The hall being however much damaged by the fire of London in 1666, was repaired and beautified two years after, at the expence of 2500l. in so effectual a manner, that it has stood till this time.
The entrance has a stately Gothic frontispiece, with the King’s arms under a cornice, pediment and vase; under which are niches; and in the middle of the front are the following words done in gold:
Reparata & ornate Thoma Rawlinson, Milit. Majore, An. Dom. MDCCVI.
That is,
Repaired and adorned in the year 1706, during the Mayoralty of Thomas Rawlinson.
Over the gate is a balcony, above which are placed in niches on each side, the figures of Moses and Aaron; and in niches on each side of the gate below, the four cardinal virtues; also under the balcony are depicted the arms of twenty-four companies.
On entering this Gothic arch, you come into the hall, which is one hundred and fifty-three feet long, forty-eight feet broad, and fifty-five feet high. The roof is flat, and divided into panels; the walls on the north and south sides are adorned with four Gothic demi-pillars, painted white with blue veins, and gilt capitals, upon which are the royal arms, and those of Edward the Confessor.
Nearly fronting the gate, are nine or ten steps, leading to the Lord Mayor’s court, over which is a balcony supported at each end by four iron pillars in the form of palm trees; by these is a small enclosure on each side on the top of the steps, used on some occasions as offices for clerks to write in, each being just sufficient to hold one person. Under these are two prisons called Little Ease, from the lowness of the ceiling, by which prisoners were obliged to sit on the floor; these prisons are intended for city apprentices, who upon complaint and a strict examination into the offence, were sometimes committed thither by the Chamberlain, whose office is at the right hand at the head of the steps. In the front of this balcony is a clock, on the frame of which is carved the four cardinal virtues, with the figure of Time, on the top, and a cock on each side of him. But the most extraordinary figures are yet behind; these are two monstrous giants which stand on the outside of the balcony close to the wall, one on each side: they have black and bushy beards; one holds an halbert, and the other a ball set round with spikes, hanging by a chain to a long staff. These absurd ornaments, which Mr. Strype supposes were designed to represent an ancient Briton and a Saxon, are painted, as if to give them the greater appearance of life, and render them more formidable to children.
Round the hall are hung up, the standards and colours taken from the French, at the battle of Ramilies. At the east end are the King’s arms between the pictures of his present Majesty King George II. and Queen Caroline; close by the first is Queen Anne, and by the last his late Majesty King George I. and at the same end of the hall, but on the north and south sides, are the pictures of King William III. and Queen Mary fronting each other. The hall is likewise adorned with the portraits of eighteen Judges, put up by the city as a testimony of public gratitude for their signal services, in determining the differences which arose between landlords and tenants, without the expence of law suits, on rebuilding the city after the fire. These Judges are all painted at full length in their scarlet gowns; and in the Lord Mayor’s court there are the portraits of five other Judges painted in the same manner.
On the east end of the hall is held the court of Hustings weekly, and occasionally that of the Exchequer; and before the Hustings is held the court of Conscience. At the west end is held alternately the Sheriff’s court for the Poultry and Wood street counters. Opposite to the Chamberlain’s office, already mentioned, as situated up the steps underneath the giants, is the office of Auditors of the city accounts, within which is the Lord Mayor’s court office, where the Lord Chief Justice occasionally sits in trials by nisi prius. On the west side of the Mayor’s court office is the court of Orphans, where the Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas occasionally sits. Adjoining to this court on the north, is the old council chamber, now used by the Commissioners of bankrupts. Contiguous to it is the new council chamber. Beneath the Mayor’s court is the Town Clerk’s office, where are deposited the city archives. To the east and north are the residences of the Chamberlain and Town Clerk; near which are two rooms wherein the business of bankrupts are dispatched. Contiguous to the north west is the kitchen; in the porch is the Comptroller’s office, and over it the Irish chamber. Over the piazzas on the west, are the common Serjeant’s, Remembrancer’s, and city Solicitor’s offices. See an account of each of these courts under the articles, Court of Common Council. Lord Mayor’s Court. Court of Hustings, &c.