Ealing Town Hall
| Ealing Town Hall | |
|
Middlesex | |
|---|---|
 Ealing Town Hall | |
| Type: | Town hall |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ17548070 |
| Location: | 51°30’47"N, 0°18’27"W |
| Town: | Ealing |
| History | |
| Built 1888 | |
| By: | Charles Jones |
| Town hall | |
| Gothic Revival | |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | Ealing Council |
Ealing Town hall is a municipal building on New Broadway in Ealing, Middlesex. It is a Grade II listed building.[1]
History
The building was commissioned to replace a mid-19th century town hall in The Mall designed by Charles Jones in the Gothic Revival style.[2] The site selected for the new building had previously been occupied by open land.
The new building, which was also designed by Charles Jones and in the same style but on a much larger scale, was built by Hugh Knight and officially opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales on 15 December 1888.[3] The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage with eleven bays facing onto New Broadway; the central section featured a double round arched doorway on the ground floor; there were oriel windows on the first and second floors and a gable above flanked by turrets; the design also featured an off-centre clock tower with lancet windows and a spire.[4] A public hall intended for hosting events such as dances, wedding receptions and political rallies, known as the Victoria Hall, was erected on the north-east corner of the site.[5] Internally, the principal room was the original council chamber on the first floor which was renamed the "Nelson Room" in the 1930s in memory of Sir Edward Montague Nelson, a former mayor.[4]
The building was significantly extended to the east, with a new octagonally towered entrance, to the designs of George H. Fellowes Prynne in 1930.[4] Internally, the extension created a new council chamber and a mayor's parlour as well as a new public hall in the basement which became known as the "Queens Hall".[4]
The building had been established as the offices of the local board of health and, after the creation of 'Ealing Urban District Council' in 1894, it became the latter's new council offices,[4] and those of its immediate successor. It continued to function as the local of seat of government when the surrounding councils were abolished and merged into a new, enlarged Ealing Council in 1965.
A large "spanner-shaped" building designed by Sidney Kaye, Eric Firmin & Partners was erected to the east of the town hall, as additional accommodation for council officers and their departments, in 1983.[4] Initially referred to as the "Civic Centre", it was renamed "Perceval House" after Spencer Perceval, the 19th century Prime Minister, who lived in Elm Grove in Ealing.[6]
Art
Works of art in the town hall include a portrait of King Edward VII by Henry John Hudson,[7] a portrait of Spencer Perceval by an unknown artist[6] and a portrait of Sir Edward Montague Nelson by Barnett Samuel Marks.[8]
Development
In July 2016, in the context of large budget deficit and the need to reshape its services, the council announced an agreement with a hotel developer to convert part of the Town Hall and the Victoria Hall into a boutique hotel.[9] The development would also see a 28-storey tower block on the Perceval House site.[10]
References
- ↑ National Heritage List 1358791: Ealing Town Hall (Grade II listing)
- ↑ "Former Town Hall, Ealing". Victorian Web. http://www.victorianweb.org/art/architecture/jonesc/1.html. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ↑ "Ealing Town Hall". Victorian Web. http://www.victorianweb.org/art/architecture/jonesc/2.html. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 'London's Town Halls' (Historic England), page 50
- ↑ "Victoria Hall, Ealing Town Hall consultation". London Borough of Ealing. 9 February 2018. https://www.ealing.gov.uk/info/201042/current_consultations/2376/victoria_hall_ealing_town_hall_consultation/1. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "The Right Honourable Spencer Perceval (1762–1812)". Art UK. https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/the-right-honourable-spencer-perceval-17621812-178827. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ↑ Hudson, Henry John. "Edward VII (1841–1910)". Art UK. https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/edward-vii-18411910-178793. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ↑ Marks, Barnett Samuel. "Sir Edward Montague Nelson, Esq. (1841–1919)". Art UK. https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/sir-edward-montague-nelson-esq-18411919-jp-cc-178798. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ↑ "Council Accused of 'Selling Ealing's Crown Jewels'". 2016-07-12. http://www.ealingtoday.co.uk/default.asp?section=info&page=eatownhall004.htm. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
- ↑ "Ealing Council Perceval House headquarters redevelopment could include 28-storey tower block". My London News. 10 February 2020. https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/ealing-council-perceval-house-headquarters-17724870. Retrieved 25 April 2020.