GUILDHALL EVENTS
LIBRARY AND EXHIBITIONS The Library of London History
MAY-AUGUST 2017
INSPIRATION: ARTISTS AND THEIR ICONIC MUSES Tuesday 4 July, 6-8pm
The most significant works of art of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
Guildhall Library Aldermanbury, London EC2V 7HH guildhall.library@cityoflondon.gov.uk www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/guildhalllibrary Follow
EVENTS ARE FREE UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED. ALL EVENTS HAVE LIMITED PLACES. BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL AND WE CANNOT ENSURE A PLACE WITHOUT A TICKET. DETAILS OF HOW TO BOOK CAN BE FOUND ON THE BACK PAGE
EVENTS
Tuesday 2 May, 2-3pm
UTOPIA: ‘EVIL MAYDAY’ 500TH ANNIVERSARY
In 1517 Londoner Thomas More’s ‘Utopia’ and radical ideas on communities and urban living were hitting the streets, just as he confronted London’s ‘Evil May Day’ riots. International award winning planner Lester Hillman explores the dramas and some glittering landmarks in the planning heritage of the City.
Thursday 4 May, 2-3pm
MAYDAY: BEAUTY, BOOZE AND BATTLES
Mayday is very much a traditional holiday in this country. Perhaps today we have forgotten its ancient roots. The talk will investigate the long history of this day, especially in London with its apprentice holiday associations. A day which began in beauty soon became one of cruelty, revelry and rioting. Join Colin Oakes to learn more.
POLICE MUSEUM SPECIAL EVENT Thursday 4 May, 6-8pm
JACK AND OLD JEWRY: THE CITY OF LONDON POLICEMEN WHO HUNTED THE RIPPER
In 1888 Jack the Ripper committed a murder within the City of London. Yet with all the opinions surrounding who ‘Jack’ was, we forget the police officers who dealt with what ‘Jack’ left behind. Join Amanda Harvey Purse for the launch of her new book, to hear more about the lives of these police officers, making them more real than just names mentioned within the famous case.
£5 plus booking fee. Includes wine reception.
Tuesday 9 May, 2-3pm
A PHOENIX REBORN
The Monument commemorates London’s heroic achievement in recovering from the Great Fire of 1666, but what really happened? Pete Smith attempts to provide some answers.
Wednesday 10 May, 2-3pm
Thursday 11 May, 6-8pm
To most people these squares are the centre of London. Theatres, art galleries and restaurants all abound in the area. This illustrated talk by Stuart Harvey will touch on a little of this area’s past and residents including Sir Joshua Reynolds, Baron Albert Grant and Sir Mortimer Wheeler.
This talk by Sally Jeffery will tell the story of the creation of the Mansion House, the home and workplace of the Lord Mayor of the City of London. It was built in the middle of the 18th century to the designs of George Dance the Elder, and was an unusual combination of fashionable town house, office and magistrates’ court. Since then, it has undergone a number of changes reflecting structural problems, design weaknesses and changes of function, but much of its original design and interesting interior details survive surprisingly well.
LEICESTER SQUARE AND TRAFALGAR SQUARE
Wednesday 10 May, 6-8pm
BEYOND THE ANGLOIRISH PARADIGM: WRITERS, RISINGS AND REFERENDUMS
Free event, limited places.
£5 plus booking fee. Includes wine reception.
Thursday 11 May, 2-3pm
FROM THE ARMADA TO THE ABDICATION
Moments in history illustrated by documents from a private collection and presented by Judith Grant.
©Judith Grant
It is necessary to look beyond the Anglo-Irish paradigm and consider the bonds between the Celtic nations, particularly the place of independence, equality and commemoration in their respective literatures. This talk by Kirsty Lusk will focus on Irish-Scottish connections from Parnell to Partition, providing a deeper understanding of the unique relationship between two nations whose identities have been defined in relation to their dominant neighbour. Current political concerns reinforce the need to consider the literary links between the two nations, historical and contemporary, and the divergent roads to independence.
