LONDON, especially the City of London, must be one of the best places in the world for the simple pleasures of looking up to enjoy the variety and richness of the street architecture. It is also full of surprises. Many people, turning off Moorgate into Great Swan Alley, must have been momentarily stopped in their tracks by the extraordinary building that stands here (Fig 1). This is Accountants’ Hall, home of The Institute of Chartered Account-ants in England and Wales (ICAEW), which is also the Livery Hall of the Company of Chartered Accountants, a City Livery Company. Built in 1890–93, it was the masterpiece of John Belcher (1841–1913), who was one of the most original of late-Victorian architects.
There is something wonderful about the fact that a building of such romantic beauty, so lovingly conceived as a work of art, should have been commissioned by accountants, usually thought of as the most sober and frugal of professionals. Although accounting has been essential to all businesses since ancient times, the modern profession essentially developed in the 19th century. In 1793, only three ‘accomptants’ were known to have been
