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Mansion House, London, England
Image Right by Arpingstone at English Wikipedia Public domain
Mansion House is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London. It is used for some of the City of London's official functions, including an annual dinner, hosted by the Lord Mayor, at which the Chancellor of the Exchequer customarily gives a speech – his "Mansion House Speech" – about the state of the British economy.
History
Mansion House was built between 1739 and 1752, in the then fashionable Palladian style by the City of London surveyor and architect George Dance the Elder. The site, at the east end of Poultry, had previously been occupied by the "Stocks Market", which by the time of its closure was mostly used for the sale of herbs.
The original building had two clerestory roof extensions, nicknamed the "Mayor's Nest" and "Noah's Ark". In 1795 George Dance the Younger re-roofed the central courtyard, and had the "Noah's Ark" demolished. In the same year, the original Grand Staircase was removed to make way for a further two rooms.
In 1835 the entrance steps were reduced to one flight; and in 1842 the "Mayor's Nest" was demolished after the Ball Room was reconstructed.
The Lord Mayor's private entrance in Walbrook was created in 1845; and in 1849 the former Swordbearer's Room was converted into the Justice Room, effectively the Magistrates Court of the City until 1999 when the court removed to a building on the opposite side of Walbrook.
Image above - Mansion House Interior by Alattair Rae flickr Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0) license
Architecture
Mansion House has three main storeys over a rusticated basement.
Entrance facade - a portico with six Corinthian columns, supporting a pediment with a tympanum sculpture by Sir Robert Taylor, in the centre of which is a symbolic figure of the City of London trampling on her enemies.
The residence used to have its own court of law, since the Lord Mayor is the chief magistrate of the City while in office. There were eleven holding cells (ten for men and one, nicknamed "the birdcage", for women). A famous prisoner here was the early 20th century suffragette women's rights campaigner Emmeline Pankhurst.
Art collection
Mansion House is home to The Harold Samuel Collection of Dutch and Flemish Seventeenth Century Paintingsconsisting of 84 paintings including works by Hendrick Avercamp, Gerard Ter Borch, Pieter Claesz, Aelbert Cuyp, Frans Hals, Pieter de Hooch, Jacob van Ruisdael, Jan Steen, David Teniers the Younger and Willem van de Velde.
Public access
Mansion House is not generally open to the public. However, tours can be arranged through the diary office, and there are public tours most Tuesdays.
Image above - flickr Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0) license
References
Sutton, P. Dutch and Flemish Seventeenth Century Paintings: The Harold Samuel Collection, 1992, Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-41795-3 and ISBN 978-0-521-42840-8.
https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/about-the-city/mansion-house/Pages/...