Old Town Hall, Richmond
The Old Town Hall, Richmond on Whittaker Avenue in Richmond, London is a municipal building which from 1893 to 1965 was the town hall for the Municipal Borough of Richmond.
| Old Town Hall, Richmond | |
|---|---|
 Old Town Hall, Richmond | |
  Shown in Richmond upon Thames | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Elizabethan Renaissance style |
| Address | Whittaker Avenue, Richmond, London |
| Coordinates | 51°27′32″N 0°18′23″W |
| Inaugurated | 1893 |
| Owner | London Borough of Richmond upon Thames |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | W J Ancell |
History
The site chosen for the building was occupied by the Castle Hotel in Richmond, which was purchased by Sir John Whittaker Ellis, the local Member of Parliament, and donated by him in 1888 to Richmond's vestry (which performed local government functions until the Municipal Borough of Richmond was created in 1890).[1][2] The clock, which juts out from the main frontage of the building, was installed by the Leeds firm William Potts & Sons Ltd.[2] The new building was designed by W J Ancell in Elizabethan Renaissance styleand opened by the Duke of York (later to become King George V) in 1893.[2]
It was severely damaged by a fire-bomb on 29 November 1940 but, after restoration, was reopened by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 1952.[1]
When the municipal boroughs of Richmond, Twickenham and Barnes were combined in 1965 to form the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, York House in Twickenham became the seat of government for the new borough.[1] The building was refurbished as part of scheme to redevelop the riverside area in 1988.[3]
Although some of the building's ground floor has been leased to the retail sector, the former town hall was retained for municipal use and now contains the borough's reference library, its local studies collection, the Museum of Richmond, an art gallery (the Riverside Gallery) and meeting rooms.[4]
See also
References
- "The Old Town Hall, Richmond". Open House London. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
- "The Old Town Hall, Richmond" (PDF). Local History Notes From Richmond Libraries’ Local Studies Collection. London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
- "London's Town Halls". Historic England. p. 165. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- "Riverside Gallery". London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
