UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should Fellow geocachers think the geocache is placed INSIDE OR should be placed INSIDE our City's 400 year old Walls.
The cache is located in a great and fantastic place to be hidden.
“Standing here in front of the Guild Hall, looking out over these historic walls, I see a peaceful city, a safe city, a hopeful city”
Bill Clinton 42nd President of the United States of America. Remarks by the President to the citizens of Londonderry. 30th November 1995
Londonderry does not have a city hall, instead it has a Guildhall, where the elected members of the council meet to debate, vote and govern the Derry City and Strabane District. Historically the walled city has always been self-governing, the royal charter of 1613 creating the Londonderry Corporation, the fore runner of Derry City Council, which merged with Strabane District council in 2015 to form the current council. The first city hall (or corporation Hall) called the “Exchange” was built in 1622 in the diamond, where the city cenotaph now stands. This was all but destroyed in the Great Siege of 1689.
In 1692 the ruined exchange was replaced by a market house. This was called “Their Majesties Exchange” as a large proportion of the funding came from King William III and Queen Mary II as thanks to the city for its loyalty during the siege. According to the Ordnance Survey of County Londonderry (1837) “The Town House or Their Majesties Exchange was accordingly rebuilt by the corporation in 1692 on the 15th of April in which year the first stone was laid by Bishop King and Alderman Lecky The plan was designed by Captain Francis Neville.” It was rebuilt in 1823 and according to an 1854 tour book “the Corporation gave this building a thorough repair, almost amounting to a re-erection, at the expense of 5500. It was completed in 1826, and contains a very fine assembly-room, 75 feet by 36 feet, a commercial-room, a news-room, &c., and is admitted to be one of the most elegant and convenient town-halls in the kingdom.” This Corporation Hall was demolished in 1910.
The Guildhall was designed by local architect John Guy Ferguson CE (1829-1901) in the style of a Scottish Highland castle, similar to the Apprentice Boys Memorial Hall in Society Street which he also designed. The original specification had a Council Chamber, Main Hall that seated 1800, Committee Room, Mayors parlour, Town Clerk’s office and Police Court and Cells. The Hall was built in 1887 by the Honourable the Irish Society (City of London Livery Companies). The name guildhall is a reference to Derry’s historic links with the City of London. It was constructed on land reclaimed from the river Foyle and cost £19,000 (about £1.5 million in today’s money!). It was officially opened in 1890 as the administrative centre of the Londonderry Corporation and is the only guildhall still in civic use in Ireland.
Over its 120 year history it has been destroyed twice, once by a fire in 1908 and by a terrorist bomb attack in 1972. The Guildhall has one of the finest set stained glass windows in these islands 23 of which tell the story of the city and many were gifted by the London guilds. The Clock tower is based on that of the Houses of Parliament in London (commonly referred to as Big Ben) and is the largest of its kind in Ireland. The combined weight of the clock and bells is over 10 tons. The great hall has one of the largest pipe organs dating from 1914 and containing 3,100 pipes. It has seen everything from government enquires, weddings, religious services and indoor rock concerts.
During recent renovation a time capsule from 1887 was uncovered, this is now on display. Another interesting discovery that happened during renovation is that “Victoria Hall” was inscribed on the foundation stone, suggesting that the building was originally going to be named after Queen Victoria (a common practice in the United Kingdom at the time).
The guildhall is open to the public and admission is free, however it is a working building and you will not be able to view to council chamber if the council is sitting. There is still plenty to see inside though. The Tower behind you is the Tower Museum, which although looks ancient was built in 1992 as a replica Gaelic Irish Keep. It tells the story of the city and is also well worth a visit if you have the time.
The cache is a black nano and contains a log, you may need tweezers and will need to bring your own pen or pencil. Remember to watch out for muggles which are frequent here.
Is it down or is it up? Hmm, we never know! 