Painters' Hall

Painters' Hall
Middlesex
Painters' Hall
Type:	Livery hall
Location
Grid reference:	TQ32298091
Location:	51°30’42"N, 0°5’42"W
City:	London
History
Address:	Little Trinity Lane
	Built 1961
	Livery hall
Information
Owned by:	The Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers

Painters' Hall stands in Little Trinity Lane in the City of London, standing between Little Trinity Lane and Huggin Hill, south of St Paul's Cathedral in the ward of Queenhithe. It is the livery hall of the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers, one of the livery companies of the City.

History

The earliest reference to the site of Painters' Hall is in 1375: this may be the building which became the Company's first hall. A medieval timber framed building was acquired in 1504 for £30 by John Browne and conveyed to the 'Paynter-Stayners' in 1532. It was first described as “Paynters' Hall” in 1549.

In 1666 during the Great Fire of London King Charles II rested in Painters' Hall with his brother James after viewing the approaching destruction. However soon the fire reached Little Trinity Lane and destroyed most of the building.

After the fire, the hall was rebuilt, work which was completed in 1670, followed by various improvements and additions in 1671-74. Some of the work in the hall was carried out by the great artists of the age: the door was carved by Edward Pearce although it was long said that the carvings in the hall were by Grinling Gibbons. (The carvings survived twentieth century destruction and were installed in the new Entrance Hall in the 1960s.)

In 1914, the Company acquired adjoining shops and houses between the Hall and the railway. Painters’ Hall Chambers constructed to the north. The Court Room and Hall were enlarged.

Early in the morning of 11 May 1941, during the Blitz, Painters’ Hall was destroyed by fire. After the War, building restrictions delayed rebuilding and it was not until June 1961 that the new building opened, incorporating materials which had survived.

The company

Painters' Hall

An organisation of painters of metals and wood, is known to have existed as early as 1283. A similar organisation of stainers, who generally worked on staining cloth for decorative wall hangings, existed as early as 1400. The two bodies merged in 1502; the new organisation was incorporated under a Royal Charter in 1581. The Company ranks twenty-eighth in the order of precedence of the City's livery companies.

Today, the Company is less of a trade association of painters, and more of a charitable company with the promotion of education in the fine and decorative arts and crafts as its main theme.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Painters' Hall)

• The Painter-Stainers' Company
• / The Magister Painters' Company
• A brief history of the house-painting trade in London ca.1660-1850 can be found in this essay by the English historian of paint and colour, Patrick Baty
• Lynn Painters-Stainers prize