Fulham Town Hall
| Fulham Town Hall | |
|
Middlesex | |
|---|---|
 Fulham Town Hall | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ25467719 |
| Location: | 51°28’47"N, 0°11’41"W |
| Town: | Fulham |
| History | |
| Built 1890 | |
| By: | George Edwards |
| Classical | |
| Information | |
| Condition: | Converted: commercial use |
Fulham Town Hall is a municipal building on Fulham Road in Fulham, Middlesex. It is a Grade II* listed building.[1]
History
The building was commissioned by the Parish of St John to replace an existing vestry hall in Walham Green.[1][2] The site chosen had previously been occupied by a property known as Elton Villa.[3] In the villa's grounds there had been a mulberry tree, which had been planted by Nell Gwyn or her lover; it was chopped down and sawn into walking sticks in order to make way for the new vestry hall.[3]
The foundation stone for the building was laid on 10 December 1888.[4] The new building, which was designed by George Edwards in the classical style and constructed by Treasure & Son,[4] was completed in 1890.[1] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with seven bays facing onto Fulham Road; the central section of three bays featured an arched doorway with carved tympanum above flanked by windows; there were three windows each flanked by Ionic order columns on the first floor; there were three ocululi on the second floor and a lucarne with another oculus above.[1] An additional block was built to the south east of the main building with a council chamber on the ground floor and a concert hall on the first floor.[1]
After the ‘Metropolitan Borough of Fulham’ was established in 1900, it was decided to extend the building to the south west along Harwood Road to the designs of Francis Wood, the borough engineer.[1] The extension included a mayor's parlour and some committee rooms; the enlarged complex was officially opened by the mayor, William Sayer, as the new Fulham Town Hall, on 3 November 1905.[5]
The building was extended again, this time to the west along Fulham Road, in 1934 to accommodate the local registrar's office.[6] A large stained glass window, designed by Francis Spear and depicting Earconwald, who served as Bishop of London in the 7th century, was installed in the 1930s.[4]
The town hall continued to serve as the headquarters of the Metropolitan Borough of Fulham for much of the 20th century but ceased to be the local seat of government when an enlarged ‘Hammersmith and Fulham council’ swallowed it in 1965.[1] The hall was subsequently used as an administration centre and events venue.[1]
After the council sold the building to a private developer, Ziser London, plans to convert the facility into a hotel, restaurants, event space and spa were announced in February 2019.[7][8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 National Heritage List 1191939: Fulham Town Hall (Grade II* listing)
- ↑ "Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Fulham". Fulham Vestry. 1887. https://wellcomelibrary.org/moh/report/b19953574#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&z=-0.7272%2C0.186%2C3.0343%2C1.1845. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Feret, Charles James (1900). "Fulham old and new: being an exhaustive history of the ancient parish of Fulham". Leadenhall Press. https://archive.org/stream/b29010433_0002/b29010433_0002_djvu.txt. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 'London's Town Halls' (Historic England), page 94
- ↑ Larger Town Hall, Fulham Chronicle, 3 November 1905
- ↑ "Fulham Town Hall: A brief history". London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. https://www.lbhf.gov.uk/councillors-and-democracy/about-hammersmith-fulham-council/mayors-office/fulham-town-hall. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ↑ "Plans to transform Fulham Town Hall into hotel revealed". The Caterer. 6 February 2019. https://www.thecaterer.com/news/hotel/plans-to-transform-fulham-town-hall-into-hotel-revealed. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ↑ "Real estate company secures £10m loan to transform Fulham Town Hall into new hotel". Boutique Hotelier. 8 February 2019. https://www.boutiquehotelier.com/real-estate-company-secures-10m-loan-to-transform-fulham-town-hall-into-new-hotel/. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
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