The “rags to riches” story of Richard Whittington’s life, the infamous fire that tore through London, and the genius behind an architectural icon feature in the new events programme at the City of London Corporation’s Guildhall Library.
The self-styled ‘Library of London’s History’ has released its September to December events programme. This will include an exciting new range of talks and walks and in particular, its ‘Whittington, The Man, The Myth, and the Cat’ exhibition, which opens on 7 October and tells the story of the celebrated merchant, politician, and philanthropist.
‘A singular Bridge’ takes place on Thursday 26 September from 2-3pm, delving into the history of London Bridge from Roman times to the present. This talk by Pete Smith covers some crazy stories such as the time an elephant didn’t need a bridge to cross the river.
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On Thursday 21 November from 2-3pm, Licensed mudlark and author of Guide to Mudlarking, Jenny Ridgewell, will be sharing her tales of the strangest stuff she has found in her talk ‘Weird things found on the riverbank’.
City Guide and lecturer, Jill Finch, will be presenting a talk on the life and extraordinary time of Christopher Wren, founder or the Royal Society and the architect of St Paul’s Cathedral. ‘Six Degrees of Christopher Wren’ will take place on Monday 25 November from 2-3pm.
Chairman of the City of London Corporation’s Culture, Heritage, and Libraries Committee, Munsur Ali, said: “One of our most popular public services, Guildhall Library always delivers on its events, whether they are fascinating talks held in the John Stow Room, or viewable online, or a guided walk around the City’s streets and alleyways. Whether you want to find out about the Great Fire, some of the library’s literary treasures, mudlarking on the Thames foreshore, Richard Whittington – and whether or not he actually had a cat – there will be something in this new events programme to appeal to you.”
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