Wandsworth Town Hall

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Wandsworth Town Hall

Surrey

Wandsworth Town Hall-13492313114.jpg
Wandsworth Town Hall
Type: Town hall
Location
Grid reference: TQ25797471
Location: 51°27’27"N, 0°11’27"W
Town: Wandsworth
History
Address: Fairfield Street
Built 1937
By: Edward A. Hunt
Town hall
International Moderne
Information

Wandsworth Town Hall is a municipal building on the corner of the High Street and Fairfield Street in Wandsworth, Surrey. It is a Grade II listed building.[1]

History

The building has its origins in a 19th-century vestry hall designed by George Patrick in a mixture of the Italianate and French Renaissance styles.[2] It went on to become the headquarters of the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth in 1900.[3]

A modest two-storey structure faced in red-brick over channelled stone, designed by Ernest Elford in the Classical style, and now known as the "civic suite", was erected in the High Street in 1927.[2][4]

This was followed by a huge stone facility to the east on the corner of the High Street and Fairfield Street, designed by Edward A. Hunt in the 'International Moderne style' and originally known as the "municipal buildings".[2] The façade of Hunt's building was embellished by a frieze, carved by David Evans and John Linehan, depicting local historical scenes.[2] The new building was officially opened by Queen Mary on 14 July 1937.[5]

The complex continued to function as the local seat of government when in 1965 the council was abolished and replaced with a new, enlarged Wandsworth council. The original vestry hall was demolished in the 1970s to make way for a modern office block designed by Culpin and Partners located behind the civic suite.[2]

References