Inventory Site Record

The site of the garden of the Brewers' Hall consists of a series of raised beds and seating in an area of pavement. The Brewers' Company is one of the oldest livery companies in the City of London and one of the first Guilds to have its own Hall, which stood on the same site as the present one. By 1422 Brewers' Hall was regularly let out for use to other City Livery Companies, Guilds and other groups including the 'footballpleyers', one of the earliest known references to football. When the Hall was rebuilt in 1960, the site of the garden was taken over by the Corporation of London, since when it has been re-landscaped a number of times. The statue of 'The Gardener' by Karin Jonzen, 1971 was relocated here from Moorgate c.2005.

Site location:

London Wall

Postcode:

EC2V 7HR

What 3 Words:

served.panic.verge

Type of site:

Public Gardens

Borough:

City of London

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

unrestricted

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Events:

Public transport:

Tube: Moorgate (Hammersmith & City, Circle, Metropolitan). Rail: Moorgate

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

01/05/2010

Last minor changes:

19/07/2023

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/openspaces; www.brewershall.co.uk

The (site of the) garden of the Brewers' Hall consists of a series of raised beds in an area of pavement, with seating. When the Brewers Company Hall was rebuilt in 1960, management of the garden was taken over by the Corporation of London. It was re-landscaped in the mid-1990s and more recently the statue of 'The Gardener' by Karin Jonzen, commissioned by the Corporation in 1971 and formerly sited at London Wall/Moorgate, until this area was re-landscaped in c.2005/6 as part of road improvements. One of the benches bears the following inscription on a brass plaque: DEDICATED TO THE OPPRESSED LABOURERS WHOSE SUFFERING ULTIMATELY RENDERED THIS DISPLAY OF CORPORATE AFFLUENCE POSSIBLE.

The Brewers' Company is one of the oldest livery companies in the City of London and ranks fourteenth in the order of precedence established by an Act of the Court of Aldermen in 1515. The earliest surviving reference to an organised group of brewers in the City of London was in 1292. However, it was not until 1437, when Henry VI granted the brewers the first of the Company's eight royal charters, that they were incorporated as a Livery Company with the title of 'The Wardens and Commonalty of the Mystery of Brewers of the City of London'. Before then, the brewers were known as 'The Gild of Our Lady and St Thomas the Martyr'. The Brewers were one of the first Guilds to have a Hall of their own. The earliest reference to their Hall, which stood on the same site as the present one, occurs in the records of the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral in 1403. William Porland's memorandum book reveals that by 1422 Brewers' Hall was regularly let out for use by other City Livery Companies, Guilds and other groups including the "footballpleyers", one of the earliest known references to football. Among the other Livery Companies named by Porland are the Armourers, the Girdlers, the Barbers, the Cooks, the Founders and Glaziers.

The first Brewers' Hall, described in the early seventeenth century as 'a fayre house' by the historian John Stow, was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. A second Hall was built on the same site between 1670 and 1673: in the interim period the Brewers regularly used Cooks' Hall for functions. The costs of the new Hall were met partly by members' subscriptions and partly by pawning virtually all the Company's plate and other treasures which were, alas, never redeemed. Bombing in 1940 destroyed this Hall. The present Hall was completed in 1960, and was designed by Sir Hubert Worthington, R.A.

Sources consulted:

see Brewers Company website www.brewershall.co.uk

Grid ref:

TQ324815 (532440,181540)

Size in hectares:

Site ownership:

City of London Corporation

Site management:

Open Spaces Department

Date(s):

c1960s

Designer(s):

Listed structures:

None

On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens:

No

Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965:

No

Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931:

No

Local Authority Data

The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.

On Local List:

No

In Conservation Area:

No

Tree Preservation Order:

No

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

Other LA designation:

None

Brewers' Hall Garden, May 2010. Photo: S Williams

Click a photo to enlarge.