Shepherd's Bush Pavilion

Last updated

Shepherd's Bush Pavilion
ShpeherdsBushPavilion.jpg
The Shepherd's Bush Pavilion in 2011
Shepherd's Bush Pavilion
Former namesGaumont Theatre
Odeon cinema
Top Rank Bingo
Mecca Bingo
General information
TypeHotel; formerly a Cinema
Architectural style Edwardian, Second Empire
Location Shepherd's Bush
Address58 Shepherd's Bush Green
Town or city London
Country England
Current tenantsDorsett Shepherd's Bush, London
Completed1923, rebuilt 2012–2014
Renovateddamaged in WWII, later renovated
Demolishedlargely demolished in 2012; facade alone retained
OwnerDorsett Hospitality International
Technical details
Structural systemBrick, concrete
Design and construction
Architect Frank Verity
Awards and prizesRIBA London Street Architecture Award for the best London facade, 1923
Website
www.shepherdsbushpavilion.com
References
Listed Grade II

The Shepherd's Bush Pavilion is a Grade II listed building, currently a hotel, formerly a cinema and bingo hall, in Shepherd's Bush, London. Built in 1923 as a cinema, it was badly damaged by a flying bomb in 1944. In 1955, it was restored and re-opened, but it changed ownership a number of times, and eventually in 1983 became a bingo hall. The Pavilion closed its doors for good in 2001, and remained empty and disused for much of the next decade. In 2009, planning permission was granted for conversion into a luxury hotel. Demolition work began in 2012, with only a part of the building's façade retained. The re-built hotel, the Dorsett Shepherd's Bush, London, opened in 2014.

Contents

History

Origins

The Pavilion was originally built as a cinema, designed by Frank Verity for Israel Davis. [1] It opened in August 1923, when it won the RIBA London Street Architecture Award for the best London facade. The panel noted the "imposing structure of brick and stone in which the former material especially is used with great imagination". [1] [2] From the beginning, the project was very ambitious – the films were accompanied not by a mere piano but by the Pavilion Symphony Orchestra, and a sophisticated lighting system created colour effects during the films – such as blue lights for rain, or red for fire.

The interior was classical in style, using 3 shades of copper, and seated 2,000 spectators. [3] It had no less than 2 miles of carpet and solid silver lamps for lighting, and was awarded a Bronze Medal by the Royal Institute of British Architects. [4]

A work drawing of the building A Work Drawing of the Main Facade, Shepherd's Bush Pavilion.jpg
A work drawing of the building

WW2

Much of the sumptuous interior work would be lost when the building was badly damaged by a flying bomb in 1944, towards the end of World War II, and the original interior was destroyed. [5] [6]

Modern era and decline

After the war , the Pavilion was repaired (though not entirely to the original design), and reopened in 1955 as the Gaumont Theatre. It was then closed again in 1969 for further refurbishment, when a new floor was installed, dividing the large open space into two levels – a cinema upstairs and a Bingo Club below. [2]

In 1974, the Pavilion acquired a new status as a Grade II listed building although, given the war damage and subsequent alterations, little remained of the original interior design or layout. [2]

In 1983, the cinema closed for the last time, leaving the bingo hall open for a while longer. However, in 2001 even the bingo hall closed, and the building fell into disuse. [2]

Redevelopment as a hotel

Shepherd's Bush Pavilion Hotel Under Construction in May 2013 Shepherd's Bush Pavilion Hotel Under Construction.JPG
Shepherd's Bush Pavilion Hotel Under Construction in May 2013
Shepherd's Bush Pavilion 10 December 2013 Shepherd's Bush Pavilion 10 December 2013.jpg
Shepherd's Bush Pavilion 10 December 2013
Shepherds Bush Pavilion in March 2014 Pavilon March2014.jpg
Shepherds Bush Pavilion in March 2014

In both 2004 and 2006, planning permission was given for conversion into a hotel, but investors withdrew from the project owing to the difficulty of converting the building, in particular the relatively small number of rooms, few of which would have enjoyed any natural daylight or views. [2]

The building was left unoccupied and in disrepair for several years, prompting English Heritage to add it to its 'Building at Risk' register. [2]

