City Of London Past Papers

Question 1

What is the original meaning of the
name Eastcheap?

Question 2

What is unusual about the current
Lord Mayor of the City?

Question 3

Name the British monarch whose
statue stands in front of the steps of
St Paul’s.

Question 4

What is the motto of the City of
London?

Question 5

The portrait of which mathematician features on £50 notes?

Question 6

With which City Livery Company is
the church of St Margaret Pattens
associated today?

Question 7

Who presides over the Trial of the
Pyx?

Question 8

What practice connected with
London Bridge was discontinued in
1678?

Question 9

With what trade is the Cordwainers’
Livery Company associated?

Question 10

What is the oldest elected office in
the City?

Question 11

Name TWO bridges over the river
Thames whose upkeep is covered
by the City Bridge House Estate.

Answer 11

a)
b)

Question 12

What is the current Bank of England
base rate (interest rate)?

Question 13

Which City garden commemorates
King George V?

Question 14

Name the Roman Emperor whose
statue can be seen on Tower Hill.

Question 15

The Knollys Rose ceremony
procession ends in which City
building?

Question 16

How many Aldermen make up the
Court of Common Council?

Question 17

What right did Henry I reconfirm for
the City in 1132?

Question 18

Which is the livery company of the
current Lord Mayor?

Question 19

Where can you see the memorial
sculpture to John Heminges and
Henry Condell?

Question 20

Name the British Monarch during
the Great Fire of London.

Question 21

“My Word is My Bond” is the motto
of which City institution?

Question 22

Who was Christopher Wren’s chief
assistant and Surveyor to the City of
London?

Question 23

What do the initials MOLA stand for
in the context of the City?

Question 24

When does the Lord Mayor’s Show
take place?

Question 25

Name the position held by the City’s
Ceremonial Officer and Chief of
Protocol.

Question 26

Which church has a connection to
Captain John Smith?

Question 27

Which Livery Company Master
serves for two years?

Question 28

Where in the City can you see the
bronze bust of John Donne by Nigel
Boonham?

Question 29

Which city garden is dedicated to
plants and herbs used in medicine?

Question 30

Where is the London Stock
Exchange?

Question 31

What type of stone was used for the
construction of the Monument?

Question 32

Where can the William Wilberforce
memorial “Gilt of Cain” be seen?

Question 33

In which City church does the “Spital
Sermon” take place?

Question 34

Which year is covered in Daniel
Defoe’s book “A Journal of the
Plague Year”?

Question 35

Which building by the river Thames
was built by Sir Robert Smirke?

Question 36

How many times does the Court of
Aldermen meet every year?

Question 37

What is the theme of the new
exhibition at the Guildhall Art
Gallery?

Question 38

Name the architect selected to
rebuild the Bank of England in the
20th C.

Question 39

What is the name of the garden on
20 Fenchurch Street?

Question 40

The building at 70 St Mary Axe by
Foggo Associates is colloquially
known as?

Question 41

The statue of which controversial
slaveowner is in the Guildhall?

Question 42

What did Charles Booth’s maps
record?

Question 43

Where can you see the Lord
Mayor’s State Coach?

Question 44

What were the origins of the Court
of Common Council?

Question 45

Which date is conventionally
accepted as the end of the Roman
Empire in Britain?

Question 46

How many wards are there in the
City?

Question 47

Which European City overtook
London in 2021 as Europe’s largest
share trading centre?

Question 48

Which Italian architect influenced
Georgian Architecture?

Question 49

Where are the closest accessible
toilets outside St Paul’s Cathedral?

Question 50

Name the architect of the
Bloomberg building.

Question 51

To whom was the chapel on the
medieval London Bridge dedicated?

Question 52

Who carved the relief on the
Monument?

Question 53

In which City garden can you see a
memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice?

Question 54

Who are elected at Wardmotes?

Question 55

In which church is the oldest known
sword - rest in the City?

Question 56

On what day / date is the Lord Mayor elected?

Question 57

There have been TWO female Lord
Mayors. In which years were they
elected?

Question 58

What is the shape of the weathervane of St Nicholas Cole Abbey?

