering, scarcely less 
 brilliant, to do honour to him, who, as Commander of the 
 British forces, had done more than any other, to stay the 
 victorious career of Napoleon — tlie Duke of Wellington. 
 The opportunity is taken of presenting him with the "Freedom 
 of the City " (in a gold box), which he had hitherto been unable 
 "to take up," as well as with the sword of honour already 
 voted him. We see further banquets and entertainments given 
 in keeping with the wealth and dignity of the City, in 
 honour of Royal personages, of illustrious statesmen, and of 
 brave warriors ; we see men, for ever famous in the wf)rkrs 
 history, welcomed here, and receiving the highest gift the 
 citizens can bestOAv — the honorary freedom of the City ; an 
 honour, which we hear the recipients saying, " they esteem equal 
 to any honour that may be placed upon them.'.' Besides those 
 already mentioned, we have welcomed to Guildhall statesmen 
 and philanthrophists — Peel, Brougham, Russell, Clarkson, 
 Livingstone, Disraeli, Gladstone, Salisbury, Dufferin, and 
 Shaftesbury ; commandeis by sea and by land — Nelson, Hood,. 
 Jervis, Howe, Duncan, Abercrombie, Wellington, Hill, 
 Hardinge, Gough, Williams of Kars, Colin Camphcll, (^utram, 
 Wolseley, Roberts, Kitchener, and many others. 
 
 Following the custom of many of her predecessors,. 
 Queen Victoria honours the City with her presence on the first 
 Lord Mayor's Day after her accession to the Throne, (1837). 
 We see her again, accompanied by her Consort, ' Albert 
 the Good,' in the year of the great Exhibition (1851). 
 Upon this occasion the ancient Crypt of the Guildhall is fitted.
 
 THE HISTORIC PAST. 27 
 
 up in the style of an old baronial hall, and provided with 
 suitable furniture. The valuable plate of the Cit}- Companies 
 is displayed upon an oak sideboard. In each of the recesses are 
 placed mirrors, and from the walls are suspended tapestries copied 
 from the famous examples at Bayeux, representing the incidents 
 connected with the conquest of England by William I. Around 
 the columns supporting the roof, City Policemen stand clad in 
 suits of armour brought from the Tower — the whole scene is one 
 of magnificence and splendour. The Crimean war has come to 
 an end (1856). Our allies in that war, the Emperor of the 
 French (accompanied by the Empress), and a little later, in 
 the same vear, the King of Sardinia, are entertained with great 
 splendour. Eight years later, the Prince and Princess of Wales 
 are entertained with becoming honour and dignity on the 
 occasion of their marriage. We may see a welcome — such 
 as the City delights in giving— in 1867, to the ill-fated Abdul 
 Aziz, Sultan of Turkey ; in 1871, to H.R.H. Prince Arthur ; in 
 1873, and again in 1889, to the Shah of Persia; in 1875, to 
 Alexander II., Czar of Russia ; in 1876, to the Prince of Wales 
 on his return from India ; in 1881, to the King of the Hellenes ; 
 and in t886, the year of the Colonial and Indian Exhibition, 
 the representatives of the different Colonies are received and 
 welcomed. But brilliant as all these gatherings have been, they 
 are eclipsed by the preparations for, and the assembly which 
 met on, the occasion of the celebration of the Queen's Jubilee 
 in 1887. We see there present, four Kings, the reigning 
 sovereigns of Denmark, Belgium, Saxony and Greece ; the 
 i^rince and Princess of Wales and nearly every Member of 
 the Royal Family; representatives of various reigning families 
 of Europe, including the present Czar of Russia and the present 
 Emperor of Germany, then joyous young Princes ; the 
 Ambassadors of Austria, France, Russia, German)-, Turkc}-, 
 and Italy ; the Ministers of nearly every State in the World; a 
 host of the most distinguished men of the lime ; ant!, lasi but not 
 least, a number of tlie Princes ol' India in their gorgeous attire.
 
 28 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 Five thousand guests are present, which taxes to the utmost 
 the accommodation of the Guildhall, and presents a spectacle 
 that no one who witnessed it will ever forget. Since that 
 brilliant gathering, we may recall stately entertainments 
 to do honour to the present German Emperor ; to the great 
 African Explorer, Stanley ; to celebrate the Jubilee of the 
 Penny Postage ; and to welcome the International Congress 
 of Hygiene and Demography ; and still fresh in our memory, 
 (1897) the Ball and Reception in honour of the Diamond 
 Jubilee of our honoured and gracious Majesty, Victoria, Queen 
 of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India. 
 
 Such briefly, are some of the stirring historic scenes, 
 political, social and personal, that this Guildhall of ours, during 
 the centuries of its existence, has witnessed. But there is 
 another aspect of the work there, that must not be forgotten. 
 During these centuries, amidst turmoil and trouble, there 
 passes before our eyes a vision of innumerable applicants 
 for assistance — the widow, the fatherless, the oppressed, the 
 champion and advocate of ever}- cause, that has for its aim the 
 well-being of our fellow-man, — who have all received a welcome 
 there, — and, during the whole of its lengthened and glorious 
 career, its doors have never been shut to such, while the 
 many who entered with sad, but hopeful hearts, have, if their 
 case has been found deserving, never been sent empt}- away. 
 
 In concluding this brief summarv of the scenes, upon which 
 imagination may easily, and with profit dwell, we cannot do 
 better than quote the words of prominent public men as to 
 the Guildhall and its work. 
 
 Speaking in the Guildhall, the late Rt. Hon. W. E. 
 Gladstone once said : — 
 
 " On every great occasion, in every great crisis 01 the 
 history of the countr\-, when there has, unfortunately, been a
 
 THE HISTORIC PAST. 29 
 
 conflict among its constitutional powers, it has been commonly 
 found that the side taken by the City of London has hkewise 
 been the side adopted by the House of Commons." 
 
 On another occasion, the same statesman said : — 
 " In the Lord Mayor of London, they saw no untit 
 representative of that Municipal system which was so closely 
 connected with the liberties they so highly prized. Five 
 centuries had passed over the Hall in which they now were 
 gathered, and it was left still as Arm and as able to withstand 
 the vicissitudes of the elements as it was on the day it was 
 founded. In the same manner, the Local Institutions of the 
 City, still earlier in their date, yet retained down to this hour a 
 vigorous life. Whenever reformation was applied, it was always 
 applied to them in a spirit of reverence and caution, and they 
 came out from it, as had been seen on a thousand occasions, 
 fresher and stronger than before." 
 
 Sir William Harcourt, when Home Secretary, said, '' there 
 are no traditions more illustrious than those which cluster 
 around the Guildhall. I should be as averse to destroying 
 the Guildhall, as to destroying Westminster Hall or the 
 Abbey." 
 
 A few years later, the Rt. Hon. Joseph Chamberlain said, 
 " its history and great traditions, of which every citizen has a 
 right to be proud, have given to the Corporation of London 
 that affectionate regard that is one of the privileges of age. 
 The Guildhall is intimately associated with the history of the 
 City proper, and is connected with its past struggles, with 
 the glorious fight that has been made for liberty, and with its 
 sturdy resistance even to tlie oppression of kings." 
 
 At a recent Lord Mayor's Banquet, Sir Matthew 
 White Ridley, Home Secretary, said, ''the Lord Mayor and 
 Corporation of the City of London liave a great and noble
 
 30 
 
 THE GUILDHALL 
 
 tradition — lhc\- have a unique record of self-government, wliicli 
 is dear to the hearts and convictions of the EngHsh peo))le, ami 
 which has taken a splendid place in our national history. Tliev 
 have achieved a prestige up to Avhich it will be difficult to act, 
 but which, T believe, still animates their conduct, and, as to 
 which, it is still thought bv the people of this countrv that 
 thev are not acting in a manner uir.vorthv of their great 
 predecessors."' 
 
 iVt the same banquet. Lord Salisbury, Prime Minister of 
 England — himself a descendant of more than one of London's 
 Lord jNLivors — said, '' amid the changes of modern life, the Lord 
 Mayor and the Corporation of London occupy much the 
 position they have occupied for many generations. I hope 
 that these entertainments will be, as they always have been, 
 a sign of the splendid position which the Corporation 
 occupies, not only in English life, but in the eyes of Europe.''
 
 ]\ 6uiae to 6uiiai)aiL 
 
 fpi^e (§uildt^all, 
 
 rjlHE visitor passing along King Street from Cheapside, 
 
 I obtains a strikingly picturesque view of the historic 
 
 Guildhall of the City of London. On crossing Gresham 
 
 Street, the Church of St. Lawrence Jewry is seen on the left, 
 
 a church intimately connected with the City's official life, as 
 
 the scene of the religious service, held previous to the animal 
 
 election of the Lord flavor on Michaelmas Day. It is one of 
 
 Wren's churches, opened in 1677, built at a cost of over 
 
 ^10,000, and was the most expensive of his City churches. 
 
 Its predecessor — burnt down in the Great Fire, 1666 — had a 
 
 history of at least 400 years. Beyond this, is a drinking 
 
 fountain erected in i86b to commemorate the pious benefactors 
 
 (from 1375 to 1765) of the Parishes of St. Lawrence Jewry 
 
 and St. Mary Magdalene. 'J'he sculpture on this fountain is 
 
 the work of Joseph Durham, R.A. (Opposite to this on the 
 
 right, and standing back from the roadway, is the Irish 
 
 Chamber, built in 1825. Here is transacted the business of 
 
 the Honourable, the Irish Society, incorporated by Koyal 
 
 Charter in 161 3. This Society manages the City's estates in 
 
 Londonderry and Coleraine, which were allotted to the 
 
 Corporation on the plantation of Ulster in 1609, a work carried 
 
 out at the instigation of King James I.
 
 32 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 Adjoining, and extending to Basinghall Street, is the City 
 of London Court. The first stone of this building was kiid 
 by Lord Chancellor Halsbury in 1887. At the South-east 
 corner of Guildhall Yard, opposite the Irish Chamber, are the 
 offices of the Lord Mayor's Court and the Land Tax Com- 
 missioners for the City. These occupy part of the site of the 
 Courts of Queen's Bench and Common Pleas, which were built 
 in 1823 but disused in 1883, when the new Law Courts in the 
 Strand were opened. 
 
 As we pass on towards the Guildhall, on the right is the 
 entrance to the Art Gallery, which is open free to the public 
 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (see page 94). On the opposite side of 
 the broad open space known as the Guildhall Yard is the 
 Guildhall Justice Room, where an Alderman sits dail}' as 
 magistrate. In the upper portion of this building are the 
 offices of the Remembrancer and the City Solicitor. While 
 standing here, the visitor may be interested in watching the 
 pigeons in the Yard. They are regularly fed by the 
 officials, and many have become so tame that they will perch 
 on an outstretched hand, and calmly feed from its palm. 
 Here, also, an exterior survey of the ' Porch of the 
 Guildhall may be taken. Although its appearance is not 
 so imposing as when originally built (1425-1430) it yet retains 
 much of its old grandeur. The erection above it, dating from 
 1782 only, with the City Arms, supporting the Cap of Main- 
 tenance and the City's Motto, '■'■ Domine Dirigc Nos^' and the 
 pile of buildings on the left, reflect but slight credit upon 
 the Clerk of the City's Works at that date. From 1828 until 
 1873, when the present Library was opened, the rooms over 
 the Porch, and the upper apartments in the East wing of the 
 Front, now removed, were used as a part of the Library, and 
 the former is still an adjunct thereto. The lower portion of the 
 building on the left is used by the Comptroller and his Staff; 
 while the upper rooms serve as a residence for the Keeper of 
 the Guildhall.
 
 THE PORCH. 
 
 33 
 
 riu'U' hy III,- 1 . S, f-r I'. Co., Lil. 
 
 THE CICII.DKAI.I. rOK''^H.
 
 1^\}Q porcl7. 
 
 THK entrance to the Hall iVoni Guildhall \'ard is through a 
 bold and large Gothic archway on the south side. It 
 iorms the principal entrance, and was erected in the years 
 i42;-30. Stow records that the foundation of the Porch " was 
 laide in the fourth year of the raig.ne of Henry VI." He says, 
 
 "Then was builded the Maior's chamber and the counsell chamber, with 
 other rooms above the staires. Last of all, a stately porch entering the 
 Great Hall was erected, the front thereof towards the south being 
 beautified with images of stone." 
 
 These ' images of stone,' seven in number, represented Law, 
 Learning, Discipline, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance, with 
 the figure of our Saviour surmounting the whole. This 
 addition to the Hall was one of the most imposing features 
 of the edifice, and prior to the erection of the structures on 
 each side of it from the designs of Mr. Dance, in the year 1789, 
 was considerably in advance of the main building. Though 
 subjected to minor alterations from time to time, its chief points 
 of interest are uninjured. These combine two bays of groined 
 vaulting, the walls having deeply recessed, moulded, and 
 traceried panelling, varied where the side doorways to the 
 office of the Comptroller of the Chamber and Library corridor 
 occur, and provided with a convenient bench against the side 
 walls. The vaulting is richly groined with moulded principal 
 and secondary ribs, springing from corresponding pillars, the 
 intersections being enriched with handsome sculptured bosses 
 of heraldic and foliated devices in varied designs, emblazoned 
 and gilt, the two principal bosses bearing the Arms of Edward
 
 THE PORCH. 
 
 35 
 
 the Confessor and Henry VI. Among others is the eagle of 
 St. John, the ox of St. Luke, the hon of St. Alark, the angel 
 of St. Matthew, and the monogram IHS. 
 
 Arms of Edward the 
 Confessor. 
 
 Arms of Henry VI. 
 
 From the Porch, through a pair of exceedingly handsome 
 oak doors, we enter the historic Guildhall, in which have been 
 enacted a greater number of glorious scenes of national import- 
 ance than in any building in the kingdom, or perhaps in the 
 whole world ; " the place where the citizens have for ages 
 been accustomed to assemble, not only to transact municipal 
 business, but also freely to discuss public grievances, to consider 
 and suggest remedies for great social evils, and to promote the 
 general interests of humanity." We are at once struck with its 
 magnificent proportions and general appearance of vastness — a 
 vastness enhanced by its beautiful open timbered roof.
 
 fpl^G great {\d^\l 
 
 ^T seems desirable, before proceeding to describe the Great 
 (dJ Hall, as we see it now, that some account should be given 
 of its erection, and of the buildings that preceded it. Space 
 will not permit of any mention of the various traditions and 
 speculations as to the existence of a Hall as the meeting place 
 of the citizens, and where, in after years, the various Trade 
 Guilds met for the transaction of business, earlier than the 
 reign of Edward the Confessor, a.d. 1041-1066, and that there was 
 one at that time can only be surmised from the fact, that the arms 
 of Edward appear not only in the Porch, but in the Crypt, and 
 other portions of the present Guildhall. This, however, may be 
 very slight proof, but it must be remarked that such a belief 
 evidently existed when the later Hall was built — otherwise 
 the Arms would hardly have been selected as a companion to 
 those of Henry VL, in whose reign the present Hall was 
 completed. Stow asserts that the first Guildhall was situated 
 
 on the east side of Aldermanbury, and the City i\rchives seem 
 
 to favour this view. The present hall is east of Aldermanbury 
 
 and in close proximity to it. 
 
 Early in the T5th century the necessities of the time 
 caused by the improvement of commerce at home, and the 
 increase of trade with foreign countries, led to an enlargement 
 of the Hall, which was found to be inadequate ; and in the
 
 THE GREAT HALL. 37 
 
 year 141 1 a new building was commenced. This was an event or 
 much moment — Fabyan, the Alderman of Farringdon Ward 
 Without, recording the fact in his Chronicles (1490) in the 
 following quaint manner : — 
 
 " 141 1. Ill this yere was ye Guyld Halle, of London, began to be new 
 edyfied, and of an oylde and lytell cotage made into a fayre and goodly 
 house as it nowe apperyth." 
 
 Stow, in reference to this re-building, remarks — 
 
 " That towards the charges thereof the companies gave large bene- 
 volences ; also offences of men were pardoned for sums of money towards 
 this work, extraordinary fees were raised, fines, amercements, and other 
 things employed during seven years with a continuation thereof three years 
 more, all to be employed to this building." 
 
 The term of ten years mentioned seems to have been far 
 exceeded. The necessity for raising the money by means of 
 fines is shown bv a reference to the matter in one of the 
 Corporation Letter Books, 14 March, 14 Henry IV., 141 2-1 3 : — 
 
 Whereas the new work of the Guildhall, begun and kept 
 up by the pious alms and help of various citizens and others 
 deceased, had ceased, to the manifest scandal and disgrace of 
 the Citv, it was provided by the Mayor, William Waldern, 
 and the Aldermen, and others of the Common Council 
 assembled, that certain articles should be observed for the next 
 six years. Then follows a list of fines, amercements, and fees. 
 The term during which fines, &c., were to be levied seems to 
 have been far exceeded — for the order seem to have remained 
 in force until the \-ear 1439, when the Hall was nearl\- 
 completed. In addition to the amount received from fines, 
 &c., the King, Henry V., by allowing " free passage of 
 lime, ragstone, and freestone by land or by water," 
 gave as>istance, and various presentations and liequests 
 were made by the citizens for the continuance ot the 
 work. For example, we iind that in the yeai' 1417 
 John Wollaston, one of the executors of John lieamontl, 
 paid to the new work at Guildhall £Q)0 out of tlie goods of
 
 35 THE G(V/JJ/IALL. 
 
 the testator ; in 1422, John Cnventrv and Jc)hn Carpenter, 
 executors of Sir Richard Whitington, contributed towards the 
 paving of tlie great Hall £20, and the next vear _£"i5 more 
 '' to the said pavement witli hard stone of Purbeck " ; they 
 also glazed some windows thereof, '' on everv which window the 
 arms of Richard Whitington are placed." The Hall seems to 
 have been still in some degree unfinished in 143Q, for we find 
 the executors of another citizen bringing in ^"20 " towards the 
 sustentation of the work at the (niildhall." Stow alscM'ecords 
 thai in 1505 Nicholas Alwvn gave b\- his testament "for a 
 hanging tapestry to serve for principal davs in the Guildhall, 
 £"]% 6s. 8d." The two lanterns, or turrets, which were dis- 
 tinguishing features in the Hall, were not added until I4q9. 
 The Hall, thus completed, stood, in all essential respects, until 
 the great fire of 1666, when the open, lofty-pitched oak 
 roof was partly destroyed, and the principal front much 
 injured ; its appearance during the fire is thus described by 
 Vincent in " God's Terrible Voice in the Cit\' :"' 
 
 " That night the sight of Guildhall was a fearful spectacle, which stood, 
 the whole body of it together in view, for several hours together after the 
 fire liad taken it, without flames (I suppose because the timber was such 
 solid oake), in a bright shining coale as if it had been k pallace of gold, or 
 a great building of burnished brass.' 
 
 From other contemporarv accounts the roof was evidently 
 found to be so much injured that it was necessary to take it 
 down. 
 
 In rebuilding, the walls were considerably heightened. 
 
 Blome, a diarist (1670-1693), says : — 
 
 " The roofs, floor, and what else was therein, were consumed — these 
 rooms, courts, and offices are appropriated to the same place wherein they 
 were kept formerly, but much more regular and loftier, and more 
 substantially built. The great Hall being formerly in height as to the 
 upright of the walls, 30 feet, which are now raised 20 feet higher on either 
 side and at both ends, where there are four windows and eight large 
 windows at either side, each 16 feet high, where there were none before, 
 and over all the flat roof and platform leaded, whereas, before, the roof 
 did meet at the top as in common dwellings."
 
 THE GREAT HALL. 
 
 ■V> 
 
 So it would appear that the old open timber roof gave way to ' 
 a flat one ; this was attributed to Wren, who is said to have built it 
 in haste for immediate use, and only as a temporary covering. It 
 proved, however, to be more than temporar}-. It remained for 
 200 3'ears, when it was replaced (1864) by the present handsome 
 roof, from the design of the late Sir Horace Jones, the City 
 Architect, which has been acknowledged bv eminent architects 
 to be consistent in design with the st^de of architecture in 
 fashion at the period when the Guildhall was extended and 
 enlarged (i4ii-i43q). 
 
 EXISTING ROOF. 
 
 ANCIENT ROOF. 
 
 The similaritv of design between the original and the present 
 roof will at once be seen by referring to the illustrations 
 given above. 
 
 The following is an authoritative architectural description 
 of the Great Hall :— 
 
 " The Hall is divided into eight bays or divisions on north 
 and south walls bv engaged piers, formed by a group of three 
 clustered shafts or pillars, connected vertically b\- intermediate 
 mouldings, the whole having moulded bases with stilteil plinths 
 and surmounted bv similar clustered capitals, with scul])tureil 
 floriated enrichments, all in gilt. These shalted pieis rise to 
 the soffit of the main cornice. The wall surfaces on sides and 
 west end under gallery are overlaid with traceried and ciisped
 
 40 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 panelling, generally in two divisions, with certain exceptions as 
 openings, etc., and the west end, comprising arches, mullions, 
 transoms and other sub-divisions and mouldings, with six fine 
 sculptured corbels to tluce windows on the north wall. 
 
 " The lower compartments form a bigh dailo or wall- 
 basement with elevated i)linth, and surmounted with a cornice, 
 enriched b\ an interesting series of City shields, heads, animals, 
 and other jxiteric, and crowned by an embattled cresting. In 
 connection with this basement, a bench, or stone seat, cased 
 with oak, is introduced. The whole is surmounted (on the 
 sides) by a line string-course and frieze, crowned with a cornice 
 containing heraldic and f)ther varied patene enrichments, em- 
 blazoned and gilt, above which are bold battlements and plain faces 
 which complete the wall surface. This arrangement is cut up 
 into divisions by the roof ribs set upon the capitals, which are 
 level with the bottom of the cornice. The frieze contains a 
 series of mottoes, heraldic supporters, and Shields of Arms 
 relating to England, the Corporation of London, and the 
 twelve principal Livery Companies. The mottoes are in raised 
 (jothic letters of a bold character ; the shields centred between the 
 letters in each bay are emblazoned, and the supporters, or other 
 emblems, at each end of the mottoes, are also decorated, and 
 the lettering gilt, with a background in vermilion. The 
 whole forms a characteristic and appropriate band on each side. 
 
 The alterations in connection with the new cornice and 
 other improvements in the restoration of the roof were 
 commenced in the month of May, 1864, in the mayoralty of 
 the Right Honourable William Lawrence, the first stone of the 
 cornice being laid by the chairman of the City Lands 
 Committee on the 22nd June in that year. 
 
 '' On both sides of these panelled walls are sixteen two-light 
 deeply recessed windows, having acute-pointed arched heads.
 
 THE (;reat hall. 
 
 41 
 
 filled with cusped tracery, each light divided by a transom. 
 The lower divisions also have traceried and cusped heads. Four 
 of these openings are of less height where the doorways and 
 canopied cornice occur. Immediately under the great east 
 window is a rich arched canopy of stone, with cinque-foiled 
 cuspings foliated, and enclosed in square headed sunk spandrels; 
 over which, completing the exterior, is a cornice with a series 
 of paterae, and finished with an embattled parapet. This work 
 is returned one ba}- on each side, thereby defining the dais, and 
 is elevated seven feet higher than the adjacent basement. At 
 the two opposite angles a corbelling is placed to receive the 
 groups of columns from which spring the outer arches of the 
 great window, and the centre is further enriched b}' a similar 
 projection. A beautiful and delicate work of arcading with 
 columns and vaulting arches with cinque-foiled cuspings, 
 foliated, and a profusion of carved bossings, enrich the recessed 
 surfaces, etc., sunk behind this overhanging tabernacled cornice, 
 partially obscured for want of decorative assistance to lighten 
 up the shadows. At the western end there is a simple moulded 
 cornice across the Hall and running beneath the window. 
 
 '' At each end of the Hall, occupying the entire width, 
 is a magnificent window ; both are similar as regards design 
 generally, but somewhat varied in details. They are filled 
 with stained glass, which produces rich and decorative eftect, 
 but is so toned that the admission of light is not sensibly 
 obscured, but only softened. The great hood-mouldings spring 
 from the caps of clustered pillars : at the eastern end these are 
 dwarf, the bases being set upon the cornice, but at the western 
 end they rise from the pavement similar to the other pillars of 
 the Hall. There are in each window, two massive muUions of 
 the whole height from sill to archivolt, separating the centre 
 from the side lights, with additional mouklings connected with 
 them on each side. The principal mouldings of these niuUions 
 and jambs are finished on to the sill with bases. The centre
 
 42 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 is divided into five lights by minor mullions, and into two tiers 
 vertically by transoms, and the side lights are double. The 
 heads are richlv filled with arches and cusped tracery, and the 
 sub-divisions are similarly treated. Each window has a Shield 
 of the Arms of Edward the Confessor placed in the ape.x of the 
 arch mouldings. On the tracery of the east windows, right and 
 left in the angles next the mullions, are two shields charged 
 with heraldic devices. On the west window are also two 
 escutcheons, bearing the Arms of the Plantagenet and 
 Lancastrian kings. That on the right hand (Plantagenet) gu. 
 three lions passant giiardant in pale or ; on the left (Lancas- 
 trian) 1st and 4th seme of fleurs-de-lis over their azure field 
 (France), 2nd and 3rd gu. three lions passant giiardant in pale 
 or. Over these windows in the gables are openings for the 
 further lighting of the upper space. On each side of the east 
 window, occupying and decorating the space between the 
 shafts and the window jambs, is a small and interesting 
 canopied niche or tabernacle of somewhat like character in its 
 details to the cornice. It contains a sunk three-panelled 
 pedestal with moulded plinth and capping for a statue, and is 
 covered with a three-sided moulded canop}' with tre-foiled 
 cusped tracery, which is completed with a tre-foiled cresting ; 
 especiallv noticeable on account of its peculiar finials and 
 foreign treatment. 
 
 "The east end of the Hall is fitted with a raised dais or 
 platform. This is ascended bv three steps. It is appropriated 
 for holding the Court of Husting. Here also sit (on a 
 raised platform placed on the dais) the Lord Mayor, 
 Aldermen, Sheriffs, Chief Officers, and riiany of the 
 prominent members of the Livery at the meetings of the 
 Common Hall for the election of Lord Mayor, Sheriffs, 
 Chamberlain, etc., and other public meetings called by the 
 Lord Mayor. The wall at back and one ba}- on each side, 
 are lined with verv rich and elaborate oak panelling, finished
 
 THE GREAT HALL. 43 
 
 with a coved and groined canopy, all enriched with moulded 
 and carved work. Three canopied niches with pedestals for 
 statues are introduced, in position corresponding with the 
 corhellings of the stone cornice. A doorway in the south bay, 
 concealed in the panelling, gives access to a vestibule in con- 
 nection with the Library buildings, and, also, to the corridor 
 attached to the porch at Guildhall Yard. Another similar 
 opening (north) connects the hall ivith the new Council 
 Chamber, when such may be required on important occasions. 
 In the south bay close to the Porch doors, is an Oak Screen 
 and Buffet which is divided into three bays, decorated with 
 Gothic panels and fin'nished with shelves for the exhibition 
 of the Corporation plate — the middle upper panel is provided 
 with brackets for supporting the sword and mace when the 
 Lord Mayor takes his seat at a State Banquet — the Arms 
 are those of Sir David Evans and Sir Stuart Knill, Lord Mayors, 
 and Sir George Tyler, Sir Joseph Renals, Sir Walter Wilkin, 
 and Mr. H. S. Foster, Sheriffs, in whose respective terms of office 
 the work was carried out. The Arms of Mr. W. H. Pannell and 
 Mr. G. N.Johnson, "Chief Commoners '" during the execution 
 ot the work, also appear. At the west end, through the two 
 openings in the screen, access is provided to the Law Courts and 
 other chambers, etc., and by stairs to the gallery turrets, and 
 also to the Crypt. The small centre doorway is reputed to be 
 ancient. 
 
 " The floor is paved principally with Portland stone, 
 arranged in panels of large dimensions. These are divided by 
 bands of tiles, and the whole connected by borders of black 
 and buff tiles, and completed outside with similar white stone 
 pavements. These panels are enriched with incised quatre- 
 foils and ornamental figures. In the panels down the centre ot 
 the pavement, commencing from the East End, are first, the 
 Arms of Henry \'I., in whose reign the Guildhall was buiU, 
 and then alternately the Arms of the City of London and the 
 Royal Arms."
 
 44 THE GCIL/J/IALL. 
 
 Til the stone panels down the sides of the floor of the Hall 
 arc the Arms (lilled in with lead) of the following Mayors : — 
 
 North Side. South Sidk. 
 
 Henry Fitz-Eylwin .. 11S9-1213 Sir Wm. Walworth.. 1374,80 
 
 Sib Rd. Whitington 1396,97,1406,19 Sir Thomas Knolles 1399, 1411 
 
 Sir Richard Gresham .. .. 1537 Sir Thomas White.. .. 1553 
 
 Sir Edward Osborne .. .. 1583 Sir Thomas Mvddelton. . 1613 
 
 Sir Henry Tulse 16S4 Sir Richard Hoare. . .. 1713 
 
 William Beckford, Esq 1763 Sir Thomas Gabriel .. 1867 
 
 The official standard of length may he ohservcd marked on 
 brass plates across the floor. On the North wall at the West 
 end of the Hall is a tablet containing the following inscription : — 
 
 standards of length 
 
 (at 62" Fahrenheit) 
 placed in this hall 
 
 BY the corporation OF THE 
 
 city of LONDON, 
 1878. 
 
 THE standard OF LENGTHS OF 
 100 FEET AND 66 FEET 
 ARE LAID DOWN ON THE FLOOR 
 IN FRONT OF THIS TABLET. , 
 
 STANDARDS OF LENGTH. 
 ONE FOOT. TWO FEET. IMPERIAL YARD. 
 
 These standards were laid under the superintendence or 
 the late Sir George Airy, Astronomer Royal, and certified 
 by the Board of Trade. 
 
 Brass ornamental perforated gratings are inserted for 
 the introduction of heated air into the building. Coronae 
 suspended from the roof in the bays between the principals 
 provide for the artificial illumination of the Hall. The electric 
 light was installed both here and throughout the Guildhall 
 buildings in 1889. A powerful sun-burner is fixed in 'the 
 lantern' of the fleche, for illumination and ventilation.
 
 THE GREAT HALL. 
 
 45 
 
 " The size of the Large Hall will be better understood by 
 comparison with similar large buildings, both ancient and 
 modern, existing here and on the Continent. One of the 
 earliest of which we have any accurate measurement is probably 
 that in the Baths of Diocletian at Rome, now the Church of S. 
 Maria degli Angeli ; this is upwards of 300 feet in length." 
 
 Hall in the Baths of Diocletian, now the 
 Church of S. Maria degli Angeli, Rome 
 
 Basilica, remains of Roman City at 
 Silchester 
 
 Westminster Hall. . 
 
 Palazzo della Ragione, Padua 
 
 Christ's Hospital, London 
 
 Palazzo Vecchio, Florence 
 
 Hatfield Hall, Durham . . 
 
 St. George's Hall, Liverpool 
 
 Palazzo del Podesta, Bologna 
 
 Palazzo della Ragione, Vicenza 
 
 Guildhall, London 
 
 Town Hall, Birmingham 
 
 Length. 
 
 FT. 
 
 308 
 
 Width. 
 
 FT. 
 
 74 
 
 Height. 
 
 FT. 
 
 84 
 
 268 
 
 60 
 
 — 
 
 238 
 
 67i 
 
 90 
 
 261 
 
 88 
 
 80 
 
 IS7 
 
 51 
 
 47 
 
 184 
 
 73 
 
 70 
 
 180 
 
 50 
 
 — 
 
 170 
 
 74 
 
 83 
 
 170 
 
 46 
 
 — 
 
 169 
 
 69 
 
 — 
 
 152 
 
 49i 
 
 89 
 
 140 
 
 65 
 
 65
 
 )fainGd Qlass 09ir\doWs. 
 
 Eastern \\'iNno\v. 
 
 THE handsome Memorial Window at the eastern end or 
 liie Hall \va> ]ire>ented to the Corporation by the Opera- 
 tives of Lancashire and the Cotton Districts on the 15th Jidy, 
 1870, in acknowledgment of assistance during the Cotton 
 Famine (1862-65). 
 
 The middle division in both tiers is devoted to representa- 
 tions of historical subjects connected with the history of the 
 City of London. The couplet division on the north side 
 contains figures of Lancashire worthies. In the similar 
 division on the south side are introduced worthies of the City. 
 The subject of the lower tier of the central 'portion of the 
 window is illustrative of the rebuilding of the City by Alfred 
 the Great, that of the upper tier being devoted to the subject 
 of the grant of the Charter to the City of London bv William I. 
 In the side division on the north side are full length portraits 
 of Sir Richard Whitington and Sir Thomas Gresham ; on the 
 south. John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and Sir Thomas 
 Stanley. The heraldic bearings proper to each are introduced in 
 the traceried openings above. In the tracery of the main 
 portion of the window are represented the shields of the 
 twelve great liverv companies (the Mercers, Grocers, Drapers, 
 Fishmongers, Goldsmiths, Skinners, Merchant TaNlors, 
 Haberdashers, Salters, Ironmongers, Vintners and Cloth- 
 workers).
 
 THE STAINED GLASS WINDOWS. 47 
 
 At the base of the wmdow is the following inscription : — 
 
 The Grateful Memorial of the Operatives of Lancashire and the Cotton 
 Manufacturing Districts to the Mansion House Relief Committee, who, as 
 almoners of a world's benevolence, distributed to them more than /'soo.ooo 
 during the Cotton Famine, 1862-65, namely, William Cubitt, Lord Mayor ; 
 William James Richmond Cotton, Charles Barber, William Morley, John 
 Armitage, Groom Howes, Francis Lycett, and Stauros Dilberoglue ; with 
 Lord ^Mayors William Anderson Rose, William Lawrence, Warren Stormes 
 Hale ; and Joseph Gibbs, Secretary. 
 
 First Window ox South Side from East End. 
 
 The subject represented is the Restoration of the City 
 Charter in 1688 ; in one light of the window are portrayed the 
 Lord Mayor, Sword and Mace Bearers, and a Man-at-Arms ; 
 in the other light, the Lord Chancellor, Purse Bearer, 
 Courtiers, and a Man-at-Arms. In the tracery are the armorial 
 bearings of the late Mr. Deputy Harris, an J of the Saddlers' 
 Company. 
 
 Presented to ilic Curpfjnitioii of London hv Hcnrv Harris., 
 Esq. ^ Deputy for the Ward of Lime Street, and Master of the 
 Saddlers'' Companw 18^4. 
 
 Second Window on South Sidk kro.m East' End. 
 
 The two upper lights represent King Edward VI. passing 
 to Westminster to be crowned, 19th February, 1547. The 
 spectators are the Master and the Liverymen of the Saddlers' 
 Company in their gowns, and the Officers of the Court of the 
 Guild. The horse, the cognizance of the Company, is a 
 conspicuous feature. The two lower lights represent the 
 Reception by Sir Henry Picard, Lord Mayor of London, 1363, 
 of Five Kings on their landing at Queenhithe, viz. : — Edward III. 
 of England, David of vScotland, John of France, Magnus II. of 
 Denmark, and the King of Cyprus. The arms of the Saddlers' 
 Company antl (jf the Donor appeal" in the tracery ah()\c the 
 upper portion of the window. 
 
 Presented by Archilnild MacDoiii^all^ Esq.^ l)eput\\ /'S';v-
 
 48 THE Gl'/LDHALL. 
 
 • Window ovkk Ai.dkr.max Bkckford's Monument. 
 
 The upper lights of this window contain the story of 
 Rahere's Dream, and the Vision to him of St. Bartholomew ; 
 the lower lights have for their subject the Founding by Rahere 
 of the Hospital and Church of St. Bartholomew the Great, 
 in Smithfield, A.D. 1102. In the tracery are figures of angels 
 bearing shields with the Arms of Alderman Farncomb, Lord 
 Mayor, i84q, and Alderman Stone, Lord Mayor, 1874, and 
 at the base is the following inscription : — 
 
 Presented on behalf of the Ward of Bassishaw^ by David 
 Henry Stone, Esq., Alderman of that Ward, 1866. 
 
 Next Window towards West. 
 
 The upper lights of this window illustrate the death of 
 Wat Tyler, and the lower ones the knighting by Richard IL of 
 William Walworth, Mayor, a lormer Prime Warden of the 
 Fishmongers' Company. 
 
 Presented bv the J-^ish mongers^ Company, 1868. 
 
 Window over Entrance Docr. 
 
 The left-hand light of this window contains a figure of Sir 
 John Crosby ; the right-hand light, one of Sir John Cutler. 
 
 Presented bx the Grocers^ Company, 1868. 
 
 Next Window on South Side. 
 
 This window commemorates the visit of the Prince and' 
 Princess of Wales to the City upon the return of His Royal 
 Highness fi-om India, 1876. The two upper lights of the 
 window shew the Prince and Princess of Wales being received 
 by Lord Mayor Cotton. The lower two lights — The Princess 
 of Wales partaking of the Loving Cup with the Lord Ma3-or. 
 
 Presented by W.f. R. Cotton, Esq., Alderman of Lime Street 
 Ward, Lord Mayor, i8'/Si and M. P. for the City of London, iSyy.
 
