Guildhalls

These were anciently the halls, or places of meeting, of Guilds, or communities formed for secular or religious purposes, none of which could be legally set up without the King's licence. Trade companies were founded, and still exist, in various parts of the kingdom, as "Gilda Mercatorum;" and there is little doubt that this was the origin of the municipal or governing corporate bodies in cities and towns whose "Guildhalls" still remain—"gildated" and "incorporated" were synonymous terms. In many places, at one time of considerable importance, where Guilds were established, though the latter h…