Marylebone Town Hall

Last updated

Marylebone Town Hall
Westminster Council House.jpg
Marylebone Town Hall
LocationMarylebone Road, Marylebone
Coordinates 51°31′17″N0°09′36″W / 51.5213°N 0.1600°W / 51.5213; -0.1600
Built1920 (1920)
Architect Sir Edwin Cooper
Architectural style(s) Edwardian Graeco-Roman classicist style
Listed Building – Grade II
Designated16 January 1981
Reference no.1222688
Westminster London UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Shown in Westminster

Marylebone Town Hall, also known as the Westminster Council House, is a municipal building on Marylebone Road in Marylebone, London. The complex includes the council chamber, the Westminster Register Office and an educational facility known as the Sammy Ofer Centre. It is a Grade II listed building. [1]

Contents

History

The building was commissioned to replace the old courthouse at the south end of Marylebone Lane which dated back in part to the 18th century. [2] [3] [4] After the area became a metropolitan borough in 1900, [5] civic leaders decided that the old courthouse was inadequate for their needs and decided to procure a new town hall: the site selected for the new facility in Marylebone Road had been occupied by a row of residential properties. [6]

The foundation stone for the new building was laid by the Princess Royal on 8 July 1914. [7] The new building was designed by Sir Edwin Cooper in the Edwardian Graeco-Roman classicist style and built by Messrs John Greenwood. [2] After a pause in construction caused by the First World War, it was officially opened by Prince Albert on 27 March 1920. [7] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with 13 bays facing onto Marylebone Road; the central section of five bays featured a two-storey tetrastyle portico with full height Corinthian order columns; the doorway was flanked by windows on the ground floor; there were further windows on the first floor and smaller windows on the second floor; a colonnaded tower was erected on the roof. [1]

A public library, which was also designed by Cooper, was built to the west of the town hall in 1939. [2] The council chamber was badly damaged by bombing during the Second World War. [2] The town hall, which had served as the headquarters of the Metropolitan Borough of St Marylebone for much of the 20th century, ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged City of Westminster was formed in 1965. [8] The damaged council chamber was restored, to a design by T. P. Bennett and Sons, in 1968 to allow it to continue to be used as a meeting place by Westminster City Council. [2]

The building, which continued to accommodate the Westminster Register Office, hosted the marriage of Cilla Black to Bobby Willis in January 1969, Sir Paul McCartney to Linda Eastman in March 1969 and Ringo Starr to Barbara Bach in April 1981 as well as that of Melanie Griffith to Antonio Banderas in May 1996 and Liam Gallagher to Patsy Kensit in April 1997. [9] Since the turn of the millennium, it has been the venue of the marriage of Claudia Winkleman to Kris Thykier in June 2000, Liam Gallagher to Nicole Appleton in February 2008 and Sean Bean to Georgina Sutcliffe also in February 2008 as well as that of Sir Paul McCartney to Nancy Shevell in October 2011. [9]

The London Business School acquired the town hall in November 2012 [10] and, with financial support from the Ofer family, spent £60 million on refurbishing and improving it. [11] The improvements, which were designed by Sheppard Robson, included a new glass and steel link structure between the town hall and the library allowing access to the new education facility known as the "Sammy Ofer Centre". [7] The improvements also allowed continued access to the council chamber and the Westminster Register Office using the civic steps. [7] The facility re-opened again in January 2018. [11] [12]

Related Research Articles

<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">Marylebone</span> Area in London, England

Marylebone is an area in London, England and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary.

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

Hendon Town hall is a municipal building in the Burroughs, Hendon, London. The town hall, which serves as a meeting place for Barnet London Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.

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

Kensington Town Hall is a municipal building in Hornton Street, Kensington, London. It is the headquarters of Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council.

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

Croydon Town Hall is a council building in Katharine Street, Croydon which serves as the headquarters for Croydon London Borough Council. It is a Grade II listed building.

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

Finsbury Town Hall is a municipal building in Finsbury, London. The structure is a Grade II* listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aylesbury Crown Court</span> County building in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England

Aylesbury Crown Court, also known as Old County Hall, is a former judicial facility and municipal building in Market Square, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, completed in 1740. The building served as the meeting place of Buckinghamshire County Council from 1889 until 2012, and was used as a court until 2018. It is a Grade II* listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County Hall, Maidstone</span> County building in Maidstone, Kent, England

County Hall, formerly the Old Sessions House, is a municipal building in Sandling Road in Maidstone, Kent, England. The county hall, which is the headquarters of Kent County 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">Dundee City Chambers</span> Municipal Building in Dundee, Scotland

Dundee City Chambers is a municipal facility in City Square, Dundee, Scotland. The city chambers, which is headquarters of Dundee City Council, is a Category B listed building.

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

The old Town Hall is a former municipal facility in North Street, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, United Kingdom. It is a Grade II listed building.

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

Hackney Town Hall is a municipal building in Hackney, London. The town hall, which is the headquarters of Hackney London Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.

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

Stoke Newington Town Hall is a municipal building in Church Street, Stoke Newington, London. It is a Grade II listed building.

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

Havering Town Hall is a municipal building in Main Road, Romford, London. The town hall, which is the headquarters of Havering London Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.

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

The old Town Hall was a municipal facility at Kensington High Street in Kensington, West London. It was demolished in 1982.

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

Wandsworth Town Hall is a municipal building on the corner of Wandsworth High Street and Fairfield Street in Wandsworth, London. The building, which is the headquarters of Wandsworth London Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.

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

Berwick Town Hall is a municipal facility in Marygate, Berwick-upon-Tweed, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Berwick-upon-Tweed Borough Council, is a Grade I listed building.

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

Rotherham Town Hall is a municipal building in The Crofts, off Moorgate Street in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England.

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

Braintree Town Hall is a municipal facility in the Market Square in Braintree, Essex, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Braintree and Bocking Urban District Council, is a Grade II* listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helston Guildhall</span> Municipal building in Helston, Cornwall, England

Helston Guildhall, formerly Helston Town Hall, is a municipal building on Market Place, Helston, Cornwall, England. The structure, which is the meeting place of Helston Town Council, is a Grade II* listed building.

References

  1. 1 2 Historic England. "Marylebone Town Hall (1222688)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "London's Town Halls". Historic England. p. 209. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  3. ↑ Villeneuve, Crispian. (2009). Rudolf Steiner in Britain: A documentation of his ten visits, 1902–25. Vol. 1. Temple Lodge Publishing. p. 1066. ISBN   978-1-906999-03-2.
  4. ↑ Wright, Thomas. (1837) The history and antiquities of London, Westminster, Southwark, and parts adjacent. Vol. V. London: George Virtue. p. 345.
  5. ↑ "London Government Act 1899". Butterworth and Co. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  6. ↑ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1895. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Westminster Council House and Library, London". Manchester History. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  8. ↑ "Local Government Act 1963". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  9. 1 2 "Celebrity wedding venue popular with Sir Paul McCartney and Liam Gallagher reopens after £60m renovation". Evening Standard. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  10. ↑ "Old Marylebone Town Hall leased to London Business School". BBC News. 30 November 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  11. 1 2 "London Business School to expand into landmark building". Financial Times. 30 November 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  12. ↑ "Old Marylebone Town Hall to reopen for weddings". Bride Magazine. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
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.