| Mitcham Vestry Hall | |
|---|---|
 Mitcham Vestry Hall | |
| Location | London Road, Mitcham |
| Coordinates | 51°24′07″N0°10′05″W / 51.4020°N 0.1680°W |
| Built | 1887 |
| Architect | Robert Masters Chart |
| Architectural style(s) | Victorian style |
  Shown in Merton | |
Mitcham Vestry Hall is a municipal building in London Road, Mitcham, London. It is a locally listed building. [1]
The building was commissioned as a vestry hall for the benefit of the Parish of St Peter and St Paul: the site selected for the building had previously been occupied by the local police and fire stations. [2] It was designed by Robert Masters Chart in the Victorian style, and was officially opened on 18 May 1887. [1] However, the vestry hall was described, in 1895, as a "red brick blot"...which had..."ruined for ever the picturesqueness of Mitcham of old". [3]
The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage with seven bays facing onto London Road; it featured a doorway with pediment in the furthest right bay with a tall clock tower rising above; there were windows in each of the bays on the first floor; it had a steeply pitched roof with a cupola and weather vane. [1] The old village lock-up which had formed the basement of the old police station was incorporated into the basement of the new building. [4] The design also featured an entrance for the fire engine in the furthest left bay: the horse-drawn fire engine fire engine itself was replaced with an appliance made by Merryweather & Sons in 1912. [5]
Urban expansion saw the immediate area become the geographical and administrative centre of the developing township in the late 19th century [6] and the building became the council offices for the new Mitcham Urban District Council in 1915. [7] A large extension to the west was completed in 1930 [4] and, after the area achieved municipal borough status, the building became known as "Mitcham Town Hall" in 1934. [8] A room on the first floor of the extension was designated for use as a courtroom in the 1930s [4] and the main hall was used as a British Restaurant during the Second World War. [9]
The building continued to serve as the headquarters of the Municipal Borough of Mitcham but ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged London Borough of Merton was formed in 1965. [10] It was subsequently used as workspace by several departments of Merton Council including the Borough Treasurer's Department. [4] However, after the council departments moved out in the 1980s, the building was refurnished and was revived as a community centre known as the "Vestry Hall". [11] The building continues to be used for public meetings and is used by local community organisations working in the borough. [12] In September 2014, the local NHS Clinical Commissioning Group held its first Annual General meeting there [13] and, since 2019, Off The Record Youth Counselling delivers mental health services in the building. [14]
The Wandle Industrial Museum, which was established at Worsfold House in Church Road in Mitcham in June 1983 to preserve artifacts associated with the River Wandle and its industrial heritage, moved to the annex in the grounds of the vestry hall in July 1989. [15]
Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in Southwest London, England. It is centred 7.2 miles (11.6 km) southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It has been a settlement throughout recorded history.
Morden is a district and town in south London, England, within the London Borough of Merton, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. It adjoins Merton Park and Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Sutton to the south and Worcester Park to the west, and is around 8 miles (13 km) south-southwest of Charing Cross. Prior to the creation of Greater London in 1965, for local government purposes, Morden was in the administrative and historic county of Surrey.
The London Borough of Merton is a borough in Southwest London, England.
Colliers Wood is an area in south west London, England, in the London Borough of Merton. It is a mostly residential area, but has a busy high street around Colliers Wood tube station on London Underground's Northern line. The high street is part of the A24, a major road route roughly following the Northern Line, running from London through Tooting and other areas. The Colliers Wood ward had a population of 10,712 in 2011.
The River Wandle is a right-bank tributary of the River Thames in south London, England. With a total length of about 9 miles (14 km), the river passes through the London boroughs of Croydon, Sutton, Merton and Wandsworth, where it reaches the Thames. A short headwater – the Caterham Bourne – is partially in Surrey, the historic county of the river's catchment. Tributaries of the Wandle include Carshalton Ponds and Norbury Brook.
Mitcham was a local government district in north east Surrey from 1915 to 1965 around the town of Mitcham.
The London Borough of Merton is an outer London borough in the south west of the conurbation. Merton's parks and open spaces range in size from Mitcham Common and a major part of Wimbledon Common to the smaller gardens, sports grounds and recreation grounds within its boundaries.
Merton is an ancient parish historically in Surrey, but which has since 1965 been part of Greater London. It is bounded by Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Morden, Cheam and Cuddington to the south and (New) Malden to the west. The 1871 Ordnance Survey map records its area as 1,764.7 acres (7.1 km2).
Shoreditch Town Hall is a municipal building in Shoreditch, London. It is a Grade II listed building.
Luton Borough Council is the local authority of Luton, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. Luton is a unitary authority, having the powers of a county and district council combined. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association.
Camden Town Hall, known as St Pancras Town Hall until 1965, is the headquarters 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 has been Grade II listed since 1996.
The Wandle Trail is a 12.5-mile (20 km) walking and cycling trail that follows the River Wandle from Croydon to Wandsworth in south-west London.
Merton London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Merton in Greater London, England. It is one of the 32 councils that form Greater London.
Ravensbury Park is a public park in Mitcham in the London Borough of Merton. An area of 7 hectares is designated a Local Nature Reserve. The River Wandle runs along the southern boundary of the park, which is also part of the Upper Wandle River Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation.
Cranmer Green is a 3.2 hectare local nature reserve and Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation in Mitcham in the London Borough of Merton. It is owned and managed by Merton Council. It is a triangular area bounded by Cranmer Road, King George VI Avenue and a railway line.
Phipps Bridge is a housing estate in Mitcham in the London Borough of Merton. It was built following a need created by the end of the Second World War on the site of old slums, and is named after a nearby bridge. Although it opened in the 1960s as a show-piece estate, it took less than ten years for it to become a slum again, and the council continued to redevelop it into the 1990s.
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.
Wimbledon Town Hall is a municipal building in The Broadway, Wimbledon, London. It is a Grade II listed building.
Stratford Town Hall is a municipal building in Stratford, London. It is a Grade II listed building.
St George's Town Hall, formerly known as Stepney Town Hall, and, before that, St George's Vestry Hall, is a municipal building on Cable Street, Stepney, London. It is a Grade II listed building.