Photo: londondrum.comUseful things to know before your visit
Address: Mansion House, Bank Junction, The City EC4N 8BH. Telephone: 0207 626 2500. Website: cityoflondon.gov.uk
How much do the tickets cost?
You can buy adults tickets from £9, seniors (aged 65+) from £7.
What are the opening hours?
The Guided Tours are 1pm to 2pm (occasional dates only).
How much time do you need?
A typical visit to Mansion House takes 1 hour.
Which buses go to Mansion House?
Bus routes 8, 11, 21, 23, 25, 26, 43, 47, 48, 76, 133, 141, 149 and 242 all stop close by.
Which is the closest train station?
The nearest station is Bank, which connects with the Central DLR Northern and Waterloo & City lines. It only takes a minute to walk to Mansion House.
Which other attractions are nearby?
These attractions are all within 15 minutes walk of Mansion House: London Mithraeum, Bank of England Museum, Royal Exchange, Guildhall Art Gallery, Guildhall, Leadenhall Market, The Monument, Sky Garden, One New Change, Horizon 22, Billingsgate Roman House & Baths, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Postman’s Park, Golden Hinde and Clink Prison Museum.
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Mansion House is where the Lord Mayor of London lives – the one who looks after the Square Mile (not to be confused with the Mayor of Greater London, who operates out of City Hall).
It sounds like a great job travelling around the world in your chains and regalia representing the City, until you discover that it’s an unpaid position and you get booted out after twelve months so someone else can have a go (if only we had the same rule for our Prime Ministers!) – but they do get to live inside Mansion House for that entire time, which is some perk.
The Lord (or Lady) Mayor of London
The post is nearly 850 years old but the idea of creating a permanent residence only came about after the Great Fire of London in 1666. And It wasn’t until 1739 that they they finally got around to building this Palladian palace with six Corinthian columns out the front, topped off with a huge figure of the City trampling on her enemies.
Photo: londondrum.comBecause it’s the Lord Mayor’s actual house the only way to get inside is by joining one of their once a week guided tours. I’ve tried it a few times and always ended up in a little group of ten-or-so people, mainly older Brits (I don’t think your average tourist knows they can visit it).
After huddling up in the little entrance hall round the side of the building the guide launches into a sixty-minute speech that’s thick with history, covering everything from the art and architecture to biographies of a few famous Mayors, what their role is today, how they came to be elected, and the history of the London’s liveries and guilds.
You will certainly learn a lot. Whether you actually remember any of it is another matter because the facts come at you like a scattergun – rat-a-tat-tat – from Magna Carta all the way up to the present day. If you’re into the history of the City then you’ll definitely enjoy it, but bear in mind it’s very dense and detailed stuff and you’ll be listening to it for an hour.
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While she’s reciting all of this she’ll be leading you through the rooms with a security guard hovering around in the background to make sure you don’t sneak off to the private apartments upstairs. The tour just covers the working rooms downstairs and there’s only really six of them.
The Salon & Egyptian Hall
The first one that will make you go woah is the central Salon. This was originally an open-air courtyard until they closed it over with a ceiling, swapping out the sunshine for crystal chandeliers and the clouds for elaborate plasterwork – but it’s the Egyptian Hall that you’ll remember most. You’ve probably caught a glimpse of this room on the telly already because this is where the Chancellor gives an annual address to the City bankers and financiers.
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They call it the Egyptian Hall because the columns are supposed to give it a pharaonic feeling but there’s not a lot that’s actually Egyptian inside. At the moment it’s just a stack of tables and chairs while they’re getting ready for an event. It’s three storeys tall with a line of Corinthian columns down the side and right at the top are some stained-glass windows that tell the history of the City, then a Minstrel’s Gallery wrapped around the walls, and some marble statues of mythical gods looking down from the alcoves below.
John Wilkes Parlour & Harold Samuel Collection
Photo: londondrum.comAfter that comes the Long Parlour and John Wilkes Parlour, but they’re just used for dinners and business meetings.
As you walk around all of these rooms the guide will be pointing out paintings from one of the country’s best collections of 17th-century Dutch and Flemish art. Frans Hals did the famous one that’s hanging on the stairs (The Merry Lute Player) and there are other works by Jacob van Ruisdael, Jan Steen, Gerard Ter Borch, Pieter de Hooch and Aelbert Cuyp.
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What do you think? (4)
Ask a question, or share your experience of Mansion House
Tom This is a beautiful building, both inside and out, and it’s a shame they don’t open it up to the public more often because it’s beautiful inside. (reply)
Tony L I was lucky enough to attend a dinner here a few years ago. (reply)
Derek Can the public go inside. (reply)
↳Craig Hi Derek. You can only get in there on one of the Tuesday tours – cityoflondonguides.com/tours/mansion-house-guided-tours-tuesdays (reply)
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