Merchant Taylors' Hall
/ About
Merchant Taylors' Hall has occupied the same ground between Threadneedle Street and Cornhill since 1347, and remains the seat of one of the Great Twelve Livery Companies of the City of London. Its Great Hall pre-dates the Great Fire of London. The rest of the building did not: what the fire took in 1666 was rebuilt, the Blitz damaged again in 1940, and the restored Hall opened in 1959. Almost none of it reads from the street, which is much of the appeal. Behind a plain City frontage sit eight bookable rooms, a glazed cloister and a courtyard garden with a fountain by the sculptor Gilbert Bayes.
The Great Hall is the room the venue is known for: 330 square metres under three-metre stained glass windows, with a dais at one end and a mahogany organ on the gallery, installed in 1966 and the last working organ in a livery hall. It has held dinners, balls and receptions for seven centuries, and it takes 350 for a reception or 312 on the long tables the livery tradition is built around. The Cloisters, enclosed in the 1920s and lined with Etruscan columns, and the Courtyard beyond it hold 175 apiece and work as the arrival and drinks half of an evening that finishes in the Hall.
The smaller rooms are each worth having on their own. The Drawing Room keeps its hand-painted 18th-century Chinese wallpaper; the Parlour is panelled in oak that once lined the Bank of England; the Library, Neo-Jacobean and rebuilt after the fire, seats 30 among the Company's books with a fire in the middle of the room. Catering is by the Hall's own kitchen, one of the oldest working kitchens in the City. The Company hires the rooms for corporate functions, weddings, private occasions and celebrations.
/ Rooms Available
The Great Hall
PrivateThe Hall's principal room, 330 square metres beneath three-metre stained glass windows, with a dais at one end and a gallery carrying a mahogany organ installed in 1966. It is set for long tables in the livery tradition, for rounds, or cleared for a reception.
The Cloisters
PrivateOriginally open to the elements and enclosed in the 1920s with tall windows and framed glass doors, the Cloisters run between the Hall and the Courtyard under a vaulted ceiling lined with Etruscan columns. It takes a reception of 175 and is the natural place to receive guests before dinner.
The Courtyard
PrivateA flagstoned garden of 242 square metres, once a bowling lawn and paved in 1912, with a central fountain by the sculptor Gilbert Bayes. Recessed lighting keeps it usable into the evening, and it holds 175 for a summer reception.
The Drawing Room
PrivateThe Hall's most decorative room, hung with hand-painted 18th-century Chinese wallpaper of birds and flowering stems. Floor-to-ceiling windows carry the daylight; two chandeliers take over after dark. Seats 70 and holds 140 for a reception.
The Parlour
PrivatePanelled in hand-carved oak that once lined the former Bank of England, under a moulded ceiling and candelabra wall lights, with floor-to-ceiling windows onto the Courtyard. Seats 70 on rounds and holds 140 standing.
The Court Room
PrivateGothic in style and home to the Company since the mid-1300s, hung with portraits of past Masters. The concave ceiling was built for the acoustics, which is why the room still holds the Company's business. By night it dines 50 by candlelight, with the portraits picked out in uplight.
The King's Gallery
PrivateNamed for King James I, who dined here with his attendants in 1607. Sage green furnishings, portraits of James I and Henry VIII and a Chippendale mirror gifted in 1962. Used mostly as a pre-dinner room, or for a board meeting of 20.
The Library
PrivateNeo-Jacobean, rebuilt after the Great Fire and altered again in 1923, looking out over the Courtyard. Wood panelling, the Company's collection of books and a fire set in the middle of the room. It seats 30, and is the room to take for a candlelit dinner rather than a meeting.
/ Perfect For
/ Features
Catering
- – In-House Luxury Dining
Venue Specs
- – Dedicated Events Team
- – Outdoor Terrace
/ Getting Here
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