The London Silver Vaults

 

I spotted the London Silver Vaults on a trip to London a few years ago and I wondered what they were.  However, I promptly forgot all about it.  When I was there last August, I walked the building again and decided to check it out.  I had no idea what it was about or if I was even allowed in but, a kindly guard said "of course" and pointed me in the direction of an elevator

That elevator took me deep down into a labyrinth of individual vaulted rooms that I discovered were individual shops where one could buy or sell silver pieces of all kinds.

It was room after room of more silver than I've ever seen in one place.

So after returning home, I did some research to get more information on this unusual place.  They boast housing the largest selection of fine, antique, modern and contemporary silverware anywhere in the world.  It is estimated that it contains 24,646 tons of silver valued at 30.7 billion dollars. The vaults contain 30 shops over 2 long corridors.

The site dates back to 1882 when the vaults were built 2 levels below ground with 3.9 foot thick walls lined with steel.  It was where the aristocracy stored their silver and other valuables when the left London to stay in their country homes. By the 1930's, silver dealers began buying and selling silver from the location.  During the London Blitz, the Victorian building above ground was destroyed but the vaults remained safe.  During WWII, a lot of silver was sold to military officers stationed in London and that started the sales trade from the vaults. A replacement building was constructed in 1953 above the vaults and it became a shopping destination ever since.  The vaults have never been broken into and judging from all the thick vault doors I passed through to get there, I can see why.

I enjoyed learning all of this almost as much as I enjoyed visiting the shops and seeing all that silver. I saw several shoppers negotiating purchases while I was there.