History of Armourers’ Hall

Armourers’ Hall is a striking Georgian Livery Hall in the neo-Palladian style located in the heart of the City of London. An architectural jewel hidden in plain sight, it contains a host of beautiful and fascinating artefacts acquired during its long history.

The Armourers & Brasiers’ Company has occupied its present site since 1346 but, for legal reasons, was only able to purchase the property, first through trustees, in 1428, and outright in 1456 three years after the granting of its first charter. This initial Hall is described in its first deed as “the Dragon and five shops”. By 1454 it consisted of “the Dragon and two shops”, three of the shops having been used in the conversion of the building. The Hall narrowly escaped the Great Fire and in late 1666 had a counting house, a parlour, a buttery, a larder, a kitchen with three chimneys, a hall, a beer cellar, a lumber room, a posting room, a court room, a withdrawing room, an armoury and a place of easement.

In the 18th Century the Hall was constantly repaired and refurbished. By 1835, the building was costing more to maintain than it was thought to be worth and the Court decided to rebuild. The New Hall, first occupied in 1841, was designed by Joseph Henry Good, the Company’s surveyor, who was also surveyor of St Andrew’s Holborn and a pupil of Sir John Soane. The Livery Hall was further Gothicised in 1871-3, including the addition of its spectacular lantern ceiling.

The present Hall survived both World Wars, being particularly indebted to an unknown fireman who, during the Blitz of 29th December 1940, seeing the curtains of the Hall’s Court Room ablaze, broke into the Hall and extinguished the flames: his quick thinking undoubtedly saved the Hall from destruction.

Over the summer of 2023 a significant programme of works took place at Armourers' Hall, centring on refurbishment of the main Livery Hall, which has been splendidly repainted in a colour scheme closely matching its 19th century appearance; the lantern ceiling has also been thoroughly cleaned and restored.

The Livery Hall

The Livery Hall is a stunning space, with its bold mottos high under the Gothic barrel-vaulted ceiling and its rich display of 16th and 17th century arms and armour. Its three George II brass chandeliers have been in constant use since they were made in the 1750s. It is one of only two Livery Halls in which guests still dine by candlelight.

The Gold Drawing Room

The "Gold" Drawing Room is dominated by the magnificent paintings of Sir Henry Lee and his mistress, Anne Vavasour, which flank the Lee armour: a superb suit of field armour made for Lee in the Royal Workshops at Greenwich. On the floor is a copy of the Ardebil Carpet.

The Court Room

The elegant and beautifully proportioned Court Room has a fine Regency dining table with late 18th century mahogany chairs and contains Dutch and Elizabethan paintings together with an impressive array of documents including the Grant of Arms in 1556. The clock above the door, surrounded by the Coat of Arms, was made for the Company in 1767.

History of the Armourers & Brasiers’ Company

The Armourers and Brasiers’ Company first emerged in 1322 when a group of twenty six Armourers and Helmetmakers was granted the right to overseer standards in the making of armour and helmets in and around the City of London. From these humble beginnings it grew in coherence and standing and, during the Wars of the Roses in 1453, was granted its first charter of incorporation by King Henry VI. In 1515 the Company absorbed the Blademakers. Its reputation was further enhanced in Henry VIII’s reign by an increase in skills which emulated those of the Greenwich armourers imported by Henry from Germany and Italy. By Elizabeth I’s reign, the Company’s craftsmen were considered equal to the Greenwich armourers. Also in Elizabeth’s reign, members of the Armourers’ Company were employed by Sir Henry Lee, Master of the Armoury at the Tower of London and Queen Elizabeth I’s Champion, to help equip troops in fighting the Armada.

In times of peace the Company had diversified into brass making and, when armour went out of use after the Restoration, it turned over to this secondary craft. In recognition of this change of direction Queen Anne granted what is now the Company’s operative charter to the Armourers and Brasiers’ Company in 1708. Unlike many City livery companies, it continued its oversight of the trade until the industrial revolution, taking apprentices from all over England and from all walks of society, with special arrangements for charity children.

In the 19th Century brass trade largely moved to Birmingham but, despite the loss of some close associations this engendered, and encouraged by the City Livery Companies Commision of 1878, the Company held onto its link with its founding trades by subsiding education about and within metallurgy. In the 20th century the Company continued and extended this association by forming the Gauntlet Trust, which principally encourages and funds research into Materials Science.

This charitable engagement with Materials Science has flourished through the 21st century, exemplified by the annual Armourers and Brasiers’ Cambridge Forum, a half day conference that brings together Materials Scientists from universities and industry to learn about the latest Materials Science research from an international panel of researchers.