Among its many services to humanity at large the Guildhall has voiced, more than once, the outcry against Jewish persecution in Russia. A working-classes industrial exhibition, bazaars and concerts for charitable objects, International congresses of scientific and social bodies, Christmas entertainments to poor and crippled children: these are some of the present-day uses of the Guildhall. It only remains to add the furtherance of religious effort which it has afforded by welcoming such gatherings as those of the Sunday School Centenary, the mission of Canon Aitken, and the yearly meeting of the British and Foreign Bible Society, when one of the youngest collectors present (some small personage of four or five years) cuts the Society's birthday cake after some hearty words of welcome from the Lord Mayor, as the genial host of the City's Guildhall.
THE CITY COMPANIES OF LONDON
By P. H. Ditchfield, M.A., F.S.A.
In these days of change, which have obliterated most of the old landmarks of the city, when the County Council has almost transformed London, and high warehouses and glaring shops have replaced the old picturesque buildings of our forefathers, it is refreshing to find some institutions which have preserved through the ages their ancient customs and usages, and retain their ancient homes and treasures. Such are the Livery Companies of the City of London, the history of which teems with vivid pictures of bygone times and manners, and the accounts of their pageantries, their feasts, and customs furnish us with curious glimpses of ancient civic life. When we visit the ancient homes of these venerable societies, we are impressed by their magnificence and interesting associations. Portraits of old city worthies gaze at us from the walls and link our times with theirs, when they, too, strove to uphold the honour of their guild and benefit their generation. Many a quaint old-time custom and curious ceremonial usage linger on within the old walls, and there, too, are enshrined cuirass and targe, helmet, sword and buckler, which tell the story of the past and of the part which the companies played in national defence, or in the protection of civic rights. Turning down some little alley and entering the portals of one of these halls, we are transported at once from the busy streets and din of modern London into a region of old-world memories, which has a fascination that is all its own. We see the old city merchants resplendent in their liveries of "red and white with the connuzances of their mysteries embroidered on their sleeves," or when fashions changed, then dominating the sterner sex as it now does only the fair, clad in "scarlet and green," or "scarlet and black," or "murrey and plunket," a "darkly red," or a "kind of blue," preparing to attend some great State function, or to march in procession through the streets to their guild services. Again, the great hall is filled with a gallant company. Nobles and princes are the guests of the company, and the mighty "baron" makes the table groan, and "frumentie with venyson," brawn, fat swan, boar, conger, sea-hog, and other delicacies crown the feast, while the merry music of the minstrels or the performance of the players delights the gay throng. Pictures of ancient pageantry, their triumphs, their magnificent shows and gorgeous ceremonies, flit before our eyes when we visit the halls of the companies.
Model of Barge formerly used by the Clothworkers' Company in Civic Procession.
Staples Inn Hall.
From a drawing by T. H. Shepherd in 1830.
There was a grand procession in 1686, when Sir John Peake, mercer, was Lord Mayor. The master, wardens, and assistants, dressed in their gowns faced with foins and their hoods, marched first, followed by the livery in their gowns faced with satin, and the company's almsmen, each one bearing a banner. Then came the gentlemen ushers in velvet coats, each wearing a chain of gold, followed by the bachelors invested in gowns and scarlet satin hoods, banner-bearers, trumpeters, drummers, the city marshals, and many others, while the gentlemen of the Artillery Company, led by Sir John Moore, brought up the rear. From the hall of the Grocers' Company, which was the usual rendezvous on account of its convenient situation or its size, they marched to the Guildhall, the lord mayor, sheriffs, and aldermen riding on horseback. Thence they went to Three-cranes Wharf and took barge to Westminster. On their return the pageants met them at St. Paul's Churchyard. These were most gorgeous. The first consisted of a rock of coral with sea-weeds, with Neptune at the summit mounted on a dolphin which bore a throne of mother-of-pearl, tritons, mermaids, and other marine creatures being in attendance. But the most magnificent of all was the maiden chariot, a virgin's head being the arms of the company. Strype tells us that
" ... when any one of this company is chosen mayor, or makes one of the triumph of the day wherein he goes to Westminster to be sworn, a most beautiful virgin is carried through the streets in a chariot, with all the glory and majesty possible, with her hair all dishevelled about her shoulders, to represent the maidenhead which the company give for their arms. And this lady is plentifully gratified for her pains, besides the gift of all the rich attire she wears."