GUILDHALL EVENTS
LIBRARY AND EXHIBITIONS The Library of London History
SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER 2016 ‘ARE YOU BEING SERVED?’: 400 YEARS OF LONDON SHOPPING Tuesday 1 November, 2-3pm
THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE GREAT FIRE OF LONDON Tuesday 6 September, 2-3pm
Guildhall Library Aldermanbury, London EC2V 7HH 020 7332 1868 / 020 7332 1870 guildhall.library@cityoflondon.gov.uk www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/guildhalllibrary Follow
ALL EVENTS REQUIRE BOOKING AND TAKE PLACE AT GUILDHALL LIBRARY. EVENTS ARE FREE UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED. DETAILS OF HOW TO BOOK CAN BE FOUND ON THE BACK PAGE
THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE GREAT FIRE OF LONDON
Nigel Jeffries, an archaeologist with MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology), presents a short talk on how the evidence of the Great Fire of London has survived on archaeological excavations in the City of London and introduces some key themes that have emerged from its study. It concludes with a ‘show and tell’ of objects used for drinking that were left behind by the Fire and the insights these items give us into the politics and landscape of drinking in Restoration London.
Both images :©Rachel Erickson
EVENTS
Tuesday 6 September, 2-3pm
Wednesday 7 September, 2-3pm
POTTY POLITICS
From the Romans to the present day, this talk plumbs the depths of the importance placed on public sanitation in London through the ages. Rachel Erickson, better known as The Loo Lady, has spent years researching the history and politics of public toilets.
Thursday 1 September, 6-8pm
HELL’S PEOPLE: LONDONERS DURING THE GREAT FIRE
On 1 September 1666, Londoners went to sleep in the old City of London for the last time. In the early hours of the next morning a fire broke out on Pudding Lane. For four days the capital blazed as uncontrollable heat, smoke and flames decimated the city. From booksellers and brothel-keepers to royalty and reprobates, exactly 350 years on, Rebecca Rideal paints a picture of the people caught up in a disaster that would come to be known as the Great Fire of London.
£5 plus booking fee. Includes a wine reception.
Thursday 8 September, 6-8pm
THAT DREADFUL FIRE: LATE VIEW AND LAUNCH
Our new exhibition on the Great Fire explores the story of this devastating event through Guildhall Library’s fascinating collections. Join us for an exclusive late view of the exhibition, at which Pete Smith will give a talk on the progress of the fire and its aftermath.
£5 plus booking fee. Includes a wine and canapés reception.
©Tracey Hill
THEATRES, INNS AND LIBERTIES
The theatre of Shakespeare’s day is usually associated with the Bankside playhouses such as the Globe and the Rose. Join Renaissance theatre specialist Dr Tracey Hill as we explore the lesser-known locations of the Blackfriars (where some of Shakespeare’s plays were performed), Whitefriars, and Salisbury Court playhouses, as well as the City inns that staged plays. The tour includes other places of interest such as the parish church of the editors of Shakespeare’s First Folio, John Heminges and Henry Condell.
THE MAGIC OF PAPER
£5 plus booking fee. Includes a wine reception.
An illustrated history of Queen Victoria’s life, with images of ephemera from speaker Judith Grant’s collection.
Thursday 22 September, 6-8pm
SEA EAGLES OF EMPIRE: THE CLASSIS BRITANNICA AND THE BATTLES FOR BRITAIN
Monday 12 September, 2-3pm
LONDON’S LOST WATERWAY: STEPS STAIRS AND SLIPWAYS
©Simon Elliott
This talk by Nathalie Cohen and Niki Gorick will examine the archaeological evidence recorded by the Thames Discovery Programme, and the Foreshore Recording and Observation Group (FROG), for historic use of the River Thames foreshore.
A VICTORIA ARCHIVE
This book tells the story of the Roman Navy in Britain for the first time, which until the mid-3rd century was the Classis Britannica, this fleet being a strong fighting force in its own right. The book details its composition, ship types, roles, tactics and technology which have never been studied at length. In his talk Simon Elliott will tell the story of this illustrious naval force in their metal-beaked galleys and their exploits in defeating the enemies of the Emperor and keeping the peace around the British isles.
