When I was in London last October, on a beautiful, sunny Sunday, fellow blogger Steve (Shadows & Light) and I took a walk into The City to do some exploring. Along the way, we made a discovery of this beautifully adorned building called Cutlers' Hall. We wandered over to get a closer look and discovered wonderful terracotta frieze running above the windows.
The frieze consists of 33 figures all depicting the 4 main facets of the cutlers' craft. They are forging, grinding, hafting and finishing.
The company traded in knives, swords and other implements with a cutting edge. Over time it has shifted from weaponry to domestic wares like cutlery, razors and scissors.
The building today is used for meetings and events and can be rented by anyone. The website for the company explains more about the history and has photos from inside the hall. The man who created the wonderful terracotta frieze on the outside of the building was Benjamin Creswick (1853-1946). He placed them on the newly built hall in 1887.
I love London, there is history around every corner. Take a look at that blue plaque on the wall to the left. It says it's the site of the Royal College of Physicians (1674-1825). Medicine was vastly different when the college stood on that site.
4 comments:
A lifetime of things to discover in a city like London.
We were both quite taken with this discovery, as I recall! I'd never seen that building before and it was a beauty.
Really impressive building. Have a nice week!
Beautiful details.
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