Mansion House, Official residence in City of London, United Kingdom.
Mansion House is a Palladian-style building at Bank Junction in the City of London, serving as the residence of the Lord Mayor during each term. Its facade presents six Corinthian columns above a rusticated basement, while inside three main floors contain reception rooms, private apartments, and a large banqueting hall beneath the central pediment.
George Dance the Elder designed the building between 1739 and 1752, with construction lasting until 1758 to create a permanent residence for London's Lord Mayor. Before this, each mayor had lived in different private houses or civic buildings during their term, making administration more difficult.
The residence continues to serve as the official home of the Lord Mayor during the one-year term of office, hosting state banquets and civic receptions throughout each mayoral year. Its interiors combine grand ceremonial spaces with private living quarters, showing how administrative duties and domestic life remain closely connected under one roof.
Visits take place on selected weekdays and must be booked in advance through the residence's diary office, as the building remains in active use for official events. The rooms are spread across several staircases, with not all areas accessible by wheelchair.
The building houses one of the largest private collections of seventeenth-century Dutch and Flemish paintings, assembled by Harold Samuel and bequeathed to the residence. The collection contains 84 works and can be viewed in several rooms during guided tours.
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