Second Hall - Clothworkers

 

Second Hall

 
In 1548-9 a new Hall was erected by Henry Davyson, bricklayer and John Sampson, carpenter.

A plan in the Company's archives shows this building as it appeared in 1612. Substantial work had been done on the Parlour in 1594 and it may have been extended in this year.

The plan shows that the layout was typical for its date, including the Hall approached across a courtyard and entered from a screens passage. At one end was a dais, with oriel windows on either side. Some idea of the appearance of this arrangement may be gained from contemporary college halls at Oxford and Cambridge.

We know from the survey that accompanies the plan that both Hall and Parlour stood on undercrofts. Above part of the parlour and sharing its oriel was the Ladies' Chamber. To the west of this lay the Dry Parlour, with its Plate Chamber and Counting House, an Armoury House over the Kitchen and the Pastry. There was also a Gallery and a further Counting House.

An inventory drawn up in 1555 suggests that, at least initially, many of the furnishings were reused from the former Hall, for many are described as old and some match the descriptions of pieces in the Shearmen's inventory.

The garden was clearly an important element of the Hall and was newly planted when the Hall was rebuilt. Lists of plants purchased suggest that it was a herb-garden in the form of a knot, planted to be sweet-smelling, with lavender, rosemary, thyme and hyssop, as well as a vine. 

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