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It has become the custom for the Mistress of
the Company to organise one or two special
events for partners of Members during her
year if she (or he of course!) wishes to do so.
This was a slightly worrying prospect, having
attended previous events myself which were so
interesting and well organised, but after some
research and a little help from friends the first
of these took place in April with a visit to Two
Temple Place.
Mistress Firefighter and guests aboard
HQS Wellington
This is one of London’s “architectural gems” –
an extraordinary late Victorian mansion on the
Embankment built in the gothic revival style by
MEMBERS & EVENTS
Visit to Two Temple Place
Janice Hoad
Mistress Firefighter.
Worshipful Company of Firefighters
Upper Gallery image supplied by Two Temple Place;
The Upper Gallery at Two Temple Place
William Waldorf Astor, arguably the richest man
in the world at the time. And this was just for
his use as an office for the Astor estate! It was
indeed a richness of natural materials – wood
panelling and carvings of all types lined the
walls, with statues also in wood showing famous
figures from American and French literature,
beautiful marble floors and stained glass.
Each year at this time Two Temple Place also
has a free Exhibition and we were able to enjoy
browsing amongst exhibits around “Sussex
Modernism, Retreat and Rebellion” – think
Bloomsbury Set, Salvador Dali and Lee Miller
amongst many others! With an excellent and
amusing guide for our tour and delicious home-
made cake in the coffee shop, we were very
well catered for. And talking of catering, our day
was topped off (and thanks to Bryan Spearman
who helped arrange this) with a very tasty lunch
on HQS Wellington just a step away from Two
Temple Place.
Photo Credit: Peter Dazeley