ArtsLav

Last updated

ArtsLav, Kennington Cross, 2014 ArtsLav, Kennington Cross, October 2014 01.jpg
ArtsLav, Kennington Cross, 2014

ArtsLav was an arts venue located at Kennington Cross in Kennington, London, England. It started life as an underground Victorian gentlemen's public lavatory. It is now a listed and restored Kennington landmark used as a community arts facility, Artslav. Engineered by B. Finch and Co. in 1898. It went out of commission in 1988 during a period of public convenience closures in Lambeth.

Contents

Original features included marble urinals, three cubicles, a glass water tank, a mosaic floor from the 1960s, an attendant's booth, a ventilator shaft and horse trough.

History

Charlie Chaplin is thought to have used the lavatory during his childhood, and writes about sitting nearby when locked out of his home. [1]

The lavatory was featured on Disappearing London [2] in January 2006, an ITV programme that highlighted endangered London landmarks. [3] After campaigning, led by Celia Stothard a local resident, and extensive fundraising, fundamental repairs were carried our with electricity and water being re-installed in 2013. [4] [5]

From 2013 until 2017, it functioned as a local community arts centre and a base for community employment projects. It became a Community Interest Company run by local residents and artists. [6]

In 2018, the local authority leased the structure to a commercial wine bar group, Bermondsey Arts Club. [7]

Features

In 2001, Lambeth Council described it as containing the following features of architectural and historical interest:

It has been Grade II listed since October 2001. [9] [10] [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kennington</span> Area of London, mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth

Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between the Lambeth and St George's parishes of those boroughs respectively. It is located 1.4 miles (2.3 km) south of Charing Cross in Inner London and is identified as a local centre in the London Plan. It was a royal manor in the parish of St Mary, Lambeth in the county of Surrey and was the administrative centre of the parish from 1853. Proximity to central London was key to the development of the area as a residential suburb and it was incorporated into the metropolitan area of London in 1855.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newington, London</span> Human settlement in England

Newington is a district of South London, just south of the River Thames, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It was an ancient parish and the site of the early administration of the county of Surrey. It was the location of the County of London Sessions House from 1917, in a building now occupied by the Inner London Crown Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vauxhall</span> District of London

Vauxhall is an area in London and is located in the London Borough of Lambeth and is in Central London. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walworth</span> Human settlement in England

Walworth is a district of south London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is 1.9 miles (3.1 km) south-east of Charing Cross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Borough of Lambeth</span> London borough in the United Kingdom

Lambeth is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as Lambehitha and in 1255 as Lambeth. The geographical centre of London is at Frazier Street near Lambeth North tube station, though nearby Charing Cross on the other side of the Thames in the City of Westminster is traditionally considered the centre of London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oval tube station</span> London Underground station

Oval is a London Underground station in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is on the Northern line between Kennington and Stockwell stations and is in Travelcard Zone 2. It opened on 18 December 1890 as part of the City and South London Railway and is named after The Oval cricket ground, which it serves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Inner Ring Road</span> Major roads that encircle the centremost part of London

The London Inner Ring Road, or Ring Road as signposted, is a 12-mile (19 km) route with an average diameter of 2.75–5.5 miles (4.43–8.85 km) formed from a number of major roads that encircle Central London. The ring road forms the boundary of the London congestion charge zone, although the ring road itself is not part of the zone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stockwell tube station</span> London Underground station

Stockwell is a London Underground station in Stockwell in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is located on the Northern line between Oval and Clapham North stations, and on the Victoria line between Brixton and Vauxhall stations. It is in Travelcard Zone 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth</span> Metropolitan borough of England

Lambeth was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in south London, England. It was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. The parish was included in the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1855 and became part of the County of London in 1889. The parish of Lambeth became a metropolitan borough in 1900, following the London Government Act 1899, with the parish vestry replaced by a borough council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kennington Park</span> Public park in South London, the United Kingdom

Kennington Park is a public park in Kennington, south London and lies between Kennington Park Road and St. Agnes Place. It was opened in 1854 on the site of what had been Kennington Common, where the Chartists gathered for their biggest "monster rally" on 10 April 1848. Soon after this demonstration the common was enclosed and, sponsored by the royal family, made into a public park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglican Diocese of Southwark</span> Diocese of the Church of England