£5 plus booking fee. Includes a wine reception.
Tuesday 27 September, 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.
Wednesday 28 September, 2-3pm
ANOTHER SINGULAR BRIDGE: TOWER BRIDGE
In its short history, Tower Bridge has been the scene of some curious events. If you have ever wondered what the tiny doors at the feet of its pillars were for, why the upper walkway was closed for eighty years or where you can find Deadman’s Hole, Pete Smith will try to supply the answers.
©Pete Smith
In the digital age, the demise of paper is confidently predicted. The ‘paperless office’ should have long ago displaced what was disparagingly described as ‘dead tree ware’ but paper remains a pervasive, preferred and permanent medium in all aspects of life. This illustrated talk by Professor Iain Stevenson traces the history and importance of paper from its (supposed) invention in China two millennia ago to its present role from banknotes to toilet paper. Paper has a secure and diverse future and is arguably the ultimate renewable resource.
Tuesday 20 September, 2-3pm
©Niki Gorick
Meet inside Guildhall Library at 5.15pm. £5 plus booking fee. Includes refreshments.
Thursday 15 September, 6-8pm
© Judith Grant
EVENTS
WALK Friday 9 September, 5.15-7.45pm
©Stuart Harvey
Wednesday 12 October, 2-3pm
MAIL OBSESSION
NOTTING HILL
WALK Saturday 1 October, 11am – 1pm
THE CITY’S BRIDGES
Tuesday 4 October, 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.
Join Alexandra Epps, City of London Guide for a fascinating stroll in celebration of the angels of the unique City of London. From seraphim and cherubim to archangels and fallen angels these celestial heralds have long captured hearts and imaginations. Discover memorials, monuments and public art – creations ranging from the hand crafted to the high tech – in stained glass, marble and even stainless steel – all hidden within the historic streets, secret gardens and beautiful churches of the City.
Meet beside The Monument, Fish Street Hill, London EC3R 8AH. £12 plus booking fee. Booking essential.
MR BARRY’S WAR: REBUILDING THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT AFTER THE GREAT FIRE OF 1834
Parliamentary archivist and historian Caroline Shenton won the 2013 Political Book of the Year with her hugely-successful debut book ‘The Day Parliament Burned Down’. Now she has written a sequel, about what happened next – the extraordinary tale of how Britain’s most famous building came to be, focussing on Charles Barry -– the man who created it against all the odds. Come and hear Caroline talk about the rebuilding of the Houses of Parliament and some of the wonderful, hilarious, and tragic stories she uncovered.
£5 plus booking fee. Includes a wine reception. Monday 17 October, 2-3pm
LONDON’S VILLAGES: HAMMERSMITH, CHISWICK AND BRENTFORD
From William Morris to Julius Caesar, and from the Boat Race to Rule Britannia, this riverside area has a rich and decidedly odd history. Pete Smith will introduce you to some of its strangest stories (plus a few of London’s finest pubs!).
©Pete Smith
Meet inside All Hallows by the Tower. £8, no booking required, pay on the day.
CITY OF ANGELS
©Mark Mason
This walk with Pete Smith takes in all the City’s Bridges before ending close to St Paul’s Cathedral. Along the way, you will hear about the bridge that sprouted heads, the elephant that walked across the Thames, a daredevil pilot and a quick-witted bus-driver.
WALK Wednesday 5 October, 10.30am for a 10.45 start
©Alexandra Epps
Stuart Harvey continues with another from his selection of illustrated talks with a look at the personalities and events of this area’s varied relatively recent past. Including villains, politicians and exceptional everyday people who dramatically changed life in the area.
Tuesday 18 October, 6-8pm
©Caroline Shenton
EVENTS
Thursday 29 September, 2-3pm
‘Walk the Lines’ author Mark Mason talks about his travels round Britain for his new book ‘Mail Obsession’, in which he collected a fact from each of the UK’s 124 postcode areas, all the way from AB to ZE. Along the way he discovered what the Queen keeps in her handbag and why the Jack Russell has a white coat. He visited the Harrogate hotel where Agatha Christie hid for eleven days and a bungalow in Kent that can’t get a mobile phone signal because of the Second World War.
