The Guildhall of London in 1900

Arthur H. Beavan continued his survey of the City of London in Imperial London, published in 1901, with this look at the Guildhall:

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"The life of the City Companies naturally centres in Guildhall, the headquarters of civic rule in the City of London.

With no pretension whatever, externally, to the grandeur of the Hotel de Ville in Paris, Brussels, or other continental cities, our London Guildhall can hold its own with any of them interiorly.

It is an imposing Hall, 152 feet by 50 feet broad, with open timber roof, fine gallery, and grand stained-glass windows; at the western end are the famous wooden figures of Gog and Magog, the traditional City giants, whose size may be gauged by the fact that when they undergo the annual operation of cleaning, the insignificance of the mortal compared with the size of the effigy causes general remark among the spectators, for while his feet are on a level with the giant's waist, his head only reaches Magog's chin.

Against the walls of the old Hall are many monuments and statues, Chatham's, Pitt's, Nelson's, Wellington's.

One of its most up-to-date features is the new Ladies' Gallery, for the additional accommodation of those who, on the occasion of civic banquets and other ceremonial functions, like to take their fill of good things ocularly instead of gastronomically.

It is situated on the northern side of the dining-hall, between the monuments of Pitt and Wellington, and holds about a score of fair visitors.

It was used for the first time at the reception of the C.I.V.'s by the Lord Mayor; a record, for never before in the history of the City had the doctrine of place aux dames been recognized at Guildhall, there having been up to then no permanent gallery reserved for ladies.

The Council Chamber (at the rear of the Guildhall), the civic House of Commons, is circular, with comfortable benches arranged in like form round a large table in the centre.

The Lord Mayor occupies a chair of state at the upper end of the room in front of a statue of George III, by Chantrey, that stands beneath an elaborate canopy of dark-coloured marble; there are also busts of celebrities, naval and military, and many portraits and pictures.

The Tuscan arches, supporting a glazed cupola which ensures ample light, give a somewhat ecclesiastical appearance to this well-proportioned and handsome chamber.

At the rear of the Guildhall, are also the Court of Aldermen, the Chamberlain's office and parlour, and the waiting-room, besides an entire range of new offices for the Town Clerk and his staff.

Beneath the Great Hall is a fine crypt (date 1411) consisting of three aisles divided by clustered columns of Purbeck marble, where the turtle-soup and some of the choicer viands for the Lord Mayor's Banquet on the 9th of November are kept in gas ovens.

Out of the east end of the Guildhall, a staircase leads to the Free Library - a noble Gothic structure well supplied with books, and a Reading-room adjoining; also the City's Art Gallery, a great success, for Art has found a permanent and popular home there. In Basinghall Street is the entrance to the Guildhall Museum, a most interesting collection of Roman antiquities, and relics of every-day domestic London life in Plantagenet, Tudor, Carolean, and other periods.

As for the government of the civic square mile, the Common Council consists of the Lord Mayor, twenty Aldermen, and two hundred and thirty-six Deputies from the Wards.

In strict accordance with the ancient and picturesque formula, the swearing-in of the new Lord Mayor takes place each November before Lord Mayor's Day at Guildhall, in the presence of the members of the Court of Aldermen and the Masters and Wardens of the Stationers', Gold and Silver Wire Drawers', Glaziers', and Coach-makers' Companies.

The new Lord Mayor having subscribed the customary declaration, the retiring one gives up his seat to his successor.

Then follows the formal surrender, amid many "reverences" by high officials, of the insignia of office, the venerable Chamberlain handing in the diamond sceptre, the seal, and the purse; the Mace-Bearer surrendering his mace, the Sword-Bearer his emblem of civic justice, the Comptroller the indenture of the City plate; and, finally, the late Lord Mayor delivers up the key of the City seal."

Next: The City of London in 1900: Mansion House