The War Lord Mayors: the Mayoralty and the Great War 1914-1918

Lord Mayors during the Great War.

The Night that Shakespeare Stole a Theatre

The invention of the modern theatre during the reign of Elizabeth I; ‘The Red Lion,’ the first permanent theatre built in London in 1567 followed by a further 16 theatres built by 1602.

Sir Alfred Yarrow, The Shipbuilder

Details of Alfred Yarrow’s early life (born in London on 13th January 1842), education and apprenticeship with the marine engineering firm of Ravenhill; the foundation of the Civil and Mechanical Engineers’ Society.

Taking the trains to Liverpool Street

The boom of proposals for new railway schemes in the 1860s and the City of London’s reactions to these proposals including the work of the City’s Railway Committee; the proposal to build a terminus at Liverpool Street for the Great Eastern Railway and the building of suburban lines.

Leadenhall – The Market at the heart if the City

History of market starting at the time of the original Roman settlement in AD43.

David Hartley – Arsonist by Appointment? 1732 – 1813

Detailed description of obelisk erected in memory of David Hartley on Putney Heath in 1777; family origins of Hartley; education and early career including securing patent for protecting buildings from fire by use of iron plates.

Electoral reform, liberalism & art funded by Jamaican slave sugar – the Beckfords. Part 1 – Alderman William Beckford (1709-1770)

The early life of William Beckford; the great accumulation of wealth from sugar plantations in Jamaica; his return to England and purchase of Fonthill Estate in Wiltshire in 1745; election as Member of Parliament firstly for Shaftesbuy then latterly as one of the the City of London’s four MPs.

The City of London’s role as the ‘Secular Arm’ in the burning of heretics”

The events in the City of London during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I focusing on the years 1529-1558 when the largest number of burnings occurred in West Smithfield.

The History of the Hampstead Heath Ponds

London’s early water supply; the London Conduit Act of 1544 empowering the City to make use of the springs on Hampstead Heath; the1692 Act of Parliament creating the Hampstead Water Company; the creation of reservoirs; the artist John Constable painted the Heath many times with ponds appearing in several of his works including “Hampstead Heath with a Rainbow”; an account of the history of swimming in the Ponds; major incidents of flooding in the Heath, including the most serious one in 1975 with details of the effect on the Heath; the start of the “Ponds Project” which will ensure that the risk of dam collapse in the ponds is eliminated.

Best of the Old with the Best of the New – The Guildhall Complex and its Relationship with Organisational Change

Changes to the built environment of the Guildhall Complex covering the period from 1884, discussing  the ‘new’ Council Chamber, the Great Hall of Guildhall, the former Art Gallery, North Office Block & West Wing offices, the construction of new Guildhall Art Gallery incorporating the remains of the Roman Amphitheatre; the Guildhall Improvement Project; changes in organisational behaviour with examples given of changes to committee meetings; changing role of Chairman of Policy Committee and that of Chief Commoner.