The Diocese of Southwark is one of the 42 dioceses of the Church of England, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The diocese forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. It was created on 1 May 1905 from part of the ancient Diocese of Rochester that was served by a suffragan bishop of Southwark (1891–1905). Before 1877 most of the area was part of the Diocese of Winchester, some being part of the Diocese of London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vauxhall (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1950-2024

Vauxhall was a constituency in London. It was represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by members of the Labour Party for the whole of its creation from 1950 until its abolition for the 2024 general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lambeth Walk</span> Road in Lambeth, London

Lambeth Walk is a street in Lambeth, London, England, off Lambeth Road. It was at the heart of a working-class residential area and there was a street market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kennington Road</span>

Kennington Road is a long straight road, approximately a mile in length, in the London Borough of Lambeth in London, England, running south from Westminster Bridge Road to Kennington Park Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern line extension to Battersea</span> London Underground construction project

The Northern line extension to Battersea is an extension of the London Underground from Kennington to Battersea in South West London, terminating at the redeveloped Battersea Power Station. The extension formed a continuation of the Northern line's Charing Cross branch and was built beginning in 2015; it opened in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kennington Cross</span> Human settlement in England

Kennington Cross is a locality in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is at the junction of two major roads, Kennington Lane that links Vauxhall Cross with the Elephant and Castle and Kennington Road that runs from Waterloo to Kennington Park. At the junction are the Durning Library, St Anselm's Church and The ArtsLav project, a nineteenth-century underground gents Victorian Lavatory converted into a small local arts venue. There are two large public houses, The Dog House, and The Tommyfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vauxhall bus station</span> Bus station in Vauxhall, London

Vauxhall bus station is a bus station in Vauxhall, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is operated by London Buses and owned and maintained by Transport for London, and is the second busiest bus station in the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stepney City Farm</span> City farm in London, England

Stepney City Farm is a city farm in Stepney, London, England. It is situated on Stepney Way with its entrance on the roundabout leading onto Stepney High Street and Belgrave Street towards Limehouse. The land is owned by Tower Hamlets Council through a trust, "The King George's Fields Trust" chaired by the Mayor of Tower Hamlets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kagyu Samye Dzong London</span>

Kagyu Samye Dzong London Tibetan Buddhist Centre for World Peace and Health is the London branch of Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery in Scotland. Kagyu Samye Dzong London is under the direct guidance of Chöje Akong Tulku Rinpoche and Venerable Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche, the co-founder and Abbot of Samye Ling respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 2024 onwards

Vauxhall and Camberwell Green is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Following the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested at the 2024 general election, and Florence Eshalomi was elected for the Labour Party.

References

  1. ↑ Chaplin, Charlie (2003). My Autobiography. Penguin. pp. 28–31. ISBN   978-0141011479.
  2. ↑ fokxorg (24 September 2009). "Project ArtsLav" – via YouTube.
  3. ↑ Disappearing London, presented by Suggs, ITV, 31 January 2006. Item 3.
  4. ↑ "YouTube – Electricity arrives at Kennington's ArtsLav". youtube.com. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  5. ↑ "UK Power Networks – Lighting up Kennington's ArtsLav". ukpowernetworks.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  6. ↑ "Artslav". artslav.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  7. ↑ "The Bermondsey Arts Club & Cocktail Bar". The Bermondsey Arts Club.
  8. ↑ Edmund Bird – Borough Conservation Officer, Lambeth, 12 May 2001.
  9. ↑ Historic England. "GENTLEMENS UNDERGROUND LAVATORY AND ABOVE GROUND STRUCTURES: VENTILATION SHAFT AND RAILINGS AND 4 BOLLARDS AND CATTLE TROUGH (1389445)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  10. ↑ http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/pl-listed-buildings-beginning-with-k_0.pdf [ dead link ]
  11. ↑ "KENNINGTON CROSS Gentlemen's underground lavatory and above ground structures: ventilation shaft, railings, 4 bollards and cattle trough" (PDF). 4 November 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2014.

51°29′20″N0°06′40″W / 51.488911°N 0.111038°W / 51.488911; -0.111038

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.