In 2009, planning permission was granted to convert the empty building into the 4 star Shepherds Bush Pavilion Hotel, designed by architects Flanagan Lawrence. [7]

At the end of February 2012, it was reported that the £25 million conversion of the derelict building would begin in March 2012. [8] In the summer of 2012, the building was largely demolished, retaining only the original facade. When completed the hotel would have 11 floors, and the existing curved roof would be replaced by a glass roof. [9]

In September 2012, a planning variation was requested by the developers, to change the proposed development from a 242-room hotel to one with 322 smaller rooms. [10] The proposed variation was opposed by local residents who feared that the fundamental character of the new building would be quite different from what was originally proposed. [11]

The new hotel is to run by the Asia-based hotel group Dorsett Hospitality International, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. [12] It opened in June, 2014. [13]

See also

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

White City is a district of London, England, in the northern part of Shepherd's Bush in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, 5 miles (8 km) west-northwest of Charing Cross. White City is home to Television Centre, White City Place and Queens Park Rangers football club's ground Loftus Road.

London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Borough in United Kingdom

The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham is a London borough in West London and which also forms part of Inner London. The borough was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan Boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham. The borough borders Brent to the north, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to the east, Wandsworth to the south, Richmond upon Thames to the south west, and Hounslow and Ealing to the west.

Shepherds Bush Human settlement in England

Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham 4.9 miles (7.9 km) west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan.

Wood Lane

Wood Lane is a street in London. It runs north from Shepherd's Bush, under the Westway (A40) past Wormwood Scrubs where it meets Scrubs Lane. The road is wholly in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It is probably best known as the former home of the BBC Television Centre, also BBC White City and formerly BBC Woodlands the offices of BBC Worldwide.

Wood Lane tube station London Underground station

Wood Lane is a London Underground station in the White City area of west London, United Kingdom. It is on the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines, between Latimer Road and Shepherd's Bush Market stations, in Travelcard Zone 2.

Shepherds Bush tube station London Underground station

Shepherd's Bush is a London Underground station in the district of Shepherd's Bush in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The station is on the Central line, between White City and Holland Park stations, and it lies in Travelcard Zone 2.

Shepherds Bush Market tube station London Underground station

Shepherd's Bush Market is a London Underground station in the district of Shepherd's Bush in west London, England. It is on the Circle and Hammersmith & City Lines, between Goldhawk Road and Wood Lane stations, and it is in Travelcard Zone 2. Shepherd's Bush Market, from which the station takes its name, is an open-air market which runs parallel to the railway line.

Shepherds Bush Empire Music venue in West London, England

Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was originally built in 1903 as a music hall for impresario Oswald Stoll, designed by theatre architect Frank Matcham; among its early performers was Charlie Chaplin. In 1953 it became the BBC Television Theatre. Since 1994, it has operated as a music venue. It is a Grade II listed building.

Westfield London Shopping centre in White City, London

Westfield London is a large shopping centre in White City, west London, England, developed by the Westfield Group at a cost of £1.6bn, on a brownfield site formerly the home of the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition. The site is bounded by the West Cross Route (A3220), the Westway (A40) and Wood Lane (A219). It opened on 30 October 2008 and became the largest covered shopping development in the capital; originally a retail floor area of 1,600,000 sq ft (150,000 m2), further investment and expansion led to it becoming the largest shopping centre in Europe by March 2018, an area of 2,600,000 sq ft (240,000 m2).

Shepherds Bush Green

Shepherds Bush Green is an approximately 8-acre (3.2 ha) triangular area of open grass surrounded by trees and roads with shops in Shepherd's Bush, an area of west London which takes its name from the Green. The Green is also a ward of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 12,175.

Shepherds Bush Market

Shepherd's Bush Market is a street market in Shepherd's Bush, London. The market is located on the east side of the railway viaduct for the Hammersmith and City Tube line, and is bordered on the north side by the Uxbridge Road, and on the south by the Goldhawk Road.

Shepherds Bush railway station London Overground station

Shepherd's Bush station is a railway station located in the district of Shepherd's Bush in Greater London, England, UK. It opened on 29 September 2008 on the West London line and is served by London Overground and Southern rail services. It lies within Travelcard Zone 2.

