Analysis

There is growing international awareness of London’s past, and deep, connections with the slave trade. For example, this week we noticed: Aljazeera: ‘Shameful’: Lloyd’s of London apologises for role in slave trade Bloomberg: The City of London Has a Slavery Problem Barbados Today: ‘Sorry is not enough’: Caribbean states say of British slavery apologies South China Morning Post: How London’s …

Growing Awareness of City’s Slavery Role Read More »

Over the last two weeks, The City has been united in its revulsion at the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, at the hands of a white Minneapolis policeman. This has not been restricted to private opinion. It has been inspiring to see prominent City organizations, which would normally avoid political controversy, positively …

Time to Revoke Admission by Patrimony Read More »

18th Century Facsimile of London’s Medieval Livery Companies? I recently visited the museum at Freemason’s Hall, and watched a documentary series on Netflix entitled Inside the Freemasons (which appears to be reasonably factual, and reasonably well researched). The similarities between freemasonry and the older livery companies are striking. Freemasons claim their roots in the medieval …

A Speculation Upon the Origin of Freemasonry Read More »

Stunning Pageantry, Flawed Democracy Every year at Michaelmas (29 Sep for those unfamiliar with archangel liturgy), liverymen of City guilds gather at Guildhall at noon to elect a new Lord Mayor. The procedure is full of picturesque high pageantry. Beforehand, all 110 Masters of the livery companies process to the church of St Lawrence Jewry, …

Electing the Lord Mayor Read More »

Delightful, World-Class Fun For a gentle and unique form of fun, visit Dennis Severs’ house. This is in Spitalfields, a stone’s throw from Bishopsgate. It dates from 1724, and is typical of the houses Huguenot immigrants lived in. Each of its 10 rooms is set up in the style of various periods, from 1724 to …

Dennis Severs’ House in Spitalfields Read More »

Another Utterly Charming City Ceremony On 19 November, the Ceremony of the Constable’s Dues was held at the Tower of London. To see a 24-minute video, go here. Annual commemoration of the past, substantial perks of the Tower’s senior administrator. Commentary Another utterly charming relic of days gone by, along with the Ceremony of the Keys …

Constable’s Dues Read More »