Salters’ Hall

A rare example of a Brutalist Livery Hall which underwent extensive refurbishment in 2016.

New Pavilion, exhibition and archive space and garden.

History

Completed in 1976 to the designs of Sir Basil Spence of Spence Bonnington Collins, Salters’ Hall is an unusual example of a post-war Livery Company Hall. Built in the Brutalist style, it is Grade II listed and features an impressive exterior featuring knapped, ribbed and fluted concrete.

The New Pavilion

Following an extensive redevelopment by de Metz Forbes Knight Architects, the building is re-oriented to the east by the addition of a new glass and concrete entrance pavilion. This new pavilion provides a grand sense of arrival to the Hall which was missing from the previous entrance. The new glazed roof offers exciting new views of existing features, such as the distinctive cantilevered upper levels and ceremonial staircase. On floors 1-4, the floorplates have been extended, expanding the commercial letting space by 50%. Services have been replaced throughout, achieving a BREEAM “Exellent” rating.

The Interior

The interior spaces, designed by Sir David Hicks and Patrick Garnett, are particularly notable. The Main Hall is fully lined in fluted ash panelling and the Court Room lined with Coral Rosewood. There are nods within both the interior and exterior design to the Salters’ historical links with the salt trade: patterns, forms and textures evoke crystalline salt rocks.

The Hall sits next to the Barbican estate, within the wider London Wall Place development; the largest new open landscaped area in the City of London since WW1. Surrounded by rich archaeology, the Salters’ garden enjoys views over the remains of the Roman London Wall and St Alphage Church.

The Salters' Company

With origins firmly rooted in London’s medieval salt trade, the Salters’ Company history spans more than six centuries of political, social and economic turbulence. The first medieval Hall, bequeathed in 1455, was situated in Bread Street but was later destroyed by fire. The Salters’ later Halls were also destroyed by fires in 1598 and 1666, and during bombing raids in 1941.

The Salters’ moved to Fore Street in 1976 after spending 25 years in temporary offices in Portland Place. The Hall was opened in 1976 by HRH the Duke of Kent, who returned in June 2016 to re-open the Hall once more following its refurbishment.

Brutalism

The movement in Brutalism flourished between the 1950s and the 1960s. Its buildings are often characterised by the use of raw unfinished materials, bold geometries and the expression of function. Concrete proved an inexpensive material during the re-building of much of Britain after 1945. The term ‘Brutalist’ is derived from the French term “Beton Brut” meaning exposed concrete.