THE MAKING OF THE MANSION HOUSE
EVENTS
POLICE MUSEUM SPECIAL EVENT
Tuesday 16 May, 2-3pm
POLICING ON HORSEBACK
Find out from Inspector Jesse Wynn about the vast range of roles played by the City of London Police’s Mounted Branch since its establishment in 1873. It plays a vital day-to-day role in fighting crime and policing the City and covers ceremonial events such as the interment of Richard III.
POLICE MUSEUM SPECIAL EVENT Wednesday 17 May, 6-7pm, and Wednesday 31 May, 6-7pm
SCENES OF CRIME
An informal chat with David Howard, a ‘Scenes of Crime’ officer from the City of London Police. Handle some of the kit used to identify crime suspects and learn how the police use it.
Free event, limited places.
Wednesday 17 May, 6 – 7.30pm and Wednesday 31 May, 6-7.30pm
SQUARE MILE BOBBIES
CITY OF LONDON POLICE WALKING TOUR
On this walk experience highlights from the City Police’s eventful history. Hear the story of the City policeman who swam with sharks and fought an assassin, learn how a police officer used his hobby to record the Blitz and discover why the force’s uniform makes no reference to the Crown. Walk to start at 6pm. (Meet inside the City of London Police Museum, entrance to Guildhall Library, Aldermanbury, London EC2V 7HH).
£5 plus booking fee.
Thursday 18 May, 6-8pm
VICTORIAN LONDON: A WHIRLWIND TOUR OF WONDER AND DEPRAVITY
©Matt Green
Victorian London was the biggest city in the world, and also the most exciting. Join Dr Matthew Green to discover how it blossomed into ‘a human awful wonder of God’ and ‘the necropolis of the world’ in the 19th century. The talk will take you on a virtual tour of wharves, workhouses, rookeries, gin palaces and the sulphurous third-class carriages of the revolutionary London Underground. Finally, we will climb in our hansom cab and tour the music halls, savouring performances by dental acrobats, contortionists, and Felix the Mind Reading Duck. We will end in song, a glass of gin in our hand.
£5 plus booking fee. Includes wine reception.
Tuesday 23 May, 2-3pm
WRECK OF THE SS LONDON
©Alexandra Epps
Author Simon Wills investigated this notorious shipping disaster for ten years before completing his wellreceived book. Both England and Australia went into shock when the luxury liner SS London sank beneath the waves, with hundreds dead and only three passengers surviving to tell their appalling tale. How could a new state-of-the-art steamship suffer such a fate? The public were horrified and outraged in equal measure. It wasn’t possible! Who was to blame? Dr Wills will be exploring what it was like to be on board the ill-fated ship. Why did hardly anyone survive?
Monday 22 May, 2-3pm
PUBLIC ART IN THE CITY OF LONDON
©Simon Wills
Discover the wealth of modern and contemporary public art in the unique square mile of the City of London creations ranging from the hand crafted to the high tech. The artists, their techniques, lives and influences plus the history of the fascinating streets where their work can be found. Join Alexandra Epps, City of London Guide to learn more.
©Gary Powell
WALK Thursday 1 June, 2-3.30pm
HISS THE VILLAIN
EVENTS
Thursday 25 May, 6-8pm
DEATH DIARY
Death Diary examines the most interesting, bizarre and audacious crimes to blight England’s first city. Gary Powell brings his 30 years of experience as a detective (including anti-terrorism work at New Scotland Yard) to this catalogue of some of the most hateful and shocking crimes committed in the capital over the last 400 years.
£5 plus booking fee. Includes wine reception. Friday 26 May, 2-3pm
A WICKED CITY
To welcome the City Police Museum to Guildhall Library, Pete Smith rounds up some of the many stories of Londoners’ vice and depravity. Join him to meet a variety of rogues and their victims, and to find out how to tell a blowsabella from a toppin cove, a patricio from a quire bird, an Abram man from a cony catcher, and a molly from a punchable nun.
This circular walk, starting from the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral close to Queen Anne’s statue, invites walkers to encounter a range of cheats, frauds, thieves, whores and cold-blooded killers. Passing a notorious no-go area where life was cheap and the site of a prison described as ‘an emblem of Hell itself’, it introduces some chilling monsters – from Dickens’s fictional Fagin to the possibly real Sweeney Todd.
