56. Tour of the Mansion House, London, 1 November 2023

 

A group of members and friends of the Worshipful Company of Water Conservators had the privilege of a guided tour of the Mansion House. Although photography is not normally allowed in the Mansion House we able to get the picture above where the Lord Mayor welcomes important guests. The paint colour, which brings out the detailed plaster work is the original colour!

We were told that before the Mansion House was built the Lord Mayor used to use Livery Company halls for civic events and accommodation.  However after York built their Mansion House the Lord Mayor decided that he needed his own after the Great Fire of 1666.  The first stone was laid in 1739, and the House was completed in 1758. The cellars have storage space and once held prisoners' cells, which were metal cages.  Part of the Mansion House was used as a Magistrates’ Court and Sylvia Pankhurst was imprisoned here briefly in the "bird" cage before transfer to prison.  The cage is now in the Museum of London.  The Mansion House welcomes 50,000 visitors each year.

We started our tour in the Walbrook Hall which was originally intended as a stables until it was realised that horses and civic functions do not go well together.  We also learnt that the original entrance was up steps facing the Bank of England.  However, this created traffic chaos so the entrance is now through the Walbrook Hall.  Hung up the stairs were pictures of typical country scenes that you might see on the stairway of any home (posh/stately country residence).  However close examination identified 17 Century Dutch masterpieces and we all paid more attention thereby creating chaos as the party which had just had dinner with the Lady Mayoress was trying to leave at the same time.

The building also used to have a roofless courtyard but was covered over to form the salon when this was recognised as impracticable.  Fortunately the plasterwork survived the weather. There are 15 chandeliers and the central chandelier weighs more than a quarter of a tonne.  We then moved to the Egyptian Hall which can accommodate 360 diners or 500 standing guests.  It should be known as the Roman Hall, as it is based on designs by Roman architects based on Roman buildings in Egypt.   Apparently, the magnificent rosettes in the ceiling are papier maché.

We were then escorted down the back stairs to avoid meeting a party attending a civic event to the strong room where the original Lord Mayor’s chain of office, mace and sword are stored.  Due to the weight and value of the items the Mayor is normally allowed out only with replicas.  We searched in vain for the Dartington Glass engraved water jug that the Water Conservators had given the Lord Mayor filled with tap water in the summer, as it had already been packed prior to their moving out to allow the new Lord Mayor in.

We were very grateful to Georgina Hall for organising the tour and Court Assistant Ramon Bravo for organising the day, including a pre-tour lunch in the Cannick Tapps hidden in a cellar next to Cannon Street  It was a most enjoyable and informative day.