In early 2017, the seventh Leathersellers’ Hall officially opened at St Helen’s Place, London. Apart from the original early 20th century facade, retained from the last major redevelopment, the project was a new build designed by Eric Parry Architects. Conveying a theme of continuity and renewal, Eric Parry's design incorporates features from the previous six Halls and boasts an unusual yet luxurious combination of materials and finishes.
The Luke Hughes team was commissioned to design and manufacture the majority of the new furniture for the building, while also taking on responsibility for refurbishing the Company’s historic pieces. This project joins a growing number of City Livery companies who are clients including the Mercers, Haberdashers, Butchers, Fishmongers and Carpenters.
The Luke Hughes team had previously refurbished the client's original mahogany dining table and chairs in the Livery Hall, adapting the tables to be more versatile by adding a robust yet discreet folding mechanism. This now enables the tables to be rearranged, cleared away and stored quickly and easily by the facilities team. As part of the refurbishment programme a set of original chairs were refurbished, regilded and re-upholstered, with a set of 30 replica chairs produced to make up a complete set for the new Hall, which seats up to 120.
We also designed and made new silver store storage units, furniture for the archivist, and an extremely elegant boardroom table able to extend and contract to suit the size of meeting.
Enjoy the article? Delve deeper into Luke Hughes & Company’s place in the Arts and Crafts tradition with the fascinating new book 'Furniture in Architecture' , available through Thames & Hudson and leading online retailers.