Drapers' Hall

On a site where Thomas Cromwell once built his palace, Drapers' Hall has stood in various forms since the 1540s — rebuilt after the Great Fire, remodelled in the 18th century, and given its current Victorian character by Herbert Williams in the 1860s. The result is one of the City of London's finest event venues: a livery hall with rooms spanning three centuries of decorative art, a hidden walled garden, and an in-house catering operation with generations of experience in formal entertaining.

Period Interiors with a Filming Pedigree

The interiors have drawn film productions as well as event planners. Scenes from The King's Speech and GoldenEye were shot here — a practical validation of just how well these rooms photograph. The Livery Hall's 28 marble columns, Herbert Draper's celebrated Shakespeare ceiling paintings, and Victorian crystal chandeliers create a space that's cinematic in its proportions. But Drapers' Hall is not a museum piece kept behind ropes; it's a working venue where the rooms are used as they were always intended — for gathering, entertaining, and celebration.

The sequence of connected spaces is what distinguishes the experience. Each room has its own character and period — the grandeur of the Livery Hall gives way to the warmth of the wood-panelled Court Room, the intimacy of the Court Dining Room overlooking the garden, and the elaborate Victorian plasterwork of the Drawing Room. Guests move between genuinely different environments rather than different corners of one large space.

A Secret Garden in the City

Few livery halls can offer what Drapers' Hall hides behind its walls: a formal garden with royal-planted mulberry trees and a stone courtyard ringed by 19th-century carved arches. In the middle of the City's financial district, the outdoor spaces provide a sense of escape that's rare for venues in EC2 — and they're fully available for event use, from summer receptions to ceremony backdrops.

The Drapers' Approach to Events

As one of the historic Great Livery Companies, the Drapers' Company has hosted events at this site for nearly 500 years. The dedicated events team and in-house catering kitchen bring that accumulated expertise to every hire, from boardroom lunches for 20 to full-venue receptions for 700. Monument Station is a short walk away, and the hall's discreet City enclave feels remarkably removed from the commercial density surrounding it.