 THE STAINED GLASS WTYDOWS. 49 
 
 Window Second from West End. 
 
 The subject on the left-hand represents the Jews being 
 banished from this country by Edward I. On the right-hand 
 is shown the Jews petitioning Cromwell, in 1656, to be allowed 
 to again reside here. The lower compartments represent 
 the swearing-in of David Salomons, Esq., as Lord Mayor of 
 Loixlon, 1855. 
 
 Presented ill iSjO hv Sir David Salomons^ Bart., Citizen and 
 Cooper, Alderman of the Ward of Cordtvainer, and M.P. for 
 Greenwich, first of the Jeicish Faith chosen Sheriff, i8js ; Alder- 
 man, 184^ ; Lord Mayor of this City, i8s5 ; gratefully to acknotv- 
 ledge the impulse given to the cause oj religious liberty hv the 
 Corporation of London, also to commemorate the removal by 
 Parliament of all obstacles to persons professing the Jexvish 
 religion holding public offices. 
 
 Window in South-West Angle. 
 
 The upper light on the left-hand has the armorial bearings 
 of the Cit}^ of London, that on the right those of Sir Moses 
 Montefiore ; in the lower left-hand light is a shield with the 
 arms of the County of Kent ; and in the right hand lower light 
 a shield upon which are a harp and crown, symbolical of the 
 East, both shields being surrounded by wreaths of olive and 
 palm leaves. 
 
 P-escntcd in iH^o b\ Sir Moses Montefiore, Bart., Sheriff 
 iSjy. High Sheriff of the Cniiutv <f Kent, 184S. 
 
 Western Window. 
 
 The window at the West End of the Hall has been lilled 
 
 with stained glass by the Corporation, in memory of His 
 
 Royal Highness the late Prince Consort, and was unveiled by 
 
 His Royal Highness Prince Arthur on 3rd November, 1S70.
 
 50 THK GUILDHALL, 
 
 The leading ideas and occupations of this country, on which 
 the Prince brought to bear so much influence, and whicli 
 tlcrivcd such great advantages from his personal encouragement, 
 were chosen as the subjects portrayed in this memorial. 
 
 The window is a five-light transomed one. The two side 
 wings are occupied by four figures representing Wisdom, 
 Prudence, Justice, and Fortitude. The lower tier is occupied 
 bv the following subjects : — Agriculture, Industr\-, Trade, 
 Education, Charity, and Commerce. 
 
 The upper row contains representations of Music, Poetr}-, 
 and History ; Peace, Purity, Religion, and Home Prosperity ; 
 Architecture, Painting, and Sculpture ; Science and Literature. 
 In the centre of these is a figure of the Prince, seated in an 
 attitude of meditation, book in hand ; in the back ground are 
 two figures unveiling the Great Exhibition of 1851, an event 
 which exercised much influence on arts and commerce. 
 The smaller upper openings of tracery contain the Royal 
 Arms and those of the City of London, with the personal crests 
 of the Prince, and the several Orders of the Bath, Garter, St. 
 Patrick, St. Michael and vSt. George, togethei- with the Arms 
 of the City Companies of which the Prince was a member. 
 This window is a fine example of its kind, it has been appro- 
 priately described as Mosaic, inasmuch as there are as many as 
 :;So pieces of glass in one square of 30 superficial feet. 
 
 Window at North-Wkst Cokxkr. 
 
 1. William the Conqueror holding in his hand the first 
 Charter granted to the City of London. 
 
 2. Henr\- L presenting the Charter granting to the City of 
 London, the County of Middlesex with London, and the right 
 of Plunting in the Forests.
 
 THE STAINED GLASS WIXDOWS. 51 
 
 3. Richard I. granting the Charter conveying to the City 
 of London the Conservanc}- of the River Thames. 
 
 4. Edward \T. presenting the Charter of the Four Royal 
 Hospitals. 
 
 Presented bv Cornelius Lea Wilson, Esq., l86j. 
 
 Next Window towards East. 
 
 1. Trinobantes : British Inhabitants of London, with a 
 representation of the Tower of London, which was "begun to 
 be builded at the end of the nth centurv."" 
 
 2. The erection of the Roman Wall of London, beneath 
 which is a view of Baynard's Castle. 
 
 3. Edward the Confessor recognising the privileges of the 
 Citizens of London : below this is a view of Old London Bridge, 
 which was " begun to be builded in 1 17b." 
 
 4. Edward IV. making four Citizens of London Knights of 
 the Bath. Beneath is a representation of St. John's Gate, 
 Clerk enwell. 
 
 This window ivas presented in 1866, hv Saviiiel VVi/son, Esq., 
 Alderman of the Ward of Bridge Without ; Alderman of the 
 W ard of Castle Baynard from l8ji to l8ss; Sheriff, l8jj ; Lord 
 Afavor, l8j8. 
 
 Window over the Monument 'io Lord Nelson. 
 
 I. — Fitzwalter doing service as Bannerer, 1303. 
 2. — The youth swearing fealty at Paul's Cross, 1250. 
 3. — Henry Picard, Mayor, feasting Five Kings, 1363 
 J.. — Holding a great joust on London Bridge, 1305
 
 52 ///A" (.riLDHALL. 
 
 ;. — Edward III. first ordering gold to be coined in the 
 Tower, 1344. 
 
 6. — Guildhall huikling — Thomas Knolles, Mayor 141 i. 
 
 -.—William Walworth, Mayor, slaying Wat Tyler, 1381. 
 
 8. — Henrv \'. making his triumphal entry into London 
 after Agincourt, 1415. 
 
 Put in (it the expense of the Corporation^ 1866. 
 
 Window o\kr Door lkading to Council Chamber Lobby. 
 
 It has, in one compartment, a full-length representation of 
 FitzEylwin, the first Ma3^or of London, a.d. Ii8q to 1213 ; in 
 the light above is his Coat of Arms ; in the lower light are the 
 Arms of the Weavers' Company, with the City Sword, Mace, 
 and Cap of Maintenance arranged beneath. In the other com- 
 partment is a similar representation of Whitington, four times 
 Mayor of London, A.n. 1396, 1397, 1406, 1419 ; in the light 
 above is his Coat of Arms ; in the lower light are the City 
 Arms, with the Sceptre, Collar of SS. and Jewel, and the 
 Mayoralty Seal arranged beneath. 
 
 Presented l)v the Weavers' Company^ the most ancient of the 
 City Guilds. Samuel Wilson, Esq., Alderman, Upper Bailiff, 
 1H68. 
 
 Window o\'i-:r Montment to the Dtke of Wellington. 
 This window contains figures of SS. Andrew, Bride, 
 Helen, and Dunstan, placed under canopies of the Cinque 
 Cento period ; one of the churches dedicated in the name of 
 each Saint being introduced in the background, except in the 
 case of S. Helen, where S. Sepulchre, Snow Hill, has been 
 chosen, as she founded the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, at 
 Jerusalem, and as there is no church dedicated to her in 
 Farringdon Without Ward. Beneath the figures are medallions
 
 THE STAINED GLASS WINDOWS. 53 
 
 containing views respectively of Holborn \''iaduct, Blackfriars 
 Bridge, the New Meat Market in Smithfield, and Temple Bar. 
 Presented by the Ward of Farrino;don Without^ l8yo. 
 
 Third Window from Eastern End on North Side. 
 
 This represents, in the lowest compartments, the Arms of 
 the Haberdashers' Companv, and the Arms of England in the 
 reign of Queen Elizabeth, by whom its Charter was granted. 
 In the upper part are figures of SS. Nicholas and Catherine, 
 the Patron Saints of the Company. 
 
 Presented bv the Haberdashers' Companv, iHdy. 
 
 Window in North-West Angle. 
 
 This represents, in the westernmost division, Queen P^lizabetli 
 receiving a Hunting Party at " Queen Elizabeth's Lodge,'' in 
 Epping Forest, and in the other, or easternmost division, Her 
 Most Gracious Majesty, Queen Victoria, receiving an address 
 from the Corporation at High Beech, on the 6th May, 1 882, when 
 she e.xpressed her great satisfaction in dedicating the Forest to 
 the enjoyment of her people for ever. 
 
 Presented in 1884 bv John Thomas Bedford, Esq .y a Mendiei 
 oj the Corporation, as a Memorial of freein<( the I'orest.
 
 (^\}i Monumerifs. 
 
 T 
 
 WK first MoiiunicnL on the South side of the Hall is one 
 erected in honour of Lord Mayor Beckford. 
 
 riioto. by the I.. S. i- /'. Co.. I-l 
 
 BECKFORD S MONUMENT.
 
 THE MONUMENTS. 55 
 
 The Monviment bears the following inscription : — 
 SPEECH TO HIS MAJESTY KING GEORGE III. 
 
 ox THE 23RD OF MAY I77O. 
 
 MOST GRACIOUS SOVEREIGN, 
 
 WILL YOUR MAJESTY BE PLEASED SO FAR TO CONDESCEND AS TO PERMIT 
 THE MAYOR OF YOUR LOYAL CITY OF LONDON TO DECLARE, IN YOUR ROYAL 
 PRESENCE, ON BEHALF OF HIS FELLOW CITIZENS, HOW MUCH THE BARE 
 APPREHENSION OF YOUR MAJESTYS DISPLEASURE WOULD, AT ALL TIMES 
 AFFECT THEIR MINDS ; THE DECLARATION OF THAT DISPLEASURE HAS 
 ALREADY FILLED THEM WITH INEXPRESSIBLE ANXIETY, AND WITH THE 
 DEEPEST AFFLICTION. PERMIT ME, SIRE, TO ASSURE YOUR MAJESTY, THAT 
 ^OUR MAJESTY HAS NOT IN ALL YOUR DOMINIONS ANY SUBJECTS MORE 
 FAITHFUL, MORE DUTIFUL OR MORE AFFECTIONATE TO YOUR MAJESTY'S PERSON 
 AND FAMILY, OR MORE READY TO SACRIFICE THEIR LIVES AND FORTUNES IN 
 THE MAINTENANCE OF THE TRUE HONOUR AND DIGNITY OF YOUR CROWN. 
 
 WE DO THEREFORE, WITH THE GREATEST HUMILITY AND SUBMISSION, 
 MOST EARNESTLY SUPPLICATE YOUR MAJESTY, THAT YOU WILL NOT DISMISS 
 US FROM YOUR PRESENCE, WITHOUT EXPRESSING A MORE FAVOURABLE OPINION 
 OF YOUR FAITHFUL CITIZENS, AND WITHOUT SOME COMFORT, WITHOUT SOME 
 PROSPECT AT LEAST OF REDRESS. 
 
 PERMIT ME, SIRE, FARTHER TO OBSERVE, THAT WHOSOEVER HAS ALREADY 
 DARED, OR SHALL HEREAFTER ENDEAVOUR, BY FALSE INSINUATIONS AND 
 SUGGESTIONS, TO ALIENATE YOUR MAJESTY'S AFFECTIONS FROM YOUR LOYAL 
 SUBJECTS IN GENERAL, AND FRO.M THE CITY OF LONDON IN PARTICULAR, AND 
 TO WITHDR.WV YOUR CONFIDENCE IN, AND REGARD FOR YOUR PEOPLE IS AN 
 ENEMY TO YOUR MAJESTY'S PERSON AND FAMILY, A VIOLATOR OF THE PUBLIC 
 PEACE, AND A BETRAYER OF OUR HAPPY CONSTITUTION, AS IT WAS 
 ESTABLISHED AT THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION. 
 
 Lord Mayor Beckford is represented in the attitude of 
 addressing this remonstrance to the King, on his Majesty's 
 returning a curt and unfavourable reply to an address from 
 the Corporati(jn formally presented to him on the throne 
 by the Lord ,Ma\-or, is.c. On one side of this figure is
 
 56 ////•; (iri[j)i{AiJ.. 
 
 represented the City of Loiuhm in mourning, and on the 
 other Trade and Navigation in a chooping condition. 
 
 Lord Mayor ]^ecl<ford had served the office of Ahiyor in 
 1762, and, akhough of a great age and in an infirm state of 
 healtli, and against his wish, was again elected in i76q. He 
 died suddenly on June 21st, 1770. The Monument and 
 Inscription were voted hy the Common Council on the 5th 
 Julv, following, and were unveiled ilth May, 1772. It is 
 the work of a Mr. Moore, and cost the Corporation ;^i,300. 
 
 On the north side in the second bay or division is placed 
 a Monument to commemorate the celebrated 
 
 William Pitt. Earl ok Chatham. 
 
 This minister, statesman, and orator, is represented by the 
 artist with all his characteristic sternness. He is attired in 
 classic costume, standing upon a rock, with his left hand on 
 the rudder or helm of State, and his right 'reclining on an 
 allegorical figure of Commerce, introduced by the City of 
 London, represented by a mural-crowned female figure. 
 Britannia is seen reposing upon a lion, and infantile figures, 
 emblematical of the four quarters of the globe, are pouring 
 forth into her lap treasures from the Cornucopia of Plenty. 
 Figures of anchors, sails and masts with ropes and other details 
 connected with navigation and industry, make up the 
 background of the composition. On the pedestal is a Cap of 
 Liberty, on the headband of which is the word Lihcrtas. 
 
 The group is from the hands of John Bacon, R.A., 
 (1782), and the cost to the Corporation of the memorial 
 was no less than ;^3,42i 4s. od. This amount included the 
 preparation of the inscription, pedestal, &c. The inscription,
 
 THE MONUMENTS, 57 
 
 as follows, is said to have been composed bv the celebrated 
 Edmund Burke : — 
 
 IX GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO THE SUPREME DISPOSER OF EVENTS, 
 
 WHO INTENDING TO ADVANCE THIS NATION, 
 
 FOR SUCH TIME AS TO HIS WISDOM SEEMED GOOD, TO AN HIGH PITCH OF 
 
 PROSPERITY AND GLORY ; BY UNANIMITY AT HOME ; 
 
 BY CONFIDENCE AND REPUTATION ABROAD ; 
 
 BY ALLIANCES WISELY CHOSEN AND FAITHFULLY OBSERVED ; BY COLONIES 
 
 UNITED AND PROTECTED ; BY DECISIVE \ICTORIES BY SEA AND LAND ; 
 
 BY CONQUESTS MADE BY ARMS AND GENEROSITY IN EVERY PART OF THE GLOBE ; 
 
 BY COMMERCE, FOR THE FIRST TIME UNITED WITH, 
 
 AND MADE TO FLOURISH BY WAR ; WAS 
 
 PLEASED TO RAISE UP AS A PRINCIPAL INSTRUMENT IN THIS MEMORABLE WORK, 
 
 WILLIAM PITT. 
 
 THE MAYOR, ALDERMEN, AND COMMON COUNCIL, 
 
 MINDFUL OF THE BENEFITS WHICH THE CITY OF LONDON RECEIVED IN HER 
 
 AMPLE SHARE IN THE GENERAL PROSPERITY, 
 
 HAVE ERECTED TO THE MEMORY OF THIS EMINENT STATESMAN AND 
 
 POWERFUL ORATOR, THIS MONUMENT IN HER GUILDHALL ; THAT HER CITIZENS 
 
 MAY NEVER MEET FOR THE TRANSACTION OF THEIR AFFAIRS 
 
 WITHOUT BEING REMINDED THAT THE MEANS BY WHICH PROVIDENCE RAISES A 
 
 NATION TO GREATNESS ARE THE VIRTUES INFUSED INTO GREAT MEN ; 
 
 AND THAT TO WITHHOLD FROM THOSE VIRTUES, 
 
 EITHER OF THE LIVING OR THE DEAD, THE TRIBUTE OF ESTEEM AND 
 
 VENERATION, IS TO DENY TO THEMSELVES THE MEANS 
 
 OF HAPPINESS AND HONOUR. 
 
 THIS DISTINGUISHED PERSON, FOR THE SERVICES RENDERED TO KING 
 
 GEORGE THE SECOND AND TO KING GEORGE THE THIRD, 
 
 WAS CREATED 
 
 EARL OF CHATHAM. 
 
 THE BRITISH NATION HONOURED HIS MEMORY WITH A PUBLIC FUNERAL 
 
 AND A PUBLIC MONUMENT AMONGST HER ILLUSTRIOUS MEN 
 
 IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 
 
 In the fourth compartment, on the north side, is placed 
 the Monument erected by the Corporation to the memory of
 
 58 THE (rUILDHALL, 
 
 AinHTR Wki.i.ksi.kv, Duke ok Wellington. 
 
 It is well known that the illustrious general passed half his life 
 in peace and half in war. In the Memorial at Guildhall this view 
 is taken for illustration. Peace, seated at the Duke's right 
 hand, extends a civic wreath, and looks up gratefully towards 
 liini ; War, seated at his left, leaning on his sheathed sword, 
 and grasping a victor's wreath, rests from his labours. The 
 Duke, erect between the two, rests his left hand on his 
 field marshal's baton, and his right holds the Peace of 1815 ; 
 his regard is towards Peace. He is represented in his usual 
 costume, with the addition of the Ribbon of the Garter, the 
 Star of the Bath, the Waterloo Medal, and a military cloak. 
 The age chosen for the statue is between fifty and sixty, the 
 Duke having then, after the termination of his active military 
 career, passed some years in the acts of peace. Each of these 
 three figures is 8 feet 6 inches in stature. The division of 
 subject is continued ornamentally below. Beneath the figure 
 of War is a shield, with the crest and armorial motto of the 
 Duke ; viz., the lion's head and T'lrtiiiis fovtuua comes. 
 Beneath the figure of Peace is a similar shield, with a dove 
 bearing an olive branch, and the motto (from the .^neid) 
 Pact's inipciucrc in'iirm, indicating the Duke's powers of 
 negotiation and administration. Between these shields, in 
 front, is represented in relievo, the last charge at Waterloo (this 
 action dividing a long war from a European Peace of thirty- 
 eight \-ears). On the upper pedestal wreathed with laurel, 
 appear the words wisnoM, duty, honour ; on the summit of the 
 entablature appears the name of the hero and the words, born 
 1769, died 1852. The whole Monument pairs well with that 
 of Nelson, to which it is appendant in situation, and in some 
 degree in treatment. The figures, shields, and relievo are in 
 Carrara marble, as is also the masonry of the Monument itself. 
 This Memorial to the Duke was executed in 1857 b}' 
 John Bell, R.A., at an expense to the Corporation of ^^4,966 los.
 
 THE MOXrMEXTS. 
 
 l',i.<lo. by tiu L. A'. C- /'. C\i., /,.(. 
 
 WKLLINfiTON S MONUMENT. 
 
 In the sixth division of the Hall, and upon the same side is 
 a Monument in commemoration oi 
 
 An.NHKAi. LoKo Np;i,son. 
 'I he pyrainitl, on the background, is supposed to lie llie loiuh of
 
 6o 
 
 THE (;riI.l)IIALL. 
 
 I'h ,U'. /..■ in- I.. 
 
 XKLSON S MONli.MKN'I' 
 
 tlic iiiiinortal hero decorated with naval trojihies, the fruit ofhis 
 victories ; wliile the female figure in the centre (personating the 
 City of London), in grateful remembrance of the signal services 
 he rendered to this country-, perpetuates the memory of his
 
 THE MOXCMEXTS. bi 
 
 great actions to posterity, and finishes with admiration the 
 record of his hist glorious achievement of Trafalgar. Britannia, 
 on the left, supported by a Lion (the symbol of unshaken 
 courage) is pensively musing over the portrait of the conqueror, 
 and in silent grief deplores her loss. The recumbent figure in 
 the foreground, representing Neptune, roused b}' the fame of 
 his heroic actions, participates in Britannia's sorrow and regret 
 for her hero's fate. The naval action in front of the pedestal, 
 exhibits the situation of the fleet towards the close of the battle, 
 when Nelson was mortally wounded by a shot from the main- 
 top of a French seventy-four, with which ship the Victory 
 appears to be closely engaged. In the niches, two British 
 seamen, with implements of war and navigation, hear 
 with deep concern of the fate of their beloved com- 
 mander. The Memorial, the work of the sculptor, James 
 Smith, was executed for the Corporation in 1810, at an expense 
 
 The inscription was vv'ritten by Rd. Brinsle}' Sheridan : — 
 
 TO HORATIO, VISCOUNT AND BARON NELSON, 
 
 Vice-Admir.^l of the White, 
 
 AND Knight of the most Honour.\ble Order of the Bath. 
 
 A MAN amongst THE FEW, WHO APPEAR AT DIFFERENT PERIODS TO HAVE 
 
 BEEN CREATED TO PROMOTE THE GRANDEUR, AND ADD TO THE 
 
 SECURITY OF NATIONS, INCITING BY THEIR HIGH EXAMPLE 
 
 THEIR FELLOW MORTALS, THROUGH ALL SUCCEEDING TIMES, TO PURSUE 
 
 THE COURSE THAT LEADS TO THE EXALTATION OF OUR 
 
 IMPERFECT NATURE. 
 
 PROVIDENCE, THAT IMPLANTED IN NELSON's BREAST AN ARDENT PASSION 
 
 FOR DESERVED RENOWN, AS BOUNTEOUSLY ENDOWED HJM WITH 
 
 THE TRAN.SCENDENT TALENTS NECESSARY TO THE GREAT 
 
 PURPOSES HE WAS DESTINED TO ACCOMPLISH. 
 
 AT AN EARLY PERIOD OF LIFE HE ENTERED INTO THE NAVAL SERVICE OK 
 
 HIS COUNTRY ; AND EARLY WERE THE INSTANCES WHICH MARKED THE 
 
 FEARLESS NATURE AND DARING ENTERPRISE OF HIS CHARACTER;
 
 b2 THE (;rii.iJiiALL. 
 
 UNITING TO THE LOFTIEST SPIRIT, AND THE JUSTEST TITLE 
 
 TO SELF-CONFIDENCE, A STRICT AND HUMBLE OBEDIENCE TO THE 
 
 SOVEREIGN RULE OF DISCIPLINE AND SUBORDINATION, 
 
 RISING BY DUE GRADATION TO COMMAND, HE INFUSED INTO THE BOSOMS 
 
 OF THOSE HE LED THE VALOROUS ARDOUR AND ENTHUSIASTIC ZEAL FOR 
 
 THE SERVICE OF HIS KING AND COUNTRY, WHICH ANIMATED HIS OWN ; 
 
 AND WHILE HE ACQUIRED THE LOVE OF ALL BY THE SWEETNESS 
 
 AND MODERATION OF HIS TEMPER, HE INSPIRED A UNIVERSAL CONFIDENCE 
 
 IN THE NEVER-FAILING RESOURCES OF HIS CAPACIOUS MIND. 
 
 IT WILL BE FOR HISTORY TO RELATE THE MANY GREAT EXPLOITS, THROUGH 
 
 WHICH, SOLICITOUS OF PERIL AND REGARDLESS OF WOUNDS, 
 
 HE BECAME THE GLORY OF HIS PROFESSION ; 
 
 liUT IT BELONGS TO THIS BRIEF RECORD OF HIS ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER 
 
 TO SAY, THAT HE COMMANDED AND CONQUERED AT THE 
 
 BATTLES OF THE NILE AND COPENHAGEN ; 
 
 VICTORIES NEVER BEFORE EQUALLED, VET AFTERWARDS SURPASSED BY HIS 
 
 OWN LAST ACHIEVEMENT, THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR, FOUGHT ON 
 
 THE 2IST OF OCTOBER, IN THE YEAR 1805. 
 
 ON THAT DAY, BEFORE THE CONCLUSION OK THE ACTION, 
 
 HE FELL MORTALLY WOUNDED; 
 
 BUT THE SOURCES OF LIFE AND SENSE FAILED NOT, UNTIL IT WAS 
 
 KNOWN TO HIM, THAT, THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ENEMY BEING COMPLETED, 
 
 THE GLORY OF HIS COUNTRY AND HIS QWX, 
 
 HAD ATTAINED THEIR SUMMIT ; 
 
 THEN, LAYING HIS HAND ON HIS BRAVE HEART, WITH A LOOK OF 
 
 EXALTED RESIGNATION TO THE WILL OF THE SUPREME 
 
 DISPOSER OF THE FATE OF MAN AND NATIONS, HE EXPIRED. 
 
 THE LORD MAYOR, ALDERMEN, AND COMMON COUNCIL OK THE CITY OK 
 
 LONDON HAVE CAUSED THIS MONUMENT TO BE ERECTED; 
 
 NOT IN THE PRESUMPTUOUS HOPE OF SUSTAINING 
 
 THE DEPARTED HERO's MEMORY, 
 
 BUT TO MANIFEST THEIR ESTIMATION OF THE MAN, AND THEIR 
 
 ADMIRATION OF HIS DEEDS. 
 
 THIS TESTIMONY OF THEIR GRATITUDE, THEY TRUST, WILL REMAIN AS 
 
 LONG AS THEIR OWN RENOWNED CITY SHALL EXIST. 
 
 THE PERIOD TO NELSON's FAME CAN ONLY BE THE END OF TIME.
 
 THE MONUMEXTS, . 63 
 
 Upon the south side of the Hall, and in the second 
 compartment, is erected the Memorial to the 
 
 Right Hon. William Pitt, Sox of the Earl of 
 Chatham. 
 The massy substance on which the figures in this composition 
 are placed is intended to represent the Island of Great Britain 
 and the surrounding waves. On an elevation in the centre, Pitt 
 appears in his robes as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Below 
 him, on an intermediate foreground, two statues characterise 
 hi^ abilities — Apollo on his right, impersonating Eloquence 
 and Learning ; Mercury on his left, as the representative of 
 Commerce and the Patron of polic}'. The lower part of 
 the Monument is occupied by a figure of Britannia seated 
 triumphantly on a sea-horse, in her left hand is the usual 
 emblem of Naval power, and her right grasps a thunderbolt. 
 The Memorial was executed for the Corporation by J. G. Bubb 
 in 1 813, at an expense of ^'4,078 17s. 3d. 
 
 The inscription was written by George Canning : — 
 WILLIAM PITT, 
 
 SON OF WILLIAM PITT, EARL OF CHATHAM, 
 INHERITING THE GENIUS, AND FORMED BY THE PRECEPTS OF HIS FATHER, 
 DEVOTED HIMSELF FROM HIS EARLY YEARS TO THE SERVICE OF THE STATE- 
 CALLED TO THE CHIEF CONDUCT OF THE ADMINISTRATION AFTER THE 
 CLOSE OF A DISASTROUS WAR, 
 HE REPAIRED THE EXHAUSTED REVENUES, HE REVIVED AND INVIGORATEI> 
 THE COMMERCE AND PROSPERITY OF THE COUNTRY ; 
 AND HE HAD RE-ESTABLISHED THE PUBLICK CREDIT ON DEEP AND 
 SURE FOUNDATIONS ; 
 WHEN A NEW WAR WAS KINDLED I.N EUROPE, MORE FORMIDABLE THAN ANY 
 PRECEDING WAR FRO.M THE PECULIAR CHARACTER OF ITS DANGERS. 
 TO RESIST THE ARMS OF FRANCE, WHICH WERE DIRECTED AGAINST THE 
 INDEPENDENCE OF EVERY GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE, 
 TO ANIMATE OTHER NATIONS BY THE EXAMPLE OF GREAT BRITAIN, 
 TO CHECK THE CONTAGION OF OPINIONS WHICH TENDED TO DISSOLVE THE 
 FRAME OF CIVIL SOCIETY, TO ARRAY THE LOYAL, 
 THE SOBER-MINDED AND THE GOOD IN DEFENCE OF THE VENERABLE 
 CONSTITUTION OF THE BRITISH .MONARCHY,
 
 64 '////^ CrriLDnALL. 
 
 were the duties which, at that awful crisis, devolved upon 
 
 the british minister, and which he discharged with transcendent 
 
 zeal, intrepidity and perseverance. 
 
 he upheld the national honour abroad; 
 
 he' maintained at home the blessings of order and of true liberty: 
 
 and, in the midst of difficulties and perils, 
 
 he united and consolidated the strength, power and 
 
 resources of the empire. 
 
 for these high purposes, he was gifted by divine providence with 
 
 endowments rare in their separate excellence ; 
 
 wonderful in their combination ; 
 
 judgment; imagination; memory; wit; force and acuteness of reasoning; 
 
 eloquence, copious and accurate, commanding and persuasive, 
 
 and suited from its splendour to the dignity of his mind 
 
 and to the authority of his station ; 
 
 a lofty spirit ; a mild and ingenuous temper. 
 
 warm and stedfast in friendship, towards enemies he was 
 
 forbearing and forgiving. 
 
 his industry was not relaxed by confidence in his great abilities 
 
 his indulgence to others was not abated by the consciousness 
 
 of his own superiority ; 
 
 his ambition was pure from all selfish motives ; 
 
 the love of power and the passion of fa.me w'ere in him 
 
 subordinate to views of publick utility ; 
 
 dispensing for near twenty years the favours of the crown, 
 
 he lived without ostentation ; and he died poor. 
 
 a grateful nation 
 
 decreed to him those funeral honours 
 
 which are reserved for eminent and extraordinary men. 
 
 THIS MONUMENT 
 
 JS ERECTED BY THE LORD MAYOR, ALDERMEN, AND COMMON COUNCIL, 
 
 TO RECORD THE REVERENT AND AFFECTIONATE REGRET 
 
 WITH WHICH THE CITY OF LONDON CHERISHES HIS MEMORY ; 
 
 AND TO HOLD OUT TO THE I.MITATION OF POSTERITY 
 
 THOSE PRINCIPLES OF PUBLICK AND PRIVATE VIRTUE, WHICH ENSURE 
 
 TO NATIONS A SOLID GREATNESS AND TO INDIVIDUALS AN IMPERISHABLE 
 
 NAME.
 
 THE MONUMENTS. 
 
 6; 
 
 Thk Gallery and Screen 
 
 at the west-end of the h'.Ul were erected in 1864 from the 
 designs of Mr. (afterwards Sir Horace) Jones, the City Architect. 
 At the same time, the roof was restored and other important 
 alterations carried out, among which was the removal of small 
 galleries over the north and south doorways. The screen is 
 formed of open panels, on a solid base, and with doorway open- 
 ings. The open work is all finished with arched heads and 
 mouldings, and divided by pillars, with caps and bases which 
 carry the cantilevers, >S:c. These support a pierced ornamental 
 parapet or balcony front with a projecting centre (in which is 
 ])laced a clock), with mf)uUlcil anil embattled strings and 
 capping and carried by corbelling and bracketing, all of oak. As 
 will be seen by the illustration, two huge carved figures stand 
 on octagonal pedestals at each angle of the wall. These 
 are the world-renowned giants, Gog and AlAood, who 
 are ^o closely associated with the (niildh.all that some
 
 C.A 
 
 THE Cl'II.DfrAT.L. 
 
 I'hoto. hy the ;.. i\ &■ p. Co., l.il. 
 
 111!. tjlAM CjOG. 
 
 account of them must be given. Their predecessors, in days 
 gone by, used to be carried in the processional pageant on 
 Lord r^Iayor's Day, It is presumed that they were intended 
 to represent Gogmagog and Corineus wlio, in the mythical 
 chronicles of the monks of the middle ages, are represented
 
 THE MONUMENTS. 
 
 I. oy ihi L. ^, c* i\ C^.j Ld, 
 
 '\\\v. oiAN'i" -MAGOG, 
 as fighting tlie battles of the Trojan invaders against the early 
 inhabitants of this island. \\\ the course of ages, the name of 
 one of the warriors has been forgotten, and the name of the 
 other divided between the two. This myth fostered the belief 
 that these figures preserve to the jiresent day — the tradition that
 
 6S /■///•; (;r//j)//.uj.. 
 
 our Cil\' was touiulcil b\' the iinadLT, and that London, as 
 statcl\- " Tro\novaunt," or New TroN', was tlic principal city 
 of Albion, a thous:uul \cars before the Christian Era. 
 
 The li<;ures in the gallery are both 14 ft. 6 in. in height. 
 The one on the left, CiOg, is armed with a globe full of spikes, 
 fastened to a long pole by a chain — a weapon known in the 
 middle ages as ''a morning star." In addition, he carries at his 
 back a bow and a ciui\-er full of arrows. The other, Magog, is 
 armed with a shield and spear, and is attired in the old con- 
 ventional Roman costume so much in fashion at the time when 
 these tigures were iriauufactured. The heads of both are 
 wreathetl with lauiel. 
 
 In a book by one Thomas Boreham (published 1750) we 
 read the following quaint account of them : — 
 
 " Before the present giants inhabited Guildhall there were two giants, 
 made only of wicker-work and pasteboard, put together with great art and 
 ingenuity, and these two terrible, original giants had the honour to yearly 
 grace My Lord Mayor's Show, being carried in great triumph in the time 
 of the pageants; and when that eminent annual service was over, re- 
 mounted their old stations in Guildhall, till, by reason of their very great 
 age, Old Time with the help of the City rats and mice had eaten up all 
 their entrails. The dissolution of the two old, weak and feeble giants gave 
 birth to the two present substantial and majestic giants, who, by order and 
 at the City's charge, were formed and fashioned. Captain Richard 
 Saunders, an eminent carver in King Street, Cheapside, was their father, 
 who after he had completely finished, clothed, and armed these, his two 
 sons, they were immediately advanced to their lofty stations in Guildhall, 
 which they have peacefully enjoyed ever since the year 1708." 
 
 The City's accounts show that Captain vSaunders was paid 
 £-0 for the work. One Richard Saunders (" A train-band 
 Captain eke was he, of famous London Town "), was paid for 
 the execution of the beautiful carving in the Church of St. 
 Giles, Cripplegate, in 1705. Possibly, the carvings of other City 
 churches were produced in his workshop, and, may it be said^ 
 are now attributed to a man of greater fame.
 
 ipi76 (^oui't of j+ustir\|. 
 
 /TlHIS Court, or, more correctly speaking, these Courts : the 
 1. Court of Husting of Pleas of Land and the Court of 
 Husting of Common Pleas are certainly of Anglo-Saxon, if not 
 of Scandinavian, origin, for the laws of Edward the Confessor 
 directed the Sittings thereof to take place alternatel\' every 
 week. The term "Husting" signifies ''a Court held in a 
 house," in contradistinction to other Courts, which, in Saxon 
 times, were usually held in the open air. 
 
 The Court of Husting was, originally, the Countv Court 
 of the City, which was alwavs a County of itself. It is the 
 oldest Court of Record within the City, and was the sole Court 
 for settling disputes between the citizens. About the time of 
 Edward 1. actions merely personal, came to be decided in the 
 Ma3-or's Court and the Sheriffs' Courts, whilst all real and 
 mixed actions, with the exception of actions of ejectment, 
 remained subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of 
 Husting, as before. An appeal from the Court of Husting 
 originally lay to the Court of St. Martin-le-Grand, now 
 practically obsolete, composed of a Connnission of Judges of 
 the High Court, who originally sat at St. Martin-le-Grand, 
 but, since the time of Henry VHI., at Guildhall, and from 
 which Court an appeal lay to the House of Lords. A portion 
 of the jurisdiction originally exercised by the Court ot 
 Husting was transferred to the Mayor's Court. The Courts 
 are held on the raised dais at the cast end of the Hall, 
 called the Hustings, by the Lord Mayor, Aldermen and 
 Sheriffs, who are the Judgo, with the Recorder sitting as 
 Assessor to pronounce the judgment ol ilic Court.
 
 ^1]G (;ommon j+all. 
 
 ^ COMMON liALL, as mentioned in difierent parts of 
 ^-^^ this book, ina\be hrieHv described as an assembly of the 
 Members of the various " Liverv Companies " of the City. In 
 addition to the Common Hall on Midsummer Day, for electing 
 Sheriffs, and thai on ^Michaelmas Dav for the election of Lord 
 Ma3-or, Common Halls are also held in the Guildhall in times 
 of trouble and discontent, when the opinions of the citizens 
 require to be expressed. The full title of the Common Hall is 
 "The Meeting or Assembly of the Mayor, Aldermen, and 
 Liverymen of the several Companies of the City of London 
 in Common Hall assembled." There are 76 Companies or 
 ("luiUis in the Cit\', containing about 8,800 Members who are 
 Liverymen and Freemen of the City, and in consequence ol 
 their social status and numbers, their influence has always 
 been very great. A Common Hall is summoned bv the Lord 
 Mayor, who presides, and is attended b\- the Aldermen, 
 Sheriffs, and High Officers, in full state.
 
 public MGeiir\^s in il79 j^-alt. 
 
 rrlHIS magnificent Hall is not used merely for meetings con- 
 J. nected with Corporation elections, ceremonials and festivi- 
 ties. By permission of the Lord Maj'or and Common Council, 
 meetings of public interest and importance are held here, on 
 various questions interesting to the countrv at large as well 
 as the City. Among these mav be mentioned Parliamentary 
 Reform, Religious Equalitx', National Defence, Popular 
 Education, &c. The Hall has also witnessed manv a stirring 
 srene in the Election of ^lembers of Parliament for the City. 
 
 Not the least interesting c^f the meetings held here is the 
 Annual Banquet to Poor Children, usually given about 
 Christmas-tide. This had its origin in 1893, when in January 
 ■)f that year. Sir Stuart Knill, Bart., as Lord Mayor, invited the 
 children attending the various Ward Schools of the Cit}-, to 
 dinner at the Guildhall. Every year since a similar dinner 
 and entertainment has been given to the poor children ol the 
 -Metropolis. The children are selected through the agency of 
 ihe Ragged School Union. Over 1,200 were entertained at 
 dinner last Christmas time in the Hall, while hampers containing 
 meat, pies, cakes, sweets, &c., were sent to nearly 5,000 crippled 
 children who were unable to be present. Year by year, this 
 entertainment has been promoted by Mr. Alderman Treloar, 
 the expense connected therewith being defrayed by subscrip- 
 tions of members of the Corporation, of the Livery Companies, 
 and of other friends interested in the welfare of the poor.
 
