Open House Festival 2022

For 2 weeks every September a multitude of London sites otherwise inaccessible to the general public open their doors to visitors.  Today we toured 2 livery halls, the Worshipful Company of Leathersellers and the Worshipful Company of Coopers (wine cask manufacturers).  Both originating in the 1400s, these trade guilds are today mostly focused on philanthropic activities.

Statue depicting a step in the leather-making process

Entrance (on the right) to Leatherseller's Hall

The Gherkin building towers over
St. Helen's Place

The overhead sculpture is by American glass artist
Dale Chihuly.  We attended his exhibition at the
de Young in 2008.

This stained glass window was
luckily removed just before the previous 
hall was destroyed in The Blitz

Our tour guide, on the left, is the Leatherseller's archivist.

Inside the Coopers' Hall

We also stopped into 13 Princelet Street, a Landmark Trust holiday let in a neighborhood of well-preserved Georgian residences near Spitalfields Market.

13 Princelet Street

Princelet neighborhood street art