The Worshipful Company of Tallow Chandlers dates from the C14th and bought the site here in 1476. The present Tallow Chandlers' Hall was built in 1671-3 after an earlier building was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. It has a small courtyard garden reached through ornamental iron gates on Dowgate Hill. A small external garden was created in 1978 on the corner of Dowgate Hill and Cannon Street by Past Master and Mrs Deverell Stone in memory of their son Mark.
The Worshipful Company of Tallow Chandlers originated in 1300 when 'oynters' or tallow (animal fat) melters formed a religious fraternity in order to regulate oils, ointments, lubricants and fat-based preservatives and also to manage tallow candle-making. In 1456 the fraternity was granted a coat of arms and in 1462 became a Livery Company. By 1415 tallow candles were being used to light the streets of the City of London and by 1469 the Tallow Chandlers' Company was supplying 60 men to the City Watch to ensure this was carried out. The importance of the Company's role diminished from the C18th with the introduction of materials other than tallow for candles, then the use of gas and subsequently electricity for street lighting. In 1476 the Company purchased the site here from Dame Margaret Alley for £16 13s 4d, probably a merchant's house. The buried walls of the Roman Governor's Palace are reputedly beneath the property. The present Hall was built in 1671-3 after an earlier building was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. It is believed to have been designed by the Company's Surveyor, Captain John Caines, under the guidance of Robert Hooke. Although some refurbishment has taken place over the years and some parts were damaged in WWII bombing, the shape and layout of the C17th Hall is little changed. It has a small courtyard reached through ornamental iron gates on Dowgate Hill, which has an olive tree at least 50 years old among other plants, mainly in tubs. In the 1960s, F E Cleary refers to a thriving catalpa tree in the courtyard in his book 'The Flowering City'.
No record could be found of Mark's demise.