Caxton Hall
Encyclopedia
Caxton Hall is a building on the corner of Caxton Street and Palmer Street, in Westminster
, London, England. It is a Grade II listed building primarily for its historical associations. It hosted many mainstream and fringe political and artistic events and after the Second World War was the most popular register office
used by high society and celebrities who required a civil marriage
.
; and was originally called the Westminster City Hall. A central entrance porch and canopy were added in the mid-20th century, now removed.
It was opened as Westminster Town Hall in 1883 and contained two public halls known as the Great & York Halls. They were used for a variety of purposes including musical concerts and as a venue for public meetings.
The Women's Social and Political Union
(WSPU), part of the British Suffragette
movement held a ‘Women's Parliament’ at Caxton Hall at the beginning of each parliamentary session from 1907, with a subsequent procession to the Houses of Parliament and an attempt (always unsuccessful) to deliver a petition to the prime minister in person. Caxton Hall's central role in the militant suffrage movement is now commemorated by a bronzed scroll sculpture that stands nearby in Christchurch Gardens open space.
The occultist Alister Crowley and friends celebrated the Rites of Eleusis in the hall in October and November, 1910.
In 1940 it was the site of the assassination of Michael O'Dwyer
, former Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab in India by Indian nationalist Udham Singh
, as an act of revenge for the 1919 Amritsar massacre
.
During the Second World War it was used by the Ministry of Information
as a venue for press conferences held by Winston Churchill
and his ministers.
The National Front, an openly neo-nazi British political party was formed at a meeting in Caxton Hall, Westminster on 7 February 1967.
It was also used as a central London register office
until 1979, and many famous people were married there including Donald Campbell
(two marriages), Harrison Marks
, Billy Butlin
, Elizabeth Taylor
, Diana Dors
, Peter Sellers
, Roger Moore
, Orson Welles
, Joan Collins
, Yehudi Menuhin
, Adam Faith
, Robin Nedwell
, George Harrison
and Ringo Starr
.
Future Prime Minister Anthony Eden
married the niece of the then Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Clarissa Churchill-Spencer there on 18 August 1952.
The registry office closed in 1979 and the building stood empty for years getting a place on the Buildings at Risk Register.
It was listed as a building of Special Architectural or Historic Interest on 15 March 1984.
It was redeveloped as apartments and offices in 2006. The facade and former register office at the front of the building facing Caxton Street were restored and retained being converted into luxury flats. The rear of the building, containing the halls, was demolished and a circular office building, named the Asticus Building, was built on the site.
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
, London, England. It is a Grade II listed building primarily for its historical associations. It hosted many mainstream and fringe political and artistic events and after the Second World War was the most popular register office
Register office
A register office is a British term for a civil registry, a government office and depository where births, deaths and marriages are officially recorded and where you can get officially married, without a religious ceremony...
used by high society and celebrities who required a civil marriage
Civil marriage
Civil marriage is marriage performed by a government official and not a religious organization.-History:Every country maintaining a population registry of its residents keeps track of marital status, and most countries believe that it is their responsibility to register married couples. Most...
.
History
It was designed in 1878 by William Lee and F.J. Smith in an ornate Francois I style using red brick and pink sandstone, with slate roofs. It won the competition for a hall design set by the parishes of St Margaret and St JohnWestminster St Margaret and St John
Westminster St Margaret and St John were two parishes, which shared a joint vestry, in the City and Liberty of Westminster and the metropolitan area of London, England....
; and was originally called the Westminster City Hall. A central entrance porch and canopy were added in the mid-20th century, now removed.
It was opened as Westminster Town Hall in 1883 and contained two public halls known as the Great & York Halls. They were used for a variety of purposes including musical concerts and as a venue for public meetings.
The Women's Social and Political Union
Women's Social and Political Union
The Women's Social and Political Union was the leading militant organisation campaigning for Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom...
