Goldsmiths' Hall - London, UK
Posted by: 
tmob
N 51° 30.947 W 000° 05.767
30U E 701477 N 5711182
Goldsmiths' Hall is located at the junction of Foster Lane and Gresham Street, north east of St. Paul's Cathedral.
Waymark Code: WMED7B
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 05/10/2012
Views: 14
The English Heritage National Monuments Record website (
visit link) reports that the Goldsmiths' Hall along with several other well-known London sites used Dartmoor Granite in their construction:
«Haytor granite was renowned for its crushing strength and was used in many prestigious London building projects, including most notably London Bridge, which is believed to have been the first large contract for the stone and probably the reason the tramway was built. Other buildings where the stone was used, mostly for plinths and load-bearing elements, include the British Museum, Goldsmiths Hall and the National Gallery. The quarries continued in use intermittently until about 1860 when granite sources with more cost-effective transport systems, such as De Lank in Cornwall, produced the stone more cheaply.»
According to Wikipedia:
«The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Company, which has origins in the twelfth century, received a Royal Charter in 1327.
The company's livery hall, Goldsmiths' Hall is located at the junction of Foster Lane and Gresham Street, north east of St. Paul's Cathedral. The company has been based in the same location since 1339, and the present hall is the third on the site. Little is known about the first hall. The second hall was built in 1634-36 and restored after the Great Fire of London in 1666. It was eventually demolished in the late 1820s. The third and present hall was designed by Philip Hardwick. In 1941 a bomb exploded inside the south-west corner but the building largely survived and it was restored after the war. Goldsmiths' Hall is not usually open to the public but there are a few open days each year.»