Victoria Working Men's Club, Kew | |
---|---|
General information | |
Architectural style | Tin tabernacle |
Town or city | Kew, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames |
Country | England |
Completed | 1889 |
Technical details | |
Structural system | Corrugated iron |
The Victoria Working Men's Club was a working men's club at 275 Sandycombe Road [1] in Kew, Richmond, London which operated from 1892 [2] [3] until 2015, when the building it occupied was sold to a property developer. In February 2017 Richmond upon Thames Council approved a planning application to demolish the building, and erect a new community building and six flats. [4]
The club was housed in Victoria & St John's, a building in timber [5] clad with corrugated iron, which from 1876 to 1889 had been an iron church on the opposite side of Sandycombe Road, housing St Luke's Church and St Luke's School. [3] It was moved to its present position in 1889 when the current St Luke's Church was built in The Avenue. [3] Its close association with the history of Kew led to it being listed in 2005 by the local council as a Building of Townscape Merit. [6] [7]
Alderman James Weeks Szlumper, an engineer and major benefactor of Darell Road School, who had also been mayor of Richmond, [8] was, for many years, the club's president and patron. [8] [9]
The club was renowned for the amount of money it raised to send cigarettes to British soldiers at the front in the First World War. [3] It was visited by four overseas prime ministers and many British government ministers and by members of the British Royal Family. [3] A photograph shows Alderman Szlumper seated between the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth). [8] David Blomfield, former chairman of the Richmond Local History Society, said: "In all, the club boasted of visits from 50 such VIPs over seven years – probably a unique record for a club of its size, and most certainly for one set in such accommodation". [3]
The building continued to be used by the club as a billiards hall until 2015; it is now empty. As of 2016, an extension at the back of the building was still used by a school for Japanese martial arts. [10]
In February 2017 Richmond upon Thames Council approved a planning application to demolish the building, and erect a new community building and six flats. [4]
Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, 10 miles (16 km) south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as the place where some Saxon kings were crowned.
Kew is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens, now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is also the home of important historical documents such as Domesday Book, which is held at The National Archives.
Petersham is a village in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the east of the bend in the River Thames south of Richmond, which it shares with neighbouring Ham. It provides the foreground of the scenic view from Richmond Hill across Petersham Meadows, with Ham House further along the river. Other nearby places include Twickenham, Isleworth, Teddington, Mortlake, and Roehampton.
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames 9.9 miles (15.9 km) southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the borough council's administrative headquarters are located in the area.
The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in southwest London, England, forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the London Government Act 1963. It is governed by Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council. The population is 198,019 and the major communities are Barnes, East Sheen, Mortlake, Kew, Richmond, Twickenham, Teddington and Hampton.
Richmond is a town in south-west London, 8.2 miles (13.2 km) west-southwest of Charing Cross. It stands on the River Thames, and features many parks and open spaces, including Richmond Park, and many protected conservation areas, which include much of Richmond Hill. A specific Act of Parliament protects the scenic view of the River Thames from Richmond.
East Sheen, also known as Sheen, is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
Whitton is an area of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. Historically, it was the north-western part of Twickenham manor, bounded by the River Crane and the Duke of Northumberland's River.
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St Anne's Church, Kew, is a parish church in Kew in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The building, which dates from 1714 and is Grade II* listed, forms the central focus of Kew Green. The raised churchyard, which is on three sides of the church, has two Grade II* listed monuments – the tombs of the artists Johan Zoffany and Thomas Gainsborough. The French Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro (1830–1903), who stayed in 1892 at 10 Kew Green, portrayed St Anne's in his painting Church at Kew (1892).
St Luke's Church, Kew, is a parish church in Kew, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is part of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion and, locally, is a member of Churches Together in Kew. Together with St Philip and All Saints, it is one of two parishes within the united benefice of Kew, St Philip & All Saints with St Luke. Its vicar, Rev Dr Melanie Harrington, took up the role in June 2021. The church, built in the Gothic Revival style by architects Goldie, Child and Goldie, is also host to the Kew Community Trust and acts as a community centre.
The Barn Church, Kew, formally known as St Philip and All Saints, is the first barn church to be consecrated in England. The building, which is not listed, is on the corner of Atwood Avenue and Marksbury Avenue, in an area previously known as North Sheen and now in Kew, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It was constructed in 1929 from a 17th century barn from Oxted in Surrey. The west end was converted in 2002 into a large parish room with a gallery above looking down the length of the building. The sanctuary was refurbished and remodelled in 1998.
Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council, also known as Richmond upon Thames Council, LBRUT or Richmond Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since 2018. Although the borough is named after Richmond, the council meets at York House in Twickenham, and has its main offices in the adjoining Civic Centre.
Raleigh Road United Church, at the corner of Raleigh Road and Stanmore Gardens in Richmond, London, is a joint congregation of a Methodist Church and a United Reformed Church. The churches, formerly known as Kew Road Methodist Church and St. Paul's Congregational Church, have been united since September 1995.
Richmond Royal Hospital, on Kew Foot Road in Richmond, London, England, is a mental health facility operated by South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust, which has its headquarters at Springfield Hospital in Tooting. The hospital's original block is Grade II listed.
Richmond Cemetery is a cemetery on Lower Grove Road in Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. It opened in 1786 on a plot of land granted by an Act of Parliament the previous year. The cemetery has been expanded several times and now occupies a 15-acre (6-hectare) site which, prior to the expansion of London, was a rural area of Surrey. It is bounded to the east by Richmond Park and to the north by East Sheen Cemetery, with which it is now contiguous and whose chapel is used for services by both cemeteries. Richmond cemetery originally contained two chapels—one Anglican and one Nonconformist—both built in the Gothic revival style, but both are now privately owned and the Nonconformist chapel today falls outside the cemetery walls after a redrawing of its boundaries.
Christ Church is a former Church of England church on Kew Road in Richmond, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its architect was Arthur Blomfield who, thirty years earlier, had designed another Anglican church of the same name in neighbouring East Sheen.
David Guy Blomfield was leader of the Liberal Party group on Richmond upon Thames Council, a writer, a book editor and a local historian.