Holborn Town Hall

Last updated

Holborn Town Hall
Holborn Town Hall - geograph.org.uk - 668999.jpg
Holborn Town Hall (the wing on the left was the old public library; the central wing and the wing on the right were added later)
Location Holborn
Coordinates 51°31′01″N0°07′22″W / 51.5169°N 0.1227°W / 51.5169; -0.1227
Built1894
ArchitectWilliam Rushworth (1894 building)
Septimus Warwick and H Austen Hall (1908 extension)
Architectural style(s) French Renaissance style
Listed Building – Grade II
Designated15 January 1973
Reference no.1378893
Camden London UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Shown in Camden

Holborn Town hall is a municipal building on High Holborn, Holborn, London. It is a Grade II listed building. [1]

History

Old Holborn Town Hall on Gray's Inn Road Old Holborn Town Hall.jpg
Old Holborn Town Hall on Gray's Inn Road

The first town hall was a substantial structure on the corner of Gray's Inn Road and Clerkenwell Road which was commissioned by the Holborn District Board of Works on behalf of the Vestry of St Andrew Holborn Above Bars. [2] It had been designed by Lewis Isaacs in an Italianate style, built by Brown & Robinson of Finsbury and completed in 1879. [2] Following the creation of the Metropolitan Borough of Holborn in 1900, consideration was given to expanding this building but this proposal was rejected on the grounds that the old building would be difficult to adapt. [2] After being used as a concert hall during the first half of the 20th century, it was demolished in the 1960s. [2]

Instead it was decided to extend an existing building on High Holborn which had been designed by William Rushworth in the French Renaissance style and which had opened as a public library in 1894. [1] The design for the existing (eastern) wing had involved a narrow main frontage with four bays facing onto High Holborn; there were two arched entrances both flanked by Corinthian order pilasters on the ground floor; there were oriel windows on the first and second floors and smaller windows on the third and fourth floors with an oculus above. [1]

The foundation stone for the extension to this building to create a new town hall was laid by the mayor, William Smith, on 27 October 1906. [3] The design involved creating a new central wing and a new western wing, in a similar and symmetrical style to the existing eastern wing, based on the plans of Septimus Warwick and H. Austen Hall. [2] The works were carried out by John Greenwood Limited and the new town hall was officially opened by the Lord Mayor, Sir George Truscott, on 13 October 1908. [4] A wrought-iron balcony bearing a borough coat of arms made by the Bromsgrove Guild of Applied Arts was installed in the middle of the central section on the first floor. [5] The principal rooms were a court room on the ground floor a council chamber at the rear of the building on the first floor. [1]

The First International Syndicalist Congress, a meeting of European and Latin American syndicalist organizations, was held at the town hall from 27 September to 2 October 1913. [6]

A plaque, manufactured by De La Rue, [7] commemorating the efforts of the borough in contributing to the Wings for Victory Week, was erected on the wall just inside the right hand doorway in 1943. [8] Another plaque, commemorating their contribution to Salute the Soldier Week, was erected there the following year. [9]

The building on High Holborn ceased to function as the local of seat of government when the enlarged London Borough of Camden was formed in 1965 [10] and was subsequently converted for alternative uses including restaurant use (on the ground floor) and offices (above). [11] The freehold ownership of the building was acquired by a private investor for £22 million in September 2019. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloomsbury</span> District in West End, London

Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest museum in the United Kingdom, and several educational institutions, including University College London and a number of other colleges and institutes of the University of London as well as its central headquarters, the New College of the Humanities, the University of Law, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, the British Medical Association and many others. Bloomsbury is an intellectual and literary hub for London, as home of world-known Bloomsbury Publishing, publishers of the Harry Potter series, and namesake of the Bloomsbury Group, a group of British intellectuals which included author Virginia Woolf, biographer Lytton Strachey, and economist John Maynard Keynes.

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

Chancery Lane is a London Underground station on the Central line between Holborn and The City in Central London, England. It has entrances within both the London Borough of Camden and the City of London. It opened in 1900 and takes its name from the nearby Chancery Lane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Borough of Holborn</span> Metropolitan borough in London

The Metropolitan Borough of Holborn was a metropolitan borough in the County of London between 1900 and 1965. The borough included most of Holborn as well as Bloomsbury and St Giles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoreditch Town Hall</span> Municipal building in London, England

Shoreditch Town Hall is an independent cultural, live events and community space in Shoreditch, London. The building, which previously served as the headquarters of the Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camden Town Hall</span> Municipal building in London, England

Camden Town Hall, known as St Pancras Town Hall until 1965, is the meeting place of Camden London Borough Council. The main entrance is in Judd Street with its northern elevation extending along Euston Road, opposite the main front of St Pancras railway station. It was completed in 1937 and has been Grade II listed since 1996.

