City of London’s Magna Carta to go on display

A copy of the 1297 Magna Carta is to go on display in the City of London next month.

The City of London Corporation’s copy of the iconic document will be displayed at the Guildhall Art Gallery’s Roman Amphitheatre during ‘Open House London’ weekend on 17 and 18 September from 10am to 5pm.

The venue has been chosen by conservators as the most suitable to display the document which is going on display for the first time in decades.

The City of London played an active role in the events that led to the creation of the Magna Carta in 1215 and the Mayor (later known as the Lord Mayor) was appointed, along with the barons, to see that its provisions were carried out.

The 1297 document includes Edward I’s seal and the original writ directed to the Sheriffs of London ordering that the Charter be promulgated within the City. The document was given statutory force by Parliament.

John Scott, Chairman of the City of London’s Culture, Heritage and Libraries Committee, said: “The City of London’s Magna Carta is a beautiful document which, over the centuries, has been preserved carefully by our ancestors and, more recently, by a team of conservators at one of our flagship services, London Metropolitan Archives.

“Magna Carta has now been moved permanently to the Guildhall which, in a sense, is its spiritual home and I am delighted that my colleagues at Guildhall Library will bring it over to the art gallery to enable visitors to see it free-of-charge. It is an extremely rare opportunity and I am sure that it will prove very popular during Open House London weekend.”