Hidden Gem in London: Stationers' Hall, a Venue that Many Overlook, Spotted Briefly by the Observant Pedestrian Through an Archway as Most Ignorantly Stroll By
In the heart of London, standing tall on Ludgate Hill, is the magnificent Stationers' Hall. Established in 1403, this livery company originated as a guild of booksellers, bookbinders, illustrators of manuscripts, and purveyors of parchments. Fast forward to 1557, the Stationers' Company was granted a Royal Charter by Mary Tudor, positioning them as regulators of the printing industry.
The present Stationers' Hall, a testament to history and architectural prowess, was purchased by the Company in 1611 using money from the English Stock, their own trading venture. After the Great Fire of 1666, which gutted the medieval cathedral and its surrounds, including Stationers' Hall, the building was rebuilt. The authorship of the Classical design for the new livery hall remains unclear from the documentary record.
One of the most notable additions to the Hall was the Card Room, a windowless extension to the end of the Court Room, devised by William Chadwell Mylne in 1825. This extension houses Benjamin West's large canvas, Alfred the Great dividing his Loaf with the Pilgrim.
Fast forward to the 17th century, the Livery Hall was adorned with a magnificent carved oak screen and gallery, attributed to the joiner Henry Foord. In 1674, Stephen Colledge wainscoted the livery hall for £300, creating the present oak panelling after the example of the Grocers' Hall.
In 1776, Robert Mylne, invited by the then Master of the Stationers' Company, 'cased the outsides of the Buildings'. His refacing, finished in about 1800, introduced a crisp formality to the entrance front with a handsome door and Coade-stone reliefs representing the four seasons.
The 19th century saw significant changes in the Hall. In 1757, William Robinson was commissioned to enlarge and redecorate the Court Room, incorporating familiar emblems of the Company in his Rococo plasterwork. In the later 19th century, a new wing to the east of the Stationers' Hall was proposed and took shape in 1887, with a spire in Flemish Renaissance style, overlooking the forecourt. Projecting out into the garden courtyard, this addition complements the hall in modern style, its large windows at first-floor level reflecting the leaves of an old plane tree.
In 1825, another significant addition was made. The Card Room was extended with an angular, red-brick composition, configured as a new entrance with disability access, installed in 2023 on the 350th anniversary of the Great Hall. This modern addition took the place of the 1950s Ante Room.
A single-storey warehouse at the west boundary of the Stationers' Hall, built to store books, has recently been converted into the Tokefield Centre, with modern facilities to house the Company archives. George Tokefield, the Clerk in 1666, managed to save most of the Company records from the Great Fire, transporting them to a safe spot in Clerkenwell.
The Stationers' Hall has witnessed its share of historical events, including the infamous 'Wicked Bible' incident in 1631. Robert Barker and his associate, Martin Lucas, published this Bible, which left out the word 'not' from the Seventh Commandment, resulting in the commandment being written as 'thou shalt commit adultery'. This led to a summons to the Star Chamber, a stiff monetary penalty, and the humiliation of Barker, who was ruined.
The rich history and changes in the Stationers' Hall have been beautifully documented by Lucy Denton, a writer and architectural historian. She has worked for Adam Architecture, Sotheby's, ArtUK, and has written for Hudson's Historic Houses and The Times.
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