£8, pay on the day, no booking required EXHIBITION SPECIAL EVENT Thursday 1 June, 6-8pm
CAN I ORDER 1,000 A4 PADS PLEASE? – SORRY THERE MUST BE SOME CONFUSION!
William Alden MBE, Clerk of the Stationer’s Company, will provide a brief synopsis of the Company from its origins in 1403 to its evolution and adaptation in 2017. He will discuss the industries that it serves and the purpose of a Livery Company in the 21st century. A key point of interest will be how the Stationers’ Company remains relevant in a world of global internet access and instant communication.
£5 plus booking fee. Includes wine reception.
Tuesday 30 May, 2-3.30pm
HISTORY AND TREASURES OF GUILDHALL LIBRARY
©Simon Gregor
Join our librarians to learn about the history of Guildhall Library, tour the building (including behind the scenes) and view some of the library’s treasures.
Monday 5 June, 2-3pm
DIGITISATION IN ACTION: SOME EXCITING FINDS FROM PROJECT UNDAUNTED
Thursday 8 June, 6-8pm
STEPPING INTO MEDIEVAL WORLDS
£5 plus booking fee. Includes wine reception.
ELECTRONIC RESOURCES
This session is aimed at people who would like to learn about our biographical, family history and London digital resources. The workshop will look at digitised newspapers, Ancestry.co.uk, Find My Past, the Dictionary of National Biography and the City of London’s image database COLLAGE.
POLICE MUSEUM SPECIAL EVENT Thursday 15 June, 6-8pm
CITY FIRSTS
Throughout its history, the City of London Police has been at the forefront of change. From ambulances to automatic number plate readers, from helmets to hospitals, this talk by former Inspector Peter Clarke will explore the sometimes surprising innovations introduced into the world of policing by one of the world’s smallest police forces.
£5 plus booking fee. Includes wine reception.
ACCOMPANYING WALKS - Bobbies, Bombs and Blaggers: Policing London’s Square Mile; 15 April 10.30; 20 May 14.30; 17 June 10.30; 22 July 10.30 £10 plus booking fee. To book please contact: peter@clarke1.ndo.co.uk
©Tracey Warr
In his account of Norman London, William Fitz Stephen declared that ‘the only plagues of London are the immoderate drinking of fools and the frequency of fires’. Join historical novelist, Tracey Warr, to hear about medieval literary sources she employs to construct the fictional worlds of her novels. Her books, set in early medieval Europe, draw inspiration from Fitz Stephen, Orderic Vitalis’ chronicle of the ‘extremely unrestrained’ Normans, Viking poets, recipe books and medical manuals from the middle ages, female troubadours, and the lascivious writings of medieval archbishops and dukes.
Tuesday 13 June, 2-3pm
©Lloyd’s Register Foundation
This ambitious digitisation project focuses on a sample of the Ship Plan and Survey Report collection of Lloyd’s Register (LR) which is estimated to exceed 1.25 million documents. A product of ship classification, the archives were created during the survey of ships from 1834 to the late 1960s. This unique collection also contains correspondence, notes, copy certificates and later records that detail the ships’ demise. The project’s title comes from the first ship in the London port box to be surveyed by LR which, very aptly, was named Undaunted. Join Louise Sanger (Lloyd’s Register Foundation) to learn more.
©Alexandra Epps
Thursday 18 May, 2-3pm
JEREMY BENTHAM: PHILOSOPHER, REFORMER, RADICAL
PUBLIC ART IN THE CITY OF LONDON
Join Alexandra Epps, City of London Guide, for a fascinating stroll discovering the wealth of modern and contemporary public art in the unique square mile of the City of London creations ranging from the hand crafted to the high tech. Meet outside RIVER entrance to Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG
£12 plus booking fee. Booking essential Contact Tel: 07976 262519
Tuesday 20 June, 2-3.30pm
HISTORY AND TREASURES OF GUILDHALL LIBRARY
Join our librarians to learn about the history of Guildhall Library, tour the building (including behind the scenes) and view some of the library’s treasures.