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

The London Borough of Camden is a London borough in Inner London, England. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies 1.4 mi (2.3 km) north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the former metropolitan boroughs of Holborn, St Pancras and Hampstead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fulham Town Hall</span> Municipal building in London, England

Fulham Town Hall is a municipal building on Fulham Road, Fulham, London. It is a Grade II* listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lambeth Town Hall</span> Municipal building in London, England

Lambeth Town Hall, also known as Brixton Town Hall, is a municipal building at the corner of Brixton Hill and Acre Lane, Brixton, London. The town hall, which is the headquarters of Lambeth London Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Town Hall, Richmond</span> Municipal building in London, England

The Old Town Hall, Richmond on Whittaker Avenue in Richmond, London is a former municipal building which from 1893 to 1965 served as the town hall for the Municipal Borough of Richmond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenwich Town Hall, London</span> Municipal building in London, England

Greenwich Town Hall is a municipal building on Royal Hill, Greenwich, London. It is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bromley Town Hall</span> Municipal building in London, England

Bromley Town Hall is a municipal building in Tweedy Road, Bromley, London. Built in 1906, it is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ealing Town Hall</span> Municipal building in London, England

Ealing Town Hall is a municipal building in New Broadway, Ealing, London, England. It is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southall Town Hall</span> Municipal building in London, England

Southall Town Hall is a municipal building in High Street, Southall, London. It has been designated a local heritage asset.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acton Town Hall</span> Municipal building in London, England

Acton Town Hall is a municipal building in High Street, Acton, London, England. It is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haringey Civic Centre</span> Municipal building in London, England

Haringey Civic Centre is a municipal building in High Road, Wood Green, London. The town hall, which is the headquarters of Haringey London Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leyton Town Hall</span> Municipal building in London, England

Leyton Town Hall is a municipal building in Adelaide Road, Leyton, London. The building, which includes Leyton Great Hall, is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridlington Town Hall</span> Municipal building in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England

Bridlington Town Hall is a municipal building in Quay Road, Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The town hall, which was the meeting place of Bridlington Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building. It now serves as an area office of East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sale Town Hall</span> Municipal building in Sale, Greater Manchester, England

Sale Town Hall is a municipal building on School Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, England. The town hall was the headquarters of Sale Borough Council until the council was abolished in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dukinfield Town Hall</span> Municipal building in Dukinfield, Greater Manchester, England

Dukinfield Town Hall is a municipal building in King Street, Dukinfield, Greater Manchester, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Dukinfield Borough Council, is a grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richmond Town Hall, North Yorkshire</span> Municipal building in Richmond, North Yorkshire, England

Richmond Town Hall is a municipal building in the Market Place, Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. The structure, which is the meeting place of Richmond Town Council, is a grade II listed building.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Historic England. "Holborn Town Hall and Library (1378893)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "London's Town Halls". Historic England. p. 37. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  3. "Foundation Stone". Bloomsbury Association. Retrieved 25 April 2020.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. Illustrated London News, 17 October 1908, "London's New Public Building: Holborn Town Hall; Opened by the Lord Mayor last Tuesday"
  5. "Holborn Civic Coat of Arms". Bloomsbury Association. Retrieved 25 April 2020.[ permanent dead link ]
  6. Thorpe, Wayne (1989). 'The Workers Themselves': Revolutionary Syndicalism and International Labour, 1913–1923 . Amsterdam: Kluwer Academic Publishers. pp. 71–84. ISBN   0-7923-0276-1.
  7. "War Savings Commemorative Plaque". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  8. "Holborn Town Hall: Wings for Victory Week". Bloomsbury Association. Retrieved 25 April 2020.[ permanent dead link ]
  9. "Holborn Town Hall: Salute the Soldier Week". Bloomsbury Association. Retrieved 25 April 2020.[ permanent dead link ]
  10. "Local Government Act 1963". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  11. "Holborn Town Hall, 193–197 High Holborn, London WC1V 7BD". Hannover Green. Archived from the original on 2 November 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  12. "Holborn Hall". Porterfield. Retrieved 25 April 2020.