Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts. The first Guildhall School was housed in an old warehouse in Aldermanbury, but these premises soon proved too small. A new purpose-built building in John Carpenter Street was designed by City Architect Sir Horace Jones and opened in December 1886. It is owned by the City of London Corporation and takes its name from the Corporation's historic headquarters at the Guildhall, though it was never based there. Before 1935 it was known as the Guildhall School of Music. Since 1977 it has been situated next to the Barbican Arts Centre in the Barbican Complex. In 2004, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama's external examinations department merged with the performing arts examinations division of Trinity College London to form Trinity Guildhall Examinations. Today, Trinity Guildhall offers qualifications in performing and teaching in areas such as music, speech and drama, and dance to external students.