Southall Town Hall
| Southall Town Hall | |
|---|---|
 Southall Town Hall | |
| Location | Southall |
| Coordinates | 51°30′41″N 0°22′31″W / 51.5113°N 0.3752°W |
| Built | 1898 |
| Architect | Thomas Newall |
| Architectural style(s) | Classical style |
  Shown in Ealing | |
Southall Town hall is a municipal building in High Street, Southall, London. It has been designated a local heritage asset.[1]
History
The foundation stone for the building was laid by the Countess of Jersey on 8 November 1897.[2] The building, which was designed by Thomas Newall in the classical style, was completed in 1898.[3] It was established as the offices of the Southall-Norwood Urban District Council and went on to become headquarters of the Municipal Borough of Southall in 1936[4] but ceased to function as the local of seat of government when the enlarged London Borough of Ealing was formed in 1965.[5] It has subsequently operated as a training and enterprise centre.[6]
In April 1979, Blair Peach, a New Zealand teacher and anti-racism campaigner, died after being hit on the head, probably by a member of the Special Patrol Group (SPG), a specialist unit within the Metropolitan Police Service, during a riot outside the town hall.[7][8]
In 2017, the council decided to dispose of a long leasehold interest in the town hall to the Vishwa Hindu Kendra temple, which is based just north of the hall.[9] However, after the High Court decided that the council had acted unlawfully and unreasonably in deciding to sell the building, the council decided not to appeal.[10]
References
- ^ "Southall Opportunity Area Planning Framework". Mayor of London. p. 20. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ^ "Southwall Town Hall". London Borough of Ealing. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ^ "London's Town Halls". Historic England. p. 55. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
- ^ Great Britain Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, Southall MB (historic map). Retrieved 4 August 2008.
- ^ "Local Government Act 1963". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ^ Ali, Nasreen; Sayyid, Salman (2006). A Postcolonial People: South Asians in Britain. C Hurst & Co Publishers. p. 309. ISBN 978-1850657972.
- ^ "1979: Teacher dies in Southall race riots". BBC. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ^ "Plaques part of events to mark anniversary of riot". Ealing News Extra. 13 May 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ^ "The battle to 'save Southall Town Hall' receives a major boost". My London News. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ^ "Council won't continue fight for Southall Town Hall sale". Ealing Today. 26 September 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2020.