Time and space will only allow a very brief inspection of a few of these interesting buildings, the homes of the companies, which are, without doubt, the most interesting features of the city of London.[154] In Cheapside is Mercers' Hall, a fine building, erected after the Great Fire. The usual entrance is in Ironmonger Lane. If you would try to realize the former hall and the hospital of St. Thomas and its noble church, you must read Sir John Watney's work, if you are fortunate enough to obtain a copy of that admirable privately printed quarto volume. In the present hall you will see (if permitted) a fine store of plate, four pieces of which escaped the Great Fire, including a curious waggon and tun, the gift of W. Baude in 1573, which moves along the table by clockwork. The entrance colonnade, which occupies the site of the ancient cloister, with its Doric columns, is attractive, and a fine stone staircase protected by a wooden portcullis leads to the hall and court rooms. The hall itself is a noble chamber, panelled by Rowland Wynne after the Great Fire, and hung with banners and paintings. The most interesting paintings are: an original portrait of Sir Thomas Gresham by Holbein; Dean Colet; and a fancy portrait of Sir Richard Whittington with his famous cat.
The Hall of the Mercers' Company: Entrance Colonnade and Site of Ancient Cloister.
Grocers' Hall has been recently rebuilt, and Drapers' Hall is modern, situated around a lovely court and garden, where a quiet stillness reigns in refreshing contrast to the noise of the bustling throng of busy stockbrokers in the adjoining street. Two fine pieces of statuary, splendid specimens of Gobelins tapestry, much interesting plate, and fine portraits of kings and queens and other worthies, are among their treasures. The present hall of the Fishmongers was built in 1831, when the new London Bridge, of which Mr. Tavenor-Perry, a member of this company, tells in this volume, was erected. They have many treasures, including the Walworth Pall, said to have been worked previously to 1381, and to have been used at Walworth's funeral, though it is evidently the work of the sixteenth century. Numerous royal and other portraits adorn the walls, paintings of fish by Arnold von Hacken, Scott's pictures of old London and Westminster Bridges, and a large representation of a pageant of ancient days, affording some idea of one of London's scenes of old civic state.
Goldsmiths' Hall, built in 1835, is perhaps the most imposing of all the homes of the companies, and is rich in plate, sculptures, pictures, and other works of art. A magnificent marble staircase leads from the ground floor, monolith pillars support the roof, and a bust of the founder of the company, Edward III., faces the entrance. Two fine sculptures by Storey, the Libyan Sibyl and Cleopatra, adorn the vestibule. The oak panelling of the court room was taken from the old hall. This room contains a painting of St. Dunstan, the patron saint of the company, some portraits of worthies, a silver vase and shield by Vechte, and a small Roman altar, discovered when the foundations of the hall were being laid. This altar is mentioned in the Ingoldsby Legend of the "Lay of St. Dunstan." The plate of this company is remarkably fine.
Merchant Taylors' Company—the Kitchen Crypt.
In Threadneedle Street is the hall of the Merchant Taylors, the name of that thoroughfare being doubtless derived from their trade. This hall is one of the most interesting of all the palaces of the companies, inasmuch as the Great Fire did not completely destroy the old building, and was stayed on the premises; hence the present hall is a restoration of the ancient building, and not an entirely modern erection. There is an ancient vaulted crypt, the use of which is not quite clear. It may have been a passage leading from the street to the chapel. In the fourteenth century Edmund Crepin granted the hall to John de Gakeslee, the King's pavilion maker, who purchased it on behalf of the company. The property was enlarged by the gift of the Oteswich family, who gave to the company the advowson of the church of St. Martin Outwich (or Oteswich), and certain shops for the benefit of the poor brethren and sisters. The company built their almshouses on the west end of the parish church, and attached to them a new hall, the interior of which was adorned with costly tapestry representing the history of St. John the Baptist, and a silver image of the saint adorned the screen. Heraldic arms appeared in the windows, the floor was strewn with rushes, and silk banners hung from the ceiling. A garden with alleys and a terrace was at the rear of the hall, and in it stood the treasury, in which plate and other valuables were stored; and there was a building called the King's Chamber set apart and well furnished for the reception of Royal guests, who frequently honoured the company with their presence. This chamber, called the banqueting hall, was rebuilt in 1593, and a few years later the space above the ceiling was deemed the most convenient place for the storage of gunpowder. The great hall was restored in 1671, and is "old-fashioned, ample, and sumptuous," having all the characteristics of the fifteenth-century edifice. It is impossible to describe all the treasures of the company, but we must mention the two hearse-cloths of Italian fabric of early sixteenth-century work, some valuable portraits of royalty and of worthies of the company, two being painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller. Happily, all the old deeds, charters, and documents were saved at the Great Fire, and these add greatly to the history of this important company.
Skinners' Hall was not so fortunate, and a new one was erected, thus described in 1708: "a noble structure built with fine bricks and richly furnished, the hall with right wainscot, and the great parlour with odoriferous cedar." It has been much altered, a new front being added in 1791, and redecorated a hundred years later. The company can boast of many noble and distinguished members, amongst whom we find Edward III. and his Queen, the Black Prince, Richard II. and his Queen, Henry IV., Henry V., Henry VI., Edward IV., and their Royal consorts.
Haberdashers' Hall is modern, built in 1864 on a site bequeathed to the company by William Bacon in 1478, but the court room was erected by Wren after the Great Fire, and has a fine ceiling. Salters' Hall—they have had no less than five—was finished in 1827, and is very magnificent, having a large open space in front, which adds greatly to its imposing appearance. Some pictures were saved at the Great Fire, and there are two fine paintings of Queen Charlotte and George III. by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Ironmongers' Hall, spared by the Great Fire, was pulled down in 1903, and a new hall, we believe, is in course of erection.