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Hornsey Town Hall
Stepping into the past. . . It’s a lovely story as to when it opened in 1935, it became one of the earliest and most iconic examples of modernist architecture in Britian. Here’s some key points in its life span from various sources you might find interesting, and I think ‘paints a good picture’ of why this is an important landmark to document.
• 1935 Uren was awarded the RIBA bronze award naming Hornsey Town Hall the best building in London that year.
• 1935 The Duke and Dutchess of Kent attended the official opening of the Town Hall. The Duke was introduced to a guard of honour formed by members of the British Legion of Muswell Hill and Hornsey.
• 1945 Hornsey Town Hall was central to post war celebrations and a victory parade marched along Crouch End Broadway. While around 80% of buildings in Hornsey were estimated to have been damaged or destroyed, the Town Hall escaped damage, also the War prisoner courts were held in The Mayor’s Chamber.
• 1956 EMI used the Town Hall for live recordings between 1956 and 1957.
• 1963 A concert on Valentine’s Day starred local Muswell Hill group The Ray Davies Quartet, who would go on to become The Kinks. Davies has referred to this show at Hornsey Town Hall as their first important gig.
• 1968 The Kinks, Fairport Convention, Jethro Tull played concerts at the Town Hall.
• In 1971, the band Queen took to the stage for their very first performance which was in the Assembly Room. You can just imagine them unloading their car or van filled with guitars, microphones, and other equipment.
• Throughout the 70’s it hosted many Music concerts and saw more iconic bands perform.
• In 1981 it was granted Grade II listed status making it one of the most culturally and architecturally significant buildings in the UK
• 1986 Gerry Adams (Sinn Fein) spoke at a packed public meeting.
• 1991 Princess Diana visited 1930’s Public Health Clinic in the HTH Car Park to open an HIV Centre within it.
• Throughout the 2000’s the local council starts considering new usages for the area, but a variety of failed proposals.
• 2003 “Peep Show” title sequence for Channel 4’s BAFTA winning series was filmed outside the Town Hall. The first of several high-profile film and tv shows were filmed, which has since earned HTH a reputation as an iconic film location.
• 2015 Hornsey Town Hall Arts Centre was started by ANA – the building was used for silent discos, yoga, workspace, gallery space and community events.
• In 2017 the Far East Consortium takes ownership, planning to restore the town, convert areas into apartments and a hotel.
• 2019 CREATE event is held to celebrate the future of Hornsey Town Hall. The doors of the Town Hall are then closed in July and Ardmore, the appointed contractor, started the restoration.
• 2020 Hornsey Town Hall closes to go through a major redevelopment.
Clearly times have changes since 1933 when construction started, materials, methods and legislation have moved along, so as with other projects and buildings of historical importance, Oakdene Finishes have built up a breadth of experience and expertise for being sympathetic to a buildings listed status such as this one. Blending modern day principles to support and strive towards targets such as The Mayor of London; Sadiq Khan’s Net Zero Carbon by 2030 ambition. Choosing Dulux Trade water-based products ahead of solvent and those that pass tests for nationally recognised accreditations for air quality, such as BREEAM supports these initiatives. Not to forget recycling empty paint tins diverting the waste away from landfill and re-purposing them back into the market.
Donald Macphail, Chief Operating Officer – Treatment at Veolia UK had previously commented on the Dulux Decorator Centre Recycling Scheme, “This is a great example of an industry coming together to make a real difference to improve recycling. To reach our net zero goals we must take every opportunity to cut climate-changing carbon emissions. “By recycling high-density Polyethylene paint pots up to 88% of the carbon emissions are saved compared with using virgin materials and using recycled steel and tin saves around 60% of the emissions against extracting new resources. This is just the beginning of the journey and I encourage all in the industry to utilise this service as together we can make a huge difference to deliver ecological transformation.”(taken from metalpackager.com article)
• 1935 Uren was awarded the RIBA bronze award naming Hornsey Town Hall the best building in London that year.
• 1935 The Duke and Dutchess of Kent attended the official opening of the Town Hall. The Duke was introduced to a guard of honour formed by members of the British Legion of Muswell Hill and Hornsey.
• 1945 Hornsey Town Hall was central to post war celebrations and a victory parade marched along Crouch End Broadway. While around 80% of buildings in Hornsey were estimated to have been damaged or destroyed, the Town Hall escaped damage, also the War prisoner courts were held in The Mayor’s Chamber.
• 1956 EMI used the Town Hall for live recordings between 1956 and 1957.
• 1963 A concert on Valentine’s Day starred local Muswell Hill group The Ray Davies Quartet, who would go on to become The Kinks. Davies has referred to this show at Hornsey Town Hall as their first important gig.
• 1968 The Kinks, Fairport Convention, Jethro Tull played concerts at the Town Hall.
• In 1971, the band Queen took to the stage for their very first performance which was in the Assembly Room. You can just imagine them unloading their car or van filled with guitars, microphones, and other equipment.
• Throughout the 70’s it hosted many Music concerts and saw more iconic bands perform.
• In 1981 it was granted Grade II listed status making it one of the most culturally and architecturally significant buildings in the UK
• 1986 Gerry Adams (Sinn Fein) spoke at a packed public meeting.
• 1991 Princess Diana visited 1930’s Public Health Clinic in the HTH Car Park to open an HIV Centre within it.
• Throughout the 2000’s the local council starts considering new usages for the area, but a variety of failed proposals.
• 2003 “Peep Show” title sequence for Channel 4’s BAFTA winning series was filmed outside the Town Hall. The first of several high-profile film and tv shows were filmed, which has since earned HTH a reputation as an iconic film location.
• 2015 Hornsey Town Hall Arts Centre was started by ANA – the building was used for silent discos, yoga, workspace, gallery space and community events.
• In 2017 the Far East Consortium takes ownership, planning to restore the town, convert areas into apartments and a hotel.
• 2019 CREATE event is held to celebrate the future of Hornsey Town Hall. The doors of the Town Hall are then closed in July and Ardmore, the appointed contractor, started the restoration.
• 2020 Hornsey Town Hall closes to go through a major redevelopment.
Clearly times have changes since 1933 when construction started, materials, methods and legislation have moved along, so as with other projects and buildings of historical importance, Oakdene Finishes have built up a breadth of experience and expertise for being sympathetic to a buildings listed status such as this one. Blending modern day principles to support and strive towards targets such as The Mayor of London; Sadiq Khan’s Net Zero Carbon by 2030 ambition. Choosing Dulux Trade water-based products ahead of solvent and those that pass tests for nationally recognised accreditations for air quality, such as BREEAM supports these initiatives. Not to forget recycling empty paint tins diverting the waste away from landfill and re-purposing them back into the market.
Donald Macphail, Chief Operating Officer – Treatment at Veolia UK had previously commented on the Dulux Decorator Centre Recycling Scheme, “This is a great example of an industry coming together to make a real difference to improve recycling. To reach our net zero goals we must take every opportunity to cut climate-changing carbon emissions. “By recycling high-density Polyethylene paint pots up to 88% of the carbon emissions are saved compared with using virgin materials and using recycled steel and tin saves around 60% of the emissions against extracting new resources. This is just the beginning of the journey and I encourage all in the industry to utilise this service as together we can make a huge difference to deliver ecological transformation.”(taken from metalpackager.com article)