Greenwich Town Hall, London

Greenwich Town hall is a municipal building in Greenwich, London. It is a Grade II listed building.[1]

Greenwich Town Hall
Greenwich Town Hall
LocationGreenwich
Coordinates51.4783°N 0.01328°W / 51.4783; -0.01328
Built1939
ArchitectClifford Culpin
Architectural style(s)Art Deco style
Listed Building – Grade II
Designated13 November 1990
Reference no.1213855
Shown in Greenwich

History
The old town hall in Greenwich High Road

The building was commissioned to replace the old town hall in Greenwich High Road which had served as the headquarters for the Greenwich District Board of Works before becoming the home of the Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich.[2]

The site chosen for the new building had previously been occupied by the old Greenwich Theatre.[3] The new building, which was designed by Clifford Culpin in the Art Deco style, was completed in 1939.[1] It shows the influence of Hilversum town hall in the Netherlands.[1] The south east wing of the building, known as the Borough Hall, contained the council chamber.[1] Sir Nikolaus Pevsner wrote that Greenwich Town Hall was "the only town hall of any London borough to represent the style of our time adequately".[4] The tower is 55.9 metres (183 ft) high.[5]

The building was the headquarters of the Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich until the borough was merged with the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich to form the London Borough of Greenwich with its new headquarters at Woolwich Town Hall in 1965.[6]

After the town hall ceased to be the local seat of government, it was extensively altered to create floors in the area of the council chamber in 1974.[1] Renamed Meridian House, to reflect the fact that the prime meridian goes through Greenwich,[7] it became the home of GSM London at that time.[8]

Meanwhile, the Borough Hall was used as a concert venue: the band Squeeze gave their first performance there in 1975,[9] as commemorated by a blue plaque on the side of the building.[10] The Borough Hall went on to become the home of Greenwich Dance from 1993[11] until the organisation moved out in 2018.[12]

gollark: Yes.
gollark: Oh, and they made the "DON'T TRADE WITH THIS DANGEROUS MAN" adverts, and made an exact replica of my tower beside my tower.
gollark: Besides, all the orbital lasers are GTech-operated now.
gollark: It didn't really work.
gollark: Basically just sanctioning you.

References
  1. Historic England. "The Borough Hall and Meridian House (former Greenwich Town Hall) (1213855)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  2. "About us". Greenwich West. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  3. The Era 29 May 1864, p 10 New Greenwich Theatre
  4. "London's Town Halls". Historic England. p. 61. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  5. "Meridiam House". Emporis. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  6. "Local Government Act 1963". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  7. "Greenwich Town Hall". Manchester History. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  8. "About GSM London". GSM London. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  9. "Squeeze debut gig". London Remembers. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  10. "PRS for Music honours Squeeze's first gig". prsformusic.com. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  11. "Greenwich Dance Agency - the first 10 years - LondonDance". LondonDance. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  12. Chamberlain, Darryl (13 April 2018). "Borough Halls to remain arts venue despite Greenwich Dance departure, council says". 853. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
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