Goldsmiths' Hall Garden
Gresham Street
London
EC2V 6BN
Visitor Information
Situated at the northeast corner of Noble and Gresham Street, this garden took shape after the bombing of this area in 1941. Staff from the Goldsmiths' Hall, acting on their own initiative, made the garden in the ruins planting flowers and shrubs from their own gardens at home. The garden flourished and prompted the Company to start a competition for the best City garden on a blitzed site.
The area around the planting was re-designed in 1957 by Sir Peter Shepheard and, over the years, has seen several additions. In 1994, the Gardeners’ Company, with the help of other livery companies, supported the Goldsmiths in refurbishing the garden – the fountain was donated by the Constructors’ Company and the iron arch at the entrance was commissioned by the Blacksmiths’ Company and made by apprentices at the Rural Development Commission in Salisbury. The garden layout was amended in 2003 by landscape architect Annabel Downs (formerly one of Shepheard's assistants).
An unusual and interesting space, this garden houses the famous symbol relating to the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths. The leopard's head hallmark (pictured) literally means "marked at Goldsmiths' Hall" and has been used to verify the purity of silver since the early 14th century.