Museum of London

London is one of the most vibrant and cosmopolitan cities in the world with a story stretching back over a quarter of a million years. Museum of London is committed to recording and explaining change in every part of London life, to tell its past, present and future stories.

Museum of London is one of the world’s largest urban history museums and cares for over two million objects in its collection. The lower galleries are currently undergoing major redevelopment work which will see spectacular new galleries opening in spring 2010 telling the story of modern London from 1666 to the present day.

The Museum also holds the largest archaeological archive in Europe of this wealth of information.

Museum of London's mission is to inspire a passion for London by:

• communicating London’s history, archaeology and contemporary cultures to a wider world,

• reaching all of London’s communities through playing a role in the debate about London,

• facilitating and contributing to London-wide cultural and educational networks.

Visit the site at: www.museumoflondon.org.uk

Xavier A & Borja N 1^st bat C

Staple Inn

Staple Inn

Staple Inn is a building on the south side of High Holborn in London. Located near Chancery Lane tube station, it is used as the London office of the Institute of Actuaries and is the last surviving Inn of Chancery. In 1292 it contained a building known as ‘le Stapled Halle’, which was probably a covered market. A tradition would make this the Inn of the Merchants of the Staple.

The “Staple” originated in a duty on wool that was introduced in 1275 at the “request of the communities of merchants” with the intention that the burden of tax should fall on the foreign buyers of wool. Staple Inn remained owned by woolstaplers, probably until 1580 when the members of the Society built a new Hall on its current site. The Fellows of the Society were wealthy men and their Hall reflected this. In 1936 the old buildings at the front of Staple Inn on High Holborn were completely restored having survived in their original condition since 1586.

The Staple Inn façade is the only example of Elisabethan style in good condition in London. People from 1580's would recognise the building nowadays. The shops around it remind us of the 19^th century, and in the inside court, one can see 18^th century buildings.

Alejandro G & David G 1^st bat C

The Astronomical Clock at Hampton Court Palace

• The astronomical clock was constructed between 1540 and 1542 when

Henry VIII was rebuilding Cardinal Wolsey’s original Hampton Court.

The tower that houses the clock overlooks Clock Court, in the centre of

the palace.

• There are three bells in the belfry, the oldest of which was cast in

1478. It had been given to Cardinal Wolsey by the Knights of St John

in Jerusalem who leased the Manor of Hampton Court to Wolsey on

the 11th January 1514.

• The clock was made by French clockmaker Nicholas Oursian and is a

marvel of the sixteenth century clockmaker’s skill. He was appointed

clock-keeper to Hampton Court in 1541 and was clockmaker to

successive monarchs until his death in 1590. The design of the clock is

credited to the Bavarian astronomer Nicholas Cratzer, who came to

England at the invitation of Cardinal Wolsey.

• The dial is extremely complicated. It is fifteen feet in diameter and

consists of three separate copper dials, of different sizes, with a

common centre but revolving at different speeds. The hours, in two

sets of twelve, were originally painted on the stone but are now painted

on metal segments affixed to the stonework.

• The clock tells the hour, month, day of the month, the position of the

sun in the ecliptic, the twelve signs of the zodiac, the number of days

that have elapsed since the beginning of the year, the phases of the

moon, its age in days, the hour in which it crosses the meridian, and,

therefore, the time of high water at London Bridge. As Henry VIII often

travelled by river in the Royal barge the king insisted Cratzer install an

astronomical clock at the palace to indicate the time of high tide in

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London, and therefore the best time to travel by boat.

• This clock was designed before the discoveries of Copernicus and

Galileo, when it was believed the sun revolved around the earth rather

than the earth around the sun. Consequently the clock depicts the

earth represented as a small globe in the centre, while the sun goes

around it on a pointer.

Aroa, David P & Rubén R 1^st bat A