London (England) -- Antiquities; London (England) -- History
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.
[Illustration: SAMUEL PEPYS'S LOVING CUP.
_In the possession of the Clothworkers' Company._]
The Vintners have a very interesting hall, built partly on the
foundations of the old hall destroyed in 1666, and very rich in its
treasures: its beautiful carvings by Grinling Gibbons, its ancient
tapestry, hearse-cloth, portraits, and valuable store of plate. Pepys
tells of the destruction of Clothworkers' Hall. He wrote, "But strange
it is to see Clothworkers' Hall on fire these three days and nights in
one body of flame, it having two cellars full of oil." After that mighty
destruction a new hall arose, worthy of the greatness of the company,
the present great hall itself being added in 1859, a noble building
lighted by fine windows containing the arms of distinguished members.
Pepys was master of the company in 1677, and presented a loving cup,
which is still amongst the company's treasures.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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