| Old Town Hall, Kensington | |
|---|---|
 Old Town Hall, Kensington | |
| Location | Kensington |
| Coordinates | 51°30′06″N0°11′32″W / 51.5016°N 0.1923°W Coordinates: 51°30′06″N0°11′32″W / 51.5016°N 0.1923°W |
| Area | Italianate style |
| Built | 1880 |
| Demolished | 1982 |
| Architect | Robert Walker |
  Shown in Kensington and Chelsea | |
The old Town Hall was a municipal facility at Kensington High Street in Kensington, West London. It was demolished in 1982.
The building was commissioned to replace the mid-19th-century Kensington Vestry Hall in Kensington High Street, which had been designed by Benjamin Broadbridge in the Tudor style for the Parish of St Mary Abbots Kensington. [1] After the vestry hall had become inadequate for their needs, civic leaders decided to procure a new town hall; the site chosen for the new building had previously been occupied by the Kensington National School. [2] [3]
The new building, which was designed by Robert Walker in the Italianate style, was built by Braid and Co. on an adjacent site just to the east of the old vestry hall and was completed in 1880. [1] The design involved a frontage of seven bays facing onto Kensington High Street; the central section of three bays featured a doorway with stone surround and canopy on the ground floor; there were tall windows with integrated oculi interspersed with Corinthian order columns on the first floor and a large carved pediment and flagpole above. [1] A large extension at the rear of the building, intended to create a new courtroom and committee room to a design by William Weaver, the surveyor to the vestry, and William Hunt, was completed in 1899. [1] It went on to become the headquarters of the Royal Borough of Kensington when the area secured Royal borough status in 1901. [4]
Speakers in the post-war era included the leader of the Union Movement, Sir Oswald Mosley, who gave a speech at the town hall in 1963. [5] Following the creation of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in 1965, [6] the council chose to build modern facilities at the new Kensington Town Hall in Hornton Street. [7] Margaret Thatcher chose the town hall to deliver her "Britain Awake" foreign policy speech, which lambasted the Soviet Union for seeking world dominance, in January 1976. [8]
After the council moved to Hornton Street in 1977, the old town hall closed and was partly-demolished on the instructions of the Leader of the council, Nicholas Freeman, "in controversial circumstances" involving an impending conservation order, in June 1982. [9] Although demolition was temporarily halted, by the time that happened, the main frontage and the interior had been so badly damaged that what remained had to be completely cleared in 1984. [1] The Royal Fine Arts Commission deplored the actions of the council as "official vandalism" [10] and the Kensington Society predicted that the council would be "completely condemned" for their actions. [11] A journalist writing in The Times recorded the council as being "deeply shamed for the example it had set to other listed-building owners". [12]
The City of Westminster is a city and borough in Inner London which forms a core part of Central London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of central Greater London, including most of the West End. Many London landmarks are within the borough, including Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Whitehall, Westminster Cathedral, 10 Downing Street, and Trafalgar Square.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is an Inner London borough with royal status. It is the smallest borough in London and the second smallest district in England; it is one of the most densely populated administrative regions in the United Kingdom. It includes affluent areas such as Notting Hill, Kensington, South Kensington, Chelsea, and Knightsbridge.
The Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea was a metropolitan borough of the County of London between 1900 and 1965. It was created by the London Government Act 1899 from most of the ancient parish of Chelsea. It was amalgamated in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963, with the Royal Borough of Kensington to form the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
The Metropolitan Borough of Kensington was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London from 1900 to 1965, which since 1901 was known as the Royal Borough of Kensington, following the death of Queen Victoria, in accordance with her wishes.
Shoreditch Town Hall is a municipal building in Shoreditch, London. It is a Grade II listed building.
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.
Islington Town Hall is a municipal facility in Upper Street, Islington, London. The town hall, which is the headquarters for Islington London Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.
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.
St George in the East, historically known as Wapping-Stepney, is a former civil parish, and continuing (extant) Church of England parish, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England. The place name is no longer widely used. The church, crypts and second floor outreach mission is open and holds regular services, as well as community organising and social justice campaigns.
Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council is the local authority for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Kensington and Chelsea is divided into 18 wards, each electing either two or three councillors. The council was created by the London Government Act 1963 and replaced two local authorities: Kensington Metropolitan Borough Council and Chelsea Metropolitan Borough Council.
Kensington Central Library is a Grade II* listed building on Hornton Street and Phillimore Walk, Kensington, London. It was built in 1958–60 by the architect E. Vincent Harris on the site of The Abbey, a Gothic house which had been constructed for a Mr Abbot in 1880 and destroyed by bombing in 1944. It was opened by the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother on 13 July 1960. The building was designed in a traditional, English, renaissance-style. There were demonstrations against the project by those who advocated for the building to be in a modern style.
Kensington Town Hall is a municipal building in Hornton Street, Kensington, London. It is the headquarters of Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council.
The Kensington Vestry Hall is a former municipal building on Kensington High Street in Kensington, London, England. The structure, which was built for Kensington Vestry and now accommodates Bank Melli Iran is a Grade II listed building.
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.
Hampstead Town hall is a municipal building on Haverstock Hill, Hampstead, London. It is a Grade II listed building.
Chelsea Town Hall is a municipal building in King's Road, Chelsea, London. The oldest part is a Grade II* listed building and the later part is Grade II listed.
Lewisham Town Hall is a municipal building in Catford Road, Lewisham, London. The oldest part of the facility, the curved municipal offices, which is the headquarters of Lewisham London Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.
Camberwell Town Hall is a municipal building in Peckham Road, Camberwell, London, England.
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.
Wandsworth Town Hall is a municipal building on the corner of the 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.
