Guildhall Events May - August 2016

GUILDHALL EVENTS

LIBRARY AND EXHIBITIONS The Library of London History

MAY-AUGUST 2016 SHIRLEY HIBBERD, THE FATHER OF AMATEUR GARDENING Thursday 12 May, 2-3pm

THE CITY OF LONDON POLICE MUSEUM: OPEN DAY Wednesday 27 July, 10.30am – 3.30pm

Guildhall Library Aldermanbury, London EC2V 7HH 020 7332 1868 / 020 7332 1870 guildhall.library@cityoflondon.gov.uk www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/guildhalllibrary Follow

ALL EVENTS REQUIRE BOOKING AND TAKE PLACE AT GUILDHALL LIBRARY. EVENTS ARE FREE UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED.

Tuesday 10 May Drop in to listen 10.00 – 12.00 and 13.30 – 15.30

SPEECHES, SOLILOQUIES AND SONGS FROM SHAKESPEARE

DETAILS OF HOW TO BOOK CAN BE FOUND ON THE BACK PAGE

Thursday 5 May, 6-8pm

Simon Wills launches his new book ‘Tracing Your Seafaring Ancestors’ by showing how photos of your maritime forebears can reveal a lot about their roles and lives. From lifeboatmen to the Royal Navy, and from passenger ship crews to fishermen he discusses our fascinating nautical heritage caught on camera.

In 2016 the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death is commemorated with festivals, productions, exhibitions and a new coin. But how was 1616 marked?

In this talk Professor Emma Smith discusses the immediate response to Shakespeare’s death and what that can tell us about his reputation at the end of his career. This talk also explores his lasting monument, the first collected edition of his plays gathered by fellow-actors he had remembered in his will: the 1623 First Folio.

EVENTS

Tuesday 3 May, 2-3pm

SEAFARING ANCESTORS ON CAMERA

MEMORIALISING SHAKESPEARE: THE FIRST FOLIO AND OTHER ELEGIES

©Simon Wills

©Pete Smith

£5 plus booking fee. Includes a wine reception.

Wednesday 4 May, 2-3pm

ANOTHER SINGULAR STREET: FLEET STREET

Join Pete Smith to explore London’s ‘street of ink’, and discover: the church that inspired a wedding cake; a parrot whose death was reported around the world; a cat who collaborated with a lexicographer; a statue with a private income; and a house that survived the Great Fire of London.

WALK Saturday 7 May, 2-4pm

LET’S ALL GO DOWN TO THE STRAND

After meeting, we follow the Strand to Trafalgar Square. On the way, you will learn about: the engineer who saved a city; the revolting peasants whose appetite for sweet wine led to their death; the cat who dines at the Savoy; and the oddest street name in London.

Meet outside Temple Underground Station. £8 no booking required, pay on the day.

Following on from our highly successful complete reading of the Sonnets, Guildhall Library invites you to read, recite, sing or perform your favourite speech, soliloquy or song from Shakespeare.

We are looking for City workers, residents, theatre lovers, budding actors and Shakespeare enthusiasts to take part in this unique event. Please email or phone Guildhall Library if you would like to volunteer or take part. You can also drop in on the day just to listen – we hope that a special guest will kick off what promises to be another extraordinary event.

Please contact: ghlevents@cityoflondon.gov.uk or 020 7332 1868

WORKSHOP

Thursday 26 May, 2-3pm

GARDENERS’ COLLECTION WORKSHOP: GARDENING IN THE LIBRARY

EVENTS

Come to our workshop led

by Assistant Librarian Jeanie Smith and get a closer look at some of the delightful books in the Worshipful Company of Gardeners’ Collection.

No need to bring your gardening gloves!

Thursday 12 May, 2-3pm

SHIRLEY HIBBERD, THE FATHER OF AMATEUR GARDENING

Shirley Hibberd was a London journalist, scientist and naturalist who became the first successful writer specifically for amateur gardeners, hitherto ignored by professionals with vested interests. Also a campaigner for the environment and animal rights, he proved to be a man ahead of his time and now deserves recognition. Join Anne Wilkinson to learn more.

Thursday 19 May, 2-3pm

CLEVELAND STREET SCANDAL

LONDON AT NIGHT: AN LMA FILM CLUB SPECIAL

Tuesday 24 May, 2-3.30pm

HISTORY AND TREASURES OF GUILDHALL LIBRARY

Join our librarians to learn about the history of Guildhall Library, tour the building (including behind the scenes!) and view some of the library’s treasures.

£5 plus booking fee. Includes a wine reception.

