The Barbican Muse

The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz along with drama and production arts. The school has students from over seventy countries. It was ranked the number one UK conservatoire in the 2021 Guardian league tables for music and as the sixth university in the world for performing arts in the 2020 QS World University Rankings.Based within the Barbican Centre in the City of London, the school currently numbers just over 1,000 students, approximately 800 of whom are music students and 200 on the drama and technical theatre programmes. The school is a member of Conservatoires UK, the European Association of Conservatoires and the Federation of Drama Schools. It also has formed a creative alliance with its neighbours, the Barbican Centre and the London Symphony Orchestra. Notable alumni of the school include Sir Bryn Terfel, Sir James Galway, Daniel Craig and Michaela Coel.

The Barbican Library is one of the public lending libraries in the City of London. The library has a large collection of books, spoken word recordings, DVDs, CDs and music scores available, most for loan, and some reference material for use on site. This public library is one of several libraries in Central London.

The Barbican Estate, or Barbican, is a residential complex of around 2,000 flats, maisonettes, and houses in central London, England, within the City of London. It is in an area once devastated by World War II bombings and densely populated by financial institutions, 1.4 miles (2.2km) north east of Charing Cross. Originally built as rental housing for middle and upper-middle-class professionals, it remains to this day an upmarket residential estate. It contains, or is adjacent to, the Barbican Arts Centre, the Museum of London, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Barbican public library, the City of London School for Girls and a YMCA (now closed), forming the Barbican Complex. The Barbican Complex is a prominent example of British brutalist architecture and is Grade II listed as a whole, with the exception of the former Milton Court, which once contained a fire station, medical facilities, and some flats, but was demolished to allow the construction of a new apartment tower — named The Heron — which also provides additional facilities for the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Silk Street is a street in the City of London. It runs north-south, and then west-east, from the junction with Beech Street (west), Chiswell Street (east) and Whitecross Street (north, continuing the street), to Moor Lane. The northern junction marks the boundary of the City with Islington: Whitecross and Chiswell (north and east) are in Islington, while Beech and Silk (west and south) are in the City. The east-west section of Silk Street is a survival from the pre-World War II street pattern, running between Milton Street in the east and Whitecross Street in the west. West of Whitecross Street it continued as Paper Street. The area was heavily damaged during the war, and when the Barbican Estate was built in the area after the war, the southern part of Whitecross Street, south of Silk Street, was swallowed up by the development, as was Paper Street, and the short section of Whitecross Street between Silk Street and Chiswell Street/Beech Street was renamed to be part of Silk Street, forming the north-south section of today's Silk Street. In the east the street was extended beyond Milton Street to Moor Lane. The main entrance to both the Barbican Centre and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama is in Silk Street. The head office of Linklaters, the multinational law firm and member of the Magic Circle is at 1 Silk Street.

St Giles-without-Cripplegate is an Anglican church in the City of London, located on Fore Street within the modern Barbican complex. When built it stood without (that is, outside) the city wall, near the Cripplegate. The church is dedicated to St Giles, patron saint of lepers, beggars and the handicapped. It is one of the few medieval churches left in the City of London, having survived the Great Fire of 1666.

The Jugged Hare is a public house and restaurant at 49 Chiswell Street, between Barbican and Moorgate underground stations in the City of London. The pub was opened on the site of an old Grade II listed brewery in 2012 by brothers Ed and Tom Martin, who also run The Gun in the Docklands and The Prince Arthur in London Fields, among other establishments. The decor includes oak flooring, red leather seating and a collection of stuffed and mounted animals.Upon opening, it was reviewed favourably by restaurant critic Giles Coren of The Times, who called it "a very good addition to a good chain of pubs".

The City of London School for Girls (CLSG) is an independent school in the Barbican in the City of London. It is the partner school of the all-boys City of London School and the City of London Freemen's School. All three schools receive funding from the City's Cash. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) and the Girls' Schools Association.

Cripplegate was a gate in the London Wall which once enclosed the City of London. The gate gave its name to the Cripplegate ward of the City which straddles the line of the former wall and gate, a line which continues to divide the ward into two parts: Cripplegate Within and Cripplegate Without, with a beadle and a deputy (alderman) appointed for each part. Since the 1994 (City) and 2003 (ward) boundary changes, most of the ward is Without, with the ward of Bassishaw having expanded considerably into the Within area. Until World War II, the area approximating to Cripplegate Without was commonly known as simply Cripplegate.The area was almost entirely destroyed in the Blitz of World War II causing the term to fall out of colloquial speech. Cripplegate Without is the site of the Barbican Estate and Barbican Centre, with a small part of these lying in neighbouring Aldersgate Without.

St Alphage Garden is an urban garden in the City of London, off London Wall. It was converted from the former churchyard of St Alphage London Wall in 1872. The north edge of the garden is defined by a section of the ancient London Wall. A lowered, paved extension to the garden lies to the west, accessed by a gate and a flight of steps. Both sections of the garden hold flower beds and benches. The main garden is mostly grass, with a magnolia tree and an oak tree. The southern edge of the garden is defined by a beech hedge. On the other side of the Wall lies the private Salters' Garden.

The Worshipful Company of Salters is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London, 9th in order of precedence. The Company originated as the Guild of Corpus Christi, which was granted a Royal Charter of incorporation in 1394. Further Charters granted the Company the authority to set standards and regulations regarding the products of its members. Originally, the Salters' Company included individuals whose trades involved the usage of salts and the preparation of chemical mixtures for use in food. As with many other livery companies, the Salters' Company has lost its direct connection to its original trade. Currently, however, the company supports the chemical industry and supports education in chemistry, for example by awarding scholarships to chemistry students. Furthermore, it is a charitable organization. The Company's motto is Sal Sapit Omnia, Latin for Salt Savours All.

Fore Street is a street in the City of London near the Barbican Centre. It runs from Wood Street to Fore Street Avenue and is joined by Moor Lane on its north side. The street was extensively damaged by Nazi bombing during World War II and, following later development, nothing now remains of its original buildings other than St Giles-without-Cripplegate, which is a short distance away from the modern street.

Beech Street is a street in the City of London. It was formerly known as Beech Lane and was named after Nicholas de la Beche, a lieutenant of the Tower of London in the reign of Edward III in the 14th century. It runs west-east, from its junction with Aldersgate Street and Long Lane in the west, to the junction with Whitecross Street, Silk Street and Chiswell Street in the east. The eastern junction marks the boundary of the City with Islington: Whitecross and Chiswell (north and east) are in Islington, while Beech and Silk (west and south) are in the City. The majority of the street is in a pseudo-tunnel under the Barbican estate. On 18 March 2020 the street became the UK's first "zero emission street", only allowing access to pedestrians, cyclists, and zero emission vehicles. This remained in effect until September 2021, and in December that year members of the City of London corporation voted for a public consultation into making the scheme permanent.Access to several of the Barbican car parks is from Beech Street.