London Heritage. Discount London Vacation
| The City is not just about business and finance. Within the Square Mile are galleries, theatres, museums and concert halls to cater for all tastes. There is a wide range of sporting activity, a public leisure centre and the world-famous Barbican Centre. As well as being the third largest sponsor of the arts in the UK, the Corporation owns and cares for a number of historic buildings and monuments. |
| The City has a long and fascinating history - the Corporation itself is over 800 years old and, while fulfilling its role as a modern local authority, it respects and preserves its rich historical legacy. The ancient civic offices of the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs are still an integral part of the modern Corporation, and traditions such as the Lord Mayor's Show and the Freedom of the City bring London's history to life. |
| The City of London Corporation provides an information centre for visitors, located at St Paul's Churchyard. Tel 020 7332 3456. |
| The Corporation of London preserves and protects some of the finest examples of the City's architectural heritage - from the medieval Guildhall and Thames bridges to a Georgian town house and, beyond the City, the Grade One listed Keats House and an Elizabethan hunting lodge. |
| The Great Hall is the third largest civic hall in England, where royalty and state visitors have been entertained down the centuries. It has been the setting for famous state trials, including that of Lady Jane Grey in 1553. The imposing medieval hall has stained glass windows and several monuments to national heroes including Admiral Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Winston Churchill. |
| Today Guildhall still plays an important role in the City. It provides a venue for state and civic banquets, meetings of the Corporation's elected assembly, the Court of Common Council and for the Honorary Freedom of the City ceremony. |
| Click here for more information about the Guildhall. |
| Click here for hotels near the Guildhall |
| Mansion House is one of the grandest surviving Georgian town palaces in London, with magnificent interiors containing elaborate plasterwork and carved timber ornament. It is unique as the only purpose-built home of the Lord Mayor of the City of London, providing not only living and working space for the Lord Mayor and his household but also room for large ceremonial entertainments and banquets. |
| Mansion House is open by appointment only for visits by organised groups (minimum 15 people, maximum 40). Applications should be made in writing to the Principal Assistant, Mansion House, London EC4N 8BH. |
| Click here for more information about the Mansion House. |
| Click here for hotels near the Mansion House. |
| Built to commemorate the Great Fire which devastated the City of London in 1666, the Monument offers panoramic views over London. |
| Standing 202 feet high, the Monument is the tallest isolated stone column in the world. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke and constructed of Portland stone in 1671-7, the simple Doric column is topped by a flaming urn of copper symbolising the Great Fire. Climb the spiral staircase of 311 steps to the balcony at the top and you are rewarded with breathtaking views over the city in all directions, as well as a certificate of achievement. |
| The Monument, which is maintained by the Corporation of London at its own expense, is open to the public every day from 10am-6pm. Admission costs £1.50 per adult and 50p per child (under 16). The nearest underground station is Monument. Tel 020 7626 2717. |
| The Latin inscription on the north panel of the pedestal translates as "In the year of Christ 1666, on 2 September, at a distance eastward from this place of 202 ft, which is the height of this column, a fire broke out in the dead of night which, the wind blowing, devoured even distant buildings, and rushed devastating through every quarter with astonishing swiftness and noise ... On the third day ... at the bidding, we may well believe, of heaven, the fire stayed its course and everywhere died out." |
| Click here for more information about the Monument. |
| Click here for hotels near the Mansion House. |