Crosby Hall

The hall was built in Bishopsgate in 1466, and in medieval times, it was the home of Sir John Crosby, a wealthy merchant in the city of London. He rented out the property to Richard, who, as Duke of Gloucester, used it for his London base, a home for his family and retainers.

In later years, the hall was ‘upgraded’ but remained a dwelling. However, in 1910, it was dismantled and rebuilt in Cheney Walk on the Chelsea Embankment, where the great hall is still to be found. This new site was once part of an orchard belonging to Sir Thomas More. An irony not lost on members of the Society.

A modern banking house stands on the original Bishopsgate site, and it bears a plaque to mark the hall's existence. Just north of it, in Crosby Square, is the church of Great St Helen, with a monument to, and effigies of, Sir John Crosby and his wife Agnes. Unusual in design, the church has two naves, in keeping with it having once been a monastic and parish foundation. The church was a beneficiary of Society help following damage by a terrorist bomb.

The church is still open, of course, but today Crosby Hall is in private ownership and is no longer readily available to the public to visit. In past years, though, the great hall was the scene of Richard III Society banquets and commemorative talks, most notably that in 1984 during the celebration of Richard III’s quincentenary, when the event was attended by the Society’s patron, the present Duke of Gloucester.