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History of Stationers' Hall

Stationers' Hall is a Grade I listed building, close to St Paul's Cathedral. It is one of the few ancient Livery Halls remaining in the City of London.

 

The Stationers’ Company started in 1403 when the Scriveners who had writing skills, the Lymners, who decorated parchments and the Book-binders asked the Lord Mayor of London if they could form a Guild. He agreed, and as they worked from fixed tables

(or stations) in St Paul’s Churchyard, they became known as the Stationers.

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Stationers’ Hall was rebuilt after the Great Fire of London and completed in 1674. It is not just a hall, but a number of rooms including one known as the Stock Room; named after the English Stock Company, set up by Act of Parliament in 1603. This gave the Stationers the monopoly on selling Bibles, Prayer-books and Almanacs bringing great wealth.

Stationers’ Hall also has one of the few private gardens in the City, with its famous plane tree, thought to be over 200 years old. At the end of the garden is the oldest warehouse in the City dating back to the late 17th Century. This now houses the Archive containing all historic papers and documents pre-1842, including Copyright registers dating back to 1557. Its foundations are built on the Roman wall of London, with the Old Bailey on the other side.

 

For more information on Stationers' Hall's history and heritage, please click here.

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To get to Stationers' Hall, please click here.