Waltham Forest Town Hall

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Waltham Forest Town Hall

Essex


Waltham Forest Town Hall
Type: Town hall
Location
Grid reference: TQ37718991
Location: 51°35’28"N, 0°-0’49"W
Town: Walthamstow
History
Built 1942
By: Philip Dalton Hepworth
Town hall
Nordic Classical
Information
Owned by: Waltham Forest Council

Waltham Forest Town Hall, also known as Walthamstow Town Hall, is a municipal building in Walthamstow, Essex. It was built for Walthamstow's then borough council and, unusually, it was completed during the War. It remains the seat of the council's successor council.

The town hall is a Grade II Listed Building.[1]

History

The old town hall in Orford Road

The town hall was commissioned to replace an earlier, Italianate style town hall built in Orford Road in 1876 (and which is now the Connaught Hospital).[2]

The site chosen for the new building was previously occupied by Chestnuts Farm, also known as Clay Farm.[3] The building was commissioned by the Municipal Borough of Walthamstow and designed by Philip Dalton Hepworth[4] in the Nordic Classical style.[3] The foundation stone, in which contemporary artifacts were placed, was laid in 1938.[5] Construction of the building, which is built of Portland stone, was interrupted by the Second World War and it was not completed until 1942.[6][7] Five statues carved by John Francis Kavanagh were installed on the rear of the council chamber and 16 relief sculptures also by him were erected on the portico piers.[3]

The assembly hall was used as a municipal meal centre during the Second World War.[8]

The building was transferred to the new Waltham Forest council in 1965 and has been the seat of government for that authority since then.

The assembly rooms have hosted concerts by notable artists such as Plácido Domingo and Yehudi Menuhin.[9]

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Waltham Forest Town Hall)

References

  1. National Heritage List 1190868: Waltham Town Hall (Grade II listing)
  2. National Heritage List 1191150: Old Town Hall, Wathamstow (Grade II listing)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Walthamstow Town Hall". Hidden London. http://hidden-london.com/nuggets/walthamstow-town-hall/. Retrieved 12 April 2020. 
  4. "Philip Dalton Hepworth". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/architect_full.php?id=201575. Retrieved 12 April 2020. 
  5. Last, Londonist (21 August 2012). "Top 10 Things To Do In The Borough Of Waltham Forest". Londonist. http://londonist.com/2012/08/top-10-things-to-do-in-the-borough-of-waltham-forest.php. Retrieved 12 April 2020. 
  6. Novotny, Lukas. Page 34. Modern London. White Lion Publishing; 2018. ISBN 978-0-7112-3972-2.
  7. "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. 
  8. 'London's Town Halls' (Historic England), page 195
  9. "Transforming the heart of Waltham Forest". Waltham Forest Council. 31 October 2019. https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/content/transforming-heart-waltham-forest. Retrieved 12 April 2020.