Tuesday 7 June, 2-3pm

STAINED GLASS

Discover the fascinating stained glass of the City of London in this illustrated talk by Alexandra Epps, City of London Guide and Tate Guide. Explore the history of stained glass – its making and meaning, its symbolism and spiritual dimensions and above all its visual beauty.

Experience the variety of artistic styles to be found in the beautiful windows of many of the historic churches of the City.

©Alexandra Epps

This special screening of films from London Metropolitan Archives’ collection looks at London at Night; its market traders and its evening socialisers. ‘A Day in the Night?

A portrait of Spitalfields Market’ (1988), provides a snapshot of a day’s trading at London’s famous fruit and vegetable market, from when it awakens at night until it finishes trading in the early hours. Our second film, ‘Music Halls’ (1974), provides an insight into the lost nightlife of London’s great theatrical entertainment venues. Join us for a glimpse into London’s past at all hours of the day and night! ©Colin Davey

In the summer of 1889, Scotland Yard put 19 Cleveland Street under surveillance, noting that ‘a number of men of superior bearing and apparently good position’ had been seen visiting the property. What did their visits concern, and what repercussions would they have for London society? Join Colin Davey in this lecture in which he will lift the lid on some late Victorian scandal.

Thursday 2 June, 6-8pm

You are invited...

Thursday 16 June, 2-3pm

LONDON’S VILLAGES: PADDINGTON

©Stephen Jarvis

Is Paddington primarily a station, or possibly a marmalade-addicted small bear from darkest Peru?

Was it carved out by an Anglo-Saxon chieftain called Padda? What connects it to medical breakthroughs, or the stage, or even Roman London?

Pete Smith addresses these questions and many more.

EVENTS

Tuesday 7 June, 6-8pm

DEATH AND MR PICKWICK

Stephen Jarvis talks about his novel Death and Mr Pickwick, which was described as “The most remarkable historical fiction debut of 2015”

by BBC History Magazine, and “A masterpiece of the imagination”

by The Daily Telegraph. The novel tells the story behind the creation of Charles Dickens’s first novel The Pickwick Papers. “In my view, The Pickwick Papers has the most remarkable backstory of any work of fiction,” says Jarvis. “It cried out to be made into a novel itself – so that’s what I did.”

Join Stephen Jarvis to hear more.

Thursday 9 June, 6-8pm

THE CURATOR’S EGG: BOOKS AND THEIR CARE

Hard hats on. Why bother with an old book if you get the same from a new one, or from Kindle?

Librarian Jo Wisdom suggests, using examples from Guildhall Library collections, how old books have unique stories to tell… if you let them, and if you look after them.

Includes viewing rare books from Guildhall Library collections.

Discover for yourself what it might have been like to attend a Regency dance in a historical setting with expert dance tuition from Mrs Bennet’s Ballroom and live Regency music.

The Livery Hall, Guildhall. Tickets £15 plus booking fee. Includes wine reception.

Regency Style Dress encouraged.

WALK Thursday 16 June, 10.15am for 10.30am start

Thursday 16 June,6-8pm

THE END OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE: THE SOMME, 1 JULY 1916

STAINED GLASS

Join City of London Guide Alexandra Epps on a fascinating stroll exploring the magical qualities of the beautiful stained glass windows to be found within a selection of historic churches in the City of London – discover both old and modern windows and experience their pure colour, variety of artistic styles and intrinsic spirituality.

£12 plus booking fee. Booking essential.

Meet at entrance to the Guildhall Art Gallery Guildhall Yard, London EC2V 7HH Contact Tel: 07976 262519

©Alexandra Epps

£5 plus booking fee. Includes wine reception.

A REGENCY DANCE EXPERIENCE

Photographer Mike St Maur Sheil presents his images of the battlefield where the cataclysmic events of the opening day of the battle of the Somme occurred and explains how they changed the history of our nation.

The talk is in conjunction with the ‘Fields of Battle, Lands of Peace’ exhibition in Guildhall Yard.

£5 plus booking fee. Includes wine reception.

©Mike St Maur Sheil

£5 plus booking fee. Includes wine reception.

Tuesday 14 June, 6.30-9pm

Tuesday 21 June, 6-8pm

Thursday 30 June, 2-3.30pm

Historian and author Dan Cruickshank will tell us about the many immigrants who settled in Spitalfields including the 18th century Irish and late 19th century Russian and Polish Jewish communities, as well as the post Reformation Roman Catholics and Bangladeshis.

Join our librarians to learn about the history of Guildhall Library, tour the building (including behind the scenes!) and view some of the library’s treasures.