 72 
 
 THE (GUILDHALL. 
 
 Leaving the Hall by the Archway on the north side (over 
 which liangs the " Elcho Challenge Shield" won by the English 
 team at Bisley, four years in succession, viz., 1S95, 1896, 
 i8q7 and 1808) and after mounting a short flight of steps, we 
 
 ARCHWAY LKADING TO THK LOBBY.
 
 THE COUNCIL CHAMBER LOBBY. 
 
 /3 
 
 are on the way to the Council Chamber, the Aldermen's 
 Court Room, and the various Committee Rooms. Passing 
 into the ante-lobby, we see on the left the offices of the 
 'Keeper of the Guildhall,' an office of great responsibility, 
 involving as it does, not only the general charge of the Guildhall 
 itself, and its many Courts and Committee Rooms, but also 
 special charge for their order and cleanliness, and for the 
 safety of the entire building at night ; for this reason 
 he resides in a suite of apartments n:i the Guildhall, and 
 is thus personally able to superintend the Beadles, Firemen, 
 and Watchmen acting under his directions. At all Meetings 
 of the Common Hall, Court of Common Council, and of its 
 manv Committees, the Keeper of the Guildhall is always in 
 attendance either personally or b}- deputy, and on Corporation 
 visits to the Queen, or any Member of the Ro^-al Family, 
 he attends, and is responsible that no strangers intrude upon 
 the Royal presence. He also issues notices for all meetings 
 of the Corporation and its Committees, and has a large staff 
 of assistants to enable him to carry out this work. Among the 
 numerous accounts kept bv him are the expenses incurred 
 in the watching of the Guildhall, the expenditure of the 
 allowances to Committees, the payment of pensions to certain 
 retired prison and other officials.
 
 (^\}Q MntG-bobb^. 
 
 rnHE Ante-I.obbv is painted to sj-nibolize the armorial bear- 
 
 \ ings of the Citv, and of the Livery Companies. On the 
 
 north wall are pictured St. George and St. Paul, the patrons 
 
 of the Citv. The former liaving conquered the dragon, 
 
 THK I.OHIJV AM) KNTHANt K ']'( ) I HK (OrXCIL rHA>[BER. 
 
 emblematical or the evil principle, the princess, kneeling in 
 the background, represents the good principle ; while on the 
 walls of the Citv, are arraved her parents and relations,
 
 THE COUXCIL CHAMBER LOBBY. 75 
 
 in the persons of tlie T.ord Mayor, Sheriffs, iVldermcn, 
 Commoners, and citizens. St. Paul, standing in front of 
 the old Cathedral, offers his red Sword of martyrdom, which is 
 placed in the lirst quarter of the City arms. 
 
 On the west wall is pictured the City herself, in liyery 
 gown, seated in the midst of her gates : old London Bridge, 
 with a water pageant, being in front. On the east wall is the 
 City arms ; which is the plain red cross of St. George with the 
 Sword of St. Paul ; the sinister wing of a Dragon for crest, and 
 the conquered Dragon made to act as the supporter ; the 
 whole surrounded by the arms of the twelye great Liyer\- 
 Companies. On the south wall arises the heraldic tree, 
 carrying the arms of all the smaller Companies, which 
 continue also as a border round the whole design. This work 
 was e.xecuted in I'S8q, under the superintendence, and at the 
 expense of the late Alderman Sir Stuart Knill, Bart., LL.D. 
 
 In this Ante-Lobby are placed marble busts of well-known 
 soldiers and philanthropists, Granyille Sharp (1824), Chaii/rcy; 
 Thomas Clarkson (1839), Bchncs ; Sir Henry Hayelock of 
 Indian Mutin}- fame (1858), Bchncs ; General Gordon the 
 mart}Ted hero of Khartoum (1886), Thccd \ and the Earl 
 of Shaftesbury (1886), Mcrrctt. The first two were the earliest 
 adyocates for the abolition of slayer\- ; on the back of 
 ■' Sharp's " bust is this inscription : — 
 
 "To WHOM England owes the glorious vekuict of nr.R Hi<;HEsr 
 Court of Law, that the slave who sets his feet on British 
 
 r.ROUND, becomes, at THAT INSTANT, FREE." 
 
 Passing thrf)Ugh a pair of handsome door> we enter tiu- 
 Lolil'.y Ol- THI'! CcM'NC II. Ch.-xmmkk. 
 Tile illu>tratic)n on the preceding page giyes a good general idea 
 of it> appearance.
 
 76 J III-: (;('/L/)//.i/.L. 
 
 Alarblc busts of distinguished statesmen, whom the 
 Corporation has been proud to lionour, are phiced arouml : — 
 Lord Cannint; (1864), .Vo'fA' ; Viscount Pahnerston (1867), 
 Durham ; Lord Brougham (1869), Adams ; Kichard Cobden 
 (i86q), NdhJc \ Earl Derby ('the Rupert of Debate') (1871), 
 Nohlc\ Earl of Beac()n>ricld (1882), Bell \ W. E. Gladstone 
 
 I'bolc. by III.- I.. S ;. /'. C,\, /.,/ 
 NELSON. GORDON. Tl-.NNVSON. H.WICLOCK. WELLINGTON. 
 
 THE "pen AXn THE SWORD." 
 
 (The busts of Xclson. Tennyson and Wcllinsiton are in the Art Gallery.) 
 
 (1882), W'j>,liirr\ Earl Russell (1883), Binli ; Earl of Iddesleigh 
 (1887), Tyler ] W. II. Smith (i8q2), Whi/c/icad. A bust of 
 the IMarquis of Salisbury (1886) b}' Bnicc Joy, is in the 
 Mansion House. On the walls are portraits of four of the 
 Judges who arranged the fire claims (1668-72), Sir William 
 Ellys, Sir Francis North, Sir Timothy Lyttleton, Sir Robert 
 Atkyns, and of Lord Denman, Common Serjeant (1822), and
 
 THE COrXCIL CHAMBER LOBBY 
 
 11 
 
 Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench. On the right is a 
 painting by Ralph Dodd, representing George III. on the 
 occasion of his Thanksgiving visit to St. Paul's on recovery 
 from his illness (1789), receiving from the Lord Ma^-or the 
 City's sword at Temple Bar. This was formerly used as a 
 screen in the INIansion House. 
 
 BKOLGHAM. 
 
 BEACONSFIELD 
 
 I'holc. hy lhcr..S.&J'. i\'.. I.. I. 
 PALMERSTON. GLAnSTON'E. 
 
 statp:smkn. 
 
 (Opposite is a painting representing King I-ouis Phillipe 
 receiving at Windsor Castle an address of congratulation fi-om 
 the Lortl ?^Li3-or and a deputation from the Common Council, 
 October i^th, 1S44. This picture was presented to the 
 Corporation by the French King himself. Underneath is hung 
 a key to the different figures. 
 
 On the left of the Lobby is the Members' Reading-room, the 
 walli of which are covered with portraits of Lord Mayors ami
 
 78 THE (;i:iLDI/.lLL. 
 
 others who have taken pail in tlie work of the Corporation. 
 On the riglit. apprf)acliecl hv an easy flight of steps, on the top 
 of which are a handsome pair of hrass gates, is 
 
 ^\lQ (;Ouncil (;l7c\mber. 
 
 (^'V does not appear that there is any record extant of a 
 QJ particular chamber being set apart for the dcHberation of 
 the Common Council earlier than that recorded by Stow, who, 
 speaking of Guildhall and the foundation of the Mayor's Court 
 as being laid in the reign of Henry \'I., (1424) says, '' Then was 
 built the Maiors Chamber and the Counsel/ Chamber with other 
 ro'juis above the stairesy The next mention of a new Council 
 Chamber is found in the City's own records ; the entry is dated 
 
 I ^th October, 1005, and is as follows : — 
 
 •' Item : — It is ordered that Sir Henry Billingesley, Sir William Ryder, 
 Sir John Garrard, Sir Tnomas Bennett, S:r Thomas Cambell, Sir WilHam 
 Romney, Sir John Swynnerton, Knights ; and Mr. Sword-Bearer, do attend 
 them ; calHng unto them the Cittyes Workmen, and such others as they 
 shall think fitt ; shall consider of a convenient place to be had for erection 
 of a faire Councell Chamber for the Lord Maiorknd his bretheren the 
 Aldermen, and the learned Councell and officers of this Cittye to meet in; 
 and for tlie enlargement of the Threasor) e for keeping the Cittyes Chfes. and 
 Records, within the carpenters' yard on the north syde of their Councell 
 Chamber, and to make report to this Court of their of inions therein, and 
 Thomas Har\est to warne them." 
 
 The Connnittee thus appointed no doidot reported to 
 the Court in due course, but several 3-ears elapsed before the 
 building was commenced ; for it was not until the \ear 
 1614 that the Council commenced to use their new chamber. 
 Here the\- continued to sit until the erection of what we now 
 know as the " Old Council Chamber " in 1777, and of which an 
 illustration is given (page 92). The Chamber above referred to as 
 being built in 1614 adjoined the north wall of the (xreat Hall, 
 the site forming a considerable portion of the south-east area
 
 THE COUNCIL CHAMBER. 79 
 
 of the existing new Council Clnunber. This Chamber was 
 approached from the Hall by steps situated where the monument 
 of the Duke of Wellington is now placed. In this Chamber both 
 King James I. and his ill-fated son Charles appeared before the 
 Common Council, as we have described elsewhere, and where 
 the latter was so coldly received. 
 
 During the 150 years that this Chamber was used, man\- 
 distinguished men occupied the Mavoral chair. The first was 
 Sir Thomas ]\Iyddelton, wh.o, on the dav of his election 
 (September 29th, 16 13), presided at the ceremony of the 
 opening of the New River, which had been constructed bv his 
 brother, Sir Hugh. Among others mav be mentioned Sir John 
 Swynnerton (one of the committee for viewing the site) 
 Alderman of Cripplegate, who entertained the Count Palatine 
 when he came over to be betrothed to Elizabeth, the daughter 
 of James L ; Sir William Cockayne, the first Governor of the 
 Irish Societv ; Sir Edward Barkham, whose grandson, Sir 
 Robert Walpole, was Prime Minister in the reigns of the first 
 two Georges ; and man\- others. 
 
 Within this Hall, manv stirring debates and scenes took 
 place, notably during the Civil War, at the Restoration, the 
 Revolution, and in the next centurv, during the early part of 
 the long struggle for the liberties both of the subject and of 
 the press. IJie first .stone oi the present 
 
 (;Ouncil (;l7ambGr 
 
 ^ .Q.\S laid on the ;oth of April, 1.S83, and the fn^t meeting 
 ^ within its walls was hclil on the 2nd of October, 1884. 
 It was built from the designs antl under the superintendence 
 of Sir Horace Jones, P.R.I.B.A., the City Architect, upon the 
 north side of the Guildhall, and upon the site formerly occupied 
 by the old Court of Exehec|uer, the Chamberlain's, Town 
 -Clerk's and .Xrchitect's (Offices.
 
 8o THE (.riLDHALL. 
 
 Arranged round the corridor are marble busts of some of 
 tliose whom their fellow-citizens have delighted to honour for 
 their devotion to the interests of the City, for their attention 
 to its municipal affairs, and for their personal influence with 
 those who came into contact with them. There are busts of 
 Alderman Sir R. vS. Phillips, Mcrrcit (1885) ; Alderman Sir R. 
 Garden, Bart., Mcnrtt (i88b); Alderman Sir A. Lusk, Bart., 
 McCarihy (1888) ; Alderman Sir R. Prowler, Bart., Mcnrtt (i 8q i ) ; 
 Benjamin Scott, City Chamberlam, Mcrrcit (1892); Alderman 
 Sir Polvdore De K^yscr, Ju/iiis(jii (1803), ; Sir J. B. Monckton, 
 Town Clerk, Racmakcrs (1894). A marble bust of H.R.H. 
 The Duke of Cambridge, Williamson (1897) also stands here. 
 
 It will be seen from the illustration, that the building is 
 duodecagonal in design. It is 54 feet in diameter, surrounded 
 by a corridor 9 feet wide, above which is a gallery for the 
 accommodation of the public and the press. The height 
 from the floor to the dome is 61 feet 6 inches ; above this rises 
 an oak lantern, the top of which is 81 feet 6 inches ; this lights 
 and ventilates the entire chamber. The entrance for the Lord 
 Mayor and Aldermen is at the east end behind the chair, 
 for the Members of the Common Council from the lobby and 
 corridor, and for the public from Basinghall Street. 
 
 There is sitting accommodation for the Lord Ala3-or, 25 
 Aldermen, Recorder and Sheriffs, and 206 Common Council- 
 men, in addition to the High Officers and the Clerks, who sit 
 at the table below the dais. Special seats are provided for 
 Chairmen of Committees. Division gangways run north and 
 south of the chamber. 
 
 The materials used in the construction of the building are 
 Bath and Portland stone for the windows and dressings, &c. 
 The walls are faced externally with Kentish rag. The columns 
 and arches of the arcade are in polished Hopton Wood stone. 
 The interior of the Dome is parcelled out bv massive oak ribs, 
 traceried lunettes, and twelve three-light clerestory windows, 
 the central lights being filled in with figure subjects, representing
 
 THE COCXCIT. CHAMBER. 
 
 8i
 
 82 nil-: (.CILDIIALL. 
 
 the caixlinal \irlUL-s ; the panels iinnicdiatcly above these 
 windows have artistic Frescoes representing the various trades 
 and crafts of the following Livery Companies, with their Arms 
 above tastefully placed in the lunettes. The Companies 
 represented are the Armourers, Bakers. Barbers, Brewers, 
 Brasiers, Clothworkers, Cutlers, Drapers, Dyers, Fishmongers, 
 Girdlers, Goldsmiths, Grocers, Haberdashers, Ironmongers, 
 Leathersellers, Mercers, Merchant-Taylors, Pewterers, Salters, 
 Skinners, Tallow Chandlers, Vintners and Wax Chandlers. On 
 the panels of either side of the windows are represented the 
 flowers and fruits of the several months of the year, together 
 with the signs of the Zodiac. The building is lighted by an 
 elaborate gilt pendant chandelier and brass standard lights, 
 fitted originally for gas, but now with the electric light, which 
 was installed in 1889. 
 
 The twelve richlv-canopied carved screens, which divide 
 the chamber from the corridor, are executed in wainscot 
 glazed with ornamental lead-lights, having the Arms of the 
 various Companies, viz. : Apothecaries, Basket-makers, Black- 
 smiths, Bowyers, Broderers, Butchers, Carpenters, Clockmakers, 
 Coachmakers, Cooks, Coopers, Cordwainers, Curriers, Distillers, 
 Fan makers. Farriers, Feltmakers, Fletchers, Founders, Frame- 
 work Knitters, Fruiterers, Glass Sellers, Glaziers, Glovers, 
 Gold and Silver Wire Drawers, Gunmakers, Horners, Inn- 
 Holders, Joiners, Loriners, ISIakers of Playing Cards, Masons, 
 Musicians, Needle Makers, Painter Stainers, Parish Clerks, 
 Patten-makers, Plasterers, Plumbers, Poulters, Saddlers, 
 Scriveners, Shipwrights, Spectacle-makers, Stationers, Tinplate 
 Workers, Turners, Tylers and Bricklayers, Upholders, 
 Weavers, Wheelwrights and Woolmen. In the four niches 
 have been placed marble busts of Her Majesty, the Oueen 
 (1855) and H.R.H. the late Prince Consort (1862) both by 
 Joseph Durham, and their Royal Highnesses the Prince and 
 Princess of Wales by Marshall Wood (1863) and C. E. Van
 
 THE COrXCfL CHAMBER. ^^ 
 
 Derbosch (1871) respectively. Behind the Lord Mayor's 
 Seat is a statue of George III, the work of Chantrey 
 on the commission of the Corporation, at a cost of ;;^'3,o8q, 
 and placed (1815) in the Old Council Chamber in token 
 of their sense of the King's " endearing and amiable 
 qualities," whence on the opening of this chamber it was 
 removed to its present site. On the left of the Lord Mayor's 
 seat is seen, on one of the pillars, a commemorative tablet 
 inscribed as follows : — 
 
 ox THIS SITE STOOD 
 
 THE COUNCIL CHAMBER 
 
 (built 1614, VACATED I777, BURNT I786), 
 
 WHEREIN CHARLES I. CAME TO DEMAND THE SURRENDER 
 
 OF THE FIVE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT, 
 
 ON THE 5TH JANUARY, 164I-2. 
 
 THIS RECORD IS PLACED 
 
 BY ORDER OF THE COMMON COUNCIL 
 
 OF THE 24TH JULY, l8gO, 
 
 ON THE REPORT OF ITS LIBRARY COMMITTEE. 
 
 This incident has also been commemorated (1897) by a 
 painting on panel in the ambulatory of the Royal Exchange. 
 
 It has been customary for many years, to show special 
 respect to a Lord Mayor, on taking his seat in the Council 
 Chamber for the first time, by the members of the Court of 
 Common Council appearing in full official costume — ^the 
 Aldermen in scarlet, and the Commoners in mazarine blue 
 gowns. On taking his seat, the Lord Mayor addresses the 
 Court, expressing his confidence that the members of the Court 
 will, with their usual courtesy and good feeling, assist him in 
 Ids duties in the chair, and abide by his ruling in matters of 
 order, to which the " Chief Cominoiier," on behalf of the Court, 
 makes a suitable re])I\'. U may truly be >aid that I he 
 confidence the L(jrd Mayo;" ]ilaccs in the Comt is scKloin. 
 if ever, misplaced. 
 
 The illustration shows the scene in the Ccjurl iinmetlialely 
 after the Lord Mayor's opening address.
 
 84 
 
 THE Gi'ILDHALL.
 
 THE CO I wen. CHAMBER. 85 
 
 Leaving the Council Chamber we pass to the end of the 
 vestibule ; on the left is the approach to the offices of the 
 Chamberlain, the Town Clerk, and the Survevor, and also to 
 the various Committee Rooms. Several of the minor Livery 
 Companies who have no Hall of their own are allowed to 
 transact their business in one of these rooms. In the centre is 
 the door (surmounted by a unique clock) leading to the 
 Aldermen's Room, that, on the right, leads to the new offices 
 of the Public Health Department, the public entrance to which 
 is in Basinghall Street. These offices have been erected at a 
 cost of ^'20,000, and the staff of the Department have just 
 entered in occupation. 
 
 fP 
 
 ^l7G aAldGrtriGn's (;Ourf I^oom. 
 
 HIS room may be appropriately described as the " Gilded 
 I Chamber ; " as it is certainlv the most sumptuously decorated 
 and attractive apartment in the Cxuildhall. The room itself was 
 probably built in the earlv part of the 17th century, and with 
 other portions of the Guildhall suffered in the Great Fire of 
 1666. It was restored within a 'i^w years. By comparing the 
 decorative work of the ceiling, the shields in the cornice, the 
 City Arms, and the style of the doorwaN's, with similar work to 
 be seen in some of the Livery Companies' Halls (that were 
 restored soon after the Fire), the date may be fairly ascribed to 
 the years 1670-80. The gilded borderings and the modellings 
 of the quaint designs of animals and foliage are rich and 
 tasteful, and nuist have been executed by an artist ot 
 exceptional ability. The paintings, added in 1727, were 
 executed and presented bv Sir James Thornhill, who also 
 presented the palming over the black marble cliimney-piece. 
 The Corporation, in acknowledgment of his kindness, presented 
 him with a gold cup of the value of i'225. The painling in
 
 86 Tin-: (,riLI)lIALL. 
 
 the centre of the ceiUng, enckised within an oval border, 
 is intended to typifv the old traditions f)t the city. The seated 
 figure represents London, she wears a mural crown, antl in 
 her left hand grasps the civic shield. The figure behind is 
 intended for Pallas, the daughter of Jupiter, and beneath her 
 tw(^ little bovs, one bearing upon his shoulder the City Sw<ird, 
 the other pointing to the Cap of Maintenance and the Mace 
 that lie beneath her feet. There is an allegorical figure of Peace, 
 who is represented as presenting an olive branch, and another 
 figure of Plentv pouring out riches from her horn. There 
 are two oblong compartments at each end of the ceiling, they 
 contain youthful figures representative of the cardinal virtues. 
 Prudence, Temperance, Justice, and Fortitude. The painting 
 over the chimney-piece typifies London, Justice, Liberty and 
 Truth. Over the door facing the Lord Mayor's chair appears the 
 motto, " Audi alteram partem^' one most appropriate when the 
 purposes, to Avhich the room is devoted, are considered; over 
 this is a full City Arms, of which the following is a heraldic 
 description : — Arms. Ari^riif, a cross ,^u/c'S, in the first quarter 
 a sword in pale, point upwards, of the last. Crest, a dragon's 
 sinister wing argent^ charged with a cross guics. vSupporters, 
 on either side a dragon with wings elevated and endorsed, 
 argent and charged on the wings with a cross gules. Motto, 
 " Dnuiinc dirigc nos.'' 
 
 A Peer's Helmet with lambrequins is also depicted resting 
 on the shield. It may be mentioned that the nse of a Crest and 
 Supporters to the City Arms is comparativelv modern — probably 
 the Arms in this room is one of the earliest examples of these 
 additions to the simple shield. 
 
 The shields in the cornice surrounding the chamber 
 (twenty-eight in all) were possibly intended to contain the 
 Arms of the twenty-six Aldermen and the two Sherififs, but 
 we have no means of definitely ascertaining whose Arms were 
 originally painted thereon.
 
 THE ALDERMEX'S ROOM. 
 
 87
 
 88 TIJE GUILDHALL, 
 
 III I S07 ihc ronni seems to have been re-embellished, and 
 ihe Arin^ ol all the Aldermen who had served the office of 
 Mayor, ami who were then living, painted on the shields, the 
 only exception being the Arms of Sir Watkin Lewes — who 
 was Mayor in ij'^o, and who died in 1805 — this shield is in the 
 south-west corner ; the Arms of Nathaniel Newnham — who 
 was Mayor. \~'^-. antl who died in iSio — occupying the 
 corresponding position in the opposite corner. The fourteen 
 remaining vacant shields were afterwards filled in, as we see 
 them now, with ihe Arms of successive Lord Mayors. 
 
 The following list gives the names and date of election of 
 the Mayors whose Arms surround the cornice : — Sir Watkin 
 Lewes, 1780; Nathaniel Newnham, 1782; Sir William Curtis, 
 Rart., 17Q5; Sir Brook Watson, Bart., 1796; Sir John Wm. 
 Anderson, Bart., 1707; Sir Richard Carr Glynn, Bart., 1708; 
 Harvey Christian Combe, ]7qQ; Sir William Staines, 1800; 
 Sir John ICamer, iSoi; Sir Charles Price, Bart., 1802; 
 Sir John Perring, Bart., 1803 ; vSir James Shaw, Bart.. 1805 ; 
 Sir William Leighton, 1806 ; John Ansley, 1807 ; Sir Charles 
 Flower, 1808; Thomas Smith, i 80Q ; Joshua Jonathan Smith, 
 1810; Sir (Claudius Stephen Hunter, liart.J 181 1 ; George 
 Scholey, 18 12; Sir William Domville, Bart, 1813; Samuel 
 Birch, 1814; Sir Matthew Wood, Bart., 1815-16; Christopher 
 Smith, 1817; John Atkins, 1818; George Bridges, 1819; John 
 Thomas Thorpe, 1820 ; Christopher Magnay, 182 i ; Sir William 
 Heygate, Bart.. 1822. 
 
 The Roval Arms over the Chair, was put up at the same 
 time that the 28 shields were commenced to be painted (1807). 
 The Union with Ireland had taken place, as the Irish Harp is 
 in its positiiin in the third quarter of the Arms, and on the 
 Shield are the Aims of Hanover ensigned with the " Electoral 
 Bonnet" ; this "Bonnet" was only in use in England in con- 
 nection with the Arms between 1801 and 1816. After this time 
 until the death of William I\'. the Royal Crown took its place.
 
 THE ALDERMEN'S ROOM. Sg 
 
 This Ro3'al Arms is believed to be perfectly unique, 
 and probably nowhere else in the Kingdom is there a Royal 
 Arms in an official position, charged with the Arms of Hanover 
 ensigned with the Electoral " Bonnet." 
 
 An heraldic description of these Arms may be found 
 interesting. It is as follows : — Per pale and per chevron (i) 
 j^iilrs, two lions of England for Brunswick ; (2) or, semee of 
 hearts a lion rampant aziirc^ for Lunenburg ; (3) giilcs, a horse 
 courant, argent^ for Westphalia ; (4) over all on an inescutcheon 
 gules, the golden crown of Charlemagne. 
 
 It is probable that, in i''^2 ;, the windows beliind the chair were 
 remodelled, and the various Arms commenced to be painted on 
 the glass, and continued year by year, until all the panes were 
 full ; as was also the case in later ^ears with the windows in 
 the north-east corner of the room. Tlie windows behind the 
 chair contain the Arms of Robert Waithman, elected 1823 ; 
 John Garratt, 1824 ; William Venables, 1825 ; Anthony Brown, 
 1826; Matthias Prime Lucas, 1827; William Thompson, 
 1828 ; John Crowder, 1829 ; Sir John Key, Bart., 1830-1 ; 
 Sir Peter Laurie, 1832 ; Charles Farebrother, 1833 ; Henry 
 Winchester, 1834 '■< ^^™- Taylor Copeland, 1835 ; Thomas 
 Kelly, 1836 ; Sir John Cowan, Bart., 1837 ; Samuel Wilson, 
 1838 ; Sir Chapman Marshall, 1839. The large window 
 opposite the chimney piece contains the arms of Thomas 
 Johnson, 1840; Sir John Pirie, l:}art., 1841 ; John Humpliery, 
 1842 ; Sir William Magnay, Bart., 1843 ; Michael Gibbs, 1844; 
 John Johnson, 1845 ; Sir George Carroll, 1846 ; Jno. Kinnersley 
 Hooper, 1847 ; Sir James Duke, Bart., 1848 ; Thomas 
 Farncomb, 1849; Sir Jolm .Musgrove, Bart., 1850 ; William 
 Hunter, 1851 ; Thoma.>, Challis, 1852 ; Thomas Sidney, 1853 ; 
 Sir Francis G. Moon, Bart., 1854; David Salomons, 1855; 
 T. Quested Fiiniis, 185b; Sir Robert W. Garden, 1857; 
 David William^ Wire, 1858 ; John Carter, 1859 ; William 
 Cubitt, 1 860-1 ; W. Anderson Rose, 1862 ; William
 
 go 
 
 Tfll-: CriFJJHALL. 
 
 Lawrence, 1863 ; Warren S. Hale, 1S64. The window 
 overhead contains the Arms of IJenjamin Samuel Phillips, 
 1865 ; Sir Thomas Gabriel, Bart, 1866 ; William Ferneley 
 Allen, 1867 ; James Clarke Lawrence, 1868 ; Robert 
 Besley, 1869 ; Thomas Dakin, 1870 ; Sir Sills J. Gibbons, 
 Bart., 1871 ; Sir Sydney H. Waterlow, 1872 ; Sir Andrew 
 Lusk, Bart., 1873. On either side the entrance at the 
 east end of the Chamber are six panels carved in wood, 
 each of a different design. On these panels are the Arms of 
 David H. Stone, 1874 ; W. J. R. Cotton, 1875 \ Sir Thomas 
 White, 1876 ; Sir T. S. Owden, 1877 ; Sir Charles Whetham, 
 1878; Sir Francis W. Truscott, 1879 ; Sir William AIcArthur. 
 K.C.M.G., 1880 ; Sir J. Whittaker Elhs, Bart., 1881 ; Sir 
 Henry E. Knight, 1882 ; Robert Nicholas Fowler, 1883-85 ; 
 George S. Nottage, 1884 ; Sir John Staples, K.C.M.G., 1885. 
 
 On the right of the Chair, is a series of carved panels of the 
 same character as those just described, containing the Arms of 
 Sir Reginald Hanson, Bart., 1886 ; Sir Polydore De Keyser,. 
 1887 ; Sir J. Whitehead, Bart., 1888 ; Sir Henry Isaacs, 1889 ; Sir 
 Joseph Savorv, Bart., 1890 ; Sir David Evans, K. CM. G., 1891 ; 
 Sir Stuart Knill, Bart., 1892 ; Sir George Tylei;, Bart., 1893 ; Sir 
 Joseph Renals, Bart., 1894; Sir Walter Wilkin, K.C.M.G., 
 1S95 ; Sir George F. Faudel-Phillips, Bart., G.C.T.E., 1896 ; 
 Sir Horatio David Davies, K.C.AI.G., 1897. There are nine 
 vacant panels, on which will be painted the Arms of future Lord 
 Mayors. Immediatelv over the Lord Mayor's seat is the rest 
 for the Sword of State. \\\ front of the chair is a table, around 
 which sit the principal officers of the Court. The seats for the 
 twenty-five other Aldermen, the Recorder, and the two Sheriffs 
 are placed round the Chamber. The seats are allotted accord- 
 ing to seniorit}- — the Senior Aldermen sitting on the left of the 
 Lord Ma\-or, the Recorder sitting on the immediate right, and 
 the other Aldermen on the right and left, according to 
 seniority. The Sheriffs sit, one at either side, at the end 
 of the rows of seats.
 
 (pi7( ©Id (Jouncil (^l^amber. 
 
 /T\HE \^estibule of the Old Council Chamber is approached 
 J. through the doors at the end of the Lobby. On entering 
 the Chamber one is struck by its handsome proportions 
 and excellent lighting. On the walls are hung portraits of 
 distinguished personages, including those of some of the 
 Judges who settled the claims and contentions incident on the 
 rebuilding of the City after the Great Fire of 1666, these were 
 painted bv Joseph Michael Wright, on the commission of the 
 Common Council. The resolution of the Court runs as 
 follows : — 
 
 " That in contemplation of the favour and kindness of the Right Hon. 
 Sir H. Bridgman, Lord Chancellor and Keeper of the Great Seal of 
 England, the Justices of the King's Bench and Common Pleas, and Barons 
 of the Exchequer, to the State of the Citt}-, in and about the Act of 
 Parliament, and in consideration of its instituting a Judicature for 
 determining of discussions between landlord and tenant, the Court doth 
 think fit, and order that their pictures be taken by a skilful hand, and be 
 kept in some public place of the City for a grateful memorial of their 
 good offices." 
 
 These portraits were originally hung in the (jreat Hall 
 (1673). Afterwards, for many years, they adorned the Courts 
 of Queen's Bench and Common Pleas, when these Courts sat 
 at Cxuildhall. By a singular coincidence, the Chamber in which 
 these portraits hang, has witnessed — December 1X97 — an inqiiir\' 
 respecting the greatest lire (that in Crip])lugatc) thai has 
 occurred in the City since the Great Fiie of iO(jO. The Judges 
 represented are Sir Edward ;\tkyns, Sir Orlando P)ritigman, 
 Sir Matthew Hale, Sir John i\.cl\nge. Sir William Morton,
 
 92 
 
 THE G UILDHALL 
 
 Sir Ilcncuse Finch, Karl of Nottingliam, Solicitor-General, 
 and afterwards Lord Chancellor — Sir Richard Rainsford, 
 Sir Christopher Turnor, .Sir Edward Turnor. Sir Thoinas 
 Twysden, Sir John Vauohan, Sir Hugh Wyndham, and 
 Sir Wadhani Wvndham. 'i'hc portrait of George 1 [I. is hy Allan 
 Ramsay, the others are of the Czar Nicholas I. of Russia, the 
 C/arewitch.aflerwarils Alc.xancter 11., and the Knipress Catherine. 
 
 THK OLD tOrXClI, iHA.NHSKK, 1777-1884. 
 
 i'he portrait of Sir Davitl Salomons is speciallv interesting 
 from the fact that he was the lirst Lord Mayor (1855-6) of the 
 Jewish faith. Marble busts adorn the Chamber, of R. Lambert 
 Jones, Bchucs 1 1847): T. H. Hall, Durham (1857); J. B. 
 Running, City Architect. Durham (1874); Russell Gurney, 
 O.C, M.P., Recorder, 1856 to 1878, MacCaithy (1883). As 
 will be noted, the room is fitted up as a Court of Law,
 
 THE OLD CULXCIL CHAMBER. yj 
 
 and is now visually' used for the sittings of the Mayor's 
 Court, or more properly speaking, " the Court of our Sovereign 
 Lady the Queen, holden before the Mayor and Aldermen of the 
 Cit\- of London." The Lord Mayor and the Aldermen are 
 the nominal Judges ; the Recorder sitting by custom as 
 the sole Judge ; but, in his absence, the Connnon Sergeant 
 presides as Judge. 
 
 This Chamber was erected by (ieorge Dance, the City 
 Architect, and stands on a part of the garden of the then 
 Town Clerk's House — replacing the Chamber erected (for the 
 Mayor's Court) in 1424. The meetings of the Common Council 
 were first held here about the 3'ear 1777, and the Chamber built 
 in 1 6 14 was soon afterwards demolished. Like its predecessor, 
 this Chamber has witnessed many a stirring scene ; most of the 
 Honorary Freedoms have been voted and presented here, as 
 well a^ addresses to Ro3'al and distinguished persons. Here stood, 
 as recipients of the City's Freedom, Nelson, Rodney, Hood, 
 Duncan, Howe, Pitt the younger, Beresford, Wellington, 
 Brougham, Peel, Colin Campbell, Rajah Brooke, Outram, Russell, 
 Disraeli, Livingstoiie, Shaftesbury, and man}' other distin- 
 guished men whose names are written in the annals ot fame. 
 
 In this Chamber have been inaugurated, and carried out, 
 schemes for most of the great improvements in the Public 
 Streets that have been effected in the present centur}-. A 
 few of these may be mentioned, and their cost to the Corporation ; 
 Approaches to London Bridge North and South of the Thames, 
 and enlarging the site of the Royal L.xchange and its approaches 
 (^'1,250,000) ; formati(jn of Cannon Street (£540,000) ; Holborn 
 \'alley Viaduct and Improvements {£ i ,7 1 5,000) and laying down 
 Fire Hydrants (^27,000). As a late member of tlie Conunon 
 Council said (in 1884), when formally taking leave of tlie Old 
 Chamber, " \\k:\\^ have been fostered and supported those great 
 cliarities which are the glory and boast of this old Kngland
 
 94 THE (il'ILDIIALL. 
 
 of ours, — Almshouses, Asylums, Dispensaries, Hospitals, In- 
 firmaries, Schools, and Societies of many kinds, whose objects 
 are, the removal and relief of poverty and distress.'' 
 
 Returning by the uay he came, the visitor should cross 
 the great Hall, and pass thri)u<;]i the Porch — outside of which, 
 on the left, is the entrance to 
 
 ^\\Q <Ax\ (gallery. 
 
 rplHIS Gallery was established by the Corporation in 1885, 
 I and was formally opened free to the jndilic in 1886, — 
 the attendance has averaged 200,000 visitors annually. Many 
 works have been presented to the Gallery since its establish- 
 ment, among the Donors being the Drapers', Goldsmiths', 
 Salters'and \''intners" Companies, Edward Armitage, Esq., R.A., 
 and Sir John Gilbert, R.A., by whom the Gallery has been 
 enriched by sixteen important works, executed by himself, 
 five being in oil and eleven in water colours. Many pictures 
 have also been bequeathed to the Gallery by private individuals. 
 
 Among the more important works are^ several portraits 
 by Sir Joshua Reynolds ; the " Murder of Rizzio " and the 
 " Assassination of James I. of Scotland " by John Opie ; and 
 the "Death of Wat Tvler " bv Northcote ; the picture of the 
 Banquet in the Guildhall when in 18 14 the Czar Nicholas of 
 Russia and the King of Prussia attended, painted by William 
 Daniell, R.A. The portrait of H.M. Queen Victoria, 
 presented by herself to the Corporation in 1839, painted by 
 Sir George Havter. Two examples of David Roberts, 
 *' Antwerp Cathedral" and "'The interior of the Church of 
 St. Stephen, Vienna" ; Edward Armitage's " Herodias' 
 Daughter," and the oil paintings and drawings presented by 
 Sir John (jilbert, R.A., are all well worthy of attention. 
 
 The sculptor's art is represented by a marble statue of 
 Sir Henry Irving (1890) by Oiishnc Ford, R.,l. : marble busts
 
 THE ART GALLERY, 
 
 95 
 
 of Wellington (1814) by R. TunicrcUi ; Nelson (1797) by 
 FLon. Mrs. Damcr : Tennyson (i8q3) by Williamson; the 
 Rev. Henry White, M.A., late Chaplain of the Savoy, (1891), 
 by T. R. Essex ; and a Statue " Waiting for his Innings," by 
 Durhaiu. A. A'. A. 
 