John Stanley Coombe Beard

John Stanley Coombe Beard FRIBA, known professionally as J. Stanley Beard, was an English architect known for designing many cinemas in and around London.

History of Shepherds Bush

Shepherd's Bush is a neighbourhood in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham centred on Shepherd's Bush Green. Originally a pasture for shepherds on their way to Smithfield market, it was largely developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In 1844 the West London Railway officially opened, followed in 1864 by the Metropolitan Railway who built the original Shepherd's Bush station, opening up the area to residential development. Businesses soon followed, and in 1903 the west side of Shepherd's Bush Green became the home of the Shepherd's Bush Empire, a music hall whose early performers included Charlie Chaplin.

Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherds Bush

The Passmore Edwards Public Library on the Uxbridge Road, Shepherd's Bush, London, was built in 1895 and funded by the journalist and philanthropist Passmore Edwards. It is one of a number of public libraries that still bear his name today. In 2008 a new library was built in Shepherd's Bush, part of the substantial Westfield London development, and the Passmore Edwards library fell into disuse. In October 2011 it re-opened as the new home of the Bush Theatre.

Shepherds Bush Palladium

The Shepherd's Bush Palladium was an historic building in Shepherd's Bush, London, originally built in 1910 as the Shepherd's Bush Cinematograph Theatre. The building had a number of owners over the years and finally stopped showing films in 1981. After standing empty for some time, it was eventually converted into a pub and for many years was owned and operated by the Walkabout chain of Australasian-themed bars. In October 2013 the building was sold to a property developer and in 2019 it was largely demolished, replaced in 2021 with a 16-storey block of flats, retaining the original 1920s facade.

Shepherds Bush Conservation Area

The Shepherd's Bush Conservation Area is a part of Shepherd's Bush, London, that has been established by the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in order to promote the protection of local buildings of historic interest, and improve the character of the neighbourhood.

Goldhawk Road

Goldhawk Road is a road in west London, which starts at Shepherd's Bush and travels west. There are numerous shops, restaurants and businesses lining the road, which forms the southern boundary of Shepherd's Bush Green. It is designated part of the A402 road.

West 12 Shopping mall in London, England

West 12 Shepherd's Bush is a shopping centre in Shepherd's Bush in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The modern development borders the south side of Shepherd's Bush Green and was designed in the 1960s.

Theatre Royal, Manchester Historic theatre in Manchester, England

The Theatre Royal in Manchester, England, opened in 1845. Situated next to the Free Trade Hall, it is the oldest surviving theatre in Manchester. It was commissioned by Mancunian businessman John Knowles who wanted a theatre venue in the city.

References

  1. 1 2 "Shepherd's Bush Pavilion in London, GB". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Shepherds Bush's Local Web site". Shepherdsbushw12.com. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  3. "Theatres in Shepherd's Bush, London".
  4. Denny, p.99
  5. "Shepherds Bush's Local Web site". Shepherdsbushw12.com. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  6. Denny, p.101
  7. "Shepherd's Bush Pavilion Hotel". Flanagan Lawrence. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  8. Underwood, Chris (29 February 2012). "Shepherd's Bush: Shepherd's Bush Pavilion starts next month". Shepherds-bush.blogspot.com. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  9. "Ardmore wins £25m Shepherd's Bush hotel – Builders' Merchants News". Buildersmerchantsnews.co.uk. 28 February 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  10. "PublicAccess v7.4 @ London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham: Applicati…". Archived from the original on 23 December 2012.
  11. Underwood, Chris (11 October 2012). "Shepherd's Bush: Hotel developers outsmart Council with revised application". Shepherds-bush.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  12. "Dorsett Shepherds Bush". Londontown.vom. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  13. Marcus, Lilit (17 October 2016). "Hotels: Reviews, News and Ratings – Condé Nast Traveler". Hotelchatter.com. Retrieved 21 October 2016.

Coordinates: 51°30′14″N0°13′28″W / 51.5040°N 0.2244°W / 51.5040; -0.2244