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.
The building of Mansion House was first considered after the
Great Fire of London in 1666, but the first stone was not laid
until 1739 after much discussion over the selection of the site,
the design and the architect. Sir Crispin Gascoigne was the first
Lord Mayor to take up residence, in 1752.
A fashionable Palladian style with a large classical portico was
chosen by the City's Clerk of Works, George Dance the Elder. Built
around a central courtyard it contained a cellar, a ground floor
for the servants and the kitchen, a grand first floor of offices,
dining and reception rooms, including the Egyptian Hall where
banquets were held, a second floor with a gallery for dancing and
chambers for the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, and a third floor of
bedchambers.
The Egyptian Hall is so named because its form was thought to
replicate the dining halls used in Egypt in Roman times, with giant
columns supporting a narrower attic area. Reconstructions of such
halls were studied in Roman times and became very fashionable in
the 18th century. However, there is nothing Egyptian about the
decoration, which is classical in style. Although Mansion House
retains much of its original character, there have been changes -
one of the most important of which was the covering of the internal
courtyard to form what is now known as the Saloon to provide a
large reception area.
During its life the house has undergone a number of extensive
repair programmes. The most recent was the refurbishment work of
1991-3, when structural repair, careful conservation and complete
redecoration were carried out. The result was well received and won
a number of conservation awards. Mansion House was originally
intended to enable the Lord Mayor to represent the City in
appropriate style, and it continues to fulfil this function more
than two centuries later.
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.