POLICE MUSEUM SPECIAL EVENT
©Louise Seaward
EVENTS
WALK Friday 16 June, 10.45 for 11am start
Religion, politics, economics, legislation, crime, education and sex. The London-born philosopher Jeremy Bentham wrote on all of these subjects and more during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Find out about Bentham’s philosophical approach to the pressing issues of his day and the relevance of his ideas in the modern world. Join Louise Seaward to learn more.
Thursday 22 June, 6-8pm
CURRENT SCAMS THAT COULD EASILY HAVE YOU FOOLED!
From romance fraud to mortgage fraud, and from on-line shopping fraud to malware on your PC which steals your personal details, hear about the scams that are affecting the lives of people in the UK, and having a huge impact on the financial well-being of our country. Louise Sinclair is a Detective Sergeant in the City of London Police’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB).
£5 plus booking fee. Includes wine reception.
©Louise Sinclair
POLICE MUSEUM SPECIAL EVENT Thursday 6 July, 6-8pm
SO YOU WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
Thursday 29 June,2-3pm
CATHOLICS IN THE CITY
According to Tony Tucker’s Visitor’s Guide to the City of London Churches, there are forty Anglican churches in the City, and only one Roman Catholic church. But do these statistics give a true picture of Catholic influence on the City? And anyway, what does ‘Catholic’ mean? City of London Guide and lapsed RC Colin Davey will explore the subject.
Tuesday 4 July, 6-8pm
INSPIRATION: ARTISTS AND THEIR ICONIC MUSES
The complex relationship between artist and muse has been the inspiration for some of the most significant works of art of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Discover Rossetti’s Pre-Raphaelite stunners; Picasso’s weeping woman, the mother of American modernism and many more - muses as different as the artists themselves. Join Alexandra Epps, City of London guide and Tate Guide, to learn more.
£5 plus booking fee. Includes wine reception.
Detective Chief Inspector Kerrie Gower, head of the Dedicated Card and Payment Unit, funded by the banking industry, has successfully led the largest recent international fraud investigations, apprehending gangs that swindled millions from thousands of UK citizens. She offers a female detective’s perspective on a varied police career & future challenges.
£5 plus booking fee. Includes wine reception.
EVENTS
Tuesday 11 July, 2-3pm
LONDON VILLAGES: BERMONDSEY AND ROTHERHITHE
WALK: ROTHERHITHE TO LONDON BRIDGE
©Pete Smith
Meet Pete Smith in the booking hall of Bermondsey Jubilee Line Station for a two-hour walk with spectacular riverside views. The route takes you from Marc Brunel’s tunnel under the Thames to the two most famous bridges over it. On the way, you will discover a prince’s tomb, a pub that flies the Stars & Stripes, the Devil’s Neckerchief, and a fish called Wanda!
£8, pay on the day, no booking required
“W.H. SMITH IS NOT THE ONLY STATIONER”: FAMOUS STATIONERS THROUGH THE CENTURIES
Margaret Willes looks at the Stationers’ contribution to the evolution of bookselling and the creation of bestsellers. She will highlight how the growth of the railway built the business of William Henry Smith from a street ‘Newswalk’ in Mayfair to a nationwide network. Margaret Willes brings the story up to date with a review of a famous Stationer of today - Vint Cerf, one of the ‘Fathers of the Internet’.
£5 plus booking fee. Includes wine reception.
©Peter Guillery
Thursday 13 July, 11am-1pm
EXHIBITION SPECIAL EVENT Thursday 13 July, 6-8pm
©Simon Gregor
Once one of the busiest stretches of the Thames, this area has numerous curious features. Join Pete Smith to learn more about: a saintly doctor, a bunch of pirates, a prince from a Pacific island, a shipful of nonconformists bound for the Americas and many more strange stories of these riverside villages.
Thursday 20 July, 6-8pm
THE FORGOTTEN WEAVERS’ HOUSING OF THE SPITALFIELDS SILK DISTRICT
The houses of Georgian Spitalfields might seem well known. However, alongside the silk-merchants’ houses that currently line the streets, there were also tenements and cottages for the weavers of Spitalfields’ vital silk industry. Few of these humble dwellings survive. In this talk, Peter Guillery reconstructs the character of this forgotten Georgian Spitalfields, examining remaining fragments alongside archival evidence.
