1960 - Girdlers' Hall - Basinghall Avenue, London, UK
N 51° 31.015 W 000° 05.437
30U E 701853 N 5711323
The Girdlers' Hall is a modern building by City of London standards having been re-built in 1960 after being bomb damaged in World War II. It is the home of the Worshipful Company of Girdlers'.
Waymark Code: WME0D2
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/17/2012
Views: 1
The cornerstone is made from white stone that is in
contrast to the remainder of the building that is predominantly brick
construction. The cornerstone reads:
"Girdlers Hall
Girdlers Hall first built on this site in 1431 was destroyed by the Great Fire
in 1666 and again by enemy action in 1940.
This stone was laid on the 9th of May 1960 / by / Michael Henry Sherrard /
Master.
Chairman of Hall Committee / Lionel Vincent Straker CC.
Wardens / Edward Calcott Pryce / Robert Owen Sherrard / Charles Edward Svgden.
Clerk / John Rvtherford.
Waterhouse & Ripley / Chartered Architects.
Dove Brothers / Builders.
Edward B Fleming / Chartered Surveyor."
History of the Company:
"Long before they received formal recognition, the Girdlers were a fraternity
of craftsmen, associating for religious observance and mutual assistance, as
well as for guarding the secrets, standards and conditions of their craft. They
received royal letters patent in 1327 regulating the craft, and in 1449 were
granted a Royal Charter of incorporation. This enabled the Company to own
property in perpetuity, if it so wished, as opposed to mere lifetime ownership
by its members.
The Company received a grant of arms in 1454. The arms embody three gridirons,
alias griddle or girdle irons. The crest is a figure of St. Lawrence the Martyr
who, according to legend, was burned to death on a gridiron. On account of this
punning allusion, St. Lawrence is the patron saint of the Girdlers, and the
Company has ancient connections with the nearby church of St. Lawrence
Jewry-next-Guildhall. The members of the Company used to wear a distinguishing
livery - a coloured gown and hood, believed to have been of blue and gold.
The Girdlers flourished from medieval times until the end of the sixteenth
century, when girdles began to go out of fashion. Even in its heyday, the
Company overlapped with other crafts concerned with metal or leather and was at
various times associated with the Pinners, the Cordwainers and the Gold and
Silver Wyre Drawers. Today the Girdlers' Company no longer practises its craft,
with the single proud exception that it has the privilege of presenting the
sword belt for the Sword of State and stole for each Sovereign's coronation."
Source
Girdlers' Company website.
The Hall and Garden:
"In 1431 Andrew Hunt bequeathed the Company buildings and land which are
substantially the site of the present Hall. Hunt’s buildings became the
Company’s Hall, which was developed and improved over the years. In common with
many other livery halls, this building was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666.
The replacement, built in 1681 at a cost of some £1,500, was destroyed by enemy
action in 1940, and rebuilt in 1961.
In 2006, the Company decided to refurbish the Hall and to add a further floor.
Work on this project started straight after Election Day 2007 and was completed
in May 2008.
The Hall contains a number of items precious to the Company, including the Bell
Carpet, commissioned by Past Master Robert Bell (a prominent member of the East
India Company) in 1630, woven in Lahore and presented in 1634.
The Company is also extremely proud of its garden, which regularly wins prizes
in the City of London garden competitions, the latest being the Best Livery Hall
Hall Garden 2010 awarded by the Gardeners' Company."
Source Girdlers'
Company website.
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