The Guildhall, London

With a history stretching back 2,000 years, London’s Guildhall has witnessed some incredible events. Its importance to the capital began in Roman times as the site of an amphitheatre, and later the seat of the City of London Corporation.

In the 1400s, a grand oak-framed Gothic design building was built on the site to cement the city’s status.

Guildhall has been the stage of historic state trials like Lady Jane Grey’s in 1553, seen its roof destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666, and suffered further damage in the Blitz. In recent times this landmark complex of medieval and post-war buildings enjoys a less turbulent existence as the site of major civic ceremonies and celebrations.

Today the Guildhall is in great demand as an iconic place for hosting high-profile gatherings, lectures, banquets and parties. The dramatic Great Hall – with its soaring stained-glass windows, stone pillars, and dazzling ornament – is one of eleven spaces to hire, along with galleries, crypts, suites and parlours.

In open, public tender for the project, the team at Luke Hughes designed three versions of an oak-framed chair for the evaluation team at the Guildhall, each with a slightly different shape and finish of backrest.

The winning design features an inset seat and back upholstered in maroon leather to match the original, and the back bears the gold City of London crest. The niches in the north ambulatory are used to store banquet chairs.

For more details about this and any other projects or products, please contact us.