Simon Thurley looks at the history of the guildhall as a seat of power to rival that of Parliament and Monarchs: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/envy-of-kings-the-guildhall-of-london-and-the-power-of-the-medieval-corporation
The government of the City of London is older than parliament itself and its Guildhall is a rival to the Palace of Westminster. This makes the Lord Mayor a King in his own palace; but how has this been expressed in architecture?
This lecture looks at the architectural patronage of the City's Lord Mayors from earliest time to the present.
London has always been an architectural laboratory. Arguably it has been home to more invention in building types than any other city on earth. These four lectures look at London's built environment through some great buildings and their creators and ask why and how has London sustained a reputation for architectural innovation?
The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/envy-of-kings-the-guildhall-of-london-and-the-power-of-the-medieval-corporation

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 1,800 lectures free to access or download from the website.
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