Shaa. Under his leadership, and by
the help of the Fellowships of the City, wealthy widows, and other
well-disposed persons, the kitchens and other necessary offices were
completed for use at his mayoralty feast in 1501. Since that year these
famous banquets, which had till then been held in Merchant Taylors'
Hall, or Grocers' Hall, have regularly taken place at the Guildhall.

On Tuesday, 4th September, 1666, in the course of the Great Fire, the
Guildhall was ablaze, and its oak roof entirely destroyed. Vincent
describes its appearance in his little book, _God's Terrible Voice to
the City_:

"That night the sight of Guildhall was a fearfull spectacle,
which stood the whole body of it for several hours together,
after the fire had taken it without flames (I suppose because
the timber was such solid oake) in a bright shining coale as if
it had been a palace of gold or a great building of burnished
brass."

After the Fire the original open roof was not rebuilt, but the walls
were raised an additional storey, the ceiling covering this being flat
and square panelled; eight circular windows on each side were added.
This poor substitute for a roof was built, as Elmes states, "in haste
and for immediate use, and evidently a temporary covering." It lasted,
nevertheless, nearly two hundred years, until in 1861 the plans for a
new open roof corresponding with the original design of the Guildhall
were approved by the Corporation. The dimensions of this magnificent
building are 152 feet in length, 49 feet 6 inches in width, and 89 feet
in height, from the pavement to the ridge of the roof.

In the angles at the west end of the hall, on lofty pedestals, are the
celebrated figures of the giants Gog and Magog. They have been believed
by some to be Gogmagog and Corinaeus, two mystical personages who were
said to have fought together in some of those imaginary conflicts
between the Trojans and the early inhabitants of Britain, which are
recorded by monkish chroniclers of the Middle Ages. These figures were
made by Captain Richard Saunders, a noted carver in King Street,
Cheapside, and were put up about the year 1708. They took the place of
two old wicker-work giants, which it had formerly been the custom to
carry in procession at the mayoralty pageants.

The basement of the Guildhall consists of two crypts, which extend
beneath the full length of the hall above. The eastern crypt is entirely
vaulted