The Early Plasterers London Guild
Medieval London saw the rise of craft guilds, but for the number of plasterers London saw in the 12th and 13th centuries there was no official guild and it did not receive its charter until the 16th century.
In the early 13th century, the city of London was a compact and tightly-woven community with an over-stretched population. Homes and businesses were built willy-nilly and there was no such thing as urban planning. Fires ran rampant throughout the then largest city in Europe and action needed to be taken. The first Lord Mayor of London on record was Henry Fitz-Ailwyn who took office in 1189 AD, and one of his first actions was to put an end to the fires from the cook-houses. He ordered that all the timber homes and businesses in the city were to be plastered and washed in lime to prevent further fires.
Later in the 13th century, decorative plastering became fashionable in the stately homes and palaces of London. Henry III was enamored with the decorative plaster of Paris designs he saw while on a visit to France, so he encouraged and commissioned London plasterers to do the same for his city homes.
For 300 years, the plasterers of London went without neither guild, nor the benefits that came with belonging to a guild, but in 1501, the “Company of Plaisterers” under a grant from Henry VII was finally created and incorporated.
Ironically, the first and second Plasterer’s Halls were both engulfed by fire. The first was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. Architect, Christopher Wren, was commissioned to rebuild much of the city with a view to a little urban planning. He was also responsible for rebuilding the second Plasterer’s Hall and it survived unscathed for over 200 years until it, too, was destroyed by fire.
The most recent Plasterer’s Hall is also the largest and most palatial guild hall in London. It is located on Aldersgate Street by the old London Wall.
Tags: building work, london, plasterers