(WSPU), part of the British Suffragette
Suffragette
"Suffragette" is a term coined by the Daily Mail newspaper as a derogatory label for members of the late 19th and early 20th century movement for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, in particular members of the Women's Social and Political Union...
movement held a ‘Women's Parliament’ at Caxton Hall at the beginning of each parliamentary session from 1907, with a subsequent procession to the Houses of Parliament and an attempt (always unsuccessful) to deliver a petition to the prime minister in person. Caxton Hall's central role in the militant suffrage movement is now commemorated by a bronzed scroll sculpture that stands nearby in Christchurch Gardens open space.
The occultist Alister Crowley and friends celebrated the Rites of Eleusis in the hall in October and November, 1910.
In 1940 it was the site of the assassination of Michael O'Dwyer
Michael O'Dwyer
Michael Francis O'Dwyer, KCIE was Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab in India from 1912 until 1919. O'Dwyer endorsed General Reginald Dyer's action regarding the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and termed it a "correct action"...
, former Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab in India by Indian nationalist Udham Singh
Udham Singh
Udham Singh was an Indian independence activist, best known for assassinating Michael O'Dwyer in March 1940 in what has been described as an avenging of the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre....
, as an act of revenge for the 1919 Amritsar massacre
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre , also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place in the Jallianwala Bagh public garden in the northern Indian city of Amritsar, and was ordered by Brigadier-General Reginald E.H. Dyer...
.
During the Second World War it was used by the Ministry of Information
Ministry of Information
The term Ministry of Information may refer to the following:* Ministry of Information , part of the Cabinet of Egypt* Ministry of Information , part of the Cabinet of Equatorial Guinea...
as a venue for press conferences held by Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and his ministers.
The National Front, an openly neo-nazi British political party was formed at a meeting in Caxton Hall, Westminster on 7 February 1967.
It was also used as a central London register office
Register office
A register office is a British term for a civil registry, a government office and depository where births, deaths and marriages are officially recorded and where you can get officially married, without a religious ceremony...
until 1979, and many famous people were married there including Donald Campbell
Donald Campbell
Donald Malcolm Campbell, CBE was a British speed record breaker who broke eight world speed records in the 1950s and 1960s...
(two marriages), Harrison Marks
Harrison Marks
George Harrison Marks was a British glamour photographer and director of nudist, and later, pornographic films who was active in the fields for several decades.-Kamera and Pamela Green:...
, Billy Butlin
Billy Butlin
Sir William Heygate Edmund Colborne Butlin, , was a British, South Africa-born entrepreneur whose name is synonymous with the British holiday camp.American Heritage Dictionary 2004, p. 135.Scott 2001, p. 5...
, Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
, Diana Dors
Diana Dors
Diana Dors was an English actress, born Diana Mary Fluck in Swindon, Wiltshire. Considered the English equivalent of the blonde bombshells of Hollywood, Dors described herself as: "The only sex symbol Britain has produced since Lady Godiva."-Early life:Diana Mary Fluck was born in Swindon,...
, Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
, Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
, Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
, Joan Collins
Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
, Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...
, Adam Faith
Adam Faith
Terence "Terry" Nelhams-Wright, known as Adam Faith was a Teen idol English singer, actor and later financial journalist. He was one of the most charted acts of the 1960s. He became the first UK artist to lodge his initial seven hits in the Top 5...
, Robin Nedwell
Robin Nedwell
Robin Nedwell was an English actor. He is best remembered for his role as Duncan Waring in the television comedy series Doctor in the House and its sequels...
, George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
and Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
.
Future Prime Minister Anthony Eden
Anthony Eden
Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957...
married the niece of the then Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Clarissa Churchill-Spencer there on 18 August 1952.
The registry office closed in 1979 and the building stood empty for years getting a place on the Buildings at Risk Register.
It was listed as a building of Special Architectural or Historic Interest on 15 March 1984.
It was redeveloped as apartments and offices in 2006. The facade and former register office at the front of the building facing Caxton Street were restored and retained being converted into luxury flats. The rear of the building, containing the halls, was demolished and a circular office building, named the Asticus Building, was built on the site.
External links
- Caxton Hall in Westminster and the marriage of Diana Dors to Dennis Hamilton Another Nickel in the Machine. Accessed July 2011. Many pictures of Caxton Hall events.