THE OTHER MIGRANTS OF SPITALFIELDS

PADDINGTON TO LITTLE VENICE

©Pete Smith

Meet at the concourse end of Platform 4 at Paddington Station. £8 no booking required, pay on the day.

THE CHANGING FACE OF THE EAST END: A JOURNEY THROUGH THE COLLECTIONS AT THE BISHOPSGATE INSTITUTE

Bishopsgate Institute has been collecting material about the social and cultural history of the East End since opening in 1895. This talk will examine gangsters, policemen, revolutionaries and co-operators, and will delve into some of the treasures held in the Library collections.

What can they tell us about the changing nature of the East End? The talk will be given by Stefan Dickers, Bishopsgate Institute’s Library and Archives Manager.

Tuesday 28 June, 2-3pm

MADONNA OR WHORE: A WOMAN’S LOT IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND

The popular Victorian image of the ideal woman or wife came to be known as “the Angel in the House”.

She was submissive, self-sacrificing, pious, and above all pure and was devoted to her husband and children.

If a woman departed from the social norm of marriage, motherhood and domestic life and had sex outside the confines of marriage she became known as a ‘fallen’ woman exposing herself to a series of consequences including prostitution, disease and an early death. Jennifer ToynbeeHolmes takes a look at Victorian narrative paintings and literary illustrations that vividly portray these distinctive types of women giving us a unique insight into Victorian sexual morality and their double standards.

Tuesday 5 July, 6-8pm

ANATOMY OF LONDON: LATE VIEW AND LAUNCH

Guildhall Library’s latest exhibition showcases Tony Phillips’ etchings and pen-and-wash drawings of contemporary London. Join the artist at an exclusive late view of the exhibition, where he will provide an introduction to the project, including how his images convey the nature of London today.

6pm Exhibition View; 6.30pm A short introduction to the project; 7pm Wine reception, £5 plus booking fee.

Bank ©Tony Phillips

This walk takes us along the Regent’s Canal, ending close to Warwick Avenue Station. Along the way discover the role the railways and canals played in the life of the capital, learn about the life of London’s ‘water gypsies’, and encounter a few quirky surprises.

Tuesday 21 June, 2-3pm

©Bishopsgate Institute

EVENTS

WALK Saturday 18 June, 2-4pm

£5 plus booking fee. Includes a wine reception.

HISTORY AND TREASURES OF GUILDHALL LIBRARY

Wednesday 20 July, 2-3pm

SHAKESPEARE IN THE CITY

BRITISH EMPIRE VOICE RECORDINGS FROM THE GREAT WAR, 1915-1918: THE BERLIN HUMBOLDT POW ARCHIVE

WALK Wednesday 20 July, 3.15pm

SHAKESPEARE’S FOOTSTEPS

From Guildhall Yard, our walk leads us through the core of Shakespeare’s London, to where he lived, where he worked and where he spent his leisure time with friends and fellow writers. Elizabethan and Jacobean London can only truly come to life by walking its streets in this way.

Meet at Guildhall Yard. £8 no booking required, pay on the day.

©Pete Smith

Throughout the Great War, two academics in Germany laboured to record onto fragile wax cylinders the voices of British Empire Prisoners of War held near Berlin. The resulting treasure trove, uncovered only recently and now in the British Library, contains over 200 British voices speaking in dialect, as well as those of Indians, including Sikhs, West Africans and other Imperial soldiers. This illustrated talk by John Adams, who located the Archive, will play examples, and explain the background to this unique collection of the voices of our grandfathers: Listen, and be moved.

CITY OF LONDON POLICE MUSEUM AT GUILDHALL LIBRARY

EVENTS

Tuesday 12 July, 2-3pm

Although we think of Shakespeare as ‘the man from Stratford’, he spent most of his creative life in London, and the city left its mark on him. In this talk, Pete Smith will introduce you to what traces of him can still be found in and around the City.

Tuesday 26 July, 2-3.30pm

HISTORY AND TREASURES OF GUILDHALL LIBRARY

Join our librarians to learn about the history of Guildhall Library, tour the building (including behind the scenes!) and view some of the library’s treasures.

Wednesday 27 July, 10.30am – 3.30pm

MUSEUM OPEN DAY

In October 2016, the City of London Police Museum is opening in a new location at Guildhall Library. To celebrate, the Museum will be holding an open day in Guildhall Yard with horses, dogs, and officers in uniforms from the past 175 years.

Come along to find out about the forthcoming museum and the history of the City of London Police.

©Pete Smith

LONDON AT NIGHT

Many people over the centuries have been fascinated by London at night.

