What is “a guildhall”?

The story behind the answer

It served as the headquarters and assembly place of a professional brotherhood. Members gathered there to set prices and quality standards, admit apprentices and journeymen, arbitrate disputes, keep accounts and charters, host feasts, and fund charity. That’s why it differs from a town hall (municipal government), a market (buying and selling), or a schoolhouse (training usually happened in masters’ workshops).

In many medieval towns the guildhall was among the grandest secular buildings, often with a great hall above an undercroft for storage and sometimes a chapel. Its size and decoration advertised the guild’s wealth and influence. Notable examples include London’s Guildhall and the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall in York; in Hanseatic ports, comparable buildings were called Schütting or Gildehaus.