 In 1890 the Gallery was enlarged, and previous to the re- 
 arrangement therein of the Corporation's own collection, a Loan 
 Exhibition of Pictures was held. It was open to the public 
 for three months, and was visited by 109,000 persons. In 1892 
 another Exhibition of a similar character was held, and was 
 visited by 236,000. Similar Exhibitions have been held in 
 1894, 1895, i8q6, and 1897 — ^with an aggregate attendance of 
 nearly 1,000,000 persons. At all these Exhibitions the admission 
 was free, and the whole expense defrayed by the Corporation out 
 of its private funds. The object of the Exhibitions was to render 
 accessible to the general public many distinguished works of art 
 from private collections, which would, probably, never have been 
 seen by the bulk of the people, except under the auspices of such 
 a body as the Corporation. Many of the pictures also, which the 
 Corporation were able to place on view, had never before been 
 publicly exhibited, and the opportunity of again seeing many of 
 them in public is remote. The Gallery is open daily, free 
 of charge, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 
 
 Passing from the Gallery, the visitor will lind himself in 
 the corridor leading (on the right) to the Library. In this 
 corridor will be seen on the walls many rare prints and photo- 
 graphs, and alriothe large original designs for tajiestry by Richard 
 Reavis. The subjects are : " The Solenni Joust on London Bridge, 
 between Scotch and English Champions, David de Lyndesaye, 
 Earl of Crawford, and Lord John de Welles, .\.i). 1300," and 
 " Robert Fitz-Walter receiving the City's iianner from the Lord 
 Mayor, on the ste])s (jf St. Paul's Cathedral, .a.d. 1250." These 
 tapestries, with two other subjects ordered b)- the Corporation 
 at a cost of ^^1,40^: fi-oin the Windsor Tapestr\- W'orks,
 
 96 THE GUILDJIALL. 
 
 wow \vAwg in the Mansion House. At the top of the flight of 
 steps, on the right, is a stone statue of Charles II., and, on the 
 left, one of Sir John Cutler, a benefactor of tlie College of 
 Physicians. These statues were erecteil on the facade of the 
 old College in Warwick Lane, buill bv Wren in 1680, 
 and w ere presented to the Corporation when that building was 
 demolished in 1873. Facing the \-isitoi' is the Newspaper Room 
 and the entrance to 
 
 ^179 bibraP^. 
 
 rrlHP3 first mention of a Library at the Cjuildhall is contained in 
 I the following extracts from the records of the Corporation, 
 the original being in Latin :^ 
 
 " Item the same day to wit the 27th Ssptember, A" 4 Henry VI., 
 1425J it was granted by the said Mayor and Aldermen and Commonalty 
 that the new House or Library, which the said executors [to wit of the 
 testament ot Richard Whityn,£;ton] and the executors of William Bury 
 made near the (iuildhall, and the custody of the same, together with the 
 chambers built underneath the same, should be in the disposition and 
 management of the said executors ; in such manner that all and everything, 
 which the same executors shoidd think fit to ordain touching the placing 
 the books or doing other matters, shall be done and executed as fully and 
 perfectly as if they had been ordained by the said Mayor, Aldermen, 
 and Commonalty." 
 
 The buikling thus erected was a separate structure, 
 situated on the south side of the Guildhall Chapel ; it is 
 described in a schedule of the possessions of the (ruildhall 
 College, dated 24th July, L^49) 3 Edward VI., 
 "as a certen house nexte unto the sam Chapell apperteynjng called the 
 Library, all waies res'ved for students to resorte unto, w' three chambres 
 under nithe the saide library, which library being covered w' Slate is 
 valued together w' the Chambres at xiijs. iiijd. yearly." 
 
 From the same document we learn that 
 
 " the saied library is a house appointed by the saied Maior and cominalitie 
 for. . . resorte of all students for their education in Divine Scriptures."
 
 THE LIBRARY. 97 
 
 The noble liberality of Richard Whitington and William 
 Bury, the founders of the Library, was well supported by 
 Whitington's executor, John Carpenter, the learned Common 
 Clerk, compiler of the " Liber Albus " and founder of the City of 
 London School, who left, by his will, 
 
 ^' such good or rare books as might seem necessary to the common Hbrary 
 at Guildhall, for the profit of the students there, and those discoursing to 
 the common people." 
 
 John Stow, writing of the Guildhall Chapel, gives the 
 following account of this old Library and its destruction : 
 
 " Adioyning to this chapell on south side was sometimes a fay re and 
 large librarie, furnished with bookes, pertaining to the Guildhall and 
 colledge : these bookes (as it is said) were in the raigne of Edward the 6 
 sent for by Edward, Duke of Sommerset, Lord Protector, with promise to be 
 restored shortly : men laded from thence three Carriers with them, but 
 neuer returned. This librarie was builded by the executors of R. Whit- 
 ington, and by William I3urie : the arms of Whitington are placed on 
 one side in the stone worke, and two letters, to wit, W and B for William 
 Burie, on the other side : it is now lofted through, and made a store house 
 for clothes." 
 
 From 1550 to 1824 is a long stretch, but it was not 
 until the latter year that any steps were taken by the 
 Corporation to re-establish their Library. The second founder 
 was Mr. Richard Lambert Jones. On the 8th April, 1824, 
 upon his motion, the Court of Common Council unanimously 
 referred it to a Special Committee " to inquire and examine 
 into the best mode of arranging and carrying into effect, in the 
 Guildhall, a Library of all matters relating to this City, the 
 Borough of Southwark, and the County of Middlesex, and to 
 report thereon to this Court." Not long after — the Committee 
 reported, recommending that the rooms then occupied by 
 the Irish Society, in the east wing of the front of the 
 Guildhall, should be adapted for the purposes of the 
 new Library, and that meanwhile the front room by the 
 L.Kchequer Court should be used as a temporary depository.
 
 98 THE (GUILDHALL. 
 
 From this time the growth of the Library, thoHjgh at 
 first not rapid, has been steady and continuous, and marked 
 at intervals by acquisitions of importance. In May, 1843, the 
 autograph signature of Shakespeare, attached to the purchase- 
 deed of a house in Blackfriars, dated loth March, 161 2,. 
 was bought at a sale in Messrs. Evans' rooms in Pall Mall 
 for ;^I45, and thus secured to the Library. In 1847, Mr. 
 Philip Salomons presented to the Library a valuable collection^ 
 of about 400 Hebrew books, for which the special thanks of 
 the Court of Common Council were voted to him. A portion, 
 of the munificent bequest of _^ 1,000 left in 1873 by his 
 brother, Alderman Sir David Salomons, Bart., was applied tO' 
 increasing the Hebrew Library and adding thereto a collection 
 of works illustrating the history and present condition of the- 
 Jews throughout the world. 
 
 The time at length came when the Guildhall Library 
 was to be provided with a home more suitable to its needs 
 and importance, and more favourable to its future growth. In 
 1869, the Court of Common Council resolved to erect a new 
 Library and Museum. The total cost exceeded ^100,000. 
 The yearly attendance of readers and visiters rose at once 
 from 14,316 in 1868, the last year of the old Library, to 173,559- 
 in 1874, the first complete year of the new. The lapse of 
 twenty-five 3'ears since the opening of the new Library — 
 years of great progress in all respects — has severely taxed the 
 capacity even of the present building. The total number of 
 visitors in 1897 was 414,977, of whom 76,004 were readers in the 
 Library, 143,471 in the Newspaper Room, and 195,502 visitors 
 to the Museum. The number of books at the last enumeration 
 amounted to over 112,000 volumes, besides 32,000 pamphlets. 
 The annual cost ot maintenance is over ^5,000, inclusiv'e of 
 ^1,000 per annum granted for the purchase of books. 
 
 The Library is particularly rich in the following subjects r 
 The history and topograph}- of [.oadon and Middlesex ; British
 
 THE LIBRARY. 
 
 99 
 
 topograph}' including histories of counties, cities, towns, and 
 parishes ; publications of literary, scientific and archaeological 
 societies ; genealogical and heraldic works, including parish 
 registers, heralds' visitations and pedigrees ; British history 
 and biography ; English poetry ; Dictionaries and grammars of 
 foreign languages ; Archaeology ; Architecture and costume ; 
 Technical and scientific works ; manuscripts and early printed 
 books. 
 
 In the course of this brief sketch, it has been abundantly 
 shown with what anxious care the Corporation and its Library 
 Committee have laboured to make the Guildhall Library 
 worthy of its name, and as useful as possible to the public 
 at large. It is worthy of note that this Library was the pioneer 
 of the Free Library movement ; for many years there has been 
 no restriction to the admittance of the public. 
 
 The Library and Museum 
 
 lie at the east end of the Guildhall and occupy the site of 
 some old and dilapidated houses formerly fronting Basinghall 
 Street and extending back to the Guildhall. The total frontage 
 of the new buildings to this street is 150 feet, and the depth 
 upwards of 100 feet. The structure consists mainly of two 
 rooms or halls, placed one over the other, with newspaper, com- 
 mittee and muniment rooms surrounding them. Of these two 
 halls, the Museum occupies the lower site. The entrance to the 
 building is by a Porch, having wrought iron entrance-gates, 
 in Basinghall Street. The building was erected in 1873 
 from the designs, and under the superintendence, of the late 
 Sir Horace Jones, the Architect of the Corporation. The style 
 of architecture is perpendicular Gothic, in accordance with 
 that of the Guildhall. The following is an architectural 
 description : — 
 
 The principal Library is 100 feet long, 65 feet wide 
 and 50 feet in height, divided int<^ nave and aisles ; the lalLer
 
 lOO 
 
 THE GUILDHALL, 
 
 Photo, hv tht San.icll I'lalc C\>.. I.J. 
 
 THE PRINCIPAL LIBRARY.
 
 ' THE LIBRARY. loi 
 
 form twelve bays, fitted with oak book cases. This room 
 is well lighted, the clerestory over arcade of the nave, with 
 the large windows at the north and south ends together with 
 those in the aisles, transmitting a flood of light to every 
 corner of the room. The beautiful roof comprises arched 
 ribs, which are supported by the Arms of the twelve great 
 City Companies, with the addition of those of the Leather- 
 sellers' and Broderers', and also the Royal and City Arms. 
 The timbers are richly moulded, and the spandrels filled in 
 with tracery. There are three large louvres for lighting the 
 roof and providing ventilation. The aisle roofs, the timbers 
 of which are also richly wrought, have louvres over each 
 bay, and at night are lighted by means of sun-burners 
 suspended from each of these louvres, together with those 
 of the nave (electric light is now supplied throughout the 
 whole building). Each spandrel of the arcade has, next the 
 nave, a sculptured head, representing History ; Poetry ; Print- 
 ing ; Architecture; Sculpture; Painting; Philosophy; Law; 
 Medicine ; Music ; Astrononw ; Geography ; Natural History, 
 and Botany. The several personages chosen to illustrate these 
 subjects being Stow, Camden ; Shakespeare, Milton ; Guten- 
 berg, Caxton ; William of Wykeham, Christopher Wren ; 
 Michael Angelo, Flaxman ; Holbein, Hogarth ; Bacon, Locke ; 
 Coke, Blackstone ; Harve}', Sydenham ; Purcell, Handel ; 
 Galileo, Newton ; Columbus, Raleigh ; Linnaeus, Cuvier ; Ray, 
 and Gerard. There are three fireplaces in this room. The 
 one at the north end, executed in D'Aubigny stone, is very 
 elaborate in detail, the frieze consisting of a panel of painted 
 tiles, the subject being an architectonic design of a procession 
 of the Arts and Sciences, "with the City of London in the 
 centre, emblematised by an enlarged representation of tlic 
 ancient seal, and some mediaeval buildings with a river in 
 the foreground. The quatre-foil panels on either side have 
 sculptured heads of Carpenter, the founder of the City ot 
 London School, and of Chaucer, the ' Father of English 
 
 IIHRARY 
 LINIVI'KSI I ^ or (AI.IIOKMA
 
 I02 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 Poetry.' The two chimney pieces at the south end are 
 also carved and fohated with the words " Anno Domini 
 MDCCCLXXII." on the frieze of one, and " Domine Dirige 
 Nos," the City motto, on the other, surmounted in both 
 instances with the Royal, City, Middlesex, Westminster, 
 and Southwark shields of Arms. The screens in front of 
 these fireplaces are executed in oak, the panels being inlaid 
 with coloured foreign woods, and the bases of the screens 
 forming dwarf bookcases, which are fitted to receive large 
 folio books. 
 
 On State occasions the Lord Mayor receives the dis- 
 tinguished guests in this room, which, from its spaciousness 
 and light appearance, enhances the brilliancy of such 
 assemblages. 
 
 Thk Stained Glass Windows. 
 
 Considering the purpose of the building, the stained glass 
 in it required a special treatment, so as to admit as much light 
 as possible, consistent with a decorative effect ; consequently a 
 large amount of white glass has been introduced and the colour 
 concentrated. 
 
 The large North Window of seven lights, divided by a 
 transom, is the gift of some of the inhabitants of the Ward of 
 Aldersgate. It has two major subjects, or pictures, in rich 
 colours, and eight single figures. 
 
 The subject, occupying the three upper centre lights, is the 
 Introduction of Printing into England, and represents Caxton 
 and his Printing Press in the Almonry at Westminster ; the 
 principal or centre figure being the great Printer showing to 
 King Edward the Fourth and the Abbot of Westminster his 
 works. Wynkyn de Worde is engaged at the Press, pulling a 
 proof ; Pynson is carrying a forme ; in the background a boy is 
 engaged mulling the ink. The four side figures are Gutenberg, 
 who was the first to conceive the idea of printing from
 
 THE LIBRARY. 
 
 103 
 
 movable types ; Wynkyn de Worde, foreman to Caxton ; 
 Pynson, one of his workmen, who succeeded him in his 
 business, and subsequently became the king's printer ; and 
 Bishop Coverdale, the translator of the Bible. The 
 treatment of these figures is what is termed grisaille, 
 so as to complement the colours in the centre group. 
 The subject in the three lower centre lights is Richard de 
 Bury, Bishop of Durham, purchasing the Library of the Abbot 
 
 THK NORTH WINDOW, 
 
 of St. Alban's for fifty pounds' weight of silver. This, also, is 
 in rich colours, and the four side figures, like the upper ones, 
 are in grisaille, on a silver quarry ground. The figures 
 represent Whitington and Gresham, both founders of libraries 
 in this City, Stow, the first city historian, and Milton. Below is 
 a representation of the old Aldersgate.
 
 I04 THE GriLDffALL. 
 
 The Clerestory contains twenty-eight windows, having 
 two lights each, in which are represented the symbols of the 
 Planets, also Night and Day, upon a grisaille quarry ground. 
 The aisles are lighted by fourteen windows of three lights 
 each, having the Signs of the Zodiac, also on quarry grounds, 
 with labels running across, containing short sentences from the 
 works of Shakespeare. 
 
 The South Window contains. the armorial bearings of 
 several of the minor Livery Companies, by whom the window 
 was presented. The window contains seven lights, and tracery- 
 consisting of the Royal Badges and some conventional 
 ornaments. Each light contains the Arms of three Companies, 
 the Arms being placed in the following order : — - 
 
 First Row. — Dyers, Brewers, Leathersellers, Pewterers, 
 Barbers, Cutlers, and Bakers. 
 
 Second Row. — Wax- chandlers,' Tallow-chandlers, 
 Armourers and Braziers, Girdlers, Butchers, Saddlers 
 and Carpenters. 
 
 Third Row. — Cordwainers, Founders, Broderers, Coopers, 
 Joiners, Cooks, and Stationers. 
 
 Adjoining the Library, on the east side, is the 
 Committee Room, which is lighted by windows looking on to 
 Basinghall Street, and has a very richly moulded waggon- 
 headed roof, the principal ribs of which are supported on 
 stone corbels, bearing the shields of Arms of the several 
 members of the Committee specially appointed for the erection 
 of this building. The windows in this room are filled with 
 glass in hexagonal quarries, each having a varied object of 
 animal, bird, or flowers, and medallions representing the four 
 Seasons, the Elements, Printing, Engraving, Time, &c. In the 
 centre window are the Arms of Sir Sills Jf)hn Gibbons, Bart., 
 Sir Thomas Dakin, and Robert Besley, Esq., during whose 
 mayoralties the building was erected.
 
 . THE LIBRARY. 105 
 
 The Newspaper and Periodical Room. 
 At the south end of the Librar}-, is a commodious 
 apartment, 50 feet in length by 24 feet wide, Hghted by a 
 stained glass window at the west end, and also b}- sky -lights 
 in the roof. The subject of the window is the '' School 
 of Philosophy," taken from Raphael's celebrated mural paint- 
 ing ; the principal personages represented are Plato, Aristotle, 
 Archimedes, Socrates, Zoroaster, Alcibiades and Pythagoras. 
 It was presented by Baron Lionel de Rothschild, then one of 
 the Members of Parliament for the City of London. 
 
 Lv THE Vestibule of the Librarv 
 
 is to be seen a ver}^ fine and unique collection of gold and 
 silver medals and badges, seals and other official insignia of 
 the Livery Companies of the City of London, including 
 reproductions of the AlasteV's badge of several of the 
 Companies. Some of these are of the i8th century. The 
 greater part have been presented to the Museum by the 
 respective Companies. There is also a chronological series of 
 badges worn by members of Committees conducting. public 
 receptions and entertainments given by the Corporation ; 
 historical City medals in gold, silver, and bronze, of the i6th- 
 iQth centuries ; medals struck by the Corporation of the City 
 of London to commemorate Civic events ; medals struck in 
 honour of printers and printing (Blades' Collection) ; and a 
 complete series of medals struck by the Governments of 
 PVance (Paris), Belgium and the Netherlands, and presented 
 to the Corporation of London. 
 
 There are four cases containing Egyptian, Etruscan, Greek, 
 and Roman Antiquities which demand special attention. These 
 contain vestiges of " vanished icons," as Carlyle has it, and consist 
 of engraved gems, jewellery, coins, medals, terra cottas, vases^ 
 glass, &c. The case of medals of the 15th to i8th century 
 contains many very fine examples of the medallic art of the
 
 io6 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 period. This collection is lent to the Corporation by William 
 Rome, Esq., F.S.A., a member of the Common Council and 
 ** Chief Commoner,'' 1899. 
 
 Passing from the vestibule, there is in the east lobby a 
 valuable collection of watches and watch and clock-work, which, 
 by agreement with the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, 
 has been deposited there for public inspection. The collection 
 clearly illustrates the progress of the art of watch-making from 
 its commencement. The collection embraces numerous speci- 
 mens of the works of the most celebrated makers of past times 
 in clock, chronometer and watch work. Amongst these may 
 be mentioned the celebrated John Harrison, the " Father of 
 Chronometry " as he has been called, one of whose earliest 
 productions, a wooden long clock, and his latest achievement, 
 the duplicate of the chronometer which secured for him the 
 reward of ^20,000 offered by Government in accordance with 
 the Act of Parliament of the 12th Queen Anne, 17 14, are to 
 be found, whilst examples of the highest interest of the works 
 of Edward East, Tompion, Graham, Mudge, Daniel Ouare, 
 Larkham Kendall, Langley Bradley, EUicott, the Arnolds, the 
 Brockbanks, VuUiamy, the Frodshams and others are also 
 included. The specimens are remarkable in respect to the 
 movements, as evidencing the progress of the horological art, 
 and for their workmanship, and as regards the cases, for their 
 artistic excellence. Many of these specimens were presented 
 to the Company by the Rev. H. L. Nelthropp, M.A., F.S.A. 
 Master (1893 and 1894). A fine collection of Roman, Venetian 
 and Florentine mosaics, chiefly of the 17th and i8th centuries, 
 and of artistic snuflf-boxes, &c., belonging to the same 
 gentleman is also exhibited on loan. 
 
 Passing from here down the handsome stone staircase, we 
 notice three finely sculptured stone statues. These were 
 executed in the early part of the seventeenth century, and
 
 THE LIBRARY. 107 
 
 •erected in the front of the old Chapel in Guildhall Yard. 
 Much uncertainty exists as to the persons they are supposed 
 to represent, but there is good reason to believe that the 
 male figures are Edward VI. and Charles I. ; but there is 
 greater divergence of opinion as to the female figure. On 
 the whole, the probability is that it represents Henrietta 
 Maria, the consort of Charles I. Old prints and copies of 
 illuminated addresses presented to distinguished personages, 
 adorn the walls. The stained glass window on the staircase is 
 worthy of attention. It contains the arms of the following 
 Companies : — Painters, Plumbers, Poulters, Tylers and 
 Bricklayers, Scriveners, Turners, Loriners, Bowyers, Spectacle 
 Makers, Wheelwrights, Masons, Coach and Coach Harness 
 Makers, Glass Sellers, Clockmakers, and Plasterers. In a case 
 underneath are specimens of ancient and artistic binding, 
 miniature books, quaintly illustrated works, and other literary 
 curiosities. 
 
 At the bottom of the staircase on the right is the entrance 
 from Basinghall Street, and on the left, after descending a 
 broad staircase, we find ourselves in the Museum, the floor of 
 which is level with the ancient Crypt of the Guildhall, with 
 which it directly communicates, and is consequently somewhat 
 below the present level of Basinghall Street. This room, 
 divided into nave and aisles, is 83 feet long and 64 feet wide, 
 and has a clear height of 20 feet. It thus forms an imposing 
 receptacle for the Archaeological treasures of the City. The 
 large fire-proof muniment rooms on this floor hold some of the 
 valuable archives of the City.
 
 l^\lQ Museum, 
 
 rplHIS collection of antiquities is almost entirel}' composed of 
 I ' tinds ' within the City walls, and comprises objects 
 discovered during the excavations for New London Bridge 
 approaches, the Post Office, and the Royal Exchange, 1825-40, 
 and in later years from excavations, often of great depth, 
 for public and other buildings and for underground railways. 
 
 One of the most striking objects is the superb Roman 
 mosaic pavement, 20 feet long and 13 feet 6 inches wide, found 
 in Bucklersbury (close to the Mansion House) at a depth of 
 19 feet below the present surface. It is in an almost perfect 
 state of preservation. There are also examples of mosaic 
 pavements found in Cheapside, Leadenhall Street, and other 
 places, besides many other interesting relics of the Roman 
 occupation, such as memorial statues, monuments, pottery, 
 lamps, needles, bronzes, &c. 
 
 The Museum is very rich in relics of mediaeval times, 
 and contains specimens of pottery, bronzes, armour, swords and 
 daggers of various kinds, and leather work, including a series of 
 shoes, illustrative of the changes of fashion in different periods. 
 In addition to the many exhibits valuable to the antiquarian 
 student, there are others that will be found interesting to the 
 general visitor, such as the sword of the French commander at 
 the Battle of the Nile, presented to the City, in a characteristic 
 letter by Nelson, which is also shown ; several autograph 
 letters of other public men, Wellington, Garibaldi, Palmerston ;
 
 THE MUSEUM. 
 
 109 
 
 autographs of Shakespeare, Wren, Queen Elizabeth, &c. There 
 is a curious collection of eld London signs,' chiefly carved 
 on stone, many of them as old as the rebuilding of the City 
 after the Great Fire. Space will not permit of mention of 
 more than a few of the most striking — the 'Boar's Head' 
 from Eastcheap (Falstaff's trysting-place) ; the ' Three Crowns ' 
 from Lambeth Hill ; ' George and the Dragon ' from George 
 Yard ; the ' Cock and Bottle ' from Cannon Street ; a 
 * Dolphin ' from the old Royal Exchange ; the ' Goose and 
 Gridiron' from St. Paul's Churchyard; and two versions ot 
 the 'Bull and Motith' from' St. Martin's-le-Grand. The larger 
 one of these was placed over the front entrance of one of the 
 most famous of the old coaching inns — the Bull and Mouth, a 
 corruption of ' Boulogne Mouth ' or Boulogne Harbour. A 
 statuette of a bull appears within a large open mouth, on either 
 -side are bunches of grapes, above; the arms of Christ's Hospital 
 on whose ground the inn stood, while a bust of Edward VL 
 -surmounts the whole. On the lower portion is a tablet 
 •containing the following doggerel couplet : — 
 
 " Milo the Cretonian an ox slew with his fist, 
 And ate it up at one meal — ye gods ! what a glorious twist ! " 
 
 The other version was placed over the back entrance in 
 Angel Street to the inn yard, and consists of a bull, nearly 
 half life-size, standing over an immense gaping mouth. 
 Other interesting exhibits are a fireplace from an old 
 mansion in Lime Street, and a wooden figure of Time with 
 scythe and hour-glass from the Church of St. Giles, Cripplegate, 
 probably carved by Saunders of Gog and Magog fame. 
 
 An illustrated catalogue of the collection is in course of 
 preparation.
 
 THE (^fVLDHALL.
 
 Leaving the ^Museum, we pass into the 
 
 eastern (^r^pf of \\i^ (§uildl7all. 
 
 /T\HIS Crypt is of the same date as the Great Hall above it 
 I (141 1 ), and occupies rather more than half its basement. It 
 is considered to be the finest and most extensive under-crypt in 
 London. The dimensions are 77 feet by 46 feet, the height from 
 the ground to the crown of the arches 13 feet. It is remarkable 
 both for the elegance of its design and the perfect condition of 
 nearly all its members. It is divided into equal bays— four front 
 east to west and three from north to south — by six clustered 
 pillars, each composed of four half columns connected by fillets 
 and hollow mouldings ; the responds to the walls are half 
 pillars, those in the angles quarter pillars ; the shafts are of 
 Purbeck marble, the caps, bases, and vaulting ribs of firestone, 
 the spandrils of the vaults of chalk, th^ walls of rough 
 coursed work. 
 
 At the intersections and points of the ribs an interesting 
 series of carved bosses, 10 inches diameter, is introduced. 
 Those in the centre of the groins being large roses, 21 inches- 
 diameter, bearing shields which are charged with the arms 
 assigned to King Edward the Confessor, viz. : — azure a cross 
 flory between five martlets or ; the large shield rose on the 
 vaulting of the north-east bay is charged with crossed 
 swords ; this is the arms of the See of London, which are 
 ^ulcs, two swords in saltire tiri^nit, hiltcd and pommelled 
 or, the origin of the objects selected is to typify the swords-
 
 112 
 
 THE G UILDHALL. 
 
 •I 
 
 of both St. Peter and St. Paul. The remaining two shields 
 liave the Arms of England and Russia emblazoned upon them, 
 and are modern. The City Arms are in the side aisle, and 
 those of St. George in the centre. In 
 respect to the arms of the City of London, 
 the illustration clearly shows that the object 
 in the first quarter is a short Roman sword, 
 in use in St. Paul's time, and is, in fact, 
 intended, to be emblematical of St. Paul, the 
 patron saint of the City. The association 
 •of the so-called ' dagger ' with the City arms in connection 
 with Walworth slaying Wat Tyler is altogether incorrect, 
 notwithstanding the inscription underneath the statue of 
 that famous Lord Mayor in Fishmongers' Hall. There 
 is an historical City record which says "the new seal, upon 
 •Avhich is a perfectly graven shield was brought in on the 
 17th April, 1 38 1." Wat Tyler's death took place on 15th 
 June in the same year. The sword was thus recognized in its 
 proper place in the City Arms by Walworth himself, at least 
 two months previous to his daring exploit. An early drawing 
 at the '* College of Arms " clearl}- shows that a sword, and 
 not a dagger, is represented in the Arms. Some of the 
 early deeds in connection with both the City and Bridge 
 House Estates, bear the City Arms with an unmistakable 
 Sword in the first quarter of the shield. 
 
 The north and south aisles originall}' possessed mullioned 
 windows, which are now walled up ; at the western end is 
 a bold and massive doorway, the opening is 11 feet high 
 and 4 feet 8 inches in width : this leads to 
 
 The Western Crvpt. 
 
 This is most probably the crypt of the ancient Guildhall, which 
 Stow says extended towards Aldermanbury — it is now impossible 
 .to accurately determine the construction of this crypt, as probably
 
 THE CRYPTS. 113 
 
 the great fire of 1666 so damaged the vaulting that it was found 
 desirable to remove it. The decline of Gothic architecture 
 and the necessity for speedy reparation may account for the 
 building of the brick walls and vaults which now fill the space 
 and provide the bed for the pavement of the Hall above. 
 There cannot, however, be an}- doubt but that the area of 
 the crypt was vaulted, and that octagonal pillars 2 feet in 
 diameter corresponding with the wall responds supported the 
 ribs and groining, and consequently the floor of the Hall above, 
 and that there were three aisles transversely. In the west wall, 
 a window is visible at the end of both north and south aisles, 
 and a doorway may be presumed to have occupied the centre. 
 
 Having now inspected the chief points of interest, the 
 visitor should return through the Museum, into Basinghall 
 Street, or through the Librarv into Guildhall Yard. 
 
 H
 
 ry^"^^^ 
 
 ©fficials, (;Gremonies, ^C- 
 
 rnHFC survc\- of the Hall and of iu \arious objects of 
 ]. interest being now completed, a >bort description of some 
 of the sights witnessed now atlays therein, may be welcome. The 
 annual election of Lord Ma^'or claims first attention, but 
 before describing the ceremonies connected with the election, 
 a short account of the office itself will be fouml interesting. 
 
 fpl7( bord Ma^or. 
 
 rrlHE earliest mention of a Mayor in a formal docimient is 
 I said to occur in a writ of Henry 11. The commonly receiyed 
 opinion, however, is that a change in the name of the Chief 
 Magistrate of the City was made at the accession of Richard I. 
 (ii8q). In a record preserved among the archives of the City 
 it is stated :" In the same year (i Richard I.), Henry Fitz- 
 Eylwin, of Londenestane, was made Mayor of- London, and was 
 the first Mayor of the City, and continued to be such Mayor to 
 the end of his life." In another document the ''Mayor of 
 London" appears in 1 103 as one of the Treasurers appointed for 
 Richard's ransom. In 1215, John granted to the citizens the 
 right to elect, annually, their own Mayor. 
 
 The tlav of election of Mayor has been altered at various 
 times. Formerl}' the election took place on the Feast of St. 
 Simon and St. Jude (28th October). In 1346, it was changed 
 to the Feast of the Translation of Edward the Confessor (13th 
 October). Twenty years later, an order was made to revert to 
 the old custom ; but this order was soon ignored, and the 
 election, until the year 1546, took place on the 13th October, 
 when the election was ordered to take place thenceforth on 
 Michaelmas Day. This date has remained unchanged to the 
 present time.
 
 THE LORD MAYOR. 115 
 
 Until 1376 the Mayor for the time being was elected by 
 the Alderman and Sheriffs conjointly with the *' whole com- 
 monalty." or with a deputation from the various Wards. In 
 that year an ordinance was passed transferring the right of 
 election to members selected by the rulers of the Guilds, their 
 number varying according to the status of each Guild. This 
 mode of election continued until 1384, when it was placed in 
 the hands of the Common Council and *' other men of the 
 wards thereunto summoned." In 1467 the Guilds were again 
 to the fore, the election being ordered to be made by the 
 Common Council, the Master and Wardens of each mystery 
 coming in their livery, and by " other good men specially 
 summoned ; " and the Liver}' continued to play an important 
 part in each election until 165 1, when an Act of Common 
 Council again placed the right of election in the hands of the 
 Aldermen, Common Council, and representatives of the Wards. 
 Notwithstanding this Act, however, we tind the Livery a few 
 years later again exercising the right of election, and for a long 
 time afterwards much friction continued to exist between the 
 Guilds and the Wards, until the rights of the Livery were 
 established by an Act of Pariament (ii. Geo. i .) 
 
 Ever}' Liveryman of any City Guild is now entitled to 
 vote in Common Hall for Lord Mayor, Sheriffs, Chamberlain, 
 Bridgemasters and a few minor officials. 
 
 It is especially to be noted that, before any Citizen of 
 London can attain to the ancient and distinguished office of 
 Lord Mayor, he must have been elected by a different body 
 of electors on four distinct occasions : 
 
 Firsl^ by the rated inhabitants of the Ward he desires to 
 represent as Alderman (this election being subject to the 
 approval of the Court of Aldermen). 
 
 Second^ by the Livery, in Common Hall assembled, on 
 election as Sheriff (and then subject to llic appro\al ol the 
 Sovereign). 
 
 T/iii'd, by the Livery, in Common Hall assembled to 
 nominate two Aldermen for the office of Lord Ma}()r ; and
 
 ii6 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 Fourth^ by the Court of Aldermen, who finally select one 
 of the two nominated to that office. 
 
 The Lord Mayor Elect is next presented to the Lord 
 Chancellor for the approval, by the Sovereign, of the Citizens' 
 choice. He, afterwards, namely on the 8th November, 
 makes a statutory declaration at Guildhall, for the due 
 execution of his office, and on the qth November (Lord 
 Mayor's Dav) he goes in full state to the High Courts of 
 Justice to make the due declaration before the Judges thereof. 
 
 The old Ceremonial Book makes tlie following observa- 
 tions on the office of Lord Mayor : — 
 
 " The Citizens have ever been jealous of the rights, privileges and 
 powers with which the chief magistrate is invested, affecting as they do 
 their property, liberty, and safety, that this office has been carefully 
 restricted to the man of the public choice, that no one can occupy the civic 
 chair until he has been three times subjected to popular election ; first, by 
 the householders of the Ward he is elected to represent as Alderman, next, 
 by the Liverj-men as Sheriff, and thirdly, he is now eligible to be Lord 
 Maj'or and has to be nominated by the Liverymen, elected by the Aldermen, 
 and approved by the Crown, subject, nevertheless, to the disqualification 
 of bankruptcy or insolvency or otherwise. Thus secured from debasement, 
 thus dignified with power, thus privileged and thus exalted is the chief 
 magistrate of this great City by the choice of the people and the Sovereign's 
 approval, and to this dignified position the son of the humblest citizen may 
 aspire." 
 
 In the Citv, the Lord Mayor takes precedence of 
 
 every subject of the Crown, including Princes of the 
 
 Blood Roval. He is the head of the Citv I^ieutenancy, and 
 
 Admiral of the Port of London, and a Trustee of St. 
 
 Paul's Cathedral. No troops may pass through the City 
 
 without leave of the Lord Mayor first obtained, with the 
 
 exception of the 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards, the Royal 
 
 Marines, and the Buffs (East Kent Regiment), each of whom 
 
 are descendants of the Old Trained Bands, and have the right 
 
 of marching through the City with fixed bayonets and colours 
 
 flying. The password of the Tower is quarterly sent to him 
 
 under the Sovereign's Sign Manual. He summons and presides 
 
 over the several Courts and Meetings of the Corporation — 
 
 the Court of Aldermen, the Court of Common Council, the
 
 THE LORD MAYOR. - 117 
 
 Court of H listing, and the Common Halls. They cannot be 
 held but by his permission and direction, and the time of 
 meeting, and the business to be placed on the Summons and 
 discussed is entirely under his control. Nor can his presence 
 be dispensed with, save by the appointment, in writing, under 
 liis hand and seal, of a locum teneus, who must be an Alderman 
 who has passed the chair. 
 
 The Lord IMa^^or is the Chief Magistrate of the City, and a 
 great part of his time is occupied in his duties as a Magistrate 
 at his official residence, the Mansion House, where the Justice 
 Room for the south part of the City is located. He is the first- 
 named in the Commission of Oyer and Terminer, and General 
 (jaol Delivery of the Central Criminal Court, — the principal 
 Criminal Court in the Realm. He attends each session of that 
 Court and hears and disposes of objections by persons sum- 
 moned to serve upon the Grand Jury. He is one of the 
 custodians of the City Seal. So numerous are the powers and 
 duties of the Lord Mayor, that scarcely any civic function is 
 performed independently of him. 
 
 Each Lord i\Ia\'or receives from the Corporation out of 
 the City's cash the sum of _;^"io,ooo (in exchange for dues 
 and other emoluments originally appertaining to the office) 
 but so man}' and so great are the claims upon him, that he 
 has to e-Kpend a much larger sum than this during his year 
 of office. The Lord IMayor is looked upon as the dispenser of 
 national hospitality, which for many years has almost exclusively 
 devolved upon the Corporation of London. In all cases of 
 public calamity — at home as well as abroad — the Lord Mayor 
 of the day is the acknowledged Public Receiver and Almoner 
 of Donations. Taking only the period comprised in the last 
 twenty-five years, the Lord Mayor has raised no less a sum 
 than ^3,000,000, or an average of ^120,000 a year, this includes 
 the Hospital Sunday Fund, wliich amounts to about ^"40,000 
 annually. The amount collected in 1897 was a record one tor 
 charitable contributions, viz., £"659,968 14s. 4d.
 
 Election of a bot'd Mayor. 
 
 rrlHIS is still carried out with all the quaint and interesting 
 I ceremonies that have been observed for several centuries. 
 In the first place, a precept from the Lord Mayor for the 
 time being is addressed to the Masters and Wardens of the 
 various Guilds to summon their Liverymen to the Guildhall, 
 from thence to go to the Parish Church of St. Lawrence Jewry, 
 there to hear divine service and a sermon, afterwards to return 
 to Guildhall for the election of a Lord Mayor for the year 
 ensuing. The Aldermen, Sheriffs and High Officers receive a 
 summons to the same effect from the Swordbearer's office. 
 