Tuesday 25 October, 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.
EVENTS
WALK Thursday 20 October, 11am – 1pm
TOWERING INFERNO
The theme for this walk is the Great Fire of London, which took place in September 1666. Starting at All Hallows Church, the spot where the eastward spread of the fire was halted, we head west to the Monument and then on to trace its course into the heart of the City. This walk with Pete Smith will end at the Museum of London.
Meet inside All Hallows by the Tower. £8, no booking required, pay on the day.
WALK Friday 28 October, 4 – 6.15pm
THE CITY CELEBRATES LORD MAYOR’S DAY, 1616/2016
The City of London has commemorated Lord Mayor’s Day with lavish spectacle for 800 years. Join civic pageantry specialist Dr Tracey Hill on a walk that brings to life the City’s extravagant celebrations. You will hear about pageantry, music, speeches, and fireworks as we retrace the steps of Lord Mayor John Leman’s inauguration, which took place 400 years ago almost to the day.
Thursday 20 October, 6-8pm
THE GREAT FIRE OF LONDON 1666-2016
Author Ian Doolittle describes the surprising history of the Great Fire over 350 years. How did it become a red-hot party-political issue? Why were the Roman Catholics still official scapegoats in 1830? What happened to the Fire in London’s histories in the 19th century? And how have recent historians reconstructed what actually happened in 1666? Ian is the author of important works on the City of London.
Meet inside Guildhall Library at 5.15pm. £5 plus booking fee. Includes refreshments.
£5 plus booking fee. Includes a wine reception.
Tuesday 1 November, 2-3pm
‘ARE YOU BEING SERVED?’: 400 YEARS OF LONDON SHOPPING
©Tracey Hill
From markets selling necessities through fashionable aristocratic shopping to the arrival of department stores and international brand franchises. Which department store had a golf course on the roof? Had the first electric lift? Why did Peter Robinson’s have a tailoress and hansom cab on standby? Which was London’s first shopping arcade? Which department store owner was murdered by his illegitimate son? Why did Lady Florence Paget leave by a side entrance of Marshall and Snelgrove? Which store costumed a Gilbert and Sullivan opera? The answers are all in this talk.
POLICE MUSEUM SPECIAL EVENT POLICE MUSEUM SPECIAL EVENT
Tuesday 8 November, 6-8pm
Tuesday 15 November, 2-3pm
FRAUD: FROM THE CONFIDENCE TRICKSTER TO THE CYBER CRIMINAL
In his role as National Police Co-ordinator for Economic Crime, the City of London Police’s Commander Chris Greany is well aware of the impact of economic crime upon its victims. In this talk he explores the many faces of fraud, including the growing threat from cybercrime, and explains the ways in which the City of London Police investigates such crimes and the challenges faced in bringing the perpetrators to justice.
£5 plus booking fee. Includes a wine reception.
1000 YEARS OF POLICING IN THE CITY OF LONDON: A COLLECTION AND ITS STORIES
Using the archives, artefacts and photographs from the Police Museum collection, Catherine Coulthard, a former curator, will take you on a tour of the City’s criminal history, revealing how the evolving role of the constable has changed in the last 1000 years. Terrorism, murder, gun fights and Olympic gold come together in the history and reality of policing in the City of London.
Thursday 24 November, 6-8pm
FORENSIC INVESTIGATION; MURDER AND MAYHEM
Thursday 24 November, 2-3pm
LEICESTER SQUARE AND TRAFALGAR SQUARE
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.
Tracy Alexander, Director of Forensic Services at the City of London Police, will be looking at the key part that forensics can play in making or breaking today’s criminal investigations. Using examples of actual crimes, she will also explain how forensics have advanced and how these advances have helped solve cold cases and miscarriages of justice.
£5 plus booking fee. Includes a wine reception.
Tuesday 22 November, 2-3pm
LONDON’S LIBRARY HISTORY
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 Capital’s streets and alleyways are crammed with the ghosts of fascinating libraries past. This illustrated talk by Alice Ford-Smith (Bernard Quaritch Ltd) will carry you back through time, to London’s long-forgotten libraries, readers, librarians and collectors. Treasures will be found, bookplates added, shelves filled, catalogues compiled, discoveries made, cheques cashed, books dispersed and collections saved.
