Venue Type & Location
Performance Spaces
Overview
The Bakers' Hall is located at 9 Harp Lane, Lower Thames Street. The Hall still stands on its original site. The Elizabethan hall was inset from the lane way, with a small paved courtyard. The exterior was brick and timbered plaster, with a tiled roof. It had a tall south facing gable, a garden running along its side to the north, and a warehouse wing which obscured it from the rest of Harp Lane (Thrupp, Short History of Bakers 163). The assembly hall was reached through the great gates with yellow posts, across the courtyard under the porch and through the door. (Thrupp, Short History of Bakers 164).
Performance History
A performance by the King's Players on 23 November 1535 was recorded.
Current Status
History of the Venue
1506 The first hall purchased from company member, Richard Roper, for £20 and renovated. Previously meetings were held at a hall at Dowgate, from c. 1490 rented at a rate of £3 per year.
1666 Destroyed in the Great Fire.
1673-5 Second hall built on the site.
1715 Hall destroyed in a fire.
1719-22 Third hall built on the same site.
1940 Destroyed during the World War II Blitz.
1961-3 Fourth hall built on the original site.
Record Source
REED Civic London to 1558 2.564
Patrons who owned this venue
[No data found.]
Bibliographic Sources
- Blackham, Robert J.. The Soul of the City: London's Livery Companies: Their Storied Past Their Living Present. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co., Ltd., [1930?]
- Bradley, Simon, and Nikolaus Pevsner. London I: The City of London. London: Penguin Books, 1997
- Herbert, William. The History of the Twelve Great Livery Companies of London. 2. London: The Author, 1836--7
- Thrupp, Sylvia. A Short History of the Worshipful Company of Bakers of London. Croydon: Galleon Press, 1933