 The first formal notice of this religious service is found in 
 connection with the second election of Whitington. His first 
 appointment to the Mayoralty was at the nomination of the 
 King — his second, third and fourth, on his election by the 
 citizens. On this occasion, solemn mass was said, a large body of 
 the Liver}' attending the service in the " Guildhall Chapel " 
 before proceeding to the election, and at "the unanimous 
 entreaty of the Commoners to the Mayor and Aldermen, it was 
 ordained that in every future 3'ear, the same religious ordinance 
 should be observed, to the glory and praise of God and to the 
 honour of the Cit}-." The service then first recorded, continues, 
 though in a different form, to this day. The election of Mayor 
 has alwavs been preceded by divine service and a sermon, either 
 in the Chapel formerly attached to the Guildhall, or, as now, 
 in the "fair Church of St. Lawrence, called in the Jewry, 
 because of old time manv Jews inhabited thereabouts."
 
 ELECTION OF A LORD MAYOR. 119 
 
 The Lord Ma3'or and Sheriffs go from the Mansion House 
 in full state, and on arrival at Guildhall are received by the 
 Aldermen and officers in the Aldermen's room. The Lord 
 Ma3'or, Aldermen, Recorder, and Sheriffs are in black court 
 suits and scarlet gowns ; the Lord Ma^'or and the Aldermen 
 M'ho have passed the chair wear their hoods and chains ; 
 the Aldermen next in turn for the chair being in full dress, 
 with lace frill ; the officers in full dress, with their gowns. A 
 nosegay is presented to each b}- the Hallkeeper. The whole 
 (conducted b}- the City Marshal), walk in procession from 
 Guildhall to St. Lawrence's Church, in the following order : 
 
 Sheriffs' Chaplains, Under Sheriffs, High Bailiff of South- 
 wark. Surveyor, Secondary, City Solicitor, Remembrancer, 
 Comptroller, Judge of the City of London Court, Common 
 Serjeant, Town Clerk, Chamberlain, Sheriffs, Aldermen below 
 the chair (juniors first). Recorder, Aldermen above the chair 
 (juniors first). City Marshal, Chaplain, Common Crier, Sword- 
 bearer, The Lord Mayor. 
 
 The Aldermen, Sheriffs, and officers divide on each side 
 of the aisle in the church, to allow the Lord Mayor to pass 
 to his proper seat ; each afterwards following in turn to his 
 own seat. 
 
 The Communion service only is said, and a sermon 
 preached by the Lord Mayor's chaplain. The Lord Mayor, 
 Aldermen, Sheriffs, and officers return from the church, in the 
 same order in which they went, into the Aldermen's room ; 
 and afterwards go down into the (xreat Hall, and take their 
 seats on the Hustings — which is erected at the east end of the 
 hall, and strewn with sweet smelling herbs, a relic of the times 
 when London was not so sanitary as at present, and when the 
 pungent smell of the herbs served to overpower the less pleasant 
 odours around — the Recorder and the Aldermen who have 
 passed the chair on the right oi the Lonl Mayor, ^md the
 
 I20 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 Aldermen who have not passed the chair on his left. After the 
 Lord Mavor, Aldermen, Sheriffs, and officers are seated, the 
 Common Crier proclaims silence, and directs all persons to 
 be uncovered, and those who are not Liverymen to depart the 
 hall on pain of imprisonment. The Common hall is opened by 
 the Common Crier repeating the following proclamation — 
 " Oyez, Oyez, O^-ez ! You good men of the Livery of the several 
 Companies of this Citv, summoned to appear here this day 
 for the election of a tit and able person to be Lord Maj^or of 
 this City, for the year ensuing, draw near and give your 
 attendance." 
 
 After which the Recorder (or in his absence the Common 
 Serjeant) rises from his seat, and, having first made his 
 obeisance to the Lord Mayor, goes to the front of the 
 Hustings and there makes his obeisance to the Livery. He 
 then informs the Livery of the occasion of their meeting, and 
 states that, in order that the choice of the Livery may be 
 unfettered, the Lord Mayor and his brethren, the Aldermen, 
 who have passed the chair, will retire. The Lord Mayor, 
 Aldermen, and Recorder, then retire to the Aldermen's room, 
 preceded bv the Marshal and Swordbearer, 'the door being 
 closed and kept by the Marshal, — the Common Crier remaining 
 in the hall. 
 
 The Sheriffs, with the Common Serjeant between them, 
 advance to the front of the Hustings, when the Common 
 Serjeant reads to the Livery a list of the names of those 
 Aldermen below the chair, who have served the office of the 
 shrievalty (which has been previously furnished to him by the 
 Town Clerk), and informs them that out of the Aldermen 
 named they are to return two to the Lord Ma3-or and 
 Aldermen, for them to choose which of the two shall be Lord 
 Mayor for the year ensuing. They then proceed to the 
 election, the Common Crier repeating after the Common 
 Serjeant in this manner : — " So many of you as will have
 
 ELECTIOX OF A LORD MAYOR. 121 
 
 A. B., Esq., Alderman, and to be Lord Mayor of this 
 
 City for the year ensuing, hold up your hands." And so 
 through the list of those Aldermen below the chair who 
 have been Sheriffs ; the name of each Alderman, as it is 
 proposed, being exhibited on a board. 
 
 The Common Serjeant next, by direction of the Sheriffs, 
 declares to the Liverv that the Sheriffs are of opinion that 
 their election has fallen upon A. B., Esq., Alderman, and 
 
 and C. D., Esq., Alderman and [the candidate's 
 
 Compan}-]. 
 
 If no poll be demanded (or when the poll is finished and 
 the election declared), the two Sheriffs with the Common 
 Serjeant between them, and the other officers, preceded b)- the 
 Junior Aldermen and the Common Crier with his mace on 
 his shoulder, proceed to the Aldermen's room, where the 
 Lord Mayor and the Senior Aldermen are sitting, the Lord 
 Mayor being covered. On entering, the Sheriffs and Common 
 Serjeant make three obeisances to the Ct)urt ; the first at the 
 entrance, the second in the middle of the court, and the third 
 at the table ; the Lord Mayor acknowledging each, and at the 
 third taking off his hat. Thirteen Aldermen in all must be 
 present at the election. 
 
 The Common Serjeant at the table, between the Sheriffs, 
 and attended by the other officers, reports the names of the 
 persons on whom the election has fallen. The Recortler, 
 Common Serjeant, and Town Clerk then go down to the table 
 at the further end of the court to take the scrutiny, the Town 
 Clerk writing the names of the two Aldermen returned by the 
 Livery ; and each Alderman present, beginning with the 
 junior, comes down to the table and declares to the Town 
 Clerk for which of the two he votes, tbe Recorder and 
 Common Serjeant f)verlooking to see that no mi>take i> matie 
 in scoring. The Recorder then goes up to his seat in court 
 on the right hand of the Lord Mayor, llie Common Serjeant
 
 122 
 
 77//'; OUILDIIALL,
 
 ELECTION OE A LORD MAYOR. 123 
 
 also goes to his seat, and the Town Clerk goes up to the Lord 
 Mavor to know for which of the two Aldermen his lordship 
 votes. Both the Recorder and Common Serjeant are to hear 
 his lordship's vote, and see it marked. The result of the 
 election is then declared by the Recorder. 
 
 The Swordbearer (in white gloves) hands the Lord ALiyor 
 Elect to his place, which is on the left hand of the Lord Mayor. 
 The Lord Mayor Elect then addresses the Court of Alder- 
 men, thanking the Court for the honour done him, and 
 requesting their aid and assistance in the execution of his 
 office. The Aldermen present, according to seniority, come 
 up and congratulate the Lord Mayor Elect on his election : 
 the officers do the like. The Lord Mayor, Aldermen, Sheriffs, 
 and officers then go down to the great Hall, the Lord Mayor 
 Elect being on the left hand of the Lord Ma5'or. The 
 Recorder declares the election to the Livery. 
 
 The Lord Mayor Elect is called upon by the Town Clerk 
 to declare his assent to take upon himself the office ; after 
 which the vSwordbearer places the chain upon the Lord Mayor 
 Elect, who makes a speech to the Common Hall. i\t this 
 point in the proceedings, the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs are 
 thanked by the Livery for their services, and only on very 
 rare occasions has a proposed vote of thanks been retused. 
 
 The Common Hall is then dissolved, the Common Crier 
 repeating from the Town Clerk as follows : — " You good men 
 of the Livery of the several Companies of this City, summoned 
 to appear here this day for the election of a Lord Mayor ot 
 this City for the year ensuing, may depart hence at this time, 
 and give your attendance here again upon a new summons." 
 'i'he Lord Mayor takes the Lord Mayor Elect to the 
 Mansion House in his state coach, the Lord Mayor I*21ecl 
 sitting on the left-hand side of the Lord Mayor, 'i'hey are 
 attended by the Aldermen, Sheriffs, and officers. 
 
 An Alderman who lias been elected by the f.ivery, and 
 who refuses to serve the office of Lord iMayor, is liable to a Inie 
 of £ 1 ,000.
 
 ^l^G *' §WGai^ir^| in 
 
 ^S, probablv, the most interesting ceremony in connection 
 q) with the Lord Mayor Elect. This takes place the day 
 previous to Lord Mayor's Day, when the Lord Mayor Elect takes 
 upon himself the office of Mayor, although, until he has made 
 his declaration before the Judges on November 9th, he has 
 no power to act in any matter appertaining to his office. 
 The Lord Mayor, accompanied by the Aldermen, Sheriffs, 
 Officers, and the Lord Mayor's ' Company,' leaves the Mansion 
 House from the front entrance, for Guildhall, in his private 
 state carriage and four horses, attended by the Swordbearer, 
 Common Crier, and Chaplain. Afterwards the Lord ]\Liyor 
 Elect, in his private state carriage, attended b}' his Chaplain 
 and his own ' Compan}',' proceeds from the side entrance ot 
 the Mansion House to the Guildhall. The Lord Mayor, 
 Aldermen, and Offi.cers go into the Aldermen's room, where 
 they await the arrival of the Lord Mayor Elect, who is 
 introduced by two Aldermen who have passed the Chair. 
 The Companies of the Lord Ma3-or and the Lord Mayor 
 Elect go to the Hustings, and stand on each side in waiting, 
 while a Court of Aldermen is held, at which the Lord Mayor 
 takes leave of the Court. The procession then goes from 
 the Aldermen's room to the Great Hall. After the 
 Lord Mayor, Aldermen, Recorder, Sheriffs, and High Officers 
 have taken their seats on the Hustings, the Common Crier with 
 the Mace upon his shoulder walks up to the table, making 
 three low reverences, and stands at the table with the Mace
 
 " SWEAI^AVG A^■" OF A LORD MAYOR. 125 
 
 placed before him on the floor. The Town Clerk, standing 
 on the north side of the table, makes a low reverence, and 
 afterwards two others. The Town Clerk, standing at the side 
 of the table, then administers the Declaration to the Lord 
 Mayor Elect, who stands on the opposite side of the table. 
 Then the Lord ]Mayor Elect makes and subscribes the 
 Declaration (I ... do solemnl}-, sincerely, and truly declare 
 that I will faithfully perform the duties of m}' Office of Mayor 
 of the City of London) required b}- the 12 sect, of 31 and 32 
 Vic, cap. 72, on which the lafc Lord Mayor surrenders his seat 
 to the 71C10 Lord flavor, and takes his seat on the left side. 
 
 The Chamberlain, making three reverences, walks to the 
 south side of the table and presents the diamond Sceptre to 
 the late Lord Mayor, by whom it is delivered to the new Lord 
 INIavor, who places it upon the table before him. The Chamber- 
 lain then retires, making three reverences ; and advancing again 
 in the same manner as before, presents the Seal of the office of 
 Maj'oralty, which being disposed of on the table as before, he 
 retires ; then, advancing a third time, he presents in the same 
 manner the Purse, which is also placed on the table, and the 
 Chamberlain then retires. The Swordbearer next advances 
 with three reverences, and presents the Sword to the late 
 Lord Ma\-or, b}' whom it is given to the new Lord Mayor, 
 who delivers it ag^in to the ^Swordbearer, who places it on 
 the table and retires, making three reverences. The Common 
 Crier then advances with three reverences, and presents the 
 Mace to the late Lord Mayor, by whom it is given to 
 the new Lord Mayor, who delivers it to the Conunon Crier ; 
 he lay.-, it upon the table and retires, making three reverences. 
 The Chamberlain's Chief Clerk advances, making three rever- 
 ences, and receives from the Lord Mayor, on a velvet cushion, 
 the Sceptre, the Seal, and the Purse, and retires. The Sword- 
 bearer then advances, making three reverences, and takes the 
 Sword from the table and retires, making three bows. The
 
 126 THE arJLDHAf.L. 
 
 Common Crier takes the Mace with the same ceremonies. 
 The Aldermen, Sheriffs, and High Officers, in rotation, advance 
 to the Lord Mayor and congratulate liim. The Remem- 
 brancer then jiresents to tlie I^ord Mayor a deputation for 
 the City (niuger, which his Lordship signs. The Comptroller 
 presents the Indenture for the City Plate, which the Lord 
 Mayor signs. The late Lord Mayor then delivers up the key 
 of the City Seal to the \\<i\\ Lord iNLiyor. 
 
 The following is the old order of administering and the 
 form of the 
 
 Lord Mayor's Oath. 
 
 The Town Clerk, kneeling down on a stool at the side of 
 the table, then administers the following oath to the Lord 
 Mayor Elect, who stands on the opposite side of the table : — 
 
 " Ye shall sweare that ye shall well and lawfully serue the Queen's 
 Maiesty in the office of Maioralty in the Citty of London ; and the same 
 Citty ye shall surely and safely keepe, to the behoofe of her highnes, her 
 heires, and lawfull successors ; and the profitt of the Queen yee shall doe 
 in all things that to you belongeth ; and the right of the Queen, that to the 
 crown appertayneth, in the same Citty of London lawfully ye shall keepe. 
 Ye shall not consent to the decrease ne concealement of the rights ne of the 
 franchises of the Queen ; and wheresoever ye shall knowe the rights of the 
 Queen or of the crowne (be it in lands or in rents, fraunchises or sutes) 
 concealed or witiidrawn, to your power ye shall doe to repeale it : and if ye 
 may not; ye shall say it to the Queen, or to them of her counsell that ye 
 wete will say it to the Queen. Also lawfully and rightfully ye shall entreate 
 the people of your Balliewick ; and right shall ye doe to every one, as well 
 to strangers as others, to poore as to riche, in that that belongeth you to 
 doe : and that for highnes ne for ryches, for gyfte ne for behest, for favour 
 ne lor hate, wrong shall ye doe to no man ; ne nothing shall ye take by the 
 which the Queen should leese or right be disturbed or letted. And good 
 assize shall ye set upon bread, wyne, ale, fysh, liesh, corne, and all other 
 victualls. Weights and measures in the same Citty ye shall doe to be kept, 
 and due execution doe upon the defaults that thereof shall be founde, 
 according to all the statuts thereof made, not repealed. And in all other 
 things that to a mayor of the Citty of London belongeth to doe, well and 
 lawfully ye shall doe and behaue you. 
 
 As God you helpe.
 
 '' SIVBAR/XG AV" O/-' ,^ LORD MAYOR. 127
 
 ^l^G bord Major's lr\si|niGi and ^ousel^old. 
 
 Thk Collar and Jewel. 
 
 rplHE Lord Mayor's collar is a handsome collar of SS., and is 
 j. said to be one of the finest as well as the earliest of 
 those known. It has formed part of the City's Insignia 
 for over three-and-a-half centuries, having been bequeathed 
 by Sir John Alen, a Citizen and Mercer, and sometime 
 Alderman and Mayor of the City, who died in 1544, to the 
 Lord Mayor for the time being and his successors, for use 
 '' uppon principall and festival! dayes." The collar was 
 enlarged in 1567 b}- the addition of four S's., two knots and 
 two roses. At the present day, it consists of twenty-eight 
 richly-worked SS., with a Tudor rose and knot inserted 
 alternatelv between the letters. The ends of the collar are 
 joined by a port-cuUis from Avhich is suspended the jewel. 
 The collar is made of gold throughout, and the Tudor roses, 
 white upon red, are executed in enamel. It remained without 
 a pendant until 1558, when Sir Martin Bowes, Citizen and 
 Goldsmith, presented the Citv with a cross of gold with divers 
 precious stones and pearls to be worn by successive Lord 
 Mayors " at and with " the collar of SS. presented b}- Sir 
 John Alen. This gift of Sir Martin Bowes has long since 
 disappeared, nothing being known of its history subsequent to 
 its disuse in 1607, when a new jewel was purchased by the City, 
 which is substantially the same as that worn by Lord Mayors 
 of the present dav. It contains, in the centre, the full Cit}' arms, 
 cut in cameo, of a delicate blue, on an olive ground. 
 Surrounding this is a garter of bright blue, edged with
 
 IiYSIGXIA AND HOUSEHOLD. 
 
 129 
 
 white and gold, bearing the City motto, " Domine dirige nos," 
 in gold letters. The whole is encircled with a wreath of eight 
 roses, with the thistle and shamrock intertwined, composed 
 of brilliants and rose diamonds set in silver. When worn without 
 the collar, the jewel is suspended by a broad blue ribbon. 
 
 The City Sceptrk. 
 
 The ancient Mace, or, as it has long been called, 
 the Sceptre of the City of London, is of an unique 
 character. It measures a foot and a half in length, 
 the shaft and knobs being of crystal, mounted in 
 gold, and the head of gold, jewelled. The date of 
 the Sceptre is unknown, and cannot be ascribed 
 to any one period, for whilst the head appears to 
 be of the 15th century, the shaft may very possibly 
 date back to Saxon times. This Sceptre is 
 carried by the Lord Mayor in discharging his 
 office of chief butler at coronations. 
 
 The Svvordbearer and the Citv vSwords. 
 
 The City Sword forms an important item of the Lord 
 Mayor's Insignia, and there are indeed no less than four 
 swords belonging to the City, viz. : — (i) The ' Pearl " Suord, 
 so-called from its scabbard being studded with pearls, and said 
 to have been presented by Queen Elizabeth when she opened 
 the first Royal Exchange in 1571 — it bears the Sf)lingen or 
 Passau wolf-mark ; (2) the " Sword of State,'' the emblem of the 
 Lord Mayor's authority — first used about 1680. The Sword of 
 State is inverted with its point downwards in the presence of 
 the Sovereign or any of the Judges — but is borne with 
 the point upwards before the Lord May(jr on all otlier 
 occasions of authority ; (3) the ''Black" Sword, used on 
 fast days in Lent and at the death of any of the Royal 
 h'amily ; and lastly (4) the " Old Bailey Sword," which is 
 placed above the Lord Mayor's chair when sitting at the
 
 I^O 
 
 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 Central Criminal Court. It is probable that the "Black" 
 Sword was first used in 1534, and the Old Bailey Sword in 1563. 
 One of the earliest references in the City's archives to 
 the City Swordbearcr occurs in the Liber Albtis^ to 
 the following effect, viz. : " Item, the iMayor shall have 
 two other Sergeants {i.e., besides the Common Crier) at 
 
 least, and an Esquire, 
 well bred {Incn imrrv) 
 . . . to bear his 
 sword before him." 
 The fur cap, com- 
 monly spoken of as 
 a " cap of mainten- 
 ance" (although 
 varying in shape 
 from such caps as 
 known in heraldry), 
 and worn by the 
 Swordbearer at the 
 present day, forms 
 a distinctive feature. 
 When it took the 
 modern shape it is 
 difficult to say. We 
 know that, in 1546, 
 Sir Martin Bowes, 
 the then Lord 
 Mayor, presented the 
 City with " a very 
 goodly royale hatt," to be worn by the Swordbearer for the 
 time being. His generosity in this direction may possibly 
 have been stirred by the presentation of a sword in the previous 
 year by Sir Ralph Warren, a late occupant of the Mayoralty 
 chair. In those days it was customary for this officer to wear a 
 silk or velvet hat in summer, and a fur cap in winter, but this 
 
 THE 
 SWORD OF STATE 
 
 THE MACE. 
 
 THE 
 PEARL SWORD.
 
 INSIGXJA AXD HOUSEHOLD. 131 
 
 custom has long fallen into disuse, and the only cap now worn 
 is one of sable fur lined with black silk. His ordinary apparel, 
 at the present day, comprises a gown of black brocaded satin of 
 the same material as the Lord Mayor's State gown, but without 
 the gold lace. On State occasions this is worn with a black 
 Court suit, silk stockings, and shoes with silver buckles. The 
 Cap of Maintenance is worn by the Swordbearer on all 
 occasions, even in the presence of the Sovereign. The chief 
 duty of the Swordbearer, besides his ceremonial duties, consists 
 in warning the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Members of the 
 Common Council to attend the various Courts and Meetings. 
 
 The Common Crier and the Mace. 
 
 The office of Common Crier is one of the most ancient of 
 those attached to the Lord Mayor's household. As early 
 as the 14th century we find him known as the Common 
 Sergeant-at-Arms of the City, when he received a salary of 
 sixty shillings a-year, besides his robes and certain fees, includ- 
 ing one of twelve pence for every cry he made through the 
 City. He was also provided with a horse " for the honour of 
 the City." His full title in those days was "Sergeant Common 
 Crier," and his chief duty then, as now, was to be ready at the 
 commands of the Lord Mayor for the time being, " like other 
 sergeants " of the same household. 
 
 At what period the City of London first employed a Mace 
 or Maces is unknown, but there is evidence to show that, as 
 early as 1252, there were Sergeants in the City who carried 
 staves of some kind as emblems of authority, and that early in 
 the 14th century there was an officer called the Mace Bearer, 
 in the person of Robert Flambard. In 1354, the citizens 
 obtained a Charter from the King, confirming what appears 
 to have been a prescriptive right, enjoyed by the Sergeants-at- 
 Mace of the City of London, to carry Silver Maces before the 
 Mayor. The number of Sergeants-at-Mace attached to the 
 ]\L'iyor and Sheriffs, each of them carrying a Mace, varied from
 
 1 3 2 THE a I 'IL I) //. ILL. 
 
 time to time, but there seems to have been only one Mace 
 borne before the Ma3-or. The earhest records contain no 
 reference to this Mace, the first notice being in 15 14, when the 
 outgoing Mayor handed over to the new Mayor " the Mace for 
 the Sergeaunt of Amies." 
 
 In 1559 a new Mace was made which was afterwards 
 enlarged, and eventually stolen from the house of Lord Keeper 
 Coventry. Another Mace was thereupon made, which served 
 its purpose until 164Q, when pursuant to an Order of 
 Parliament, that all Maces of the Kingdom shoukl conform 
 to one pattern, the City bought a new one from the maker of 
 the Parliamentary Mace. At the Restoration, this Mace gave 
 place to one made by Sir Thomas Vyner, the well-known 
 London Goldsmith, who had filled the Mayoralty Chair in 
 1653-4. Vyner's Mace continued to be used until 1735, when 
 it was found to be past repair, and a new Mace was made — 
 the Mace in use at the present day. This Mace is of silver gilt, 
 of fine and elaborate workmanship. Its weight is 304 ounces^ 
 and length 5 feet 3 inches. The bowl of the head is divided by 
 vertical bands into four compartments, in three of which are 
 royal badges crowned, viz. : the fleur-de-lis, the rose and thistle 
 united, and the harp, each of them accompanied by the letters 
 G"' R., the initials of George II. In the fourth compartment 
 are the City arms ; on the flat top of the head are the Royal 
 arms. The head is surrounded by the usual circlet of crosses 
 and fleurs-de-lis, from which spring the arches of the crown, 
 surmounted by an orb and cross. Below the bowl are projecting 
 arabesque figures ending in scrolls, and connecting it with the 
 stem. The latter is of the baluster form, with several knops ; 
 below the upper one is inscribed, " The Rt. Hon, Sir Edward 
 Bellamy, Knt., Lord Mayor, 1735," and towards the lower 
 end of the stem, "John Elderton, Esq'''- Common Cryer 
 and Sergeant-at-Armes, 1735." Other portions are mscribed 
 with the dates of repairs and of re-gilding, with the names of 
 the Lord Mayors at the time.
 
 JNSIG.yiA AXD HOUSEHOLD. 133 
 
 Thk City Marshal. 
 
 The origin of this office is traceable to certain Letters 
 Patent issued by Queen Elizabeth, in 1595, to Sir Thomas 
 Wilfred, Provost Marshal in the City of London, with power 
 to execute all such duties as were performed by Provost 
 INIarshals in counties. In this particular instance, the Provost 
 Marshal's jurisdiction was not confined to the City, but 
 extended over the adjacent counties of Middlesex, Surrey, 
 Essex, and Kent, and his duties then, and for some time 
 afterwards, were as much of a military as of a civil character. 
 When, in course of time, his civil duties increased with the 
 population, an additional Marshal was appointed to assist in 
 keeping order in the streets of the City ; the senior officer 
 being known as the Provost or Upper Marshal, and his 
 colleague as the Under Marshal. To them were committed 
 the supervision of the Watch and Ward of the City, the 
 ridding of the streets of all rogues and vagabonds, and the 
 removal of the sick to the various hospitals. Each of them 
 was provided with three assistants or marshalmen, and also 
 with a horse. The passing of the several Police Acts of 1829 
 and 1839 — the one introducing a new police system in the 
 Metropolis and the other regulating the police in the City — 
 left the Cit}^ Marshals little beyond their ceremonial duties to 
 perform, and when opportunity offered, their number was 
 reduced to one. 
 
 Thk Mayoralty Seal. 
 'I'he original Mayoralty Seal is not in existence, having 
 been destroyed in 1381, by order of the Civic Authorities as too 
 small and not sufficiently handsome. The Seal which was then 
 made to take its place, is the Mayoralty Seal now in use. It 
 measures 2J inches in diameter. In its centre are seated 
 figures of St. Peter (St. Thomas of Canterbury ?) and St. Paul. 
 Above is a niche witli llie Virgin and Child, and in base a 
 shield of the City .\rins, -iijiportcd by two lions. On each side
 
 1 34 THE G UILDH. ILL. 
 
 of the central figures is a tall canopied niche containing a 
 Sergeant-at-Arms, and above, a kneeling angel adoring the 
 figure of the Virgin and Child. Legend : Sigill : Maioratiis : 
 Ck'itatis : Loiidou. 
 
 Thk Common* Skal oi-' thk City. 
 
 The original Common Seal of the City dates from the 
 early part of the 13th centiny. It was 2^ inches in diameter 
 and consisted of two matrices. The obverse bore (and still 
 bears) a figure of St. Paul, the Patron Saint of the City, with 
 a sword in his right hand, and in his left a banner of England. 
 He is represented as standing in the middle of the City, and on 
 either side are two great towers or castles. In front of all is 
 the City Wall and Ditch, with gateway, in which is engraved 
 a mullet or star. Legend : Sigilhun Barijiiniii Loinhiiianim. 
 The reverse had in its base a view of the City surmounted by 
 an arch, and on the top of the arch, seated on a throne or 
 chair of state, a figure of St. Thomas a Becket, with figures 
 kneeling on either side. At the Reformation, this reverse, 
 after doing duty for three centuries, was broken up, and a new 
 one made bearing the City Arms, in place of the figure of 
 St. Thomas and his companions. The old obverse with the 
 figure of St. Paul was fortunately left untouched, and with the 
 new reverse of 1539, continues still to be the Common Seal of 
 the City. The City Seal is only affixed in open Court, after 
 formal Resolution. The Keys are different, and three in 
 number, kept respectively by the Lord Mayor, the Chamber- 
 lain (as representing the Court of Aldermen), and the Comp- 
 troller or Vice-Chamberlain (as the representative of the Court 
 of Common Council), and the Seal is onl}' affixed to a docu- 
 ment after the same has been examined and signed by one of 
 the Law Officers of the Corporation.
 
 bord Major's Day 
 
 f T AS been so often described that it is only necessary to state 
 T ^ here that the whole of the arrangements of the ' Show ' 
 are in the hands of the Remembrancer and a body of sixteen 
 gentlemen, known as the " Lord Mayor and Sheriffs* 
 Committee" — half of whom are appointed by the Lord Ma3-or 
 Elect, and the other half by the two Sheriffs — to them are 
 entrusted the whole arrangements in gathering together and 
 marshalling the Procession, and in issuing invitations to the 
 Banquet in the evening. They act as Masters of the 
 Ceremonies at the reception of guests by the Lord Mayor 
 previous to the Banquet, and attend to the general comfort of 
 the guests. The cost of the 'Show' and the Banquet 
 usually amounts to about ;^4,ooo — half of which sum is defrayed 
 by the Lord Mayor, and the other half by the Sheriffs.
 
 lie 
 
 THE GUILDHALL.
 
 he\'d Ma^oi^'s ISanquet. 
 
 /^X the night of the Banquet, the general bod}' of guests 
 assemble in a specially constructed crush room in 
 Guildhall Yard, and pass through the corridor on the right 
 to the Library, where they are received by the Lord Mayor 
 and the Lady Mayoress. They then take their seats on 
 <;ither side of a roped off gangway, and await the arrival 
 of the more important personages, the most distinguished 
 of whom are met at the entrance of the Hall and conducted 
 by the Reception Committee, preceded by the City Marshal 
 and State Trumpeters, to the Lord Mayor, their names being 
 announced by the Master of the Ceremonies ; the whole 
 scene at this jjoint is one of great brilliancy and splendour, 
 the ladies' dresses and jewels, the military and other uniforms, 
 the Judges' and the Aldermen's scarlet robes, and the mazarine 
 gowns of the Common Cotmcilmen make a magnificent 
 spectacle. 
 
 The chief guests having all arrived, and been duly presented 
 to the Lord Mayor, the general company move from the Library 
 and take their allotted places at the tables in the Great Hall. 
 Then, preceded by the City Marshal and the four State 
 Trumpeters playing fanfares, and the Sword and Mace Bearers, 
 come the Lord Mayor, (his train borne) with the chief lad\- 
 guest on his arm. and the Lady Mayoress on the arm of 
 the chief guest, usually the Prime Minister of the day 
 (her train borne by a page, followed by six Maids of Honour, 
 uniformly dre.ssed who pass into the Drawing Room) ; then 
 the late Lord Mayor, with his lady, led by a distinguished
 
 I^^J 
 
 THE GUILDHALL.
 
 LORD MAYOR'S BANQUET. 139 
 
 guest ; the Members of the Cabinet ; the Foreign Ambassadors ; 
 Peers ; the Judges in their scarlet robes ; the Law Officers 
 of the Crown ; and the Sheriffs, with their ladies. 
 
 The procession wends its way round the Hall to the seats 
 set apart for the chief guests. Grace is duly said, before and 
 after the dinner, by the Lord ATayor's Chaplain. The banquet 
 over, the Lady IMayoress's Maids of Honour take their seats in 
 a small gallery, specially erected in front of the principal table. 
 The toastmaster announces the names of the most distinguished 
 guests, and the loving-cup is circulated. The Loj'al Toasts 
 having been given by the Lord Mayor, are followed by one that 
 always arouses the keenest interest — that of Her- Majest3''s 
 Ministers. 
 
 In reply, the Prime Minister is expected to say something 
 as to the past polic}- of Her Majesty's Government, and to 
 announce their future intentions as to matters which, at the 
 time, are specially interesting to the citizens of London 
 or to the country at large. His speech is telegraphed from 
 the Guildhall for transmission to all parts of the world. The 
 illustration of the tables (on page 136) gives some idea as to the 
 economy of space required to accommodate the 800 invited 
 guests. On the right is seen a platform on which one of the 
 barons of beef is carved ; beyond it, on the same side, is the 
 elaborately-carved canopy, under which will be seated at the 
 principal table the Lord Mayor and his chief guests, with 
 the Sheriffs, one at each corner. On the shelves under the 
 canopy is a brilliant display of Corporation Plate. The Sword 
 and Mace of State are placed in the centre. 
 
 Liberal provision having been made for the needs of the 
 guests, whatever is left unused is on the day following- 
 distributed among the poor. The ilkistration shows the 
 members of the Lord Mayor and ShcriiTs' Conuuiltce in 
 readiness to make this distribution.
 
 (^^Q §)t^Griffs. 
 
 rrlHE Office of Sheriff of London appears to have existed very 
 I shortl}- after the Conquest. It is specifically mentioned in 
 several of the early Charters granted to the citizens of London. 
 Notwithstanding the removal, by the Local Government Act, 
 1888, of the right to elect a vSherifif of Middlesex out of the 
 hands of the citizens of London, to whom it had been expressly 
 granted by Charter of Henry L (subsequently confirmed by 
 John, Henry III., Edward I., and Edward III.), and for which 
 the}- liad ever since paid an annual rent, the City continues to 
 elect two Sheriffs. Until the commencement of the 14th 
 century, the Sheriffs were elected by the Mayor, Aldermen, 
 and the "Good Men'' of the City, or '' Commonalty." In 1301, 
 an attempt was made to restrict the number of electors to 
 twelve representatives of each Ward, but this, like other sub- 
 sequent attempts, proved unsuccessful. In 1347, is met with, 
 for the first time, a new method of procedure. In that year, 
 one of the Sheriffs was elected by the Mayor,, and the other by 
 the Commonalty, and this prerogative of the Mayor for the time 
 being to elect one of the Sheriffs continued to be exercised 
 Avith few, ifan}-, exceptions, down to 1638. From 1642 to 1651, 
 the Mayor's claim to elect a Sheriff was always contested. He 
 might nominate, but not elect ; although, as a rule, the citizens 
 paid him the compliment of electing his nominee to serve in 
 conjunction with the Sheriff of their own choice. For the year 
 1652, and for some years afterwards, the Mayor neither 
 nominated nor elected a Sheriff; but, in 1662, when he would 
 have elected one Bludworth as Sheriff, the Commonalty claimed 
 their right, although they accepted the Mayor's nominee. For 
 the next ten years (1663 to 1673) the Mayor's right of election 
 passed unchallenged. In 1674, when objection was again raised, 
 ii Committee was appointed to enquire into the whole matter.
 
 THE SHERIFFS. 141 
 
 In its report is found a reference, made for the first time, to the 
 custom of the Lord Mayor electing, or at least nominating, a 
 Sheriff for the year ensuing, by drinking to him on some public 
 occasion. This custom is said to have arisen in the reign of 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 In 1878, b}' Act of Common Council, all Acts, Orders, 
 and Ordinances regulating or enforcing the nomination or 
 election to the Shrievalty being thereby repealed, it was 
 declared {inter alia) — that the right of election to the office 
 of Sheriff should vest in the Liverymen of the several 
 Companies of the City, in Common Hall assembled, the 
 24th day of June in each year being fixed as the election 
 day, and that casual vacancies be filled up by elections on 
 days to be fixed by the Court of Aldermen. A fine of ^'200 
 was made payable by any person duly nominated, who should 
 decline to take upon himself the office. And further, that 
 between the 14th day of March and the 14th day of May 
 in every year, the Lord Mayor should, in the Court of 
 Aldermen, nominate one or more Freeman or Freemen of 
 the City (not exceeding three in the whole) to be publicly 
 put in nomination for the Shrievalty, to the Liverymen in 
 Common Hall assembled, such nomination to remain in force 
 for five years. In addition to persons thus nominated, every 
 Alderman who has not served the office of Sheriff is, ipso 
 facto, in nomination for the office, in priority to any other 
 person, and it is competent for anv two members of the 
 Common Hall to nominate any Freeman of the Citv of 
 London to the said office. 
 
 The absolute estate and interest in the office of Sheriff 
 belong to the Corporation, which consequently retains the 
 fees and emoluments of the office. An allowance of £~^o 
 i-i granted by the Corporation to the Sheriffs annually, they 
 discharging thereout two P^ee Farm Rents (,^'40 and £10 
 respectively), payable by the Corporation, and making their 
 own arrangements with their Under-Shcriffs.
 
 142 
 
 THE (tUILDHALL. 
 
 The duties of the Sheriffs of the City of London are 
 multifarious, and, like those of the Lord Mayor, incessant. 
 It is an especial privilege of the Sheriffs to wait upon the 
 Sovereign, by direction of the Corporation, attended by the 
 City Remembrancer, to ascertain the Royal will and pleasure 
 as to the reception of Addresses from the Corporation. The 
 duty and privilege of presenting, at the Bar of the House, 
 Petitions to Parliament on behalf of the Corporation is 
 discharged by the Sheriffs, attended by the City Remem- 
 brancer. They are required to attend every Session of the 
 Central Criminal Court, and, of course, discharge the duties 
 that ordinarily attach to their office. 
 
 They are expected to be in attendance on the Lord 
 Mayor in the discharge of many of his official functions. 
 They take charge of, and conduct, the business in tlie 
 Common Hall, during the absence of the Lord Mayor. 
 Places are reserved for the Sheriffs in the Courts of Aldermen 
 and Common Council, which they usually occupy when not 
 officially engaged elsewhere. The average cost to each 
 gentleman serving the office may be put down at from 
 ;^3,ooo to ^'4,000. 
 
 A SheriflF wears a Chain of Office and Badge, which of 
 late years has usually been presented to him by the inhabitants 
 of the Ward or district with which he is associated. In con- 
 nection with this it may be stated that the chain should be of 
 the ordinary link pattern, and should not assvmie the character 
 of a Collar of SS. The Collar of SS. is a very old emblem 
 associated with the administration of justice, and worn as such 
 by the Lord Chief Justice and other high judicial functionaries. 
 The Lord Mayor alone, of the Aldermen, as Chief Magistrate 
 of the City, is entitled to wear such a collar. The Badge 
 should only shew designs specially appropriate to a Ward or 
 district, or to the individual, and should not include the 
 sword or mace, which do not appertain to the office of Sheriff.
 
