Southall Town Hall

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Southall Town Hall

Middlesex


Southall Town Hall
Type: Former town hall
Location
Grid reference: TQ12858040
Location: 51°30’41"N, 0°22’31"W
Town: Southall
History
Built 1898
By: Thomas Newall
Former town hall
Classical
Information

Southall Town hall is a Victorian municipal building in the High Street in Southall, Middlesex.

History

The foundation stone for the building was laid by the Countess of Jersey on 8 November 1897.[1] The building, which was designed by Thomas Newall in the classical style, was completed in 1898.[2] It was established as the offices of the 'Southall-Norwood Urban District Council' and later of the 'Municipal Borough of Southall' from 1936.

In 1965 Southall's council was abolished and the town hall ceased to function as a seat of local government. It has subsequently operated as a training and enterprise centre.[3]

In April 1979, Blair Peach, a New Zealand teacher and anti-racism campaigner, died after being hit on the head, allegedly by a member of the Special Patrol Group, a specialist unit within the Metropolitan Police Service, during a riot outside the town hall.[4][5]

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.[6] 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.[7]

References