Guildhall has served as the administrative centre of the City of London for over six centuries. The present Great Hall, begun in 1411 and completed in 1440, replaced earlier civic buildings on the site and became the setting for important trials, banquets, and ceremonial occasions. It was one of the few large medieval stone structures to survive the Great Fire of 1666, though it suffered severe damage during the Blitz of the Second World War. Restored after 1945, it continues to house the City of London Corporation, standing as a rare survivor of medieval London.