Even in the twenty-first century, London after dark has lost none of its charm and intrigue. In a talk to accompany his exhibition of photographs, Simon Gregor (artist-inresidence at Guildhall Library) will share some of his experiences of photographing London at night, and the stories behind the images. He will also reflect more generally on the links between the photographic image and the time and place in which it was created.

Tuesday 23 August, 2-3.30pm

HISTORY AND TREASURES OF GUILDHALL LIBRARY

Join our librarians to learn about the history of Guildhall Library, tour the building (including behind the scenes!) and view some of the library’s treasures.

Wednesday 24 August, 2-3pm

A PLETHORA OF PALACES

EXHIBITIONS

EVENTS

Wednesday 3 August, 2-3pm

For over a thousand years, London has been a city of palaces. Pete Smith tells the story of the most fascinating of these and of their more colourful inhabitants, ranging from The Wisest Fool in Christendom and Stinking Billy to a fire-raising Dutch laundress.

WALK Saturday 27 August, 10.30am – 12.30pm

PARKS AND PALACES

We cross some of London’s loveliest open spaces linking three royal palaces. Discover: a drunken elephant; a game that gave its name to a street; two old ladies who challenged a king’s plans; and the most famous orange seller in English history.

©Simon Gregor

Meet outside the hotel on the forecourt of Charing Cross Station. £8 no booking required, pay on the day.

Until 24 June

FEEDING LONDON: THE FORGOTTEN MARKET GARDENS

The exhibition celebrates the long history of market gardening in South West London, telling the story of commercial food-growing in the area. Sound-recorded memories of workers and families bring the past to life. It will be accompanied by a selection of material from Guildhall Library’s collections. An exhibition curated by Jam Yesterday, Jam Tomorrow, a Heritage Lottery funded project of the Environmental Trust and Guildhall Library.

©Simon Gregor

1 July-5 August

ANATOMY OF LONDON: SURVEY OF CONTEMPORARY LONDON

BY TONY PHILLIPS LONDON AT NIGHT

London is a remarkable city at any time of day, but London at night has a magic all of its own. Photographer Simon Gregor often leads tourists, and Londoners, on night-time photo walks of the city, to try to discover some of the intrigue, atmosphere and charm of the metropolis ‘after hours’.

In this exhibition, Simon will share some of his own favourite images of London after dark.

15 August – 25 November

THAT DREADFUL FIRE: THE HAND OF GOD, A GREAT WIND AND A VERY DRY SEASON

Wooden buildings, stores of combustibles and overcrowding meant fires were a regular occurrence in 17th-century London.

Most were unremarkable. So when a chance fire started in a bakery on 2 September 1666 no one could know that it would wipe out most of the City of London. To commemorate the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London, this exhibition explores the story of this devastating event through Guildhall Library’s collections, including English and foreign accounts, sermons and public records.

THE CITY OF LONDON POLICE MUSEUM

In October 2016, the City of London Police Museum is opening in a new location at Guildhall Library. We will see new displays, talks, events and education sessions. More details will be in the Guildhall Library Autumn Exhibition Events Guide.

OPENING SOON

EXHIBITIONS

Until 26 August

For 15 years artist Tony Phillips has been creating work which investigates the nature of contemporary London, referencing its complexity, diversity and multilayered history. The project began in 1999 with a joint commission from the Museum of London and Guildhall Library for 24 etchings detailing the history of the city. This exhibition displays the results of this project: pen-and-wash drawings and etchings, which follow in the graphic tradition of social commentary developed by Hogarth and Dorè.

Tony Phillips has work in many public collections and his etchings have recently been included in exhibitions at Victoria and Albert Museum and Tate Britain.

St James’s ©Tony Phillips

GUILDHALL EVENTS

LIBRARY AND EXHIBITIONS The Library of London History

MAY-AUGUST 2016

Guildhall Library opening hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9.30am-5pm Wednesday 9.30am-7.30pm Alternate Saturdays 9.30am-5pm Please check our website for more details The library is closed on Bank Holiday weekends.

Please note exhibitions are inaccessible during afternoon talks.

All images © City of London unless indicated

ALL EVENTS REQUIRE BOOKING AND TAKE PLACE AT GUILDHALL LIBRARY. PLEASE BOOK THROUGH EVENTBRITE: WWW.GHLEVENTS.EVENTBRITE.CO.UK IF YOU HAVE ANY QUERIES REGARDING BOOKING PLEASE CONTACT: GHLEVENTS@CITYOFLONDON.GOV.UK OR 020 7332 1869/1871 Guildhall Library Aldermanbury, London EC2V 7HH 020 7332 1868 / 020 7332 1870 guildhall.library@cityoflondon.gov.uk www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/guildhalllibrary

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