Goldsmiths’ Hall
Positioned at the junction of Foster Lane and Gresham Street in the City of London, is the third Goldsmiths’ Hall. Completed in 1835, and constructed on the site which has been home to the Goldsmiths’ Company since 1339.
The First Hall
In 1327 the Company received its first royal charter, giving it the right to enforce good authority, the standards within the trade and emphasising its standing over provincial goldsmiths. This marked the beginning of the Company’s formal existence as a craft guild, with St. Dunstan as its patron saint.
During the medieval period, the whole Company met at least three times a year when the ordinances were read aloud and decisions by the ratified. Such questions as new leases, choice of almsmen, election of liverymen and trade disputes were dealt with on these occasions.
At this point the Goldsmiths decided they should have a headquarters. The chosen property lay near the ‘Goldsmithery’ or goldsmiths’ area, at the north end of Foster Lane in the parish of St. John Zachary. In 1339, 19 goldsmiths bought it for the use of the Goldsmiths' Company. Though extended in area, this is the identical site on which Goldsmiths’ Hall stands today. No other Company can claim a longer or earlier tenure.
Two renters were annually appointed to collect the rents and keep an eye on the condition of various properties. These were men of standing on the Livery but unlike other companies they were not Wardens. There were four Auditors, all past Wardens, also a Clerk and a Beadle. The Wardens were chosen at a common assembly in April and took office on 19th May, the feast of St. Dunstan, the Company’s patron saint. That day would begin with a solemn procession to church and end with a feast.
According to the Company’s Accounts we can tell that by now the Hall contained a parlour, great hall, chapel, chamber, granary, armoury and cellars with courtyard and garden.
In 1530, the Company went to great trouble and expense to import a specially woven tapestry, from Flanders, which depicted the life of St Dunstan, the patron saint of English goldsmiths. Of vast size, the tapestry was hung around the walls of the Livery Hall. Sadly, with the advent of the Reformation, the tapestry disappeared, as did a jewel-encrusted silver-gilt effigy of St Dunstan, which at some unknown date had been erected over the screen in the Livery Hall.
The Second Hall
By the early seventeenth century, it had become obvious that the Hall was too small for the Company’s needs. A second Hall was erected on the site of the original merchant’s house, incorporating a further 10 shops, between 1634 and 36. The Palladian red-bricked building was the work of Nicholas Stone, the King’s Mason, with advice from Inigo Jones, the King’s Surveyor. The Company had to pay for a licence for rebuilding and, when the stone was delivered it was immediately ‘detained for the King’s use’ and a further quantity had to be purchased. The Company was forced to borrow heavily.
The new Hall from the 1630s was gutted by the Great Fire of 1666, leaving only the walls standing. The Company’s treasures and records were saved by Sir Charles Doe, an assistant, who commandeered a cart and took them to safety to a house in Edmonton.
The restoration of the Hall was completed by Edward Jerman in 1669, although a further fire in the Assay Office destroyed the southwest corner of the new building in 1681.
In 1814, Brayley described the Hall as being of ‘fine red brick, and surrounded a small court, paved; the front being ornamented with stone corners wrought in rustic and a large arched entrance, which exhibited a high pediment, supported on Doric columns, and open at the top, to give room for a shield of the Company’s arms.‘
The Company had been proud that its wartime economies from the Napoleonic Wars did not hinder its charitable activities, but the upkeep of the Hall had certainly suffered. In the early 19th century some parts of the building even had to be shored up with scaffolding.
The Third Hall
In 1829 the existing Hall, which dated from the 17th century, was demolished, and construction began on a new structure. It was designed by Philip Hardwick, the Company’s surveyor, and was opened with a grand banquet in July 1835.
The many distinguished guests included the Duke of Wellington and Sir Robert Peel, both of whom made fulsome speeches in praise of the new Hall. It had been hoped that King William IV, officially described as Master and Honorary Member of the Company' would attend, but he was in poor health at the time and sent his regrets. The principal rooms were extravagantly praised in contemporary accounts, one of which described them as marked by an air of palatial grandeur not exceeded by that of any other piece of interior architecture in the metropolis.
