Literary London

Where the books were written, set, sold, printed and buried: from the Globe to the graves, the bookshops to the presses.

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Stationers' Hall

The livery hall of the company that licensed every book printed in England for a century and a half: copyright began in its register.

Printing & publishingGo inside

The Stationers' Company was chartered in 1557 with a monopoly on printing, and from then until 1710 a book existed in law only once it was entered in the Stationers' Register - Shakespeare's plays, the Authorised Version and Paradise Lost all passed through this company's hands, and the register is still kept here. The hall behind St Paul's was rebuilt after the Great Fire, panelled in 1673 and lit by stained glass of Caxton, Tyndale and Cranmer; the courtyard garden is the old churchyard of St Martin Ludgate.

Where
Ave Maria Lane, EC4M 7DD
Nearest station
City Thameslink · 3 min walk

Tours and open days only

Occasional booked tours through the year and Open House in September; see the company's events list.

NearbyLiterary London

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Data is compiled from public sources including OpenStreetMap, under the ODbL. Hours change often, so check before making a journey.

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