Stationers’ Hall

Pat Rogers, University of South Florida
August 2023

The home of the ancient Company of Stationers, a guild founded in 1403 and admitted as a livery company in 1557.  The Hall was acquired in 1607 on its present site in Ave Maria Lane near the junction with Paternoster Row, a stone’s throw from the west front of St. Paul’s Cathedral. This building was burnt to the ground in the Great Fire of 1666. It was replaced in 1670–73 by the structure that survives in large measure to the present day, built at a cost of £3,000. This considerable sum was defrayed mainly by the profits from the Company’s lucrative stock of copyright publications. A new frontage, completed in 1800, was designed by the Scottish architect Robert Mylne, while further additions were made in the nineteenth century by Mylne’s son and grandson, both well-known engineers. The Hall underwent serious damage in the Blitz, notably on the night of 29–30 December 1940, which later became known as the second Fire of London. Much of Paternoster Row, the traditional heart of the publishing trade, was destroyed, and as many as five million books consumed by thousands of incendiary bombs. After World War II, repairs and renovations were carried out, with further improvements made to the storage and reading areas in 2017. The bulk of the important Company archives are still held on the site.

 

Garden Front of Stationer's Hall, between 1794 and 1800, by Samuel Ireland (active 1760–1800). Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, B1977.14.9474. Public Domain.

 

Stationers' Hall, Stationers' Hall Court, by W. Watkins (active 1828–1830), after Thomas Hosmer Shepherd, 1830. Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, B1977.14.16936. Public Domain.

 

Interior of the Main Hall, Stationers' Hall, by Hanslip Fletcher (1874–1955). Stationers' Hall accession number 318. This image can be used for non-commercial research or private study purposes. In certain other jurisdictions it is considered to be in the public domain.

 

Interior of the Court Room, Stationers' Hall, by Hanslip Fletcher (1874–1955). Stationers' Hall accession number 319. This image can be used for non-commercial research or private study purposes. In certain other jurisdictions it is considered to be in the public domain.

 

The Stationers' Hall After Enemy Action in 1940, by Leonard Richmond (1889–1965). Stationers' Hall accession number 274. This image can be used for non-commercial research or private study purposes. In certain other jurisdictions it is considered to be in the public domain.