MORE LIGHT MORE POWER SHOREDITCH TOWN HALL 1849 1855 CHOLERA EPIDEMIC IN METROPOLITAN LONDON. 899 DIED IN MANAGEMENT ACT GAVE SHOREDITCH NEW POWERS AND DUTIES TO LONDON VESTRIES - OPENS A NEW ERA IN SHOREDITCH OF PROGRESSIVE REFORMING LOCAL GOVERNMENT 1851 1863 POPULATION OF SUB-COMMITTEE OF SHOREDITCH 109,257 SHOREDITCH VESTRY FORMED TO OVERSEE CONSTRUCTION OF NEW TOWN HALL 1861 SHOREDITCH POPULATION PEAKS AT 129,364 2 SHOREDITCH TOWN HALL 150 YEARS THE MUNICIPAL PRINCIPLE [... Shoreditch Town Hall will be for] … discussions of subjects of Local and National importance, for the free expression of opinion upon the political, and social, questions of the day: and likewise to afford means for instructions and amusements by Lectures, Concerts and Entertainments… (we) hope and not unreasonably anticipate that the use of the edifice may tend to further develop, strengthen and perpetuate the municipal principle, and to secure to the Metropolis, the advantages of Local Self- Government for Centuries to Come. THE SHOREDITCH VESTRY, CIRCA 1860 5 SHOREDITCH TOWN HALL 150 YEARS 1888 12 NOVEMBER: 1898 1904 THE INQUEST INTO THE WORK BEGINS 15 AUGUST: MURDER OF MARY KELLY, ON EXTENSION TO TOWN FIRE DESTROYS ASSEMBLY LAST VICTIM OF THE RIPPER, HALL DESIGNED BY HALL. THE NEW HELD AT SHOREDITCH WILLIAM G HUNT EXTENSION IS BUILT VESTRY HALL (SEE PAGES 12-13) (SEE PAGE 24) 1866 OUTBREAK OF CHOLERA IN SHOREDITCH CONTAINED BY INNOVATIVE WORK OF DR BARNES 1897 1910 SHOREDITCH REFUSE THE TOWN HALL DESTRUCTOR OPENED. WORKS IN PARTNERSHIP NEWS OF THIS WITH OTHER INNOVATIVE WORK SHOREDITCH BODIES SPREADS ACROSS THE TO SUPPORT WORLD. SHOREDITCH THE COMMUNITY PRAISED AS A ‘MODEL VESTRY’ BY LORD ROSEBURY (SEE PAGES 18 & 19) 1900 SHOREDITCH BOROUGH COUNCIL CREATED. ADOPTS THE MOTTO ‘MORE LIGHT 1880S MORE POWER’. SHOREDITCH TOWN HALL IS A MAJOR VENUE FOR MUSIC HALL 1943 1913 SHOREDITCH BOROUGH SYLVIA PANKHURST ADOPTS SUBMARINE 1965 1997 ARRESTED AT THE ‘THRASHER’ AS PART SHOREDITCH COUNCIL SHOREDITCH TOWN HALL TOWN HALL OF WW2 FUNDRAISING MERGES WITH HACKNEY TRUST CREATED TO SAVE (SEE PAGES 50-51) (SEE PAGES 56-57) (SEE PAGES 68-71) THE BUILDING 1990 2004 WHIRL-Y-GIG BUILDING NIGHTCLUB RUNS AT REOPENS TO THE PUBLIC SHOREDITCH TOWN HALL AS AN INDEPENDENT UNTIL LATE 1990’S EVENTS AND COMMUNITY SPACE TOWN HALL 1955 1996 2012 IS AT THE CENTRE 22 SEPTEMBER: TOWN HALL IS PLACED A NEW PHASE – OF COMMUNITY SHOREDITCH TAKES PART ON LIST OF ‘BUILDINGS SHOREDITCH TOWN HALL LIFE, HOSTING IN LAUNCH BROADCAST OF AT RISK’ BY ENGLISH ESTABLISHES ITSELF WEDDINGS, DANCES ITV WITH THE FIRST EVER HERITAGE AS A DESTINATION & PUBLIC EVENTS TELEVISED BOXING MATCH. ARTS AND LIVE THIS IS THE FIRST MATCH EVENTS VENUE AT SHOREDITCH AND LEADS TO 20 YEARS OF HOSTING FIGHTS IN THE TOWN HALL (SEE PAGES 58-59) 4 INTRODUCTION THIS BOOK HAS BEEN CREATED TO CELEBRATE 150 YEARS OF SHOREDITCH TOWN HALL. hile we have always known something of the building’s history, especially key moments, I have always been very conscious that W there were significant gaps in our knowledge. There were stories still to unearth and there had never before been a single source or history produced dedicated solely to the Town Hall. For example, we had never seen a photograph of boxing actually taking place in the Assembly Hall, despite what a major part of our history this was. We didn’t know how the Council Chamber would have looked when it operated as the centre of local democracy, nor what happened at that point when the London Borough of Shoreditch ceased to exist as an independent authority and was merged with Hackney; did the Councillors all just walk away? The 150th anniversary has, therefore, provided a fantastic opportunity to address this deficit, spend some time delving into our past, and ultimately tell a more complete and colourful story of the building. A particular highlight has been talking to people today who have very personal or family connections with the Town Hall, from its beginnings as one of the grandest Vestry Halls of its time, through music hall and boxing, to its contemporary life today as a successful arts and events venue. The building is a great survivor. A huge fire in1904 nearly destroyed it and neglect in the 1980s and 1990s in particular led to its inclusion on the English Heritage ‘Buildings At Risk’ Register. It has withstood two World Wars, some of the most rapid urban development and population change in London and times of enormous social and political upheavals of every kind. It has endured the relentless traffic of a busy main artery road to its front and trains pounding up and down its eastern flank. The world has quite literally swirled and reformed around its walls with a dizzying speed that has intensified in