Tuesday 29 November, 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.
©City of London Police
EVENTS
POLICE MUSEUM SPECIAL EVENT
Tuesday 6 December, 2-3pm
Friday 9 December, 2-3pm
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.
Following ‘Odder & Odderer’ in 2014 and ‘Curiouser & Curiouser’ in 2015, this illustrated talk brings together Pete Smith’s oddest discoveries of 2016. Be prepared to encounter the Disappointment Society of Greenwich, the Court of Dusty Feet and the gorilla of Northumberland Avenue.
ELECTRONIC RESOURCES
EVEN CURIOUSER
EVENTS
POLICE MUSEUM SPECIAL EVENT
Thursday 8 December, 6-8pm
CRIME AND THE CITY
Duncan Campbell, former crime correspondent for the Guardian, chairman of the Crime Reporters’ Association and author of We’ll All Be Murdered in Our Beds! The Shocking History of Crime Reporting in Britain (2016) tells the story of the City of London’s impact on the way crime is investigated, punished and reported.
Wednesday 14 December, 2-3pm
JOHN SINGER SARGENT: POWER OF PORTRAIT
£5 plus booking fee. Includes a wine reception.
Join the Guildhall Library and University of Chester for an exclusive late view of the exhibition, ‘Marie Duval: Laughter in the First Age of Leisure’. This is the first ever exhibition dedicated solely to Duval’s work as a nineteenth century pioneer of the art of comics. A short introduction to Duval’s work will be given by Professor Roger Sabin of Central Saint Martins and Dr Simon Grennan, University of Chester.
£5 plus booking fee. Includes a wine reception.
Thursday 15 December, 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.
Both images: ©Alexandra Epps
MARIE DUVAL EXHIBITION LAUNCH/LATE VIEW
©Marie Duval Archive
Tuesday 13 December, 6-8pm
From the scandal of the painting of Madame X to the trials, tribulations and triumph of Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, discover the rise, the fall and rise again of John Singer Sargent, the leading portrait painter of his age – the age of elegance. Join Alexandra Epps, City of London Guide to learn more.
Until 30 November
9 December – 17 March 2017
Wooden buildings, stores of combustibles and overcrowding meant fires were a regular occurrence in 17th-century London. Most were unremarkable. So when a chance fire started in a bakery on 2 September 1666 no one could know that it would wipe out most of the City of London. To commemorate the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London, this exhibition explores the story of this devastating event through Guildhall Library’s collections, including English and foreign accounts, sermons and public records.
Isabelle Émilie de Tessier was a London actress, cartoonist and illustrator who worked under the pseudonym ‘Marie Duval’. Her work first appeared in a variety of the cheap British penny papers and comics of the 1860s–1880s, for urban working class people. This is the first exhibition dedicated solely to Duval’s work as a nineteenth century pioneer of the art of comics. The exhibition and Archive have been produced by the University of Chester, in partnership with Guildhall Library and with the support of the British Library and the London Library. It is made possible by a grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
THAT DREADFUL FIRE: THE HAND OF GOD, A GREAT WIND AND A VERY DRY SEASON
MARIE DUVAL: LAUGHTER IN THE FIRST AGE OF LEISURE
LONDINIUM AD 43
Photographer Eugenio Grosso takes you on a photographic journey through time from the foundation of London to the present. By overlapping Roman and contemporary maps, a shared geography emerges showing how much of the Roman settlement has been preserved through the centuries. This exhibition displays photographs of spots which were once home to significant Roman sites, bringing the original face of the city back to light.
©City of London Police
OPENING IN GUILDHALL, OCTOBER 2016
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.
©Marie Duval Archive
©Eugenio Grosso
EXHIBITIONS
17 October – 31 March 2017
GUILDHALL EVENTS
LIBRARY AND EXHIBITIONS The Library of London History
SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER 2016
Guildhall Library opening hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9.30am-5pm Wednesday 9.30am-7.30pm Alternate Saturdays 9.30am-5pm 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
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