Question 59

Which service took place in St Paul’s
Cathedral on 3 June 2022?

Question 60

On which days of the week is the
Royal Exchange open?

Question 61

How many people live in the City?

Question 62

What is the name of the current special exhibition at the Bank of England Museum?

Question 63

Name ONE new Elizabeth Line station in the City?

Question 64

Which ceremonial sword does the Lord Mayor offer to the Queen to touch when she enters the City?

Question 65

Who was Thomas Bludworth?

Question 66

(i) On which days and (ii) at what times is the Guildhall Art Gallery usually open to the public?

Answer 66

(i)
(ii)

Question 67

What is the title of the City official
responsible for the planning and
delivery of the Lord Mayor’s show?

Question 68

In which year was the present London Bridge opened?

Question 69

Where will you see a plaque to
Pasqua Rosée?

Question 70

Which organisation uses this logo?

Question 71

In 2025, the present Museum of
London will re-open in new premises in Smithfield. What will be its new name?

Question 72

Why does the Lord Mayor’s Show
procession stop at St Paul’s Cathedral?

Question 73

Which event is shown in the relief in
the pediment over the west door of St Paul’s Cathedral?

Question 74

Dick Whittington was a member of
which Livery Company?

Question 75

Name ONE City church tower that has been converted into a private
residence.

Question 76

Where are both the author, Daniel
Defoe and the poet, William Blake
buried?

Question 77

Name the architects of the Barbican
Estate?

Question 78

Name TWO people in the 20th century who were given the honorary freedom of the City.

Answer 78

(i)
(ii)

Question 79

What was the Steelyard?

Question 80

Sensitive to its site’s links to colonial
history, Plantation Place, a 2004 City
office block, changed its name.
What is it now called?

Question 81

Name ONE City church where you can see a work known to have been carved by Grinling Gibbons.

Question 82

Which Livery company holds the
Bubble Ceremony?

Question 83

What is the name of the five stone
sculptures near the west front of St
Paul’s Cathedral, by Emily Young?

Question 84

Which Livery Company gives five
cheers instead of three?

Question 85

Name the architect of 20 Fenchurch
Street (‘Walkie Talkie’).

Question 86

In which year was Leadenhall Market rebuilt by Horace Jones?

Question 87

Name TWO of the eight City Wards
that have a boundary which touches the north bank of the river Thames.

Answer 87

(i)
(ii)

Question 88

Only the tower survives of the church that once occupied the site of St Paul’s Cathedral School.
What was the name of that church?

Question 89

What was the name of the Roman
road from London to Lincoln and on to York?

Question 90

Where did the Dominicans have their headquarters in London?

Question 91

Where in the City is a new monarch
proclaimed?

Question 92

Name the printer who first brought a printing press to Fleet Street.

Question 93

In ICE Futures Europe what do the
letters ICE stand for?

Question 94

In which Charles Dickens novel does
Leadenhall Market feature?

Question 95

Most of the sick in the Great Plague of 1665-1666 had bubonic plague.
Name TWO of its symptoms.

Answer 95

(i)
(ii)

Question 96

The Temple Bar memorial, at the
western end of Fleet St, is topped by a griffin holding a shield.
What is a griffin?

Question 97

Name ONE of the Companies without Livery.

Question 98

Where can you see an outside Statue of King Henry VIII?

Question 99

Name the Roman emperor at the time the Romans (i) first arrived in Britain and at the time they (ii) finally left.

Answer 99

(i)
(ii)

Question 100

Where can you see the sculptures
known as ‘Sterling’, ‘Dollar’, ‘Yen’?

Question 101

Where is the City’s only fire station?

Question 102

Name the Lord Mayors elected in
(i) 1983 and
(ii) 2013.

Answer 102

(i)
(ii)

Question 103

Where is the old Newgate Prison
execution bell displayed?

Question 104

What is the present Bank of
England base rate (interest rate)?

Question 105

Where is a memorial to Henry
Condell and John Heminges?

Question 106

To which monastic order did the
Austin Friars belong?

Question 107

In which year was the City of
London Police officially approved
as an independent police body?

