Drapers Hall

This week saw the final of the BBC series 'The Great British Menu' where, this year, chefs competed for the honour of cooking at a banquet to celebrate 100 years of the Women's Institute. The banquet was held at Draper's Hall in London.



During Open House weekend a few weeks ago I was lucky enough to visit the hall. As the name suggests the Drapers' company was involved in the buying and selling of woollen cloth within the City of London (nowadays it administers charitable trusts). The first Royal Charter granted to the Drapers is dated 1364. The company regulated the drapery trade by setting prices, quality standards and oversaw the training of those learning the trade. It protected the trade from rivals outside the City of London. When an order of precedence of the City Companies in 1516, the Drapers position was third after the Mercers and Grocers.

  There has been a Hall on this site since 1543. Destroyed in the Great fire of 1666, rebuilt and destroyed in another fire in 1772. Since then it has been altered and redesigned when necessary.
Walking through the bronze doors of the Throgmorton street entrance you walk down an oak panelled corridor with a stained glass window.

Another window looks out onto the courtyard. The surprise for me was just how big this building is once you enter those doors.




Staircase and Landing

The Court Dining Room

The Livery Hall (where the Women's Institute Banquet was held)

All along the corridor are a selection of royal charters and grants of arms dating back to 1364!

The Drawing Room

From one of the windows you can see some of the modern buildings that surround Drapers' Hall.