Walworth Town Hall
| Walworth Town Hall | |
|---|---|
 Walworth Town Hall | |
| Location | Walworth Road, Southwark |
| Coordinates | 51°29′28″N 0°05′49″W / 51.4910°N 0.0969°W |
| Built | 1865 |
| Architect | Henry Jarvis |
| Architectural style(s) | Italianate style |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Designated | 31 May 1996 |
| Reference no. | 1386028 |
  Shown in Southwark | |
Walworth Town Hall is a municipal building in Walworth Road, Southwark, London. It is a Grade II listed building.[1]
History
In the late 1850s the Vestry Board of St Mary, Newington met in the Infant School Room in Queen's Head Row as well as in a room in the local parish church.[2] After civic leaders found this arrangement was inadequate, they decided to procure a purpose-built vestry hall: the site selected on Walworth Road had previously been open land owned by the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers.[2][3]
The new building, which was designed by Henry Jarvis in the Italianate style and built Piper and Wheeler, was officially opened on 8 August 1865.[2] The building was financed by a loan from Edward Chambers Nicholson, a wealthy chemist who had settled locally in his retirement.[4][2] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with seven bays facing onto Walworth Road; the central section featured a round-arched stone doorway flanked by Corinthian order columns; there was a triple round-arched window above on the first floor.[1] Internally, the principal room was the council chamber on the first floor.[2]
After the Newington Public Library had been built to the south east of the town hall in 1892, an infill extension was added between the two buildings in 1893.[5] The town hall became the headquarters of the Metropolitan Borough of Southwark and was renamed "Southwark Town Hall" in 1900.[6] It was extended along Wansey street to provide further accommodation in 1902.[5]
The building ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged London Borough of Southwark was formed in 1965.[7] It was subsequently used as workspace by the council, becoming known as "Walworth Town Hall", and was also used as the local registrar's office.[2] The Cuming Museum, which had been based at the back of the Newington Public Library, moved into the town hall in 2006.[8]
The roof of the building was badly damaged by a fire in March 2013[9] and the building was subsequently added to the Heritage at Risk Register.[10] In March 2018, the council announced that the building would be restored and appointed Feix & Merlin as architects[11] and General Projects as the developer for works.[12] Proposals for the restoration works, which included educational activities, creative workshops and studio spaces,[13] were submitted for planning consent in June 2020.[14]
References
- ^ a b Historic England. "Southwark Municipal Offices and attached railings (1386028)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f "London's Town Halls". Historic England. p. 171. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1850. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "Nicholson, Edward Chambers (1827–1890)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ a b "The buildings". Walworth Town Hall. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "History". Walworth Town Hall. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "Local Government Act 1963". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ^ "Cuming Museum". London SE1. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "Massive fire at Walworth Town Hall; fears for Cuming Museum collection". London SE1. 25 March 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "Heritage at Risk". English Heritage. 2018. p. 109. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "Feix & Merlin wins Walworth Town Hall restoration job". Architects Journal. 11 March 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "Developer chosen to take over Walworth Town Hall refurbishment". Southwark News. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "Plans For The Walworth Town Hall, Library And Heritage Centre". Southwark Can. 26 September 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "Feix&Merlin submits plans to restore Walworth Town Hall". Architects' Journal. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2020.