 Glection and "§)WGarin| In " of §)l7Griffs. 
 
 /T\HE election of Sheriffs takes place on the Hustings, erected 
 j. at the east end of the Guildhall, on Midsummer Da}-. 
 On this day the Lord Mayor goes, in full state, from the Mansion 
 House to the Guildhall. On arriving there, he proceeds to the 
 Aldermen's room and, preceded by the Aldermen, Sheriffs and 
 officers in the same order as at the election of Lord Mayor, 
 from thence to the Hustings. The Common Hall is opened by 
 the Common Crier, in the same form as in the elec- 
 tion of a Lord Mayor, after which the Recorder, or in his 
 absence the Common Serjeant, acquaints the Livery with the 
 nature of the duty they are called upon to discharge, and 
 then the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Recorder retire to the 
 Common Council Chamber, where the Sword is placed on the 
 table on a bed of roses. The Sheriffs, with the Common 
 Serjeant between them, then advance to the front of the 
 Hustings, when the Common Serjeant reads to the Livery a 
 list of the persons to be put in nomination for Sheriffs, 
 Chamberlain, Bridge-masters, Aleconners, and Auditors ; and 
 the Sheriffs, assisted by the Common Serjeant and some of the 
 City officers, proceed to the elections, which are determined by 
 show of hands, unless a poll be demanded. When the elections 
 are over, the Sheriffs, with the Common Serjeant between 
 them, preceded by the Marshal and the Common Crier with 
 the Mace on his shoulder, and ffjllowed by the City officers, 
 proceed to the Council Cliainher, where the Lord Mayor and 
 the Court of Aldermen are sitting, the Lord Mayor being 
 covered ; and, after making three reverences to the Lord
 
 144 THE GCILDHALL. 
 
 Mayor, each of which he acknowledges by taking oft' his hat, 
 the Common Serjeant in the name of the Sheriffs reports 
 tlie result of the elections. The Lord Mayor, Aldermen, 
 Recorder, Sheriffs, and officers (if tlicir be no poll) proceed 
 immediately to the Hustings in the Great Hall, when the 
 Recorder declares to the Common Hall the persons elected, 
 and the Common Crier calls upon the Sheriffs elect to come 
 forth and declare their consent to take upon themselves their 
 offices. The " swearing in " takes place on the 28th of September 
 in the presence of the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and the 
 CiHuts of the Sheriffs' Companies, with the same officers in 
 attendance as on the day of election. When the Lord 
 ]\hiyor and Aldermen are seated on the Hustings, the 
 Common Crier commands silence ; and calls upon the 
 Sheriffs Elect by name, to come forward and take upon 
 themselves the office of Sheriff" of London. The Sheriffs 
 Elect then come to the table, and the Town Clerk administers 
 the declaration of office. The Sheriffs then take off their 
 gowns and put on violet gowns ; the Sheriffs retiring from 
 office respectively taking off their own chains and gowns and 
 putting the chains of office upon each of the. new Sheriff's. 
 
 At this Common Hall the retiring Sheriffs usually receive 
 the thanks of the Livery for their services. 
 
 A Sheriff, upon retiring from his office (unless he is an 
 Alderman or a member of the Common Council) passes out of 
 the public life of the Corporation. If he desires to fill the office 
 of Alderman, and pass in due course to the Mayoral Chair, 
 he must be elected by the ratepayers of one of the twenty- five 
 Wards, when a vacancy occurs by the death or resignation of 
 its Alderman. The mere fact of a'i\- peison (other than an 
 Alderman) having served the office of Sheriff" is not (as is 
 sometimes supposed) a ? stepping-stone to the oflfice of Lord 
 Mayor.
 
 principGiI ©fficers. 
 
 <A SHORT account of the officers mentioned in the 
 
 description of the foregoing Ceremonies may prove 
 
 interesting. 
 
 The Recorder 
 
 holds the principal and most ancient office of anj- in the 
 Corporation. He is the Senior Law Officer and the repre- 
 sentative of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen in their judicial 
 capacit}-. A record of his duties is preserved so far back as 
 1304. A few of his duties are here given. To advise the Lord 
 Mayor and Aldermen for their better direction in administering 
 law and justice. By custom and Charter, to record, testify, and 
 declare the customs of London by word of mouth. To attend 
 as one of the Judges of the Central Criminal Court, and to 
 charge the Grand Jury. To sit as Judge in the Mayor's Court. 
 To attend the Lord Mayor upon the presentation of Addresses 
 from the Courts of Aldermen and Common Council to the 
 Sovereign, and on all important public occasions. To attend 
 the presentation of, and to present the Lord Mayor Elect to 
 the Lord Chancellor, for the approval of the Sovereign, and to 
 present the Lord Mayor to Her Majesty's Judges on his being 
 sworn into office. 
 
 The Chamberlain. 
 
 The office of the Chamberlain of London is one of great 
 antiquity and responsibility. His office is mentioned in 
 1204. In 1278, Matthew de Columbers is mentioned as 
 the Chamberlain of our Lord, the King. In 1300, the 
 Chamberlain was elected by the Mayor and Aldermen. In 
 1 3 19, it was ordered that he should be chosen by the
 
 146 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 Commonalty and removed according to the will of the same. 
 At the present time, he is elected annually by the Livery 
 in Common Hall on Midsummer Day. In addition to his 
 ceremonial duties, he has been, from time immemorial (and 
 now is), the Treasurer or Banker of the City, and, in that 
 capacity, has had the care and custody of the monies of the 
 Corporation of London, called the City's Cash, and of the 
 several funds committed to the management of the Corporation. 
 The City's Cash Account for 1897 is the 265th of the series 
 extant — 114 of them have been printed and circulated. 
 
 The Chamberlain is the Keeper of the Freemen's Roll. He 
 holds a Court for the presentation of Freedoms, and it is 
 his duty to address and offer the right hand of fellowship 
 to those distinguished persons to whom the Court of Common 
 Council have granted the Honorary Freedom of the City. 
 
 The Chamberlain is one of the three Corporation Trustees, 
 and also one of the custodians of the City Seal. 
 
 The Town Clerk. 
 The Town Clerk (originally called the Common Clerk) is 
 an ancient and chartered officer, and forms a component 
 part of the Corporation. The office can be traced in the City 
 Records as far back as the 13th year of the reign of Edward L 
 A.D. 1284, and by the '' constitutions " granted by Edward H. 
 in 1319, it was ordained that "the Common Clerk be chosen by 
 the Commonalty of the City, and be removed according to the 
 will of the same Commonalty.'' 
 
 A few of the duties of the office of the Town Clerk 
 follow : — 
 
 To attend the Court of Aldermen, advise the Court on its 
 procedure, conduct its business, and enter on the Minutes and 
 in the Repertories the business transacted by the Court, and 
 issue its orders. To attend the Court of Common Council, 
 advise the Court on its procedure, conduct its business, and
 
 PRINCIPAL OFFICERS. 147 
 
 enier on the Minutes and in the Journals the business trans- 
 acted by the Court. To attend the Common Hall and advise 
 and minute its proceedings. To attend upon the Lord Mayor 
 and Aldermen on all public and ceremonial occasions. To 
 generally advise the Lord Mayor, when so required. To advise 
 concerning the Laws, Customs, Liberties, and Privileges of 
 the City. To administer the Oath or Declaration of office to 
 the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, SheriflFs, and every other person 
 admitted to any Corporate office. To issue all Precepts to the 
 several Wards for the annual election of Common Councilmen 
 and Ward Officers, and to the different Companies of the City 
 to assemble in Common Hall. He is one of the three Cor- 
 poration Trustees. To provide a book or schedule and fairly 
 enter therein an account of all the Charters, Records, 
 Repertories, Journals, and other Muniments, Books, and Docu- 
 ments, belonging to the City, in his official custod}-, and to 
 sign the same and verify the receipt thereof within three 
 calendar months next after his appointment to the office, and 
 to keep the same, at all times, in safe custody in the Muniment 
 Rooms provided by the Corporation for that purpose. 
 
 Muniment I^ooms. 
 
 On entering one of the muniment rooms, one is brought 
 face to face with some of the more cherished of all the City's 
 Archives. The well-known Liber Alhus or White Book 
 of the City, being a compilation made early in the 
 15th century by John Carpenter — sometime Town Clerk 
 of the City, and founder of the City of London School — 
 of ordinances, customs, and charters that have regulated 
 the government of the City from time immemorial. Here 
 also is the scarcely less famous Liber Custiimariim^ or 
 Book of Customs of the City of an earlier date, being 
 of the 14th century, whilst in close proximity stands a 
 MS. of still earlier date — indeed, the earliest of all the \'()lumes 
 here treasured — viz., the volume known as the Liber dc
 
 148 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 Antiquis Lcgibus,co\\\\)\\tdi h.\). 1274. Two other compilations 
 bear the names of two higli officers of the Corporation. These 
 are (l) Lihcr Honi^ so called from having been compiled by 
 Andrew Horn, who, besides being a citizen and tishmonger, 
 was also an eminent jurist, and at one time Chamberlain of 
 the City ; and (2) Liber Diuithoiii^ called after a Town 
 Clerk of the I'th century; The Liber Horn bears date 
 A.]). 1311. On the shelves immediately adjoining, lie — row 
 upon row — the Rolls of the Court of Husting from a.d. 1253, 
 and these may be seen occupying the upper shelves round 
 three parts of the room. Under them, and round the greater 
 part of the room, stand the " Journals," or Transactions of the 
 Court of Common Council of the City, and above these the 
 " Repertories," or Minutes of the Court of Aldermen. The 
 increasing size of the Journals as the years roll on, affords 
 striking evidence of the increased work of the Corporation. 
 
 Thk Common Serjeant. 
 
 This Office is one of great antiquity, and the date of its 
 creation is not precisely known, but it is, like the office of Town 
 Clerk, named in the "Constitutions" of 1319. The Common 
 Serjeant attends at the Sessions House, Old Bailey, during the 
 whole of the sittings of the Central Criminal Court, and presides 
 as one of the Judges. In the unavoidable absence of the 
 Recorder, he charges the Grand Jury. He also sits, in the 
 absence of the Recorder, as one of the Judges of the Lord 
 Mayor's Court. He attends the Common Hall, and, in the 
 absence of the Recorder, advises the Livery. He also submits 
 the names of candidates at the elections of Lord Mayor, Sheriffs, 
 Chamberlain, Bridge-Masters, Auditors, and other Officers of 
 the Livery, and reports to the Court of Aldermen, in the 
 name of the Sheriffs (whose adviser he is on the occasion), 
 the results of the different elections. He attends the Lord 
 Mayor upon all public and Ceremonial occasions. He is one 
 of the Law Officers of the Corporation.
 
 PR IX CI PAL OFFICERS. 149 
 
 Until the passing of the Local Government Act, 1888, the 
 election to this office rested with the Common Council, but by 
 that Act, all future appointments were vested in the Crown, but 
 the privilege of fixing the salary and of defining the duties of 
 the office still remains with the Corporation. 
 
 The Comptroller. 
 
 The Comptroller of the Chamber, who is also Vice- 
 Chamberlain, holds an ancient office, which was in existence 
 prior to the reign of Edward I. He is the custodian of the title 
 deeds, leases, plans, &c., of the Cit3''s property. He is the 
 Convevancing Officer of the Corporation. The following is a 
 list of some of the duties performed by him : — 
 
 He is required to attend the Court of Aldermen, and the 
 Court of Common Council upon all occasions, and to attend the 
 Lord Mayor at Common Halls, and upon all public and ceremonial 
 occasions. To act as Vice-Chamberlain, whenever the 
 Chamberlain is prevented by illness or other cause, and 
 during a vacancy in the office of Chamberlain. To keep 
 in safe custody the title deeds, leases, plans and other 
 documents of, and relating to, the City and Bridge-House 
 Estates, and the several markets of the Corporation. To 
 complete the general rental of the City and Bridge-House 
 Estates, the accounts of fines and premiums received for leases ; 
 to attend the Auditors of the City and Bridge-House Accounts ; 
 to produce and examine the said rentals, &c., as a check against 
 the Chamberlain. To prepare and examine all leases. To 
 draw and sign all money bonds and securities, and prepare 
 coupons to the same, when ordered. To investigate all 
 titles, prepare all deeds, conveyances, contracts and agreements 
 relating to estates purchased by the Corporation, in whatever 
 capacity. The Comptroller is one of the three Corporation 
 Trustees, a law officer of the Corporation, and one of the three 
 Custodians of the City Seal.
 
 150 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 Thk Citv Remembrancer. 
 
 The duties of the office of Remembrancer are divided 
 into three classes, viz : Ceremonial, Parliamentar}-, and Legal. 
 The office has been filled continuously from Elizabethan times, 
 and although it was originally, and continued for many years 
 to be of a ceremonial and secretarial character only, it 
 apparently involved constant communication with the Court 
 and Ministers. In the year 1685, an order was made for the 
 Remembrancer to continue to attend Parliament and the 
 offices of the Secretaries of State daily, and acquaint the 
 Lord Ma^-or with the public affairs and other business 
 transacted there, relating to the City. The ceremonial duties 
 of the office involve all the arrangements necessary to be 
 made upon the presentation of addresses from the Corporation 
 to the Crown, the Members of the Royal Family, or to 
 either House of Parliament, the Corporation being entitled 
 to exceptional privileges on these occasions, for the due 
 maintenance of which the Remembrancer is responsible. On 
 the demise of the Crown, the Remembrancer has to take 
 measures with respect to the Accession and Proclamation of 
 the Successor. He has also to attend the Court of Claims 
 appointed at Coronations, make the claims of the Lord 
 Mayor and citizens, obtain their allowance and receive the 
 orders in relation to the execution of them, and to attend 
 the Lord Mayor to St. James' Palace. On the election of a 
 Lord Mayor, he makes the necessary appointment and 
 arrangements for the presentation of the Lord Mayor Elect 
 to the Lord Chancellor, when the Sovereign's approbation is 
 signified. On occasions of public thanksgiving and funerals, 
 he takes the requisite measures for preserving the privileges 
 and due precedence of the Corporation in Procession and 
 Cathedral. He invites the Members of the Royal Famil}- 
 and the great Officers of State to the Guildhall Banquet on 
 the 9th November, and has to arrange the reception of the
 
 PRINCIPAL OFFICERS. 151 
 
 company in the Library and their seating in the Hall, and 
 to perform similar duties on the occasions of other Enter- 
 tainments in Guildhall. On the occasion of the Sovereign 
 entering the City, he attends at the offices of the Lord 
 Chamberlain and the Master of the Horse, to make the 
 necessary arrangements connected with the ancient ceremony 
 of surrendering the Sword. 
 
 The Parliamentary duties of the Remembrancer involve 
 a daily attendance at the Houses of Parliament, during the 
 Session, and require a constant \vatching of all measures 
 introduced, or proposed to be introduced, in order that the 
 Corporation ma}- be informed of all matters likely to affect 
 its interests, which he duly reports. For this purpose, the 
 officials of both Houses of Parliament give him facilities 
 of admission and attendance, and he enjoys the privilege 
 of a seat under the gallery. 
 
 The Remembrancer is one of the Law Officers of the 
 Corporation, and it is his duty, with his colleagues, to advise 
 the Corporation, or any of its Committees, on such points of 
 law as they may at any time desire to submit. 
 The Citv Solicitor. 
 
 Although this office is not of so ancient an origin as some of 
 those already dealt with, it nevertheless appears from the City's 
 Records that the first appointment thereto was made by the 
 Court of Aldermen so long ago as the year 1545. Since the 
 year 1755 to the present time, the City Solicitor has been 
 appointed by the Court of Common Council, and is now 
 subject to annual election. The duties pertaining to the office 
 consisted from the earliest times in conducting all legal pro- 
 ceedings on the part of the Corporation. 
 
 The following are a few of the duties of the office : — 
 To act as the Lord Mayor's Assessor at Wardmotes. To 
 conduct all proceedings whatever, at law and in equity, 
 to which the Corporation is a party, and such other general
 
 152 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 business as he may be ordered to do by the Court of 
 Aldermen, the Court of Common Council, or by the Com- 
 mittees appointed by those Courts, and to attend, when 
 necessary, all meetings of such Courts or Committees. To 
 prepare all Acts of Common Council, Bye-laws and Regula- 
 tions, and prosecute parties for disobeying the same. To 
 prosecute persons presented by the Inquests of the several 
 Wards of the City for various offences and nuisances. To 
 defend the Magistrates and Officers of the City in proceedings 
 instituted against them for acts done in the execution of their 
 respective offices and the discharge of their several duties, and 
 to prosecute persons for assaults on Police and other Constables 
 of the City and other Civil Officers, in the execution of their 
 duty. To prosecute and bring to justice all such persons as 
 the Court of Aldermen, the Lord Mayor, or the Sitting 
 Magistrates, for the time being, may think proper to order to be 
 prosecuted, where no public fund is provided for the purpose, 
 and in cases where, from the parties being unable of themselves 
 to prosecute, the delinquents would otherwise escape justice. 
 
 To attend before the Queen's Remembrancer to render 
 ancient service, on behalf of the Corporation, in connection 
 with certain property held of the Crown. He also acts 
 as Legal Adviser to the Commissioner of the City 
 Police, to the Visiting Committee of the City of London 
 Lunatic Asylum ; and is one of the Law Officers of the 
 Corporation. The duties of this Officer have recently been 
 very considerably augmented, consequent upon the absorption 
 of the Commissioners of Sewers. 
 
 The Secoxdakv. 
 
 The office of Secondary is another ancient Civic Office, 
 the holder of it performing all the duties which ordinarily 
 attach to an Under-Sheriff ; the term "Secondary" being 
 synonymous with that of Under-Sheriff.
 
 PRIXCIPAL OFFICERS. 153 
 
 The office of Secondary is held direct from the Corpor- 
 ation, which is hable to the Crown for any misconduct on the 
 part of the Sheriffs, Secondary, and Sheriffs Officers. The 
 Sheriffs, personally, derive no pecuniary benefit from their 
 office, and they and the Corporation are indemnified against 
 loss bv the Secondary, who gives a Bond to the Corporation, 
 himself in an unlimited amount and with two Sureties jointly 
 and severally bound in the sum of ^2,500, to efficiently 
 discharge all the duties devolving upon him as the represent- 
 ative of the Sheriffs ; his official place of business being called 
 ' the Office of the Sheriffs of London.' 
 
 Thp: City Surveyor. 
 
 This officer was formerly designated Clerk of the City's 
 Works, and was altered in 1848 to Architect and Surveyor, 
 but at the time of the last appointment in i8qi the designation 
 was altered to that of City Surveyor. His duties include 
 attendance on the Courts of Aldermen, Courts of Common 
 Council and Committees, whenever required ; making surveys 
 and valuations of all Corporation Estates whether Trust 
 Property or otherwise, advising as to the letting of all 
 propertv, preparing plans, surveying all property, directing 
 all works of repair to public buildings and property of the 
 Corporation, preparing designs for new buildings, performing 
 such work and duties as may arise out of Acts of Parliament 
 in which the Corporation may have an interest, and generally 
 performing the usual duties of an Architect and Surveyor.
 
 ^l7( (ourt of MldGrrriGn. 
 
 ^X early times the Aldermen seem to have had a kind of 
 Qj proprietary right over their Wards, arising no doubt from 
 the fact that many of them were territorial magnates, this would 
 probably account for the singularly irregular boundaries of 
 man}^ of the City Wards. In the possession of the Dean and 
 Chapter of St. Paul's, there is a document of the early part of the 
 twelfth centurv in which the names, description and Wards of 
 many of the Aldermen are given ; for instance, we find the 
 Ward of Godwin, son of Esgar ; the Ward of Edward Parole ; 
 the Ward of Brichmar the Moneyer ; the Ward of Osbert 
 Dringepinne and the Ward of Brocesgange ; later on (1276) we 
 find the Tower Ward called the Ward of William de 
 Hadestock ; Vintry Ward the Ward of Henry de Coventre ; and 
 Farringdon Ward, previously known as the Ward of Ludgate 
 and Newgate, and also as the Ward of Anketin de Auvergne. 
 It obtains its present name from William de Farringdon or 
 Farndon, its Alderman, whose son-in-law Nicholas devised the 
 Aldermanry to John de Pulteneye. 
 
 The first mention of a '' Court of Aldermen ''is found in an 
 ancient chronicle where the writer, himself an Alderman, says : 
 
 " In the year 1200 were chosen five and twenty of the more discreet men of 
 the City, and sworn to take counsel on behalf of the City, together with 
 the Mayor." 
 
 The City (described by Lord Coke as Epitome totiiis rcgni) 
 appears to have been governed by the Court of Aldermen 
 before the Common Council was in existence. 
 
 In 13 1 9, the King declared that all the Aldermen should 
 be removed each year and not be re-elected. This gave rise to 
 some trouble. From 1377 to 1393, however, each Ward 
 annually elected its own Alderman, after which, the Aldermen 
 for the time beinff retained their office for life, unless removed
 
 777^ COURT OF ALDERMEN. 155 
 
 therefrom for some reasonable and justifiable cause ; and this 
 rule continues to the present day. The following is the old 
 oath administered to an Alderman on taking office : — 
 "THE OTHE OF THE ALDERMEN." 
 " Ye shall sweare that ye shall well and lawfully serve our Soveraigne 
 Lady the Queen, in the Citty of London, in the office of Alderman, in the 
 
 Ward of , whereof ye be chosen Alderman, and every other Ward 
 
 whereof ye shalbe chosen Alderman hereafter. And lawfully ye shall 
 entreate the people of the same Ward of such things as to them perteyneth 
 to doe, for keping of the Citty, and for maynteyning of the peace in the 
 same. And the Lawes and Franchises of this Citty ye shall keepe and 
 mayntayne, within the Citty and without ; after your witt and power. And 
 attendant ye shalbe to mayntayne the right of Orphans, after the Lawes 
 and Usages of the same Citty. And ready ye shalbe to com at the sommons 
 and warnings of the Maior and Mynisters of this Citty for the tyme being, 
 to speede th' Assises, Plees, and Judgements of the Hustings, and other 
 needs of this Citty, yf ye be not lett by the needs of the Queen, or by some 
 other reasonable cause, and good and lawful counsell ye shall give for such 
 things as towch the comon proffitt of the Citty. And ye shall sell no 
 manner victual by retayle, as breade. ale, wyne, flesh ne fysh, by your 
 apprentices, allowes, servaunts, ne by any other way. Ne proffit shall ye 
 none take of any suth manner victuall so sould during your office. The 
 secrets of this Court ye shall keepe, and not disclose any thing here spoken, 
 for the comon wealth of this Citty, or that might hurt any person or brother 
 of this said Courte, unlesse it be spoken to your brother, or to any other which in 
 your conscience and discretion ye shall thinck to be for the comon wealth of 
 this Citty. And well and lawfully ye shall behave you in the sayd office, 
 and in all other things towching the said Citty. 
 
 As Gon YOU HELPE." 
 
 The inhabitants on the Electoral Roll (practically the 
 Parliamentary Voting List) of each of the twenty-five Wards 
 have the right to elect a Freeman to be their Alderman. The 
 election is conducted (by ballot) precisely as at an election for 
 a member of Parliament. Before an Alderman can take his seat 
 as such he must be approved and admitted by the Court of 
 Aldermen. Should the electors of any Ward return a person 
 who has been adjudged and determined by the Ccnu-t of Aldermen 
 to be unfit to support the dignit^-and discharge the duties of the 
 office of Alderman, the Court may, after rejection three times in 
 succession, themselves nominate, elect, and admit a fit ami ])r<)per 
 per.son, being a Freeman of the CitN', to lill the oflicc. lC\-ery 
 Alderman of the City of London is, in virtue of his office,
 
 156 THE GCILDHALL. 
 
 a Justice of the Peace for the County of that City, and as 
 such he possesses very extensive powers. Every Alderman 
 niaw wIlIuh his Ward, execute such duties as are allowed to be 
 done and executed by one or two Justices of the Peace of any 
 County. He can also, when sitting at either of the City Justice 
 Rooms do alone, any act, which by any Statute [past or future) is 
 directed to be done by more than one Justice, and shall be 
 deemed to be a Court of Summary Jurisdiction consisting of two 
 or more Justices. All the Aldermen are Justices of Oyer and 
 Terminer, and, as such, are named in the Commission for 
 holding the Old Bailey Sessions. They also discharge important 
 duties under the City Police Act, 1839, and the various 
 Licensing Acts. 
 
 The Court of Aldermen appoint a number of their body as 
 Visiting Justices of H.M. Prisons of Newgate and HoUoway. 
 The Aldermen are, severally, Governors of the Royal 
 Hospitals, viz., St. Bartholomew's, Christ's, Bridewell and 
 Bethlem, and St. Thomas's, and Members of the Police 
 Committee. Each Alderman has the government of his Ward 
 and the appointment of a Deputy from among its Common 
 Councilmen. A person who refuses to serve'as Alderman on 
 being elected, is liable to a fine of ^5°°) unless he is in a 
 position to satisfy the Court of Aldermen that at the time of 
 his election he was not worth ^30,000. 
 
 An Alderman does not wear a Chain of Office until he 
 becomes Sheriff, when he wears one during his term of Shrievalty. 
 After the expiration of that year, he does not wear it again 
 until he has passed the Mayoral Chair, and it is then usual to 
 add the Sword and Mace to the Badge. An Alderman is 
 addressed as Worshipful until he has passed the Mayoral Chair, 
 and afterwards as Right Worshipful. 
 
 The duties devolving on a Cit}' Alderman, are many and 
 of a most responsible nature — the few already mentioned will 
 give some idea of their general importance.
 
 fpl7e (^QU)'\ of (;ommor\ ^ouncil. 
 
 rrlHE earliest known list of members of this Council is found in 
 j. the City Archives circa 1285, "the names of the good 
 men of all the Wards sworn to consult with the Aldermen on the 
 affairs of the City of London." This list contains 40 names, 
 another list of 133 names is found in 1347, and in this list the 
 Wards are duly represented, in proportion to their size, by six, 
 five, or fewer representatives. In 1341, King Edward III. 
 granted the City a Charter, empowering the citizens, in their 
 Corporate capacity, to amend customs which, in course of time, 
 should have been .found hard or defective. The Guilds, 
 taking advantage of this provision, claimed a more direct 
 participation in the government of the Cit}' than the}' had 
 hitherto enjoyed, with the result that, in 1376 they were able to 
 wrest the election of the members of the Common Council and 
 of the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs from the Wards, and vest it 
 instead in the Guilds. 
 
 In less than ten years, however (in 1384), the election had 
 reverted to the inhabitants of the Wards, being Freemen, each 
 Ward electing representatives as before in proportion to its 
 size, and this system has continued down to the present 
 day (except as to the necessity of the Elector being a Freeman). 
 Under the provisions of this Charter (1341) the Court of Common 
 Council has, from time to time, fixed the number of annually 
 elected representatives (at present, 206), has settled the qualifi- 
 cations required both for electors and elected, and has from 
 time to time reformed the machinery of the City's Municipal
 
 158 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 Government without objection or interference from authorities 
 outside. Ever since its first institution, it has been and still 
 is, a body exercising legislative as well as executive functions — as 
 an instance — in 1840 — when the number of the Common 
 Council was reduced from 240 to 206 — and many more 
 instances might be cited. 
 
 This Court has also the exclusive power of conferring the 
 honorary freedom of the City, and of voting Corporate addresses 
 to Royal and other distinguished personages. All documents 
 requiring the Common Seal of the Corporation, and also 
 leases granted by the Royal Hospitals (of which the 
 Chamberlain holds the Corporate Seal), must be sealed 
 in open Court, at a meeting of the Common Council. The 
 Court is widely known for its munificent support of public 
 charities, and liberal contributions to the relief of distress in all 
 parts of the world. The majority of the City offices are in 
 the gift of the Common Council, or its various Committees. 
 
 Every person eligible as a representative on the Com- 
 mon Council must (first) be a Freeman of the City, 
 and householder in the Ward he seek^ to represent, 
 in other words, a person who being free of the City is 
 rated for a house, paying scot and bearing lot. This is 
 the ancient custumal qualification. Or (secondly) he must be 
 a Freeman of the City and must occupy premises to the 
 value of £10 per annum in the Ward he desires to repre- 
 sent, and must be on the annual Register of Parliamentary 
 voters for the City of London, in respect to such premises ; 
 this is the statutory qualification. The qualifications of the 
 electors are the same as those required in the candidates, except 
 that the elector need not be a Freeman of the City. The City 
 of London is divided into twenty-five Wards of unequal size, 
 Bassishaw, the smallest, has four representatives, and the largest, 
 Farringdon Without, sixteen, and in addition there is one 
 Ward called " Bridge Without," which has an Alderman, who
 
 THE COURT OF COMMON COUNCIL. 159 
 
 is elected by the Court of Aldermen from amongst those 
 Aldermen who have served the office of Lord Mayor. It has 
 no other representative. Every Common Councilman ceases 
 to hold office at midnight, on the 20th December, and 
 next day — St. Thomas's Day — the annual elections to fill 
 their places are held at the various ' Wardmotes ' presided 
 over by the Alderman of the Ward, or in his unavoidable 
 absence by the Lord Mayor. The Court of Common 
 Council — the full style of which is '' the Lord Mayor, 
 Aldermen and Commons of the City of London in Common 
 Council assembled'' — consists of the Lord Mayor, 25 other 
 Aldermen, and 206 Commoners, making a total of 232. 
 Party politics have no part in the Municipal Elections of 
 the City ; how to promote the best interests of the Ward and 
 the City, is the paramount consideration in the mind of 
 both the electors and the elected, character and business 
 experience being the only qualities taken into account. 
 
 The following was recently written by a public City man 
 respecting the personnel of the Common Council : — 
 
 '' Any man who will visit the Council Chamber when 
 ■" the discussions are going on, or who will read them in the 
 *' public press, will be fully convinced that a patriotic, generous, 
 " unselfish spirit pervades the debates. There is a marked 
 " absence of personalities and bitterness even during the 
 ^' warmest contests, and the citizens of London have good 
 ^* reason to be proud of the men that they send to represent 
 " them." 
 
 The fcjllowing extracts from the Report of the Municipal 
 Corporations Commissioners, 1837, clearly explain why other 
 Corporations were reformed, and the Corporation of London 
 left to continue unaltered its beneficent career : — 
 
 " We therefore feel it to be our duty to represent to \-our Majesty 
 that the existing Municipal Corporations of England and Wales neither 
 possess nor deserve the confidence or respect of your Majesty's subjects, 
 and that a thorough reform must be effected before they can become,
 
 i6o THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 what we humbly submit to your Majesty they ought to be, useful and 
 efficient instruments of local government." 
 
 " The history of the Common Council of London is that of a body 
 which has watched vigilantly over the interests of its constituents, and 
 for a long series of years has studied to improve the Corporate Institutions 
 with great earnestness, unremitting caution, and scrupulous justice." 
 
 the result of the Report being that the Corporation was left 
 the only unreformed Corporation in the Kingdom. Whenever 
 reform has been found necessary, the Common Council itself 
 has always effected such reform. The entire absence of political 
 controversy, in its debates and elections, has undoubtedly tended 
 to make the Corporation an Institution to which both parties 
 of the State can have recourse, with the certainty that no 
 question of international importance is likely to be disregarded 
 or receive inadequate or partial consideration at its hands. 
 
 Always anxious to maintain its ancient traditions and 
 privileges unsullied and uncurtailed, its Members perform, 
 daily, important Municipal functions, with humble reliance 
 upon the City's time-honoured Motto, Doviinc dirii(e nos.
 
 ^176 (^oi'jooration's conriGction Wifl^ ©{^iqt 
 public Bodies. 
 
 (^T is not generally known that, in addition to the work of 
 Q) the Corporation of London in managing its own affairs, 
 it is associated with many other bodies in carrying out public 
 work. Among these may be mentioned : — 
 
 The Royal Hospitals, 
 which were founded by Charter of Edward VI., and endowed 
 by the Corporation, and of which the Right Hon. the Lord 
 Mayor is the head (with the exception of Christ's). 
 
 These Hospitals are : — St. Bartholomew's, Christ's, Bride- 
 well and Bethlehem, and St. Thomas's. All the Aldermen 
 and twelve Commoners are Governors of each of these 
 
 Hospitals. 
 
 The Thames Conservancy Board, 
 
 to which the Corporation send two Aldermen and four 
 
 Commoners as representatives. 
 
 The River Lea Conservancy, 
 to which one representative is sent. 
 
 The City and Guilds Institute. 
 The Lord Mayor, the Recorder, si.x Aldermen, and twelve 
 Commoners are members of the Board of (Governors. 
 
 The City oe London Parochial Charities. 
 Four members are sent by the Cf rporalion lo serve on 
 the Governing Body.
 
 i62 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 The Mitchell City ok London Charity. 
 
 This is a Charity managed by fifteen trustees, of whom four 
 represent the Corporation. It consists of a sum of ^90,000, 
 bequeathed in 1876 by Mr. T. A. Mitchell, M.P. 
 
 Under a scheme of the Court of Chancery, 1883, one-third 
 of the income is devoted to the relief of the poor of the City of 
 London, grants to dispensaries, pensions, &c. The remaining 
 two-thirds are devoted to educational purposes for the benefit 
 of persons resident in, or engaged, or employed, in the City of 
 London, and their children. 
 
 The London Chamber of Arbitration. 
 
 The object of this Chamber is " the speedy and inexpensive 
 ■settlement of disputes arising in the course of business without 
 having recourse to litigation." 
 
 It is under the control of a Joint Committee of Management 
 of twelve members, viz., six appointed by the Corporation and 
 six by the London Chamber of Commerce. The fees are very 
 low, and the rules admit of a very speedy and economical settle- 
 ment of disputes. The rules can be obtained at the Guildhall. 
 
 The Lieutenancy of London. 
 
 The Lieutenancy of the City of London is a Commission 
 named by the Crown and issued under the Privy Seal, under an 
 Act passed in 1673. 
 
 The Commission consists of the Lord Mayor, the Aldermen, 
 the Recorder, the Chamberlain, the Town Clerk, the Common 
 Sergeant, and the Aldermen's Deputies. The Lord Mayor has 
 also the privilege of recommending to Her Majesty, for approval 
 by the Secretary of State for War, eminent merchants and 
 citizens for inclusion in the Commission. 
 
 The powers of the Lieutenancy, as regards the Militia and 
 the Rifle Volunteer Corps of the City of London, are precisely 
 similar to those of Lords Lieutenants of counties. Its expenses 
 are met by means of a trophy tax, levied on the Wards.
 
 l^llQ 09orR of % ^ommon (^ouncil. 
 
 tLAVING now described the Guildhall, the Ceremonies, 
 I Officials, Insignia, and given a history of the Courts of 
 Aldermen and Common Council, it now remains, as indicated 
 in the preface of this Guide, to give an account of the work 
 carried on in Guildhall in the government of the " one 
 square mile." 
 
 The work of the Corporation is chiefly carried on by 
 means of a number of Committees, which are entrusted with 
 certain powers, but which are required to report to the Court 
 of Common Council on all important matters, receiving its 
 sanction before putting the same into execution. Among other 
 matters, all lettings of property must be submitted to the 
 Court for approval. The composition and formation of these 
 Committees is as follows : — 
 
 Every Committee of the Common Council (with the 
 exception of two or three which will be specially mentioned) 
 •consists of six Aldermen and 29 Commoners ; the first named are 
 nominated by the Court of Aldermen, and the Commoners by 
 the members for the 25 Wards (or sides of Wards), each nomi- 
 nating one of their number to the Court of Common Council, 
 which usually confirms such nominations. Subject to annual 
 re-election on St. Thomas' Day, each member serves for four 
 years, and cannot continue longer to be a member of the same 
 Committee unless with the consent of all his colleagues in his 
 Ward, and also with the approbation of the Court of Common 
 Council. This rule acts most bene!^icially, ensuring as it does,
 
 164 
 
 THE (;riLDIIALL. 
 
 that, by passing from one committee to another, members 
 obtain a general knowledge of all branches of Corporation M'ork. 
 A chairman is elected at the first meeting of the Committee 
 in each year and acts for the year, and onl}- in most exceptional 
 cases is the term extended, but he remains (as late Chairman) 
 a member of the Conmiittee for another year. 
 
 A COMMITTEE ROOM. 
 
 The work of the Committees may be conveniently divided 
 under five heads : (i) Estates and Management ; (2) Educa- 
 tional ; (3) Open Spaces ; (4) Administration ; (5) Public 
 Health. The Committees in charge of each section under 
 these heads are as follows : — 
 
 Under the first head — The Citv Lands, Bridge House 
 Estates, the Irish Society, Coal and Corn and Finance, Law 
 and City Courts, Officers and Clerks, General Purposes, and 
 the Special.
 
 THE WORK OF THE COMMON COUXCH. 165 
 
 Under the second head — The Gresham, Library and Art 
 Galler}', City of London Schools, Music, and Orphan School. 
 
 Under the third head — Epping Forest, West Ham Park, 
 and Coal and Corn and Finance. 
 
 Under the fourth head — Markets, Police, County Purposes, 
 Port of London Sanitary ; and under the fifth head — 
 Improvements and Finance, Streets, Sanitary and Accounts. 
 
