Limehouse Town Hall
Limehouse Town Hall is a former town hall building on Commercial Road, in Limehouse, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
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[edit] History
Limehouse Town Hall was built in 1879-81, designed by A & C Harston, as the vestry hall of the Limehouse District. The building consists of a number of offices, below a 'grand' assembly room, with a suite of former dressing rooms and caretaker's accommodation. In 1900, the civil parish became a part of the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney. In 1965, this in turn, became part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, this then became one of a number of surplus town halls — along with Poplar Town Hall and St George's Town Hall.
On 30 July 1909 the Chancellor of the Exchequer David Lloyd George made a polemical speech in the assembly room, attacking the House of Lords for its opposition to his "People's Budget". This speech was the origin of the phrase "To Limehouse", or "Limehousing", which meant an incendiary political speech.[1]
The building has seen a variety of uses since, including serving as the National Museum of Labour History; and a brief return to council administration, as the Wapping Neighbourhood Offices. It was given protection as a Grade II listed building in 1973,[2] but was placed on English Heritage's list of buildings at risk in 2003. In October 2006 the building was given a restoration grant by English Heritage, and is in the process of being renovated as a centre for arts and culture, in particular local history projects.
[edit] Current use
The hall currently houses the Limehouse Town Hall Consortium Trust, comprising several groups, such as a Boxing Club, Space Hijackers, Twenteenth Century, Primal Pictures, Stitches in Time, the University of Openness and Creative Week.
The building is next to St Anne's Limehouse, a significant Hawksmoor church; and also adjacent to Limehouse Cut, a canal built to provide a short cut from the Lee Navigation to Limehouse Basin.
The nearest Docklands Light Railway station is Limehouse.
[edit] References
- ^ Take our word for it 24 Jan 2000 accessed 10 May 2007
- ^ Details from listed building database (205885) . Images of England. English Heritage. accessed 13 December 2008
[edit] External links
- Limehouse Town Hall "an independent centre for cultural production and the arts."
- Limehouse Town Hall - a new development
- Creative Week
- Stitches in Time
- University of Openess
Coordinates: 51°30′43.56″N 0°1′53.22″W / 51.5121°N 0.03145°W
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