Thursday 27 July, 2-3.30pm
HISTORY AND TREASURES OF GUILDHALL LIBRARY
Join our librarians to learn about the history of Guildhall Library, tour the building (including behind the scenes) and view some of the library’s treasures.
£5 plus booking fee. Includes wine reception.
THE STATIONERS’ COMPANY – FROM GENESIS TO GOOGLE
Since the 16th century livery companies have been at the centre of the apprenticeship movement. Times and regulations have changed but education and training remain core activities. The Stationers’ Company supports all levels of education and facilitates pathways to employment within our industries. A highlight is our innovative approach to Digital Media Education at Stationers’ Crown Woods Academy. Join Helen Esmonde (Esmonde Publishing) to learn more.
£5 plus booking fee. Includes wine reception.
©Simon Gregor
EXHIBITION SPECIAL EVENT Thursday 3 August, 6-8pm
WALK Wednesday 9 August, 11am-12.30pm
THE CITY’S LOST LIBRARIES
EVENTS
Tuesday 8 August, 2-3pm
ANOTHER SINGULAR STREET: OXFORD STREET
Shopping paradise? Traffic nightmare? Glitz or grime? This is a street of many faces, some of them hidden from all but the most diligent searcher. In a journey from Crossrail and Centre Point to Marble Arch and Tyburn Tree, Pete Smith aims to spring a few surprises.
Twenty-first century London contains some of the finest book collections in the world, but what about the libraries that haven’t survived? If you know where to look, the City’s streets and alleyways are crammed with the ghosts of libraries past. This special walk for Guildhall Library will carry you back through London’s history, to long-forgotten libraries, readers, librarians and collectors. Alice Ford-Smith (Bernard Quaritch Ltd) will reveal some of the links between the City’s past and present book collections- and the fascinating tales that lie behind them. Meet at Guildhall Library, the walk will commence from the entrance and finish approximately 90 minutes later near Fleet Street.
Tickets: £10 each plus booking fee. Booking essential.
WALK Wednesday 9 August, 11am-1pm
CENTRE POINT TO MARBLE ARCH
After meeting Pete Smith by Exit 1 of Tottenham Court Road Underground Station, we shall set out westward along Oxford Street. The route takes many twists and turns to uncover some of the oddities that lie on either side of a street most of us know less well than we think. Be prepared for the unexpected!
£8, pay on the day, no booking required
Tuesday 15 August, 2-3pm
ELECTRONIC RESOURCES
This session is aimed at people who would like to learn about our biographical, family history and London digital resources. The workshop will look at digitised newspapers, Ancestry.co.uk, Find My Past, the Dictionary of National Biography and the City of London’s image database COLLAGE.
Tuesday 22 August, 2-3.30pm
HISTORY AND TREASURES OF GUILDHALL LIBRARY
Join our librarians to learn about the history of Guildhall Library, tour the building (including behind the scenes) and view some of the library’s treasures.
LLOYD’S REGISTER SURVEYOR CHARLES JORDAN’S MAP OF THE THAMES
Charles H (Chas.) Jordan (1840-1930) was apprenticed to John Scott Russell & Co. of Millwall, London in 1855 when he was 15 years old. He acted as a messenger between the winch engineers during the first attempt at launching Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s Great Eastern in 1857. Later working as a surveyor at Lloyd’s Register’s London office he also travelled to Italy, France, Germany, Belgium and Denmark to undertake surveys there. But it was his home territory that caused him the most problems in finding the locality of the many dry docks located on both sides of the Thames, and the best way of getting to them. Join Victoria Culkin (Lloyd’s Register Foundation) to learn more.
EXHIBITIONS
©Lloyd’s Register Foundation
Thursday 24 August, 2-3pm
Until 19 May
BOOKS: USED AND ABUSED
A book is a book is a box, bible, bling, expanding file, notepad, inadvertent container… Used and abused, the older a book is, the greater the chance that someone has altered its material content in an unusual or thoughtful way. See how and why books are customised, adorned, despoiled and disguised. And find out about the biggest and smallest books in Guildhall Library’s collections.
