Hampstead Town Hall

Hampstead Town hall is a municipal building on Haverstock Hill, Hampstead, London. It is a Grade II listed building.[1]

Hampstead Town Hall
Hampstead Town Hall
LocationHampstead
Coordinates51.5510°N 0.1665°W / 51.5510; -0.1665
Built1878
ArchitectHenry Edward Kendall and Frederick Mew
Architectural style(s)Italianate style
Listed Building – Grade II
Designated1 August 1994
Reference no.1378818
Shown in Camden

History

The facility was commissioned as the offices of the Hampstead Vestry.[2] It was designed by Henry Edward Kendall and Frederick Mew in the Italianate style and was built by William Shepherd of Bermondsey; the building was opened without ceremony in June 1878.[2] Meetings of the Hampstead Antiquarian and Historical Society were held at the town hall from 1897.[3] It became the headquarters of the Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead when it was formed in 1900.[4] A substantial extension was built to a design by John Murray in the Baroque style, extending south west along Belsize Avenue in 1911.[2]

During the Second World War, air raid shelters were built in the grounds.[5] It ceased to function as the local of seat of government when the enlarged London Borough of Camden was formed in 1965.[6] Instead it served as the local Registry Office but large sections of the building had fallen into a state of disrepair by the 1990s.[7] It was subsequently converted, to the designs of Burrell Foley Fischer with a large glass atrium, for use as an arts centre in 2000.[2]

References
  1. Historic England. "Hampstead Town Hall and attached walls and piers (1378818)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  2. "London's Town Halls". Historic England. p. 32. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  3. Baker, T F T; Bolton, Diane K; Croot, Patricia E C (1989). "'Hampstead: Social and Cultural Activities', in A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 9, Hampstead, Paddington, ed. C R Elrington". London: British History Online. pp. 81–91. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  4. Terry, Warner; Morle, Bartlett. "London Government Act 1899". Butterworth & Co. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  5. "Old Hampstead Town Hall". Open House London. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  6. "Local Government Act 1963". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  7. "Our Building". Wac Arts. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
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