At The Mansion House
Contributing Photographer Rachel Ferriman & I were granted the privilege of a visit to the Mansion House designed by George Dance the Elder (1739) in the City of London. I use the word privilege because this gleaming palace that serves as the official residence of the Lord Mayor of the City is an embodiment of the notion. Lest there should be any doubt, Robert Taylor’s sculptures on the pediment proclaim it by representing a female figure personifying the City triumphant, trampling the figure of Envy beneath her feet while receiving the bounty of the earth in a cornucopia delivered by another allegorical figure.
The weight of history is inescapable here. ‘This is the vortex and whirlpool, the centre of human life today on the earth,’ wrote Richard Jefferies in 1883 of the crossroads where the Bank of England, the Royal Exchange and the Mansion House face each other to form a triangle of powerful institutions. No-one would make the same comment today now that the traffic haas thinned out and the Empire is no more.
Arriving at the service entrance demystifies the pomp, just as it would if you entered the kitchen door of a restaurant or the stage door of a big theatre. Here is the vault where a vast array of the gold and silver is stored for the grand dinners, watched over by Plate Butler Simon Ford who kindly points out Queen Elizabeth I’s sword and the chain of office believed to have been Cardinal Wolsey’s, lest you miss these astonishing personal artefacts amidst the dazzling bling. Leading off from the low vaulted passages are old wooden doors that led to holding cells in the days when the Mansion House served as a court of law. Emmeline Pankhurst was imprisoned here in the women’s cell known as the ‘birdcage.’
Ascending to the public spaces, you encounter the vast Salon at the centre of the building that was once an open courtyard. It is riot of pillars and plasterwork, highlighted in gilt and illuminated by massive crystal chandeliers. This is where Anne Fanshawe would have been seen in her dress of Spitalfields silk at the inauguration when her father Crisp Gascoyne became Lord Mayor in 1752.
From here you proceed to the galleried Egyptian Hall laid out for a banquet of over a hundred, where minions check that knives and forks are laid correctly while keeping an eye on the lustrous gold metalware adorning the long tables. Here the Chancellor gives the annual Mansion House speech, outlining the state of the economy.
On the other side of the building is the Old Ballroom with an impressive coffered ceiling embellished with rosettes and the largest sash window I ever saw. A door leads directly from the Ballroom to the State Bedroom which offers a startling juxtaposition between the public and the private while delivering luxurious convenience for an individual of high status. Although the furnishing of this room is a recreation apart from the Thomas Sheraton furniture, I found it the most evocative space where any manner of liaison might be envisioned by one with a colourful imagination.
Studying Sally Jeffery’s definitive architectural history of the Mansion House revealed how much the building and its interiors have been transformed through time, with the most recent renovation being in 1991. I could not resist an equivocal response. On one hand, the place fills me with fascination and respect for the breathtaking paintings and sculptures, and the superlative design and craft skills expended in the creation of such a wonder. On the other, I cannot wholeheartedly accept the celebration of imperial power that is embodied here. Yet despite my reservations, the Mansion House still does its job as an events venue for those City institutions whose guests seek the affirmation of status that these interiors are designed to celebrate.
The North-West Staircase
The Saloon
The Saloon
The Saloon
The north Drawing Room with reinstated 19th century colour scheme
The North-West Drawing Room
The Lord Mayor’s office
The North-West State Bedroom with furniture by Thomas Sheraton, conveniently adjacent to the Old Ballroom permitting monarchs or other important guests a private retreat
The Egyptian Hall
The Egyptian Hall
The Egyptian Hall
The Egyptian Hall
The Egyptian Hall
The Egyptian Hall
The Old Ballroom
The Old Ballroom
Caroline Jack, Director of Mansion House at the large sash window at the end of the Old Ballroom
At the centre is a sword belonging to Elizabeth I
Andrew Ford, Plate Butler in the vault
Door to one of the holding cells, where Emmeline Pankhurst was held prior to trial
Watchman’s chair in the vestibule
Photographs copyright © Rachel Ferriman
With thanks to Caroline Jack, Director of the Mansion House
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How fascinating to see inside. Very grand, the formal classical & very expressive plaster work.
The labour of so many skilled trades & crafts people probably none of whom would ever have dined there.
I wonder if liasons in that bed were as joyous for all involved as one might hope.
Like religious architecture it has an imposing, comanding quality. A cathedral of empire.
Blimey, the narrative of the relief outfront! A shop sign anouncing the business of the place.
Some of us belong more in the birdcage or kettled on the steps of the Royal Exchange across the road.
A good history lesson, social commentary, and a leaven of humor! Thank you.