©Simon Gregor
BOOKS AND PUBLISHING IN THE CITY
From the newspapers of Fleet Street to the publishing houses around St Paul’s, from Stationer’s Hall to the archives of the Guildhall Library, the City has a long association with print and publishing, and some rich history to explore. Combining images of streets, buildings, and individual documents, and with a particular focus on Stationers’ Hall, this photography exhibition by artist-in-residence Simon Gregor will explore the theme of books and publishing in the City of London, to accompany the new exhibition on The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers.
1 June – 31 August
STATIONERS NOT STATIONARY: THE WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF STATIONERS AND NEWSPAPER MAKERS
This exhibition looks at the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers’ exceptional and intriguing history spanning 600 years at the forefront of printing and publishing. You may be surprised to know that today over 90% of its 900 members are directly involved in the Content and Communications Industries. Stationers’ Hall in the heart of the City of London remains a focal point for these industries and is a very busy place.
©Simon Gregor
EXHIBITIONS
2 May-31 August
GUILDHALL
GUILDHALL LIBRARY
FRIENDS
Become a Friend of Guildhall Library
LIBRARY
The Library of London History
Guildhall Library has launched a new Friends scheme that will support the conservation and access to the Library’s unique collections for years to come. Guildhall Library’s printed books collection comprises over 200,000 titles dating from the 15th to the 21st centuries. Become one of the first Guildhall Library Friends, support our work and enjoy a range of benefits. Image: Crew of the Zamalek, 1940s
The Friends scheme offers l Priority booking for all events l Exclusive Guildhall Library Friends’ lectures and tours l Free invitations to all Guildhall Library exhibition launches l 2 0% discount in the Guildhall Library and City of London Police Museum shop l A free entry ticket to Tower Bridge Exhibition l Discount in Guildhall Art Gallery and Keats House shops Friends Membership for one year costs:
Individual £35
Dual £60 Dual membership is two people living in the same household.
Thursday 29 June, 6-8pm FRIENDS OF GUILDHALL LIBRARY LAUNCH: SPECIAL EVENT Join us for an illustrated talk on the 600 year history of the Library by Dr Peter Ross (Principal Librarian), along with some of the most interesting and quirky items from our collections. Free, limited places. Booking essential. Includes wine reception.
How to become a Friend of Guildhall Library? There are three easy ways to join: Phone us on 020 7332 1871/1869 Email us your contact details at ghlevents@cityoflondon.gov.uk Talk to us in Guildhall Library, please ask at the Enquiry Desk.
GUILDHALL EVENTS
LIBRARY AND EXHIBITIONS The Library of London History
CITY OF LONDON POLICE MUSEUM
NOW OPEN AT GUILDHALL
A fascinating collection charting the development of the City of London Police force from its earliest days through the intrigue of the Victorian era to modern policing and current challenges like cybercrime and fraud.
www.cityoflondon.police.uk/about-us/history/museum Guildhall Library and Police Museum opening hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9.30am-5pm Wednesday 9.30am-7.30pm Alternate Saturdays 9.30am-5pm Police Museum additionally open every Saturday, 10am-4pm Please check our website for more details The library is closed on Bank Holiday weekends. Please note exhibitions are inaccessible during afternoon talks. All images © City of London unless indicated
ALL EVENTS REQUIRE BOOKING AND TAKE PLACE AT GUILDHALL LIBRARY. PLEASE BOOK THROUGH EVENTBRITE: WWW.GHLEVENTS.EVENTBRITE.CO.UK IF YOU HAVE ANY QUERIES REGARDING BOOKING PLEASE CONTACT: GHLEVENTS@CITYOFLONDON.GOV.UK OR 020 7332 1869/1871 Guildhall Library Aldermanbury, London EC2V 7HH 020 7332 1868 / 020 7332 1870 guildhall.library@cityoflondon.gov.uk www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/guildhalllibrary
Follow