Question 108

Which Livery company has the
motto:
“I am spoken of all over the world
as one who brings help”?

Question 109

Which position does Alastair King
hold?

Question 110

Who carved the relief on the
Monument?

Question 111

Which is the only street in the City
decorated with Christmas lights
over the festive season?

Question 112

Which ceremony took place in front
of the Royal Exchange on 10
September 2022?

Question 113

In which James Bond film did West
Smithfield’s underground car park
feature?

Question 114

Name TWO of the current Lord
Mayor’s charities.

Answer 114

(i)
(II)

Question 115

What was the name of the Roman
road running from Bishopsgate to
York?

Question 116

Where was Oliver Cromwell
married?

Question 117

Where is the City of London
Cemetery?

Question 118

In which year was the order of
precedence of the Livery Companies established?

Question 119

On which days is the Monument
usually open to visitors?

Question 120

Where does the Doggett’s Coat and
Badge Race:
(i) start
and
(ii) finish?

Answer 120

(i)
(ii)

Question 121

Name the Roman Emperor who
visited Londinium in 122 AD.

Question 122

Where was the heart of Eleanor of
Provence buried?

Question 123

Who supplies the horses that pull
the Lord Mayor’s coach?

Question 124

In which month does the Sheep
Drive across London Bridge take
place?

Question 125

What is the coat of arms of the Inner Temple Inn of Court?

Question 126

When was the last Frost Fair held
on the river Thames?

Question 127

What is the nickname of the
skyscraper at 53 Lime Street?

Question 128

Which TWO offices must a Lord
Mayor have held in order to be
elected?

Answer 128

(i)
(ii)

Question 129

Where was the old Bethlehem
mental hospital?

Question 130

Which City church is now a centre
for reconciliation and peace?

Question 131

Which Livery Company leads the
Knollys Rose Ceremony?

Question 132

Why are the red-coated porters at
Lloyd’s of London known as
‘waiters’?

Question 133

In which church is there a Saxon
Arch and the tiled floor of a Roman
House?

Question 134

Name ONE of the Livery
Companies associated with the
Anointing Screen used in the
Coronation of Charles III.

Question 135

When does the Lord Mayor carry
the Crystal Sceptre?

Question 136

Which official wears a Mazarine
Blue gown?

Question 137

Which church is beneath St Paul’s
Cathedral?

Question 138

In which year (within 10 years) was
the Lord Mayor’s coach made?

Question 139

With what was Maria Hackett
associated?

Question 140

Which Livery Company has this
Coat of Arms?

Question 141

What does the sculpture Gilt of
Cain commemorate?

Question 142

Name the Lord Mayor associated with the church of St Michael Paternoster Royal.

Question 143

Who presents petitions to
Parliament on behalf of the City?

Question 144

In which year did the last Lord
Mayor’s river procession take
place?

Question 145

In which church is there a
monument to Inigo Jones?

Question 146

Name the garden on Gresham Street maintained by the Goldsmiths Livery Company.

Question 147

Which Livery Hall has a chapel?

Question 148

Who gave the Crystal Sceptre to
the City of London?

Question 149

To whom was the royal house, later
known as Bridewell, granted in
1510?

Question 150

After which Queen is Queenhithe
named?

Question 151

Name the current Lord Mayor of
the City of London.

Question 152

In which month does the Lord
Mayor’s Show traditionally take
place in the City?

Question 153

How many Livery Companies are
there in the City today?

Question 154

Name the newest livery company
in the City of London.

Question 155

Which TWO livery companies
dispute the 6th and 7th position
in the order of precedence?

Answer 155

The Skinners and the Merchant Taylors
‘Rivalry over precedence - specifically which company was entitled to be 6th in order of seniority - had been a source of trouble between the Skinners and the Merchant Taylors for some time in the 15th, and perhaps even 14th centuries.
Under an order issued by mayor Robert Billesden in 1484, the Merchant Taylors ranks in sixth or seventh place (making it one of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies) in the order of precedence of the Livery Companies, alternating with the Skinners’ Company. The annual switch occurs at Easter. The Merchant Taylors are normally sixth in the order of precedence in odd numbered years, and at seven in even numbered years.