Welcome to our website and booking for our first Banquet

to be held in the presence of the Lord Mayor and Sheriff

 

Mansion House is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London during his or her year of office and it is a great privilege to be hosting a WCoMC Banquet there. Although this is our first ever formal banquet at Mansion House, we have held other functions there, most recently a luncheon. It is always an honour to be able to say to the Lord Mayor: "Welcome as a guest in your own home" and it is a chance for us to appreciate the magnificent rooms and decor of this palatial building - particularly as it is not generally open to the public.

 

Sometimes referred to as "The Most Expensive Council House in the Country", Mansion House is home to many fine sculptures, the gold and silver plate collection and The Harold Samuel Collection of Dutch and Flemish Seventeenth Century Paintings, described as "the finest collection of such works to be formed in Britain this century". It consists of 84 paintings and includes some outstanding works by artists including Hendrick Avercamp, Gerard Ter Borch, Pieter Claesz, Aelbert Cuyp, Frans Hals, Pieter de Hooch, Jacob van Ruisdael, Jan Steen, David Teniers the Younger and Willem van de Velde. Mansion House was originally built in the early 18th Century on the site of the old "Stocks Market". It was not long before its clerestory roof-line was redesigned and then its entrance steps changed followed by further construction and reconstruction in the 19th and 20th Centuries, forming the building we recognise today.

At our banquet, Honorary Liveryman The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor Alderman Dr Andrew Parmley and the Lady Mayoress will be accompanied by Sheriff Alderman Peter Estlin and his wife Lindy. Our guest speaker for the evening will be Nikos Mourkogiannis, author of Purpose: The Starting Point of Great Companies.