 ESTATES AND MANAGEMENT. 
 The City Lands Committee. 
 This Committee is the premier one of the Corporation, not 
 only by reason of its antiquit}', but by the importance of its 
 work. The members comprising it have usuall}' served upon 
 most of the other committees. The Chairman is designated 
 " Chief Commoner " of the Court of Common Council during 
 his 3-ear of office, and as such is the spokesman of the Court 
 on all official occasions. Upon this Committee devolves the 
 management of the Lands and Buildings belonging to the 
 Corporation, with the exception of the few which fall within 
 the special province of other Committees. 
 
 The Revenue derived from the Corporate Estates forms, 
 mainly, the Fund which is known as the City's Cash, out of 
 which all the ordinary expenses of Civic Government are paid. 
 Among these expenses may be mentioned those connected with 
 the Mayoralty, the Official Staff, the Central Criminal Court, 
 the ]\Ligistracy, the Coroner, the Mayor's Court, the Guildhall 
 and offices and buildings connected therewith, and also a 
 contribution of one fourth part of the expenses of the City 
 l-'olice force, this amounting on an average to about X33'°°'-* 
 per annum. The net average revenue for the last three years 
 of the City's Estate is about /i 38,000 per annum, and the 
 average annual rental of the property for the same period under 
 the control f)f the Conuuittee amf)unts, in the gross, to about 
 /■ 1 8 1, 000.
 
 1 66 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 The number of houses belonging to the Corporation under 
 the control of this Committee (including weekly lettings), is 
 2,514. The number of leases is about 1,256. 
 
 As stated in an old Minute Book of the reign of Charles 
 II., it has been the custom, from time immemorial, on the 
 expiration of leases, to give the occupying tenants the first 
 refusal of renewals, at rents determined b}- the Committee. 
 
 This Committee, besides the letting, control, and manage- 
 ment of the Corporation Estates (as before mentioned), has 
 the charge of the Guildhall, the Monument (which is 
 annually visited by about 50,000 persons) ; and all the 
 other monuments in the public streets belonging to the 
 Corporation ; the management of the Bunhill Fields Burial 
 Ground, the City Greenyard (used for stabling horses or 
 other animals belonging to individuals in charge of the 
 police), and the Artizans' Dwellings erected by the Corporation. 
 The Sessions House, Old Baile}', in which is carried on the 
 work of the Central Criminal Court (the most important 
 criminal court in the Kingdom), is also under its control and 
 management. Plans for the erection of a new Sessions House 
 are in course of preparation, under the superintendence of this 
 Committee. 
 
 The Bridge-House Estates Committee. 
 This Committee has the control of what are known as the 
 Bridge House Estates, out of which are maintained London, 
 Blackfriars, Southwark, and the Tower Bridges. 
 
 The real estate of the Bridge-House Trust consists of 
 messuages, lands, and hereditaments situate in the City 
 of London, the Borough of Southwark, and the counties of 
 Surrey, Kent, and Essex, a considerable part of which is 
 let on lease. The number of houses, &c., under the manage- 
 ment of the Committee is about 2,414, of which 497 are 
 shops and offices, 29 wharves, &c., 23 warehouses, 80 stables, 
 and 1,785 houses.
 
 THE WORK OF THE COMMON COUNCTL. ibj 
 
 The title of the Corporation of London to the Bridge- 
 House Estates is very ancient ; and the property was generally 
 granted and devised by the Kings of England and *' charitable 
 and well-disposed persons," and is held by the Mayor and 
 Commonalty and citizens of the City of London upon Trust, 
 primarily for the maintenance and support of London Bridge ; 
 the words used in the conveyances and grants being generally 
 "to the use of London Bridge," "for the works of London 
 Bridge," or " for the sustentation of London Bridge." The 
 Comptroller, the Conveyancing Officer of the Corporation, has 
 in his custody grants and conveyances as early as 1282 and 
 1288, containing the above words, and also Leases granted by 
 the Corporation, prior to those dates. Li i2 74(Edward L), a 
 Commission was issued to enquire into the revenues, &c., of 
 the Bridge-House Estates, and the Inquisition under that 
 Commission found that the custody of the revenues of the 
 Bridge-House Estates had alwaj^s belonged to the City and 
 citizens of London. The annual rental of the Bridge-House 
 Estates amounted at Christmas, 1898, to nearly ^qq,ooo, and 
 the charges thereon (exclusive of the repayment of Loans), 
 amount to about ;^5 3,000 per annum. The average annual 
 charge for the maintenance and support of London Bridge, 
 Southwark Bridge, Blackfriars Bridge, and the Tower Bridge 
 (including the expenses attendant upon paving, watching, 
 lighting, cleansing, and watering the same) is ^25,000. The 
 expenses connected with the building and maintenance of 
 tlicsc liridges have been about .two-and-a-half millions sterling. 
 A short account of these four bridges may be interesting : — 
 
 LoxnoM Bridge. 
 
 A low wooden bridge was in existence across the Thames 
 at St. Botolph's Wharf so long ago as the year 944, and in 1176 
 the foundation of the first stone bridge was laid, the building of 
 which occupied some 33 years, the opening taking place in 1209. 
 This bridge stood the wear and tear of nearly seven centuries.
 
 1 68 • THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 In 1755, an Act of Parliament was passed for improving, 
 widening and enlarging the bridge, the new works 
 necessitating the pulling down of the old houses ^vllich, for 
 many years, had stood upon it. In 1767, the removal ot 
 the tolls, formerly levied on the bridge, cost the Corporation 
 ;f 30,000. In 1823, it at last became necessary to entirely 
 rebuild the Bridge, and, to enable this to be done, a 
 further y\ct was obtained. In 1825, the construction of the 
 present bridge was commenced. It was opened by King 
 William IV., on the 1st August 1831, and cost, with its 
 inmiediate approaches, _;^*7 15,246. 
 
 Blackfriars Bridge. 
 This bridge was originally constructed by the Corporation 
 under the powers of an Act passed in 1755, at a cost of some 
 ;^230,ooo, a portion of which was authorised to be raised upon 
 the tolls the Corporation was empowered to levy, and the 
 balance upon the security of the Bridge-House Estates. In 
 repairing this bridge, an expenditure of ^105,158 became 
 necessary, which was provided by the Bridge-House Estates. 
 The bridge remained in use for nearly a century ; but, in 1863, 
 having become unsafe, and it being anticipated that it would 
 be still further endangered by the Embankment on the 
 northern side of the river, then about to be constructed, 
 Parliament sanctioned the rebuilding of the bridge, and the 
 Blackfriars Bridge Act, 1863, was passed for that purpose. 
 The Corporation was authorised to raise, on the credit of the 
 Bridge-House Estates, the sum of ^^300,000. The work 
 was commenced in June, 1864, and the first stone laid 20th July, 
 1865. It was completed and opened for traffic by Her Majesty 
 the Queen, on the 7th November, 1869, the total cost 
 amounting to ;^40 1,131. 
 
 SouTHWARK Bridge. 
 This bridge was erected by a company incorporated under 
 the name of the " Southwark Bridge Company " in the year
 
 THE WORK OF THE COMMON COCNCH.. 169 
 
 1 81 1. In 1865, an Act of Parliament was passed authorising the 
 sale or transfer of Southwark Bridge to the Corporation, on such 
 terms as might be arranged between the Company and the 
 Corporation. An arrangement was entered into between the 
 Company and the Corporation, by which the bridge was 
 acquired by the latter and opened " free of toll " on the 
 8th November, 1864. In 1867, the Corporation was empowered 
 bv Statute to raise the necessary purchase-money on the security 
 of the Bridge-House Estates, and the purchase was completed in 
 the year 1868 for the sum of ^218,868, and by the same Act 
 tlie Bridge-House Estates were charged with the maintenance 
 and support of this bridge. 
 
 The Tower Bridge. 
 
 The enormously increased vehicular traffic across London 
 and Southwark Bridges (in 1884, nearly 28,000 vehicles passed 
 •over the former in one day) and the serious lack of bridge 
 accommodation below London Bridge became in recent years 
 the subject-matter of almost daily complaint ; at the same time, 
 there was a growing dislike on the part of those responsible for 
 the provision of additional means of access between the north 
 and south sides of the Thames, outside the City boundaries, 
 to incur the necessary expenditure, which would, of course, 
 seriously add to the already sufficiently large Metropolitan rates. 
 In 1884, the Corporation, after exhaustive enquiry, acceded 
 to the public demand, and caused the necessary Parliamentary 
 Notices to be given of the promotion of a Bill in the tlien 
 ensuing Session of Parliament, empowering the Corporation to 
 erect a bridge on a site (Irongate Stairs) immediately adjacent 
 to the southern boundary of the Tower on the north side or 
 the Thames, and to Hartley's Wharf, Horselydown, on the 
 south side of the Thames. The Bridge was conmienced 
 building in 1886, from the designs of Sir Horace Jones, the 
 City Architect (who died shortly afterwards) ; Mr. John Wolfe 
 i-5arry, C.E., being the engineer responsible fcjr the
 
 THE GriLDHALL. 
 
 I'Uotc by M". Eiliiiinl Wright, Forest Gate, E. 
 X0KTH?:KN approach to the tower BRinGE. EARLY MORXIXG. 
 
 construction. On the 30th June, 1894, H.R.H. The Prince 
 of Wales (who had laid the foundation stone), accompanied 
 b}' the Princess of Wales, opened the Bridge on behalf 
 of Her Majesty the Queen. The conclusions formed as
 
 THE WORK OF THE COMMON COUNCH. 171 
 
 to the necessity for further provisions for cross-river traffic 
 below London Bridge were amply justified from the 
 first da}- of the opening of the Bridge. From the 9th 
 July to the qth September, 1894, ^ total of 3,441,572 
 foot passengers and 358,404 vehicles passed over the 
 bridge — giving a daily average of 54,628 foot passengers 
 and 5,688 vehicles. The vehicular traffic has since largely 
 increased, as on one day, in 1895, 8,751, and in 1897, 
 9,qoi vehicles passed over the bridge. The marked relief 
 afforded to the traffic of London Bridge is a matter of common 
 observation. The total cost, with the approaches, amounted 
 to ;^i, 200,000. The annual cost of maintenance is £"15,000. 
 
 It will be noted that these four bridges have been built 
 or purchased and are maintained out of the " Bridge House 
 Estate Trust " fund, administered by the Corporation, and 
 that the ratepayers have never been called upon for the 
 smallest contribution. 
 
 In connection with the care of the bridges are two Bridge 
 Masters, elected annually in Common Hall on Midsummer Day, 
 by the Mayor, Aldermen and Liverymen of the several City 
 Livery Companies, their principal duty is to daily inspect 
 and report monthly to the Bridge-House Estates Committee 
 on the condition of London, Southwark and Blackfriars 
 Bridges. The office is one of the most ancient in the 
 Corporation. 
 
 Thk Irish Soctetv. 
 
 Although the business of the "Irish Society" is not 
 managed by the Common Council, it is thought that, as all 
 the Members are appointed by that body, an account of the 
 Societ)' and its work may appropriately be mentioned. 
 
 The "Irish Society" consists of a Governor (who must be 
 an Alderman) Deputy-Governor, and twenty-four Assistants, 
 six Assistants, including the Governor, being Aldermen of the 
 City (the Recorder being also an Assistant), and the Deputy-
 
 172 
 
 THE C.riLDHALL. 
 
 Governor and tlic remainder of the Assistants being Common 
 Councilmen. In February, in each year 12 w^w Members are 
 elected by the Common Council to take the place of the same 
 number retiring after two years' service. 
 
 The connection of the Corporation with the Estates in the 
 Province of Ulster over whicli the Irish Society now exercises 
 control, began in tlie year i6oq, in the reign of James I. 
 Owing to divisions between two great families (the O'Neils and 
 O'Dohertys) who, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, divided 
 between them the whole of the Province of Ulster, with the 
 exception of the Counties Down and Antrim, and who were in 
 constant rebellion against the English Crown, the whole of 
 their estates were forfeited to the Crown. 
 
 Two Commissioners were appointed, in 1602 and i6og, to 
 enquire into the title of the Crown to the escheated lands, and 
 Inquisitions were duly held to ascertain and define those that 
 were forfeited, together with the rights, privileges, and fisheries 
 appertaining thereto, and a project was set on foot for 
 establishing a Protestant Colony on the same, which received 
 the King's approval. Certain conditions were thereupon laid 
 down for observance by the Privy Council, and the English 
 and Scotch people were invited to undertake the necessary 
 work. The public, however, not responding to this invitation. 
 King James directed the Earl of Salisbury, Lord High 
 Treasurer, who had first conceived the project of Protestant 
 colonization, to write to the then City Remembrancer (Sir 
 Clement Edmonds), asking for a conference on the subject, and 
 the Lord Mayor appointed a deputation to consider the 
 matter. After the lapse of a few days, the Lords of the Privy 
 Council and the Corporation of London came to an vmder- 
 standing, and the Corporation expressed its willingness to 
 undertake the plantation, and on the 1st August, 1609, the 
 Court of Common Council appointed four representatives to 
 proceed to Ireland to view the site of the proposed Colony, 
 and report their proceedings and opinions thereon.
 
 THE WORK OF THE COMMON COUNCIL. 173 
 
 After the return of the Deputation, the Court of Common 
 Council appointed a Committee to confer with the Privy 
 Council, and after considerable negotiation, Articles of Agree- 
 ment were (on the 28th January, 16 10) entered into between 
 the Privy Council and the Corporation. These Articles 
 included the raising by the City of ^^"20,000, the rebuilding of 
 Derry ; the rebuilding of Coleraine ; the bu3'ing up of all 
 interests, &c. ; and the Corporation were to be put in 
 possession of the Estates; to have the patronage of all Churches 
 in Derry and Coleraine ; the Customs for ninety-nine years ; 
 the Office of Admiralty ; Salmon and Eel fishings of the River 
 Bann and Lough Foyle, and other rights of fishing were to be 
 granted in perpetuity to the City. 
 
 Letters Patent were subsequentl}' granted, embodying the 
 constitution of the Society as above set out, and the Society 
 was put in possession of the Estates. The Corporation raised 
 the _^2o,ooo named in the Articles of Agreement by an assess- 
 ment on the City Companies (which subsequently had portions 
 of the Estate granted to them), but this amount being found 
 insufficient, further assessments were made, and the amount 
 raised eventually exceeded ^'60,000, a very large sum of 
 mone}- in those days. About the year 161 5, these Estates 
 (e.Kcept the City of Londonderry, the Town of Coleraine, and 
 their contiguous lands, and the woods, forests and fisheries, 
 which were retained by the Society), were conveyed to the 
 rcsiKclive chief Companies, according to allotment based 
 upon the contributions of the various Companies, and 
 con\'eyances were executed by the Society, in 1617, to the 
 chief Companies, of the lands so allotted. 
 
 The City of Londonderry and Town of Coleraine, with 
 the lands attached thereto, and the woods, forests, and 
 fisheries, were retained by the Society. 
 
 The Irish Society, in addition to re-building Derry, 
 tortified il, and at the first Siege of Derry (1643) sent four
 
 174 ^^^^ GUILDHALL. 
 
 ships to its relief, with provisions, clothing, accoutrements, 
 and ammunition. Each of the twelve chief City Companies 
 also sent two pieces of ordnance. 
 
 The Society's property consists of the City of Derry, with 
 4,000 acres, the Town of Coleraine, with 3,000 acres, the Lands 
 of Culmore, containing about 470 acres, and the Rivers Foyle 
 and Bann. 
 
 The revenue derived therefrom averages some ^18,000 
 per annum, the whole of which, after providing for cost of 
 management, is expended on the property. 
 
 With the Society's help, great public improvements have, 
 from time to time, been carried out ; among the more recent 
 may be mentioned, the freeing from toll the Bridge over the 
 Foyle at Derry, towards which the Society contributed 
 ;^40,ooo ; the removal of the bar of sand at the mouth of the 
 River Bann, at a cost to the Society of ;^40,ooo ; the erection of 
 the Society's National Schools at Coleraine, providing for the 
 free education of between 600 and 700 _ children, which 
 Institution ranks amongst the first in the North of Ireland. 
 Handsome endowments have been granted to Foyle College 
 and St. Columb's College at Derry, and the Academical 
 Institution at Coleraine, whilst the various Churches, Schools 
 and Charities connected with the Districts constantly receive 
 valuable help from the Society's funds. 
 
 The Society has also, lately, presented a new Guildhall to 
 the Londonderry Corporation, to whom grants amounting 
 to over ;^i,200 are made annually. 
 
 The Coal and Corn and Finance Committee. 
 
 This Committee, as its name imports, is the Finance 
 Committee of the Corporation, and its members have also the
 
 THE WORK OF THE COMMON COUNCIL. 175 
 
 management of several open spaces, described on page 1 84. Not- 
 withstanding its designation, the Coal and Corn and Finance 
 Committee has now little to do with either coal or corn, owing 
 to the abohtion of the Coal Duties. The provisions of the 
 IVIetage on Grain Act (under which the funds for open spaces 
 are raised) are carried out by this Committee. The Committee 
 has the control of the Coal Exchange, which is a public 
 market, and of the fruit metage under the rights possessed 
 by the Corporation in virtue of its charters. All 
 questions of finance and of applications for grants for 
 the preservation of open spaces are referred to this Committee, 
 including the raising of money and the paying off of Bonds ; 
 and by the 51st Standing Order of the Court of Common 
 Council no proposal in any way affecting the City Estates 
 (other than the granting or renewal of leases) can be 
 entertained until it has been submitted to the Committee ; and 
 no street improvements, public works, or entertainment can be 
 undertaken beyond the cost of one hundred guineas, unless 
 the Committee has first reported thereon. All petitions for 
 grants of money are referred to this Committee, and the 
 amount to be annually devoted to charitable objects, after a 
 report from it, is fixed by the Court of Common Council. 
 
 The Law and City Courts Committee. 
 
 To this Committee are referred the management and super- 
 vision of two of the City Law Courts, namely, the Mayor's 
 Court and the City of London Court, the appointment of 
 Clerks, &c. Under its supervision, the City of London 
 Court (owing to the requirements of its increased and increasing 
 business) has been rebuilt, and still more recently, further 
 enlarged. To this Committee is also referred the consideration 
 of all Bills introduced into Parliament affecting tlie two Courts 
 above-mentioned, or their procedure or jurisdiction. The 
 Committee also examines the Secondary's accounts, ami
 
 176 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 Sherift's' charges in respect of the preparation of Lists of Voters 
 for ParHamentary and Common Hall Elections in the City. 
 
 Thk Okkickrs and Clerks Committke. 
 
 This Committee has, speaking generally, the supervision of 
 the Corporation Staff, save where the members of the same are 
 specially allocated otherwise ; it has the appointment, or con- 
 firmation, of many of the Clerks, Messengers, &c., either with or 
 without the nomination or appointment of the heads of the 
 various departments. It deals, also, with the question of 
 salaries, promotions, superannuations, &c., and generall)- 
 supervises matters connected therewith. 
 
 The General Purposes Committee. 
 
 This Committee has referred to it all matters relating 
 to the furniture and equipment of the establishment of the 
 Lord Ma\-or's official residence (the Mansion House), its 
 cleansing, repairing, lighting, &c. Questions affecting the 
 Union of City Benefices in which the Corporation is concerned, 
 are also referred to this Committee, which likewise deals with 
 the enforcement of the Act of Common Couix^il of 1838 with 
 reference to the licensing of carts ; the printing and stationery 
 contracts of all branches of the Corporation, the providing 
 "suitable gold boxes" or "swords of honour" on the conferring 
 of Honorary Freedoms, the compilation and revision of Stand- 
 ing Orders, when references are made by the Court of Common 
 Council for that purpose, and all other matters and things 
 not specifically referred to any other committee. 
 
 The Speclal Committee. 
 
 This Committee was established to consider and take action 
 on any Bill or Motion in Parliament or other measure or 
 matter which might be introduced or arise affecting the Cit}', 
 and in this connection it has had various references made to it 
 of very great importance affecting the interests of the citizens.
 
 THE WORK OF THE COMMON COUXCH. 177 
 
 EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 The Committee o\ Gresham Affairs. 
 This Committee is a joint committee of 24 members, 
 appointed in equal proportions by the Corporation and the 
 Mercers' Compan}-. Sir Thomas Gresham, by his will dated 
 the 5th July, 1575, devised one moiety of the Royal 
 Exchange to the Mayor and Commonalty and citizens of 
 London, and the other moiet}' to the Wardens and Commonalty 
 of the Mystery of Mercers upon condition {inter alia) that the 
 City of London should distribute annually to four persons to 
 lecture on Divinity, Astronomy, Music, and Geometry, X^OO) 
 being ^50 to each ; and that the Compan}- of Mercers should 
 distribute annually to three persons to lecture on Law, Physic, 
 and Rhetoric, ^150, being ;^5o to each. In 1666, the Royal 
 Exchange was destroyed by lire, and it was rebuilt by the 
 Corporation and the Mercers' Company at a cost of ^"80,000. 
 It was again destroyed by lire in the year 1838, and the joint 
 committee borrowed^ 190,000 for the rebuilding — a considerable 
 portion of the City's moiety is still outstanding. In 1844, the 
 new Royal Exchange was opened by Her Majesty, the Queen. A 
 further sum of ^^20,000 was expended in 1884, in roofing in the 
 Quadrangle. In 1844 Gresham College was built at the 
 corner of Gresham and Basinghall Streets at a cost of ^14,000. 
 The College contains a large Lecture Hall, capable of holding 
 some 600 persons. Three courses of lectures are delivered 
 by Professors in the autumn, summer, and spring of each 
 year, on the subjects mentioned in Sir Thomas Gresham's 
 will. These lectures are all free to the public, are advertised 
 in the public press and are well attended. Each Lecturer 
 now receives £100 per annum. 
 
 The annual inconie (jf the estate is about ^19,000, cliicHy 
 derived from the rents of shops and offices in the Royal 
 Exchange, one moiety belonging to the Mercers' Company and 
 the other to the Corporation. After paying the expenses in
 
 i7> TFJR (rrVLDHALL. 
 
 connection with tlie Royal Exchange, and Gresham College, 
 the balance of the Citj-'s moiety is allocated to the support 
 of the eight Gresham Almshouses at Brixton, and the eight 
 Almsfolk, and the reduction of the debt contracted by the Cor- 
 poration for the re-building of the Exchange in 1844. In the 
 Ambulatory of the Exchange is a series of panels which, 
 by the munificence of public bodies and of individuals, are 
 being filled in with pictures t^-pifying Liberty, Commerce, 
 and Education. Seven panels are now completed, and several 
 others are in progress. 
 
 The Lihrakv Committee. 
 The Guildhall Library, Reading Room, ]\hiseum, antl 
 Fine Art Gallery are under the management and control of 
 this Committee, and to it are referred all questions relating to 
 Literature and Art, the purchase of books, medals, antiquities, 
 &c., the control and publication of the City records, the 
 striking of medals, and the general supervision of all matters 
 or a cognate character. An account of the Library is given 
 on previous pages. The annual amount spent in this work, 
 including the expenses of the Art Galler}-, is about ;^"7,500. 
 
 The City of London Schools Committee. 
 
 This Committee has the entire management and control 
 of both the Roys' and the Girls' Schools, and makes an annual 
 report to the Court of Common Council thereon. The 
 Secretaries of the School, the Assistant Masters, and the 
 occasional Masters are appointed by the Committee. The 
 Head INLister and Second Master, and the Head Mistress are 
 in the appointment of the Court of Common Council. 
 
 The endowment of the Boys' School is derived from the 
 profits of certain lands and tenements bequeathed to the 
 Corporation, in the reign of Henry VL (1442), by one John 
 Carpenter, then Town Clerk of London. The bequest was 
 *'for the finding and bringing up of foure poore men's 
 children, with meate, drinke, apparell, learning at the Schooles^
 
 THE WORK OF THE COMMOX COUNCH. 179 
 
 in the Universities, etc., until the}- be preferred, and then 
 others in their places, for ever." From time to time various 
 schemes were framed extending the educational benefits 
 conferred by the bequest. On the iSth January, 1832, the 
 Court of Common Council resolved that, at an annual cost 
 of ^"420, four boys from eight to sixteen years of age, sons of 
 Freemen (to be nominated from time to time by the Lord 
 Mayor), should be sent for education and maintenance to the 
 Skinners' School at Tonbridge. In the year 1834, the Corpo- 
 ration applied to Parliament for leave to discontinue one of 
 its Markets, called Honey Lane Market, in Milk Street, 
 Cheapside, and to erect on the site of the same a School for 
 the education of boys. On the 13th August, in the same year, 
 an Act was passed discontinuing Honey Lane Market, and 
 authorising the Corporation to erect the proposed school on 
 the site thereof, such school to be for ever thereafter 
 maintained by the Corporation "for the religious and virtuous 
 education of boys and for instructing them in the higher 
 branches of literature and all other useful learning." 
 
 The School was completed and opened for work on the 
 2nd of Februaiy, 1837, when upwards of 400 pupils assembled. 
 and a career of success was commenced which has since been 
 not only maintained, but has steadily augmented. The site 
 proving too confined for extension, it was resolved by the Court 
 of Common Council, on the 4th November 1878, to remove the 
 School to land belonging to the Corporation, on the Victoria 
 Embankment, notwithstanding its great value — upwards of 
 £'100,000. Accordingly, the Corporation procured the passing 
 of tile City of London School Act, 1879, under the powers 
 of which statute, the Corporation, at an expenditure of about 
 ^100,000, erected the present School buildings. On the 12th 
 of December, 1882, the new School was opened by H.K.H. the 
 I'rince of Wales, Alderman JSir H. E. Knight (an old boy of the 
 vSchoolj being then Lord Mayor.
 
 iSo THE GIVLDHALL. 
 
 During the existence of the School, various benevolent 
 persons, and some of the City Guilds, have presented Donations 
 and Scholarships to the value of ;^i,792 los. 6d. a year, besides 
 which books and medal prizes, worth about j^2oo a year, are 
 annually given to the boys. The number of Scholarships in 
 connection with the School is 49, tenable at Oxford or 
 Cambridge, the London University, and the City of London 
 School, eight of which are in memory of John Carpenter, the 
 original founder of the School. The School is divided into three 
 sides, Classical, Modern, and Scientific. Boys are admitted at 
 any age between 7 and 15 years, and may remain until the age 
 of 1 9 ; or longer, by permission of the School Committee. The 
 present number on the books is 700. The charge for each 
 pupil is £i'^ 15.V. a 3'ear. The mode of admission (as also 
 for the Girls' School) is on the nomination of an Alderman 
 or Common Councilman, subject to examination by the Head 
 Master. The receipts from fees are about £11^200 a year, 
 which the Corporation supplements by annual grants out 
 of the City's Cash, amounting, on an average, to ^4,000 
 per annum. Between the years 1835 and [898, the Corpora- 
 tion has expended a total sum upon this School (including the 
 value of the site) of over ^^3 50,000. 
 
 The City of London School for Girls is the outcome of 
 the bequest of the late Mr. William Ward of Brixton, who 
 in 1 88 1, left to the Corporation of London the sum of 
 ^"20,000 for the establishment of a School for Girls, correspond- 
 ing as nearly as possible to the City of London School for 
 Boys. The School was opened in September, 1894, 
 and cost nearly ^19,000, exclusive of the site, which was 
 valued at ^10,000. The work is of a high standard, 
 and is now being carried on in the various branches of 
 instruction included in the School curriculum. The School 
 at present, possesses eight Scholarships, seven of which, 
 amounting to the value of £'^50, are tenable in the School, 
 and one of the value of ^50 a year is tenable at a college
 
 THE WORK OF THE COMMON COUNCH. i8i 
 
 for the higher instruction of women. Girls are admissible 
 from seven years of age, and may remain, by permission of 
 the School Committee, until 19, or longer. There are now 
 150 pupils. The charge for each pupil is £"9 <^s. a year 
 under 10, and over that age £\i 12^, a year. 
 
 The annual grant out of City's cash since the opening of 
 the School, has amounted to nearly £"1,000. 
 
 The Music Committee. 
 The Music Committee is entrusted with the general 
 management and control of the Guildhall School of Music, orl 
 the Thames Embankment, including the engagement of the 
 Professors, numbering about 120, who are paid by the fees of 
 pupils, which amount to some thousands of pounds per annum. 
 The Court of Common Council makes an annual average grant 
 of about 2,000 guineas towards the support of the School. It 
 was founded in 1879 as the Guildhall Orchestral Society, and 
 was permitted to occupy a large warehouse in Aldermanbury, 
 the property of the Corporation. It immediately became 
 popular, and under the fostering care of the Corporation, grew 
 so rapidly that it was soon found to be necessary to obtain 
 greater accommodation, which resulted in the erection, in 1886, 
 of the handsome building on the Victoria Embankment, at a 
 cost of nearly ;^2 7,000. The advantages offered to the public 
 of the Metropolis in obtaining a thorough musical education 
 have been so much appreciated, that extensive additions to the 
 building became imperative. In i8q7, the Court of Common 
 Council approved the plans (which included a theatre, with 
 seating accommodation for 740 persons) of the City Surve3or 
 for the erection of a building in communication with that 
 erected in 1886. This annexe was opened in July, 1898, and 
 cost, including furnishing, ;f 2 1,000. There are at present 
 3,600 students attending the School. Admission is on the 
 nomination of an Alderman or a member of the Court of 
 Comnifju Council.
 
 1 82 THE GriT.nfrALL. 
 
 The Principal, Secretary, and T/ailv Superintendent of the 
 Scliool are in the aiijiointnienl of the Court of Common 
 Council ; the two former heinu; annualh' elected. 
 
 Thk Fkkhmen's Orphan vSchool Committek. 
 
 This Committee' has the entire management of the affairs of 
 the City of London Freemen's Orphan School, save the election 
 of the children, who are halloted for hy the whole Court. 
 It has the appointment of all the School Officers, with the 
 exception of the Head-Master, who is appointed by the Court 
 of Common Council. 
 
 This School was erected by the Corporation, and opened in 
 the year 1854 under the authority of the Freemen's Orphan 
 School Act of that year and was established "for the mainten- 
 ance and the religious and virtuous education of Orphans of 
 Freemen of the City of London." The School is partially 
 supported by the rents of freehold estates, devised in former 
 times by charitable persons connected with the Corporation of 
 the City of London, but its principal source of income is City's 
 cash. The average annual cost to the Corporation is ^6,000. 
 The number of children in the School was originally fixed 
 at 100, viz. : 65 boys and 35 girls ; but this number was 
 increased in 1863 to 150, viz., 100 boys and 50 girls ; the 
 number now maintained is 100 boys and 65 girls. Up to 
 the present time, some 970 children have passed through the 
 School, viz., 624 boys and 346 gnls. The children are 
 admitted between the ages of 7 and 10, and remain in the 
 School until the age of 15, two boys and two girls (selected for 
 their good conduct and ability) being allowed to remain a year 
 longer as pupil teachers. On leaving the School each child 
 is provided with an outfit ; and those who are meritorious, 
 and make application, are apprenticed to suitable trades. 
 
 The cost of the buildings with additions has been _;^"30, 000 
 and the annual grants have amounted to /i go, 000.
 
 THE WORK OF THE COMMON COCNCH. 183 
 
 OPEN SPACES. 
 
 The Epping Forest Committee. 
 
 This Committee has the control of Epping Forest, 
 Wanstead Park, and High am Park, which contain altogether 
 5,559 acres, which have been acquired at an expense to the 
 Corporation of ^^290,087, and involve an annual charge for 
 maintenance of about ^4,000. 
 
 By the Epping Forest Act, 1 878, the Forest is to be regulated 
 and managed by the Corporation of London, acting by the 
 Court of Common Council, as the Conservators of the Forest. 
 For the purposes of management, the Statute provides 
 that a committee shall be appointed, to be styled The 
 Epping Forest Committee, which Committee is to have 
 authority to exercise those powers which the Conservators 
 are authorised to exercise under the Act, and the Court of 
 Common Covuicil is empowered from time to time to select 
 a number, not exceeding twelve of their members, to be 
 members of The Epping Forest Committee. The four 
 Verderers (who are elected by the Commoners in pursuance 
 of the Act), are also to be members of the Committee, and 
 have the same powers as those members who are chosen from 
 the Court of Common Council. The acts and proceedings 
 of the Committee are, by the Statute, to be done and 
 conducted according to the same rules and practice as if 
 the Committee were a Committee of the Court of Common 
 Council. The Verderers are elected for seven years, but casual 
 vacancies are filled up by the Conservators from among persons 
 qualified to be elected Verderers. 
 
 Under the Act, the Committee acquires munerous and 
 extensive powers of managing the Forest, and power is given 
 to make bye-laws for the protection of the Forest, the pre- 
 vention of nuisances, and the preservation of order ; such 
 bye-laws are to be allowed by the Ranger of the Forest,
 
 1 84 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 acting with the advice and assistance of the First Commissioner 
 of Works. The Conservators are also, to provide and maintain 
 offices in the Forest and elsewhere as they think fit for the 
 transaction of business, and they may employ the Officers 
 of the Corporation, or from time to time, with the approval 
 of the Ranger, appoint a treasurer and other officers and 
 servants and pay them such fees and salaries, and grant 
 them such pensions and retiring allowances as they think fit. 
 
 The Committee of Managers ok West Ham Park. 
 This Committee is composed of 1 5 members, eight of whom 
 are appointed by the Court of Common Council, four b}^ the 
 representatives of the late Mr. Gurney, who was the vendor of 
 the Park to the Corporation. This right was conceded to him in 
 consideration of his having sold the Park for considerably less 
 than its market value. The remaining three Members of the 
 Committee are appointed by the Parish of W^est Ham. The 
 Park was acquired by a voluntary agreement with Mr. Gurney 
 in 1874, the Corporation obtaining a license in mortmain to enable 
 them to hold it. The Bye-laws for its regulation were made 
 under the City of London Various Powers Aqt, 1877. West 
 Ham Park contains 77 acres, and has cost the Corporation 
 over £"20,000, and a present annual expenditure of about_^i,50o. 
 
 Under the control of the Coal and Corn and Finance 
 Committee are the following Open Spaces^ which have been 
 acquired by the Corporation. 
 
 Burnham Beeches. 
 The 'Beeches' are 375 acres in extent, and have been 
 described as " a wild woodland tract of great beauty." They 
 are situated four miles from Slough on the Great Western 
 Railway. This was the first open space acquired by the 
 Corporation (in 1883) under their Act of 1878, and cost^io,ooo, 
 in addition to an annual charge for maintenance of nearly ^500.
 
 THE WORK OF THE COMMON COUNCIL. 185 
 
 CouLSDON Commons. 
 
 These Commons are near Caterham in Surrey, and contain 
 nearly 350 acres, and comprise portions of Riddlesdown, 
 Kenley, Farthing Downs and Coulsdon Commons. They 
 were acquired in 1883 at a cost to the Corporation of 
 upwards of £'j,ooo. In addition to which there is an annual 
 charge for maintenance of about ^^200. 
 
 HiGHGATE Wood and Queen's Park. 
 
 The combined area of the above open spaces is nearly 
 
 100 acres, and the cost to the Corporation has been over 
 
 _^6,ooo. The cost of maintenance is over ^1,000 per annum. 
 
 Opened 1886. 
 
 St. Paul's Churchyard. 
 
 This open space was thrown open to the public in iSyq,. 
 
 and cost the Corporation ^5,600. It is now maintained b}' it 
 
 out of its own funds, at an annual expense of ;^35o. 
 
 ADMINISTRATION. 
 
 The Markets Committee. 
 The management and supervision of the City Markets are 
 entrusted to three different Committees, viz., the Billingsgate 
 and Leadenhall Markets, the Central Markets, and the Cattle 
 Markets Committees. The Market rights and privileges of 
 the Corporation of London originated in very remote times. 
 Markets have been in existence in the City of London for 
 more than 1,000 years, and the Corporation has for many 
 centuries been the Market Authority for London. 
 
 The existing Corporation Markets are : — 
 Billingsgate Market. 
 
 London Central Markets at Smithfield. 
 Metropolitan Cattle Market at IsHngton„ 
 Foreign Cattle Market at Deptford. 
 Leadenhall iMarket, and 
 Smithfield Hay Market.
 
 1 86 THE (.riLDHALL. 
 
 BlLLINGSGATK MaRKKT. 
 
 BillinjTsgatc is the most ancient market belonging lo the 
 Corporation, and is situated by the water-side in Lower 
 Thames Street. It was used for the sale of fish i,ooo years 
 ago, and has from time to time been enlarged and extended. 
 During the last 50 years, over ^'300,000 has been expended 
 for that purpose. 
 
 The deliveries at the Market have been as under : — 
 
 
 By Land. 
 
 By Water. 
 
 Total Tons, 
 
 1895 
 
 89,854 
 
 37.437 
 
 127,291 
 
 1896 
 
 95.278 
 
 42,884 
 
 138,162 
 
 1897 
 
 90,213 
 
 49.014 
 
 139,227 
 
 IS98 
 
 94.535 
 
 52.778 
 
 147.313 
 
 Lkadkn'hall Markkt. 
 The supplies at Leadenhall Market cannot be given, as, no 
 toll being levied, the weight is not ascertained. 
 London Ckntkal Markets. 
 These stand partly on the site of Old Smithfield Market, 
 and comprise the following Markets and Sections : — 
 London Central Meat Market. 
 London Central Poultry and Provision Market. 
 London Central General Market, comprising 
 Poultry and Provision Section, 
 Inland Fish Section, 
 Fruit, Vegetable and Flower Section. 
 The latter section was founded on the disestablishment of 
 Farringdon Market in 1892. The first of these Markets was 
 opened in 1868, and is believed to beat the present time the 
 largest dead meat market in existence. 
 
