On Tuesday 7th February we visited Stationers’ Hall, a Grade I listed building, close to St Paul’s Cathedral in the City of London. It is one of the few ancient Livery Halls remaining in the City of London with the livery company formed in 1403 as the Guild of Stationers – originally booksellers and text writers, who copied and sold manuscripts from stalls or ‘stations’ around St. Pauls’ Churchyard, hence the words stationers and stationery.
Printers joined the Stationers Company in the early 16th Century and a Royal Charter granted in 1559 ranked the livery company as No. 47 in the Order of Precedence. The Stationers needed a Hall and in 1606 they purchased Abergavenny House, Ludgate Hill from Henry Nevill, 6th Baron Bergavenny for £3,500 (an interesting link to Eridge Park, the seat of the modern day Marquess of Abergavenny, Tunbridge Wells and Crowborough). This building was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and we toured the current structure with its magnificent Great Hall completed in 1673 with later Victorian building work and renovations after Blitz damage in 1940 plus the latest addition – a new Chapter room and lift in 2020. After the tour a very enjoyable lunch was had at the nearby Ye Olde London pub.
