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London Guildhall University was previously called the City of London Polytechnic before the Further and Higher Education Act, 1992 changed its status to a university.

In 1848 Charles Blomfield, Bishop of London, called upon the clergy to establish evening classes to improve the moral, intellectual and spiritual condition of young men in London. In response, the Reverend Charles Mackenzie, who instituted the Metropolitan Evening Classes for Young Men in Crosby Hall, Bishopsgate, London, with student fees at one shilling per session. Subjects on the original curriculum included Greek, Latin, Hebrew, English, History, Mathematics, Drawing and Natural Philosophy. This fledgling college came under royal patronage following the visit of Prince Albert to the classes in 1851. In 1860 the classes moved to Sussex Hall, the former Livery Hall of the Bricklayers' Company, in Leadenhall Street. By this time, some 800 students were enrolled annually.

In 1861 the classes were reconstituted and named the City of London College. Over the next twenty years, the College was one of the pioneers in the introduction of commercial and technical subjects. The College built new premises in White Street at a cost of £16,000 (contributions were received from Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales) and were opened in 1881. In 1891 the College joined the Birkbeck Institute and the Northampton Institute to form the notional City Polytechnic by a Charity Commissioners' scheme to facilitate funding for these institutions by the City Parochial Foundation, and to enable the three institutions to work cooperatively. However this attempted federation did not function in practice, as each institution continued to operate more or less independently. The City Polytechnic concept was dissolved in 1906, and the City of London College came under the supervision of London County Council.

In December 1940 the College's building was destroyed by a German air raid. The College subsequently moved into premises at 84 Moorgate in 1944. The College celebrated its centenary in 1948 with a service of thanksgiving addressed by the Archbishop of Canterbury at St Paul's Cathedral. In 1970 the College merged with Sir John Cass College to form the City of London Polytechnic. From 1992, it was called London Guildhall University.

In 2002 the university merged with the University of North London and the new institution became London Metropolitan University.

London Guildhall University was so named in order to show its links with the City of London and the City's many guilds/livery companies. It was never part of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (based at the Barbican Centre), which is one of the top schools for drama and music internationally.

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