Hornsey Town Hall
| Hornsey Town Hall | |
|
Middlesex | |
|---|---|
 Hornsey Town Hall | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ30058833 |
| Location: | 51°34’44"N, 0°7’28"W |
| Town: | Hornsey |
| History | |
| Built 1935 | |
| By: | Reginald Uren |
| Modernist | |
| Information | |
Hornsey Town Hall is a public building in the Crouch End area of Hornsey in Middlesex. The building was used by the Municipal Borough of Hornsey as its headquarters until its abolition in 1965.
The town hall is a Grade II* listed building.[1]
History
Early history
The building was commissioned to replace the aging facilities in Southwood Lane in Highgate.[2] Hornsey Town Hall was the first major building in the United Kingdom to be constructed in the Modernist style. Designed by New Zealand born architect Reginald Uren for the Municipal Borough of Hornsey, the building shows the influence of Hilversum town hall in the Netherlands and was awarded a bronze medal by the Royal Institute of British Architects.[3][4] It was opened by the Duke and Duchess of Kent in November 1935.[5]
The building was transferred to the new Haringey Council in 1965.[5] Although it was no longer the seat of local government, the town hall was used for concerts and even hosted Freddie Mercury before he was famous.[6] In 1981 it became one of the first of the buildings constructed in the 1930s to achieve listed building status.[7]
Redevelopment
After deciding that the town hall was surplus to requirements, the council commissioned a generic redevelopment scheme to renovate the town hall and build flats behind it, securing planning permission for that scheme in 2010.[8]
In 2011 Haringey Council agreed to lease the town hall to Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts on a 125-year lease. Early feasibility studies indicated that the cost of renovating and converting the Grade II* listed building would be £19 million.[9] Mountview appointed architects Purcell to develop plans for the site to include publicly accessible theatres, acting and dance studios, production arts workshops and student welfare facilities.[10] However, an independent review revealed that the cost of developing the site would greater than originally anticipated, and beyond anything the academy or the council could afford.[11]
In November 2015 the council offered the town hall on a 125-year lease to anyone who would take on responsibility to develop residential accommodation on the site and allocate some of the proceeds to restoring the building. A bid by a community body, the Hornsey Town Hall Appreciation Society, failed as they could not raise the money (and the council could not sell the Town Hall at below its value. Instead, in 2019, the Far East International Consortium, a developer selected by Haringey Council, began restoration works on the building.[12]
Use as film and TV location
The modernist style and Art Deco interior of the Town Hall has proved popular as a location for film and TV productions. This includes:
- Whitechapel (2009), a Gothic crime drama in which it makes regular appearances as the police station;[13]
- The Hour (BBC drama, 2011);[13]
- Killing Eve (in which it represented a grand Moscow hotel).[14]
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Hornsey Town Hall) |
References
- ↑ National Heritage List 1263688: Hornsey Town Hall (Grade II* listing)
- ↑ "The Proposed Town Hall: Background". Hornsey Historical Society. https://hornseyhistorical.org.uk/the-proposed-town-hall-background/. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ↑ "Hornsey Town Hall". Modernism in Metroland. http://www.modernism-in-metroland.co.uk/hornsey-town-hall.html. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- ↑ "The Civic Plunge Revisited". Twentieth Century Society. 24 March 2012. https://www.c20society.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/2012-2403-CivicPlungeRevisitedlowres2.pdf. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "A Brief History of Hornsey Town Hall". Hornsey Historical Society. https://hornseyhistorical.org.uk/brief-history-hornsey-town-hall/. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- ↑ "Live in the new Bohemian Rhapsody movie filming Location". Hornsey Town Hall. http://www.hornsey-townhall.co.uk/latest-news/bohemian-rhapsody-movie-filming-location/. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- ↑ 'London's Town Halls' (Historic England), page 103
- ↑ "Planning Application: Hornsey Town Hall". London Borough of Haringey. http://www.planningservices.haringey.gov.uk/portal/servlets/ApplicationSearchServlet?PKID=211626. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- ↑ "Approval for Hornsey Town Hall handover to Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts". Tottenham Independent. 27 April 2011. https://www.thetottenhamindependent.co.uk/news/8996144.Approval_for_Hornsey_Town_Hall_handover/. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- ↑ "Award winning architects to lead Hornsey Town Hall restoration | Haringey Council". Haringey.gov.uk. 8 October 2013. https://www.haringey.gov.uk/news/award-winning-architects-lead-hornsey-town-hall-restoration. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- ↑ Hemley, Matthew (2015-01-23). "Mountview forced to abandon Hornsey Town Hall relocation plans due to cost | News". The Stage. https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2015/mountview-forced-abandon-hornsey-town-hall-relocation-plans-due-cost/. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- ↑ "Restoration works begin at Hornsey Town Hall in north London". Wallpaper. 14 October 2019. https://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/hornsey-town-hall-restoration-renovation-make-architects-london. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "You can now live in Hornsey Town Hall grounds, one of The Crown's famous filming locations". County Living. 14 November 2019. https://www.countryliving.com/uk/homes-interiors/interiors/a29781769/hornsey-town-hall-the-crown-film-location/. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- ↑ "Killing Eve Series 2: The London Locations Which Feature In The TV Show". The Londonist. 15 June 2019. https://londonist.com/london/film/killing-eve-series-2-london-filming-locations. Retrieved 5 April 2020.