City of London Corporation Guildhall Art Gallery and The London Archives

For over 800 years the Guildhall has been the centre of City government and the hub of City life. The Corporation of London began collecting works of art in the seventeenth century, when it commissioned portraits of the judges appointed to assess property claims in the wake of the Great Fire of London of 1666. Its collection now comprises some 6,000 paintings, watercolours, drawings and sculptures. Since the Second World War, the Corporation’s collection has concentrated on London subjects.

The London Archives (TLA) is the largest local authority record office in the United Kingdom. There are 78km of archives, modern records, plans, audio-visual and printed material in its strong-rooms - an enormous amount of information about the capital and its people. This material dates from 1067 to 2006 and is part of the History of London Collection, which is held jointly at Guildhall Library and TLA within the City of London‘s Town Clerk‘s Department. Its image collections include over 500,000 maps, prints, photographs, posters and drawings of London.

Gallery

Thumbnail image of 'An Irish wake...', 1821. Artist: Anon

Highlights from the London Archives

'Sailors in Westminster Abbey', 1804 Artist: Anon
 
'The Flower of the City', 1809. Artist: Thomas Rowlandson
 
'An Irish wake...', 1821. Artist: Anon
 
'The Music Lesson', 1877. Artist: Frederic Leighton
 
Two women wearing the latest indoor fashions, c1850. Artist: Anon
 
Kensington Garden dresses for June, c1810. Artist: W Read
 
'Very Cold!', Coleman Street, London, c1825. Artist: Anon
 
'Football Grounds, Tramway Services', London County Council (LCC) Tramways poster, 1925. Artist: BE Stall
 
'Sweethearts', 1892. Artist: Walter Dendy Sadler
 
'Faith', 1864. Artist: John Phillip
 
'The Zoo by Tramway to Camden Town', London County Council (LCC) Tramways poster, 1930. Artist: AK Mountain
 
Caroline of Brunswick, Consort of George IV, 1820. Artist: James Lonsdale
 
'A sonata of Beethoven', c1868-1918. Artist: Alfred Edward Emslie
 
The drawing room in St James's Palace, Westminster, London, 1809. Artist: Augustus Charles Pugin
 
'Miseries of London', 1812. Artist: Anon
 
'A Soaker or a Real Cat and Dog Day', 1825.  Artist: G Hunt
 
'St James' Park to Westminster or Victoria by Tram', London County Council Tramways poster, 1925. Artist: Frederick Graham
 
A beadle outside the Bank of England, London, 1814. Artist: C Williams
 
'Christmas Shopping, Take an All-Day 1/- Ticket', London County Council (LCC) Tramways poster, 1926. Artist: Tony Castle
 
The Army and Navy Club, Pall Mall, Westminster, London, 1853. Artist: Robert Kent Thomas
 
'Winter Fashions from November 1834 to April 1835', 1834.                             Artist: Anon
 
Tower Bridge with bascules open, London, c1905. Artist: Unknown
 
View looking south down Walbrook after an air raid, City of London, World War II, 1941. Artists: Arthur Cross, Fred Tibbs
 
The Harbour Master's office at 74 Narrow Street, Limehouse, London, c1905. Artist: Unknown
 
Crowds of shoppers in Rye Lane at night, Peckham, London, 1913. Artist: Unknown.
 
Hockey game, Myrdle Street Girls School, Stepney, London, 1908. Artist: Unknown.
 
'Shop Early, Ride in Comfort by London's Tramways', London County Council Tramways poster, 1928. Artist: Rowles
 
Girls playing netball, Chelsea Secondary School (Hortensia Road School), London, 1911. Artist: Unknown.
 
Animal skeletons at the Royal College of Surgeons, Westminster, London, 1911. Artist: Unknown.
 
Pedestrians and traffic, Victoria Street, London, April 1912. Artist: Unknown.
 
'Shop Early and Ride by Pullman Tramcar', London County Council (LCC) Tramways poster, 1930. Artist: Freda Beard
 
Boys making shoes at the Anerley Residential School for Elder Deaf Boys, Penge, 1908.  Artist: Unknown.
 
Men standing in the shield used to cut Rotherhithe Tunnel, Bermondsey, London, July 1907. Artist: Unknown.
 