the last quarter-century, as Shoreditch has become a modern, fashionable destination. Yet despite all of this, the Town Hall stands solid. There is not a 6 SHOREDITCH TOWN HALL 150 YEARS single structural crack nor hint of subsidence – evidence of the fact it was very much built to last. This, combined with the passion of the community who were determined to save it, and a healthy dose of luck, mean today it is able to thrive as an independent venue; an example of how a truly wonderful example of Victorian architecture can be preserved and honoured at the same time as being vibrant and alive with new activity rather than purely a monument to the past. It has been the greatest privilege of my career to be a custodian of such a wonderful building and to have the opportunity to continue its restoration, as well as establish a new life for it as an arts venue. I feel that something of the passion and commitment of those Victorian Vestry men and women who built the Town Hall inevitably found its way into the fabric of the building, into its bricks and mortar - a friendly presence coming with us on our journey. If the ghosts of the burghers of Shoreditch do inhabit the building I hope they’re happy to see it cared for, loved and as full of life today as it ever was in the past - being discovered and enjoyed by new generations. Key to what I hope we’ve achieved in the last five years is that a building that had ‘entertainments and amusements’ at its heart from the outset, but was for so long quiet and empty, is today once again welcoming thousands of people through its doors every year to experience theatre, music, events and live performance. Its rooms and spaces are regularly all in use simultaneously. Whether it is with the motto ‘More Light, More Power’ throughout or the statue of Progress dominating the façade, we’re conscious of the gauntlet the building throws down to us every day - to keep moving, keep exploring, keep striving to find new and exciting ways the building can come alive or be enjoyed. Above all, to ensure that it is still here to be enjoyed and reinvented by future generations, as a continuing, vital part of the life of Shoreditch & Hackney and a unique example of a golden age of civic pride and progressive local government in the UK. NICK GILES Director, Shoreditch Town Hall Trust 7 THE FIRST VESTRY HALL 1865 A lithograph by the architect Caesar Augustus Long. Courtesy of the London Borough of Hackney Archives - see page 93 for full list of credits. 8 SHOREDITCH TOWN HALL 150 YEARS 9 “THE COMMITTEE HAVE CONCLUDED IT NECESSARY THAT THE DESIGN SHOULD BE SUCH AS WOULD INDICATE THE PUBLIC CHARACTER OF THE EDIFICE, NOT EXTRAVAGANTLY ORNAMENTED BUT OF A SUBSTANTIAL AND DURABLE CHARACTER.” SHOREDITCH VESTRY BRIEF FOR THEIR NEW TOWN HALL, 1865. Vestry Halls built in the 1860s and 70s with lesser budgets were criticised for their almost unison adoption of red brick with Portland stone dressings… At Shoreditch, however, the determination of the Vestry Board to invest in quality from the outset has produced a building of distinction. The Town Hall is a prominent landmark – which sets the tone for a superior landscape.” EDDIE BOOTH Chairman, The Institute of Historic Building Conservation What ultimately distinguishes Shoreditch Town Hall from its worthy competitors is its tough, urban quality. Though the trams, carts and omnibuses are long gone, Old Street still bristles with traffic and the trains still boom by on the elevated line, from the town and into the suburbs near and far. The architecture stands up to this remarkably well.” DR CHRIS MIELE Architectural Historian, essay on Shoreditch Town Hall, Hackney Histories Volume 4 Very sadly, C. A. Long’s plans for the original 1865 Vestry Hall cannot be located and are presumed lost or destroyed. All that remains are his original lithograph (on page 8) and watercolour of the Council Chamber (opposite). 10 SHOREDITCH TOWN HALL 150 YEARS A watercolour from 1865 illustrating the design of the original Vestry Hall (Council Chamber). A window at the end of the room is now the doorway into the Mayor’s Parlour. 11 THE BUILDING THAT HAS COME TO BE KNOWN AS SHOREDITCH TOWN HALL IS ACTUALLY MADE UP OF THREE DISTINCT PHASES OF DEVELOPMENT Expansions were designed to accommodate the needs of the Council over the years and be reflective of the increasing responsibilities and demands of a Metropolitan Council in London. The original Vestry Hall, as shown in C. A. Long’s lithograph on page 8, represented the first stage in 1865. The second substantial stage, virtually doubling the square footage of the original Hall, was opened in 1904 and included the Tower and everything to its right as well as other new offices and spaces.