Once again the new Hall was larger than its predecessor, covering about half an acre (0.2 hectares) and with a frontage of 150 feet (46 metres). Built in the Italianate style on a deep plinth of Haytor granite, the superstructure was of Portland stone. The west façade included six massive Corinthian columns supporting a richly carved entablature. Above the main entrance were sculpted the Company's arms, flanked on either side, between the columns, with emblems of music and trophies of war. This is basically Hardwick's masterpiece that we see today although the interior has been much altered through the later changes of fashion in decoration, by bomb damage in the Second World War, and in the 1990s to fulfil the expanding requirements of the Goldsmiths' Company in its increased activities.
The Livery Hall
This finely proportioned room with Corinthian columns of scagliola has a richly decorated, moulded ceiling. The draped embrasure in the north wall was designed as a buffet to display the Company's ceremonial plate. Above the arch of the embrasure appear the arms of William IV. To either side, in front of huge mirrors, are marble busts of George III and George IV by Sir Francis Chantrey.
The four matching chandeliers of English glass, supplied by Perry & Co. in 1835, now electrified internally, each hold forty-eight candles. One of the delights of attending an evening reception or dinner is to see the crystal facets twinkling in the candlelight. The huge central chandelier was originally lit by gas. The considerable difficulties experienced in the manufacture of the chandeliers caused the postponement, for several months, of the original opening date of the Hall.
The Court Room
This room, in the north-west corner, is in some ways the most interesting in the building. In 1830, Philip Hardwick proposed to the Wardens that, in order to keep down costs, he would reinstall the seventeenth century oak panelling and plaster ceiling from the former Court Room. He made a highly detailed drawing of the old ceiling, and from this we can tell that although similar, it is not in fact identical. However, the elaborately decorated gold and silver cornice is the original one described by Brayley as 'perhaps somewhat loaded with embellishments'. The 'very sumptuous' carved marble chimney-piece had been specially commissioned from Henry Cheere in 1735 and this was also incorporated in the new Court Room. The mahogany furniture, made by W. & C. Wilkinson, was designed by Hardwick for this room which is dominated by the leather-topped, banjo-shaped table in the centre. Here the Prime Warden presides at meetings, flanked by his advisers, with the Court of Assistants on either side. Countless intending freemen have stood behind the sloping desk in the Court Room to sign their oath of loyalty and receive the Freedom of the Company from the Wardens.
The Exhibition Room
Designed by C.H. James after the Second World War, the Exhibition Room was constructed from the major part of the old Court Dining Room. It is panelled in English walnut with an inlaid lozenge pattern. The large doors contain panels of Australian walnut.
At this point one should take note of the beautiful glass chandelier, en suite with those in the Drawing Room and Court Room. Part of the original commission from Perry & Co. in 1835, they were refashioned in the latest taste in 1871 by Leopold Jones working for James Green & Sons. A panel of mirror glass was set in the wall to match that in the Court Room at the opposite end, and the resultant reflections are of an infinity of chandeliers.
Permanent in-built showcases are used to display objects from the Company's Collections, and for special exhibitions.
The Drawing Room
Redesigned by the French architect Fernand Billerey, the Drawing Room was restored after war damage in time for the Festival of Britain in 1951.
The most striking feature of the room is the carpet with the Company's coat of arms in the centre. This was woven in 1902 as an exact replica of Hardwick's original. A news item in the Daily Mail on 22 May 1902 read:
'Eleven experts have worked for five months on a Wilton carpet intended for the Goldsmiths' Company's Court drawing-room. The carpet is an inch thick, comprises five and a half million knots, weight about 12 cwt and contains forty-six shades of wool.'
It survived the bombing, having been rolled up at the time.
A few pieces of furniture were rescued from the rubble, namely the gilded sofa-tables, the settees, window-seats and some small chairs, all re-covered, which now line the walls quite sparsely compared with the former, rather cluttered arrangement (see pp. 16-17). The ormolu candelabra on the pier tables and mantelpiece were part of the original decorations and survived, having been packed away for safety.
Venue Hire
Goldsmiths’ Hall an be hired for private events, weddings, dinners, business receptions and as a filming location.