King's Cross Station, Camden, London, 1970. Artist: Unknown.
 
Waterloo Station, Lambeth, London, 1960. Artist: Unknown.
 
Class M electric tram, 1930. Artist: Unknown.
 
'Victoria Embankment', London County Council (LCC) Tramways poster, 1932. Artist: RF Fordred
 
Nurse examining children before 'cleansing', Chaucer Cleansing Station, London, 1911. Artist: Unknown.
 
Firemen aboard a motor steamer, London Fire Brigade Headquarters, London, 1909. Artist: Unknown.
 
"The New Barmaid" at the Avenue Theatre, 1896.  Creator: Unknown.
 
The Trafalgar Square Theatre by Night, late 19th century. Creator: Unknown.
 
Real Ice Skating at Niagara Hall, Westminster, 1896. Creator: Unknown.
 
Hercat's New and Startling Illusion, The Mystery of "She" at the Egyptian Hall..., 1886. Creator: Unknown.
 
Illusionist Professor Herrmann, 1872. Creator: Unknown.
 
Lieutenant Walter Coles Merry Folks, 1872. Creator: Unknown.
 
'By Tram to the Embankment', London County Council (LCC) Tramways poster, 1924. Artist: Herbert Kerr Rooke
 
Burnett's Eccentric Delineations, 1874. Creator: Unknown.
 
'Summer Fashions for 1838', c1838.                                     Artist: Anon
 
Interior view in Horsemonger Lane Prison, Union Road, Southwark, London, c1826. Artist: G Yates
 
Interior view of the Thames Tunnel, London, 1830. Artist: Anon
 
Too young to be married, 1869. Artist: Thomas Faed
 
'The same to you sir, and many of 'em', 1827. Artist: George Hunt
 
'The Lottery Contrast', 1760.  Artist: Anon
 
'La Ghirlandata', 1873. Artist: Dante Gabriel Rossetti
 
'Turnips & Carrots ho', Cries of London, c1870. Artist: Anon
 
Bust of Queen Mary, consort of King George V, 1914. Artist: George Frampton
 
'St James Street in an uproar, or the quack artist and his assailants', 1819. Artist: JL Marks
 
Portico of the Church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster, London, 1842. Artist: George Scharf
 
Church of St George in the East, Stepney, London, 1811. Artist: John Coney
 
Interior of John Bunyan's meeting house in Zoar Street, Southwark, London, 1822.    Artist: Robert Blemmell Schnebbelie
 
View of Queen's Court, Upper Ground Street, Southwark, London, 1830.    Artist: Robert Blemmell Schnebbelie
 
Interior view of the drawing room in Buckingham House, Westminster, London, 1817. Artist: Thomas Sutherland
 
'A hint for another Statue - or, a Sketch of a Modern Weather Cock', 1804. Artist: Anon
 
Sir Paul Pindar's House, Bishopsgate, City of London, 1879. Artist: John Crowther
 
'The Palace of Westminster', 1892. Artist: George Vicat Cole
 
Portrait bust of the Duke of Cambridge, British soldier, 1898. Artist: Francis John Williamson
 
'Sir John Barnard, Lord Mayor 1737', 1738. Artist: Joseph Highmore
 
View of the British Hotel, Jermyn Street, London, c1820.                                             Artist: Anon
 
Interior of St Paul's Cathedral during the funeral of the Duke of Wellington, London, 1852 (1853).   Artist: William Simpson
 
'Mont St Michel', 1868.                                                Artist: James Webb
 
Hungerford Market, Westminster, London, c1810.                                           Artist: George Shepheard
 
View of Drury Court, looking towards St Mary le Strand, Westminster, London, 1882. Artist: John Crowther
 
'Alderman John Boydell', 1801. Artist: Sir William Beechey
 
'My First Sermon', 1863. Artist: John Everett Millais
 
Admiral Lord Duncan, 18th century British naval commander. Artist: John Hoppner
 
Buildings in Wych Street, including the Rising Sun Tavern, Westminster, London, c1860. Artist: S Read
 
Aldersgate Street, City of London, 1879. Artist: Henry Dixon
 
'Making decent!! A hint to the society for the suppression of vice...', 1822. Artist: George Cruikshank
 
View of St Dionis Backchurch, City of London, 1815.    Artist: William Pearson