A Look Inside Watermen’s Hall

The view up the street St Mary at Hill in the City of London is one of my favourites. A cobbled street winds gently uphill from Lower Thames Street to Eastcheap.

You can see two churches, Sir Christopher Wren’s St Margaret Pattens, with its wizard’s-hat gothic spire, at the end. On the left is St Mary at Hill, a medieval church significantly restored by Wren after the Great Fire, with its clock proudly extending over the street. Towering over it all in the distance is 20 Fenchurch Street, aka The Walkie-Talkie. 

At the bottom of the hill is another easily overlooked historic treasure: Watermen’s Hall. Watermen’s Hall, with its unusual neo-classical frontage, is the headquarters of the Company of Watermen and Lightermen, one of the City’s ancient guilds. 

Watermen and Lightermen

The Thames has always been central to the existence and prosperity of London. Until relatively recently many used the river as the main way of getting around London, in little wherries and ferries. 

Those who transported people along and over the river were known as watermen, whereas those who transported goods, particularly from larger ships to shore, were lightermen, i.e. they were making the larger ships ‘lighter’ by relieving them of their goods. 

Prior to the early 16th century, it was pretty much every man for himself but in 1514 the government started regulating the fares on the river. In 1555 governors were appointed to oversee the regulation and therefore the Watermen’s Company was born. The lightermen joined in 1700. 

The masters of the company were originally appointed by the monarch but from 1827 the Company gained its independence. 

The Company

Their purpose was to act as a guild for their members, essentially a bit of a combination between a trade union and a business association in modern terminology.

One of the main things they did was constantly campaign against any new bridges across the river, as these decreased their business. This is one of the main reasons why there was only one bridge across the Thames, London Bridge, until 1750.

They still today facilitate an apprenticeship scheme to become a qualified waterman/lighterman (now known as a boat master’s licence). They also still act as a guild for people who work on the river, for example those working on the Thames clippers. The hall also has classroom with a ship simulator for education purposes. 

I have written about the livery companies of the City of London before in a couple of posts. The Watermen and Lightermen are officially a company ‘without livery’. They are recognised by the City but they do not ‘clothe liverymen’ and therefore do not participate in the annual election of the Sheriffs or Lord Mayor of the City. 

They do however take part in many of the City’s ceremonies and traditions. For example they march at the front of the procession in the annual Lord Mayor’s Show. This is because originally it was largely a river procession. Incidentally, that is why we still say that parades are made up of ‘floats’. 

The Building

Watermen’s Hall was built in 1780, designed by William Blackburn and contained a court room, parlour and offices. They had previously rented a hall, just to the East of where Cannon Street Station is today but it burnt down in the Great Fire of London, along with all their records. 

The hall was extended in the 1980s and incorporated the neighbouring buildings.  It is the only surviving Georgian hall in the City.

Doggett’s Coat and Badge Race

One of the main events the company is involved in is the annual Doggett’s Coat and Badge race. It is a 4 mile, 5 furlong (7.44km) rowing race from London Bridge to Chelsea every year, that has been going on since 1715. 

William Doggett was an actor and joint manager of the Drury Lane Theatre in the early 1700s.

There are a couple of origin stories for the race, one of which goes that one day, whilst he was crossing the river in a wherry, William fell in. He was rescued by a waterman and, to pay thanks, he set up a rowing wager. Every year six young watermen would race along the river, from the Swan pub by London Bridge, to the Swan pub in Chelsea. 

The winner received a special red coat and a badge to put on the arm. The badge has the word ‘liberty’ written on it and the image of the horse, the symbol of the reigning Hanover dynasty.

As well as various badges, you can see some of the old uniforms in the hall today. 

Doggett left money in his will for it to continue and so it continues today, making it possibly be the oldest continuous sporting race in the world. Today it is open to freemen of the company in their first, second or third year of Freedom. 

Find out more about it and how to watch it here. 

The Man Who Saved Christmas?

In the hall is the portrait of a man called John Taylor (1578-1653). 

He was a waterman on the Thames but was also a clerk and wrote poetry, with over 150 publications in his lifetime.

In 1613 he became a waterman to the King, for use in ceremonial occasions. An eccentric character, he dubbed himself the ‘King’s water poet’. In 1622, possibly to make a statement about a lack of appreciation for the watermen amongst Londoners, he sailed along the Thames a boat made from paper and two inflated pigs bladders, propelled along by two oars made of cane and dried fish.

After the civil war and the Puritans seized power in England, Cromwell famously banned the festivities around Christmas. They believed there should be special church service and definitely no drinking and merry-making. 

In 1653 John Taylor published a treatise arguing vehemently in favour of the celebrations. It is said that he was the man to persuade King Charles II in exile, when he was restored to the throne, to swiftly reinstate it. The Company therefore call him the man that saved Christmas.

Some even believe that John Taylor became so associated with Christmas that when the Victorians created the classic image of Father Christmas that we think of today, they were inspired by the red coat and ruff in the painting above.

Frost Fairs And Entrepreneurial Watermen

Around the hall are various pictures and paintings, including a few of the London frost fairs.

This refers to when the Thames would occasionally, in extremely cold winters, freeze over and carnivals were held on the ice.

This was partly able to happen because of the mini-ice age, the nineteen arches of the medieval London Bridge slowing the flow of the river and the Thames, before it was further embanked, being wider and slower flowing in places.

Between 1607 and 1814, there were seven major ‘frost fairs’ on the ice. Bear baiting, ice-skating and bowling all took place. Beer and wine were sold and oxen were roasted on spits. During the final frost fair of 1814, an elephant was walked across the ice from Blackfriars Bridge.

These, of course, put the watermen and lightermen out of business. Ever thrifty, they set up stalls to sell drinks and food and held up their tents with their oars. 

They have a couple of other oddities and items in the hall to look out for.

The Keys To A Fort

There is a portrait of the Battle of Portobello in 1739.

This is when the British defeated the Spanish and captured the settlement of Portobelo in Panama. Portobello Road in Notting Hill takes its name from this event. 

A freeman of the company called Pug Mason, was present at the battle and brought back the keys of the Portobelo Fort and presented them to the company. 

A Ship Made Of Bone…

This is a model of a ship made from mutton bone.

It is said to have been made by veterans from the Battle of Trafalgar. 

Maritime Paraphernalia

Watermen and lightermen would have traditionally come to the hall to get their license and stamp to operate. If they were in trouble for breaking a rule they would also come here and be hauled over the coals. If serious enough they might have had their oars removed from them for a period and time and they would be placed in the hall for all to see.

How to Visit 

Watermen’s Hall is occasionally open to the public. They have for example had a mudlarking exhibition fairly recently that was very popular. It has also been open previously for Open House weekends but unfortunately is not this year (2024). 

I think probably the best thing to do would be to keep an eye on their events page here.

The various spaces in the building can also be hired for events.

Thank you for reading, more of London’s hidden historic gems below…