 The deliveries for the first year, 1859, were 127,981 tons, 
 and for last year, i8qS, 405,282 tons. The aggregate total 
 for last year is made up as follows : — 
 
 Country killed meat 112,705 tons. 
 
 Town killed .. .. .. .. .. 79.784 ,. 
 
 European .. .. .. .. .. 51,122 ,, 
 
 American .. .. .. .. .. 77.104 n 
 
 Australian and New Zealand . . . . . . 84,567 ,,
 
 THE WORK OF THE COMMON COCXCH. 187 
 
 These Markets afford employment, directly and indirectly, 
 to about 9,000 persons. 
 
 The capital expended on the Central Markets has been 
 about two millions. 
 
 Smithp'ield Hay Market. 
 For many centuries prior to the establishment of the 
 IMetropolitan Cattle Market at Islington, a Hay Market, as well 
 as a Market for the sale of cattle, sheep, and horses, was held in 
 Smithfield under the management and control of the Corporation. 
 The Cattle Market was removed to Islington in 1855, under an 
 Act of Parliament, but the Hay Market was not included, and 
 has continued to be held at Smithfield on a site specially 
 Teserved for the purpose by the Metropolitan Meat and Poultry 
 Market Act of i860. 
 
 The charge is 6d. a load on all hay and straw sold, and a 
 public register is provided showing all such sales. 
 
 Metropolitan Cattle Market, Islington. 
 This Market was formerly held at Smithfield, and was 
 removed to its present site in 1855, under the powers of the 
 Metropolitan Market Act, 1851. 
 
 The capital outlay has amounted to half a million. 
 
 The following are the Returns : — 
 
 1895 .. .. .. 919,349 animals. 
 
 1896 798,445 
 
 1897 739.534 
 
 1898 682,838 
 
 Extensive lairage antl commodious slaughterhouses are 
 provided. The Market linds employment for some 1,600 
 persons. There are two blocks of model dwellings within the 
 market area, accommodating 124 families. 
 
 Foreign Cajtle Market, Dertkord. 
 
 Under the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act, 1869, the 
 C(jrporation of the City (jf Lcjudon was made the exchisive
 
 1 88 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 local authority for the purposes of that Act, in and for the 
 Metropolis, subject to its providing and opening for public 
 use a market before the ist January, 1872, and on that 
 day this market was dul}- opened. It has since been enlarged, 
 and now covers about 30 acres, occupies the site of the old 
 Admiralty Dockyard, and lias a river frontage of about 1,050 feet. 
 The total outlay for site and construction has been about 
 ;£"430,ooo. The business of this market is liable to the most 
 serious fluctuation in the event of the outbreak abroad of 
 cattle disease. 
 
 The number of animals landed in 1897 ^^''^^ 223,628 cattle 
 and 286, qqo sheep; in 1898, 224,993 cattle, 353,095 sheep, 
 408 pigs. 
 
 From the opening of the market in 1872 to the close of 
 1898, 13,804,125 animals have been landed from 22,266 steamers 
 and slaughtered at the market, chiefly for the food supply of 
 the Metropolis. 
 
 For the convenience of shipowners, and to avoid the 
 necessity for their largest ships discharging at the market 
 jetties, three commodious steam vessels have been provided and 
 specially fitted for daily use in trans-shipping animals in the 
 river or docks, and conveying them to the market. Since 
 the commencement of this service in 1879, 1,001,541 cattle 
 and 152,652 sheep have been so landed at the market. 
 
 In 1879, 28,653 Cattle arrived from the United States of America. 
 
 „ 1889, 99,842 ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, 
 
 „ 1897, 144.679 „ 
 
 „ 1898, 133,422 ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, 
 
 ,, 1890, 22 Cattle and 3,075 Sheep from the River Plate (Argentina). 
 
 „ 1892, 99 „ 976 „ 
 
 „ 1894, 4.971 n 36,564 „ 
 
 „ 1897, 49.584 .. 248,037 
 
 ,, 1898, 66,769 ,, 324,680 ,, ,, ,, 
 
 Three jetties run 160 feet into the river, and vessels 
 ranging from 1,000 to 6,500 tons are discharged, frequently 
 three or more on one tide.
 
 THE WORK OF THE COMMON COUNCH. 189 
 
 Railway accommodation and other works are now in hand 
 at a further estimated cost of ^105,000. 
 
 There is covered lairage accommodation for 7,700 beasts, 
 and 16,000 sheep, accommodation for slaughtering 2,600 
 beasts, and 4,000 sheep per day, chill room accommodation 
 for 2,200 sides of beef, every 24 hours. Many of the larger 
 slaughterhouses have also cooling rooms attached. Animals 
 are sold alive chiefly to wholesale butchers, and slaughtered 
 by them within 10 days of their arrival, in accordance with 
 the orders of the Board of Agriculture. Accommodation is 
 provided for cleaning and cooking the edible offal, and for other 
 purposes. The offal of a bullock furnishes a meal for about 60 
 persons, and that of a sheep for eight. In the business of the 
 market and its connections, probably not less than 2,500 hands 
 are employed daily. 
 
 Speaking generally, all the Corporation markets have been 
 either built, reconstructed, or enlarged within the last 50 years, 
 and the Corporation, as the owner and the market authority, 
 has maintained and managed all the markets under its control 
 for the benefit of the whole of the Metropolis, without any rate 
 being levied upon the inhabitants of the City or Metropolis ; 
 and at the present day it may be fiiirly said that the series of 
 markets for the convenience of the people of London is 
 unequalled in size and utility throughout the world. 
 
 The entire capital sum expended by the Corporation on its 
 markets may be approximately given at _;^"4,ooo,ooo. 
 
 Thk City Policp: Committke. 
 This Committee is the largest Committee of the Corporation, 
 and consists of the Lord Mayor, all the Aldermen, the 
 Deputies and 29 Commoners. 
 
 The Committee appoints the Surgeon and Receiver, and 
 carries the various Acts relating to the City P(jlice into 
 execution (except as to the disciplinary portion, which is under 
 the control of the Commissioner), has the general manage-
 
 iQo TFIE GUILDHALL. 
 
 iiK'iit aiul control of all the buildings in the occupation of the 
 Force, Police Stations, Hospital, &c., and provides all the 
 necessary accoutrements. The City Police Force is under the 
 command of a Commissioner, and consists of about i,ooo officers 
 and men. The expenses (about ^135,000 per annum) are met b\' 
 a contribution from the City's Cash of one-fourth part, and the 
 remainder by a rate levied in the several Wards of the Cit)-. 
 The following account of the origin and rise of the Force may 
 prove interesting : — 
 
 From time immemorial, the citizens of London have had 
 the control of their own Police, anciently called The Watch, 
 and this, indeed, was one of their most cherished rights and 
 privileges. As far back as history goes, the care and control of 
 the Police of the City have always been in the hands of the 
 citizens, either through the medium of the Train Bands, 
 through the Watch and Ward Committee, or otherwise ; this 
 was origin all}- effected by causing every Inhabitant of a Ward 
 to take a personal share in the duties of "Watch and Ward."' 
 In 1693, 'i^^ -^ct of Common Council was passed which provided 
 that more than 1,000 Watchmen should be constantly on dut}" 
 in the City from sunset to sunrise, and that .every inhabitant 
 should take his turn. This was called the " Standing Watch." 
 There had also been established, from a very early period, for 
 extraordinary occasions, a body called the " Marching Watch," 
 which was mustered regularly at Midsummer, under the 
 Mayor and Sheriffs, until the early part of the reign 
 of Edward VI., when it was put down on account of 
 its having caused excessive expenditure. In later times,, 
 peace and order were secured in the City by the super- 
 vision of City Marshals, under whose care the City Dav 
 Watch was placed. In 1737, the Night Watch of the Cit}' 
 was regulated by an Act of Parliament " for better regulating 
 the Night Watch and Bedels within the City of London and 
 Liberties thereof, and for making more effectual the Laws now
 
 THE WORK OF THE COMMON COUXCH.. iqi 
 
 in being, for paving and cleansing the streets and sewers in 
 and about the said City." 
 
 Under this Act, a more efficient s3-stem of Pohce was 
 estabUshed by day, as well as by night. This Police Force was 
 superintended by the Aldermen, and then consisted of 68 men. 
 It was subsequently found to be insufficient, and was, con- 
 sequently, re-modelled by the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, in 
 April, 1832, in which form it existed up to 1830. The Force 
 then consisted of 90 men. 
 
 When the Metropolitan Police Force was first established 
 bv the late Sir Robert Peel, he took the City Police, as 
 then existing, for his model. He, however, desired to con- 
 solidate the two Forces, but the Corporation strongly objected 
 to this, and advanced four principal reasons for keeping them 
 distinct, viz.: ist. — "That the City so differs in its localit}- 
 ■"and the nature of its property from other parts of the 
 " Metropolis as to require a .separate and differentl}- regulated 
 " Police Force for its protection.'' 2nd. — " That it would be 
 •• a great inconvenience to the inhabitants of the City to be 
 " obliged to apply to the Commissioners at Whitehall, in cases 
 '' of complaint against constables." 3rd. — " That the taking 
 " away the power of appointing and managing its own Police 
 " would be an interference with the Charters and Privileges 
 "of the City." 4th. — "That the inhabitants would sustain 
 " a great pecuniary loss by being deprived of the contribution 
 " which is now made from the Corporation Funds towards 
 " the expense of the City Police." These reasons prevailed. 
 The Corporation and the citizens maintained their old 
 constitutional right of self-government, and the City remained 
 undisturbed in its ancient right and privilege of " Watch 
 and Ward." The Corporation introduced a Bill into 
 Parliament in the then Session (1830) for the regulation 
 of their own Police, preserving all their rights and privileges.
 
 102 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 This led to tlie Act of that year being passed for regulating 
 the Police in the City of London, under which the Force is 
 now managed. 
 
 Many testimonies to the good management of the City 
 Police have not prevented attempts to deprive the City of the 
 management of its own force. One of the attempts led to a 
 remarkable requisition from upwards of 3,000 Merchants, 
 Bankers, and Citizens (headed by the late Baron Lionel de 
 Rothschild), calling for a Meeting in Guildhall to consider the 
 question with a view to protesting against the proposed 
 interference. A Meeting was consequently held on May 5th, 
 1863, when the following Resolution was proposed b}- the 
 Governor of the Bank of England : — 
 
 " That the citizens of London obtained from the Sovereigns 
 '• of these realms the right of electing their own Magistrates, 
 ** and of keeping watch and ward within the City, a right which 
 *' has ever been exercised for the benefit of the people and the 
 " protection of their liberties; that the Bill for the Amalgamation 
 " of the City of London Police with the Metropolitan Police is 
 " an invasion of this right, and is subversive of the old English 
 " Constitutional principle of Local Self-Government, which has 
 "'fostered the love of freedom in this country, has drawn closer 
 " the ties which connect the people with the Crown and 
 " Parliament, and under which this City and the Nation 
 ''at large have so long prospered." The Resolution was 
 carried, and the Bill for the deprivation of the City's rights 
 withdrawn. 
 
 The Citv, notwithstanding the enormous value of the 
 property within its area, is, by night, practically deserted by 
 the three or four hundred thousand of its day population, who 
 are content to leave the protection of their possessions to the 
 City Police Force — a most eloquent testimony to its entire and
 
 THE WORK OF THE COMMON COUNCIL. 193 
 
 absolute efficiency. Lord Ma\-or Phillips (1897) justl}- described 
 the Cit}' Police as " The most civil and the best civil force in 
 the world." 
 
 The Couxty Purposes Committee. 
 
 This Committee has most important functions to 
 discharge, mainly in consequence of the passing of the Local 
 Government Act, 1888, by which were transferred to the Mayor, 
 Commonalt}'', and Citizens of the City, acting by the Court 
 of Common Council, various powers, duties, and liabilities of 
 the Corporation, then hitherto acting by the Court of 
 Aldermen, or by the Court of Quarter Sessions. Among 
 the duties so transferred, were those arising under the 
 following statutes : — 
 
 The Explosives Act, 1875 ; The Weights and INIeasures 
 Act, 1878 ; The Petroleum Acts, 1871 and 1879 ; The Refor- 
 matory and Industrial Schools Acts ; Shop Hours Act, 1892 ; 
 the Acts relating to Pauper Lunatic Asylums, so far as regards 
 the Provision, Enlargement, Maintenance, Management, and 
 Visitation of the City of London Lunatic Asylum at Stone. 
 Lender the Lunacy Act, i8go, the Court of Common 
 Council was appointed the Local Authority for the City of 
 London ; the control and management of the Asylum now 
 rest with the Visiting Committee, consisting of twelve 
 Members nominated by the County Purposes Committee and 
 elected by the Court of Common Council, as such Local 
 Authority. A further power transferred to the Court 
 of Common Council by the Local Government Act, 
 1888, was that of making a County Rate, which would 
 be applicable to the payment of the following : — Debts 
 incurred in respect of Lunatic Asylums and Lidustrial 
 Schools ; Pensions in connection with Prison Officials ; 
 Expenses in connection with the recovery of Drowned Bodies, 
 Registration of Voters, Pauper Lunatics, Industrial Schools,
 
 194 ^'^^'' (;riLlJ/lALL. 
 
 Coroner, Administration of Justice (Central Criminal Court), 
 including the provision and maintenance of Courts and Offices. 
 
 'Vuv. CiTv OF London Liwatic Asvi.r.M 
 
 was erected durino- the years 1863, 1864, and 1865, under the 
 direction of the Special Asylum Connnittee of the Court of 
 Common Council, from plans prepared by James Bunstone 
 Bunning, Esq., the then City Architect, and was opened for 
 the reception of patients on the i6th April, 1866. The original 
 accommodation was for 125 of either sex. The estate 
 comprised 33 acres, which has since been enlarged to 140 
 acres, a large portion of which is used as a farm, which is of 
 invaluable assistance in providing healthy labour and recreation 
 for the inmates, at the same time supplying the patients with 
 fresh and wholesome food. 
 
 The style of the building is Tudor ; it is arranged upon 
 the corridor principle, which, thirty years ago, was thought to 
 be the most suitable for these Institutions. Since 1866, many 
 additions have been made, notably in 1874, 1878, and 1885, 
 when an extension and spur to the female wing were added, a 
 detached Hospital for infectious cases erected, and the male wing 
 extended. Extensive additions and improvements are now in 
 progress, at an estimated cost of about ^85,000. The total 
 expenditure from the City's Cash for the purchase of land, 
 erection and maintenance of buildings, has been upwards of 
 ;^i 23,000. The City's Cash also contributes upwards of _^i,ioo 
 per annum for the maintenance of patients, for whom no legal 
 settlements can be found. There are, at present, in residence 
 472 patients (222 males and 250 females), of these, 393 belong 
 to the pauper class and 79 are private, their relatives pa^-ing a 
 Guinea a week for their maintenance. The latter accom- 
 modation is much appreciated, and there is always a long list 
 of patients waiting for admission. The recoverv rate for the 
 past quinquennial period, has been considerably above the 
 average recovery rate for the County and Borough Asylums,
 
 THE WORK OF THE COMMON COUNCIL, 195 
 
 and the death rate for this period, has beeii one of the lowest 
 in England. Ample out-door employment, and a healthy site, 
 have largely contributed thereto. 
 
 The late Lord Mayor, Lieut. -Col. Sir Horatio David 
 Davies, K.C.M.G., M.P., is Chairman of the Committee. 
 
 The Port of Londox Sanitarv Committee. 
 
 The work of the Port of London Sanitary Committee 
 properl}- comes under the head of Public Health, but it is 
 placed in its present position, for the reason that the whole of 
 the expenses attendant in carrying on the duties assigned to it 
 are discharged by the Corporation out of its own Funds, and 
 not out of the Rates, as are all the expenses in carrying on 
 the work of the Health Department. 
 
 This Committee was originally appointed in 1873, and has 
 since been annually re-appointed, under the various Public 
 Health Acts. To it is delegated the duty of carr3-ing into 
 execution the powers of the Corporation, as the Port Sanitary 
 Authorit}' for the Port of London. The Committee has 
 the management of the Port Sanitar}- Hospital, at 
 Denton, near Gravesend, and the dealing (through their 
 medical officers) with all cases of infectious disease brought into 
 the Port of London by any vessels. 
 
 During the year 1898, by means of the system of medical 
 inspection, as carried out by the Medical Officers of the 
 Authority, 79 cases of infectious disease were removed from 
 vessels and dealt with at the entrance of the port. 
 
 The total number of ships thus visited by the Medical 
 Officers on arrival from foreign ports during the year was 
 10,332. Of these 1,096 were medically inspected, this involving 
 individual examination of 5,789 passengers, and 14,279 persons 
 forming the crews of such vessels.
 
 190 . THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 A similar system is carried out by the Authority at Sheer- 
 ness, the estuary of the Medway coming within the hmits ot 
 the Port of London. At this station 167 vessels were 
 visited by the Medical Officer stationed there. In addition to 
 the medical inspection, sanitary inspection of vessels is carried 
 out throughout the docks and port generally by a staff of nine 
 inspectors. In this way, during the year 1898, 31,658 vessels 
 were inspected. 
 
 The inspection of food brought into the port from abroad 
 also constitutes an important branch of the work of the 
 Sanitar}' Authority, and considerable quantities of unsound 
 food stuffs of all kinds, including meat, fruit, fish, etc., are 
 seized and destroved annually by the officers specially appointed 
 for the purpose. 
 
 The sanitary inspection of vessels not only involves the 
 duty of seeing that the crews' quarters are kept clean, but also 
 the carrying out of such structural alterations as may be 
 necessary for the improvement of the sanitary condition of 
 these places ; and during the year under review 591 alterations 
 of this class, affecting 537 vessels, were effected. 
 
 For the purposes of sanitary inspection in the River, and 
 removal of cases of infectious disease, the Authority maintains 
 three steam launches in constant work. These launches patrol 
 the whole of the district which extends from Teddington Lock 
 to about five miles below the Nore, and embraces all water- 
 wa3's within these limits, including the whole of the Docks. 
 
 The offices of the Authority are situated at Greenwich, 
 and are in charge of the Medical Officer of Health, who, as the 
 chief executive officer, is responsible for the proper working of 
 the various departments, including the Infectious Hospital 
 above referred to, and the staff of medical officers stationed at 
 Gravesend and Sheerness.
 
 THE WORK OF THE COMMON COCXCH. 197 
 
 In the month of February, 1S93, with a view to the 
 consideration of the best measures for the prevention of the 
 introduction of Cholera into this country, and promoting unity 
 of action among Sanitary Authorities, the Committee initiated, 
 and with the consent of the Court of Common Council, held, 
 on the 17th day of that month, a Conference of Port Sanitary 
 Authorities of England and Wales, which was presided over 
 by the Lord Mayor, and attended by 108 delegates, repre- 
 senting 41 Authorities. Important resolutions, dealing with 
 hospitals, inspection of vessels, disinfection, and kindred 
 matters, were discussed and passed, and forwarded to the 
 Local Government Board, the President of which, in his 
 place in the House of Commons, bore testimon}^ to the work 
 of the Committee in the following words: "I think the Port 
 " Sanitar}' Authority of London is pre-eminently distinguished 
 " for the admirable manner in which it has discharged its 
 " duty." 
 
 The amount spent by the Committee, on behalf of the 
 Corporation, in safeguarding the health of the Port of 
 London, has amounted, for the 25 years during which the 
 duties have been carried out, to no less than ^i 2b, 000. 
 The average annual amount expended during the last three 
 3-ears being ^7,000. 
 
 The cost of the work carried out by the difTerent 
 Committees of the Court of Common Council, as described in 
 the foregoing pages, is entirely borne by the City's Cash, that 
 is to say, the produce of the estates of the Corporation, and 
 without the levying of any rate upon the citizens, with the 
 exception of three-fourths of the expenses of the Cit}- Police 
 Force (under the Act of 1839), as noted on page 190.
 
 198 THE GUILD HALT.. 
 
 An exceedingly important section of the work carried on 
 b}' the Court of Common Council is that of 
 
 THE PURIJC HEALTH DEPARTMENT. 
 
 This Department of the Corporation carries on the work 
 performed by the late Commission of Sewers, which body was 
 merged into the Corporation by the City of London Sewers 
 Act, 1897, which came into operation on the lolh January, 
 1898. The original Commission, as constituted at the time 
 of its dissolution, was created in the 3^ear following the Great 
 Fire of London (1666) by an Act of Parliament, entitled, 
 "An Act for Re-building the City of London." From the 
 time of its institution to its dissolution it had always been 
 composed of Members of the Corporation, with the Lord Mayor 
 at its head. 
 
 It is somewhat difficult in a limited space to detail the 
 multifarious duties appertaining to this branch of the 
 Corporation, or to give an adequate idea of the scope of its 
 work, which is carried on by the means of four Committees, 
 each reporting, like all other Committees of the Corporation, to 
 the Court of Common Council, viz. : — 
 
 The Improvements and Finance Committee, 
 The Streets Committee, 
 The Sanitary Committee, 
 The Accounts Committee. 
 
 The due administration of the vv-ork, which is carried out 
 under upwards of thirty Acts of Parliament (see page 206), 
 involves the employment of a regular staff of some nine hundred 
 persons, and an outlay in 1898 of about ;^549,ooo. Of this 
 sum, ;^i4g,ooo is in respect of the repayment of instalments 
 and interest on loans for improvements of the public streets, 
 and £267,000 to meet the Precepts of the London School
 
 THE WORK OF THE COMMON COUNCTL. 199 
 
 Board. The total debt on loans at the commencement of the 
 3'ear was ^1,337,983, which is annually decreasing to the 
 extent of ^67,000, in addition to provision made by Sinking 
 Funds for meeting Bonds maturing in particular years. 
 
 The Corporation, under the City of London Sewers Acts, 
 has rating powers for the purposes of the Public Health 
 Department, in respect of the Sewer Rate of 4d. in the £^ and 
 of the Consolidated Rate of is. 6d. in the £. The rates for the 
 current year being only id. and is. 2^d. in the £ respectively, 
 there is thus a larger margin of rating power available. 
 It also has rating powers for special purposes, under other 
 Acts, such as the Education Act, (the total amount collected 
 by the late Commission for School Board Purposes exceeded 
 ;^3, 000,000), and Dwelling-House Improvement Acts, under 
 which the Commission erected Artizans' Dwellings in Stoney 
 Lane accommodating 1,000 persons. 
 
 THE OFFICERS OF THE "PUBLIC HEAETH DEPARTMENT." 
 The Town Clerk is head of the Department, under whom 
 all the other officers act. 
 
 The Heads of Departments are the Principal Clerk, the 
 Medical Officer of Health and Food Analyst, the Engineer, and 
 the Superintendent of Cleansing, &c. 
 
 Thk Principal Clerk 
 
 has an important and responsible position. He has to attend 
 the Courts of Common Council, whilst matters affecting the 
 Public Health Department are under discussion, and all 
 Committees of the Department, and is responsible for the 
 proper ccjnduct of the wliole of the business, as well as for 
 the correctness of the accounts. He is Clerk of the City of 
 London Burial Board, and has control of all matters in 
 connection with the City of London Cemetery at Ilford.
 
 200 THE Or/LDHALL. 
 
 ThK MkDICAI. Ol<l<lCKK 01-- HiiALTH AND FoOD AxALrST. 
 
 The duties of the Medical Officer of Health for the City of 
 London are defined by the provisions of the City of London 
 Sewers Acts, 1848 and 185 1, the Public Health Act, 1891, and 
 by the various Acts of Parliament having reference to, or for 
 regulating, the sanitary condition of the City of London, andl 
 include such other duties as may be imposed by any Act of 
 Parliament, or by any orders or regulations, having reference 
 to sanitary matters, made by the Corporation. 
 
 The duties of the Food Analyst are defined by the 
 Adulteration of Food and Drugs Acts. 
 
 The Engixkkr. 
 The duties of the Engineer consist, principally, in the 
 supervision of all works connected with the Public 
 Lighting, Paving, Sewerage, &c., of the City of London. 
 All accounts for these works are examined, checked 
 and certified by him. He has to prepare all plans 
 and estimates for the widening and improvement of 
 the Cit}' Streets, and conducts all negotiations for the 
 acquisition of the properties required, and the disposal of 
 the surplus lands and buildings that remain. He designs and 
 superintends the construction of the various public con- 
 veniences that have been placed beneath the public 
 ways in the City of London. All plans of House 
 Drains, and the construction of house drains beneath the- 
 public ways, and the interiors of buildings are under his 
 control. The Subways (in which are hydraulic mains, gas and 
 water pipes, electric wires, &c.) beneath the public ways are 
 also under his control. 
 
 The Supekixtendext of Cleaxsixg, Dustixg 
 
 AXD WaTERIXG. 
 
 The duties of the Superintendent of Cleansing require 
 him to devote himself to his work by night, as.
 
 THE WORK OP THE COMMON COUNCH. 20E 
 
 well as by da}-, and, if needful, on Sundays as well 
 as on week days, as the necessities of the public service- 
 may require. It is his business to keep the Streets in 
 a perfect state of cleanliness, and to see that refuse 
 of all descriptions is removed from the City as promptly 
 as possible ; to engage and discharge all hands, to define 
 their duties, arrange the hours of working, and from time 
 to time make such alterations in their wages as are needed. 
 
 The Improvements and Finance Committee. 
 
 Upon this Committee, as its name denotes, devolve all 
 questions of improvements in the public streets. The net 
 expenditure b}^ the late Commission of Sewers in this matter 
 alone during the past half century was about ^^2, 500, 000, 
 exclusive of the contributions by the late MetropoHtan Board 
 of Works, the London County Council, and the City's Cash, 
 the result being that every important street in the City 
 has been improved and widened, and the congestion of 
 traffic at many points greatly relieved, notably in the 
 cases of Ludgate Hill, Poultry, Monument Street, East- 
 cheap, Blomfield Street, &c., &c. At the present moment,. 
 the much needed widening of Fleet Street, and also 
 of Cheapside (west end) is well in hand. 
 
 Many of the main thoroughfares, thus improved, have 
 greatly benefited not only the City, but the whole of the 
 Metropolis. In the year 1898 over ^^140,000 was expended in 
 acquiring properties for street improvements. Most of this work 
 has been and is now carried out under the powers of the Act 
 of 57th Geo. III., Cap. 29, commonly known as Michael Angelo 
 Taylor's Act. This Committee is also responsible for the 
 financial condition of the Department, and the correct annual 
 statement of Assets and Liabilities, upon which the Rates 
 needed for the current year are based and made.
 
 202 THE GriLDHALL. 
 
 It has also under its control the collection of the 
 Consolidated and Sewers Rates and all matters relating 
 thereto. The Parliamentary business affecting the Public Health 
 Department, is also dealt with principally by this Committee. 
 
 The Stkekts Committkk. 
 
 This Committee has the management of all questions 
 relating to the paving and lighting of the Public Streets. 
 The cost of lighting with gas and electricity is ^20,000 a 
 year, the annual cost of each arc lamp being £2(:>. Asphalte, 
 M'ood, and stone paving cost ^^34,000, and cleansing, removal 
 of dust, and watering the streets ^"41,000 a year. Under 
 its control is the ever increasing work of the Cleansing 
 Department, which provides for the collection and disposal 
 of all dust and refuse within the City. The quantity of 
 street sweepings and dust removed annuallv is now about 
 80,000 tons : 30 years ago it was onl)' 40,400. 
 
 Tn connection with this work there are three Depots, 
 viz. : — at Letts' Wharf, Commercial Road, Upper Thames 
 Street (where the Superintendent of Cleansing resides) and the 
 Depot in Stoney Lane. The dust and refuse removed from the 
 City is dealt with at Letts' Wharf (a revenue of ;^3,ooo a 
 year is derived from the sale of string, cardboard, paper and 
 bottles, &c.), where the late Commission of Sewers erected Dust 
 Destructors, and all the necessary appliances for dealing 
 with refuse, as well as ranges of stables for the accommoda- 
 tion of the Cit}' stud, comprising about one hundred horses. 
 At this Depot, the carts and wagons used for the removal 
 of the dust, etc., are made, as well as the harness, 
 horse-shoes, etc., and the horses are shod by farriers in the 
 emplo}'^ of the Department. The cost of the Buildings 
 exceeded ;^88,ooo. 
 
 The Committee is also from time to time engaged in 
 protecting the interests of the public, in connection with any
 
 THE WORK Oh THE COMMON COUNCH. 203 
 
 Raihva}' or other kindred works beneath the public way (as in 
 the case of the Central London Railway and other works now 
 in progress within the City area). 
 
 There are fifty miles of streets, lanes and courts in the 
 City which require the close attention of this Committee. 
 The quantity of water annually used for washing these streets, 
 &c., is over 26,000,000 gallons, costing nearly ^1,000. 
 A recent day census taken showed that the number of 
 vehicles passing through the streets in twenty-four hours 
 was 92,372, and i,i86,oq4 pedestrians. 
 
 The Committee has under its control the Subways con- 
 structed by the Corporation under the Holborn Viaduct and 
 in several new streets. 
 
 In addition to the above, the following works are supervised 
 and dealt with bv this Committee, viz. : — 
 
 Dangerous Structure Proceedings. 
 
 Construction and Maintenance of Public Conveniences. 
 There are now nineteen of these structures in the 
 City (some providing accommodation for women), and 
 there are others in course of construction. The 
 revenue derived from these places is about ^'b,ooo 
 a year. 
 
 Sewer Works. The length of sewers within the City, 
 exclusive of the main sewers, which are under the 
 management of the London County Council, is about 
 41 miles. 
 
 Water Supply, Artesian Well. Hoardings and Scaffolds. 
 Projecting Trade Tablets and Boards, &c. 
 All Projections over or upon the Public Way, such as 
 Private Lamps. Vaults, Area Gratings, Coal Plates, etc.
 
 204 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 The Sanitary Committp:e. 
 
 The Sanitary Committee is the Burial Board for the City 
 of London, and is vested with all the powers of a Sanitary- 
 Authority in regard to the investigation of Zymotic Diseases, 
 and the inspection of Lodging - Houses, Slaughter-Houses, 
 Bake-Houses, Factories, Workshops, the Condemnation and 
 Destruction of Diseased Meat, &c., the Removal of Nuisances, 
 Suppression of Offensive Trades, Adulteration of Food, Smoke 
 Nuisances, the Disinfection of Premises, &c. (after Contagious 
 Diseases), and all other matters relating to the health of the 
 communitv. In addition to this, a house-to-house visitation 
 of the tenements of the City, is in daily progress. 
 
 Under the management of this Committee are the City of 
 London Cemetery at Little Ilford, which was acquired and laid 
 out by the late Commission of Sewers, in 1856, at a cost 
 of about ^82,000, the portion enclosed for the purposes of 
 burial, being 118 acres, and there is a reserve of nearly 50 acres 
 ('It is interesting to note that it was in consequence of this 
 acquisition that the Corporation zvas enabled to sne the parties 
 who had wrongfully possessed themselves of I^orest land^ and^ 
 eventually^ throiigh the action thus taken., that Epping Forest 
 was preserved as an open space free to the public for ever) also 
 under the control of this Committee is the City Mortuary 
 (containing a Chapel for the reception of dead bodies, a 
 Post-Mortem Room, disinfecting apparatus of modern con- 
 struction. Laboratories, Microscopical Room and a Coroner's 
 Court), erected at a total outlay of about £"12,000; and 
 the Cotton Street Shelter in Cripplegate (for the temporary 
 accommodation of families during the disinfection of their own 
 homes).
 
 THE WORK OF THE COMMON COUNCIL. 205 
 
 The Accounts Committee. 
 
 The Accounts Committee, (formed by the appointment 
 -of five members from each of the three before-mentioned 
 ■Committees), is responsible for the examination and passing 
 all Bills and Accounts before the same are finally presented 
 for payment by the respective Committees. 
 
 They have also to examine and pass the periodical Dis- 
 bursement Accounts of the various officers, and the accounts 
 ■of the Collectors of Rates. 
 
 In concluding this short account of the work carried 
 on by the Corporation in the government of the " one square 
 mile," it can be asserted, without fear of contradiction, that, 
 whether with respect to the Educational advantages offered 
 lo the general public, through the medium of its various 
 Schools, or in the management of its Police, Markets and 
 Open Spaces, or in the Lighting, Cleansing, Draining, and 
 general Sanitary Work, or the Regulation of the en'ormous 
 Vehicular and Pedestrian Traffic, and, in fact, by the complete- 
 ness and the thorough efficiency of its Municipal Work, the 
 City of London will bear favourable comparison with any City 
 in the World. And it is by a due regard to the interests of the 
 City ratepayers, that the large majority of the members of the 
 Court are privileged, from year to year, to continue their labour 
 of love and usefulness to the very great advantage of the 
 citizens " of no mean City," and of the Metropolis at large.
 
 206 
 
 THE GUILDHALL. 
 
 ScHp:nui.E of the principal Acts of Parliament under which the 
 Corporation are or act as the Local Rating or Sanitary Authority. 
 
 Date of 
 Act. 
 
 Chapter and Reign. 
 
 1817 I 57 Geo. III. c. xxix. 
 1848 , II & 12 Vict. c. clxi: 
 
 Title. 
 
 185 1 
 1852 
 
 1857 
 1867 
 1869 
 1871 
 
 1875 
 1875 
 1875 
 
 1878 
 1879 
 
 1881 
 1882 
 
 1887 
 
 1889 
 1890 
 1891 
 1891 
 1892 
 1892 
 
 1892 
 1892 
 1894 
 1894 
 1895 
 
 II (S: 12 Vict. c. clxiii. 
 
 14 & 15 Vict. c. xci. 
 
 15 & 16 Vict. c. 85 
 20 & 21 Vict. c. 35 
 30 & 31 Vict. c. 134 
 32 & 33 Vict. c. 67 
 34 & 35 Vict. c. cxxi. 
 
 38 & 39 Vict. c. 63 
 38 & 39 Vict. c. 8^ 
 
 38 Vict. c. iv. 
 
 83 
 
 41 Vict. c. 16 
 
 42 & 43 Vict. c. 30 
 
 44 & 45 Vict. c. Ixxxix. 
 
 44 & 
 
 45 & 
 
 46 & 
 
 47 & 
 
 50 & 
 
 51 & 
 
 52 & 
 
 52 & 
 
 53 & 
 
 54 & 
 
 54 & 
 
 55 & 
 55 & 
 
 45 Vict. c. 37 
 
 46 Vict. c. 56 
 
 47 Vict. c. 53 
 
 48 Vict. c. Ixxii. 
 
 51 Vict. c. 29 
 
 52 Vict. c. 12 
 
 53 Vict. c. II 
 
 53 Vict. c. 27 
 
 54 Vict. c. 70 
 
 55 Vict. c. 76 
 
 55 Vict. c. lxx\ii. 
 
 56 Vict. c. 30 
 56 Vict. c. II 
 
 55 & 56 Vict. c. 57 
 55 & 56 Vict. c. 59 
 55 & 56 Vict. c. Ixxvii. 
 57 & 58 Vict. c. 53 
 
 57 & 58 Vict. c. cc.xiii. 
 
 58 & 59 Vict. c. 37 
 
 General Paving Act. 
 
 City of London Sewers Act 1848. 
 
 City of London Sewers .\ct 1S51. 
 
 The Burial Act 1852. 
 
 The City of London Burial Act 1857. 
 
 The Metropolitan Streets Act 1867. 
 
 The Valuation (Metropolis) Act 1869. 
 
 The Wharves and Warehouses Steam 
 Power and Hydraulic Pressure Com- 
 pany's Act 1871. 
 
 Sale of Food and Drugs Act 1875. 
 
 The Local Loans Act 1875 
 
 The Commissioners of Sewers of the 
 City of London Act 1875. 
 
 The Factory and Workshop Act 1878. 
 
 Sale of Food and Drugs Act Amendment 
 Act 1879. 
 
 The City of London Commissioners of 
 Sewers (Artisans' Dwellings) Act 1881. 
 
 Alkali &c. Works Regulation Act 1881. 
 
 The Electric Lighting Act 1882. 
 
 The Factory and Workshop Act 1883. 
 
 The London Hydraulic Power Act 1884. 
 
 The Margarine Act 1887. 
 
 The Electric Lighting Act 1888. 
 
 Sale of Horseflesh &c. Regulation Act 1889 
 
 Advertising Stations (Rating) Act 1889. 
 
 Housing of the Working Classes Act 1890. 
 
 Public Health London Act 1891. 
 
 London Overhead Wires Act 1S91. 
 
 Alkali &c. Works Regulation Act 1892. 
 
 Mortmain and Charitable Uses Act 
 Amendment Act 1892. 
 
 Private Street Works Act 1892. 
 
 Telegraph Act 1892. 
 
 Corporation of London (Loans) Act 1892. 
 
 London (Equalisation of Rates) Act 1894. 
 
 London Building Act 1894. 
 
 Factory and Workshop Act 1895. 
 
 There are various other Acts of Parliament in which protective 
 clauses have been inserted for the benefit of the Corporation.
 
 Ofi 
 
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