County Hall, London
Encyclopedia
Lambeth
Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, which was the headquarters of London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
and later the Greater London Council
Greater London Council
The Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a much smaller area...
(GLC). The building is on the bank of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
, just north of Westminster Bridge
Westminster Bridge
Westminster Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames between Westminster on the north side and Lambeth on the south side, in London, England....
, facing west toward the City of Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
, and close to the Palace of Westminster
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
. The nearest tube stations are Waterloo
Waterloo station
Waterloo station, also known as London Waterloo, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. The station is owned and operated by Network Rail and is close to the South Bank of the River Thames, and in Travelcard Zone 1....
and Westminster
Westminster tube station
Westminster is a London Underground station in the City of Westminster. It is served by the Circle, District and Jubilee lines. On the Circle and District lines, the station is between St. James's Park and Embankment and, on the Jubilee line it is between Green Park and Waterloo. It is in...
.
Today County Hall is the site of businesses and attractions, including the London Sea Life Aquarium
London Aquarium
The Sea Life London Aquarium is located on the ground floor of County Hall on the South Bank of the River Thames in central London, near the EDF Energy London Eye...
, a permanent exhibition of works by the artist-in residence, Nasser Azam
Nasser Azam
Nasser Azam is a British contemporary artist, living and working in .-Biography:Nasser Azam was born in Jhelum, Pakistan in 1963, and moved to London with his parents in 1970. He began painting seriously in 1980, and in the same year embarked on a business degree at the University of Birmingham...
, and a Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
Station amusement arcade. The London Eye
London Eye
The London Eye is a tall giant Ferris wheel situated on the banks of the River Thames, in London, England.It is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, and the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, visited by over 3.5 million people annually...
is next to County Hall, and its visitor centre is inside the building. There is also a suite of exhibition rooms which was home to the Saatchi Gallery
Saatchi Gallery
The Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art, opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985 in order to exhibit his collection to the public. It has occupied different premises, first in North London, then the South Bank by the River Thames and currently in Chelsea. Saatchi's collection, and...
from 2003 to 2006, and is now home for the London Film Museum
London Film Museum
The London Film Museum, founded and created by Jonathan Sands in February 2008, is a museum dedicated to the British film industry.It is located in County Hall on the South Bank in London, and features original props, costumes and sets from feature films. There is also a section on how films are...
. Other parts of the building house two hotels (a budget Premier Inn & a 5 star
Star (classification)
Stars are often used as symbols for classification purposes. They are used by reviewers for ranking things such as movies, TV shows, restaurants, and hotels. For example, one to five stars is commonly employed to categorize hotels.-Restaurant ratings:...
Marriott Hotel), several restaurants, and some flats. Various spaces are available for hire for functions, including the council chamber at the heart of the building. Until January 2010 the Dali Universe
Dalí Universe
Dalí Universe was a permanent exhibition of art works by the Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí which was housed in a 3,000 square metre suite of galleries at County Hall in London, England. It opened in 2000 and closed in January 2010. As stated on the website, it intends to re-open at a different...
was also in the building but this has now closed and will be reopening in another venue soon.
History
Ralph Knott
Ralph Knott FRIBA was a British architect responsible for building the massive 6-storey "Edwardian Baroque" style County Hall building for the London County Council....
. It is faced in Portland stone
Portland stone
Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major...
in an Edwardian Baroque style. The construction, which was undertaken by Holland, Hannen & Cubitts
Holland, Hannen & Cubitts
Holland, Hannen & Cubitts was a major building firm responsible for many of the great buildings of London.-History:It was formed from the fusion of two well-established building houses that had competed throughout the later decades of the nineteenth century but came together in 1883: this was...
, started in 1911 and the building was opened in 1922 by King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
. The North and South blocks, which were built by Higgs and Hill
Higgs and Hill
Higgs and Hill was a major British construction company responsible for building some of London's finest buildings.-History:The Company was established in 1874 by the merger of the firm of Thomas Hill with the firm of William Higgs...
, were added between 1936 and 1939. The Island block was not completed until 1974.
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
-controlled GLC led by Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
was locked in conflict with the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
government of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
. Since the Parliament buildings were just across the river from County Hall, the facade of County Hall frequently served as a billboard for anti-government slogans. When the government of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
abolished the GLC in 1986, County Hall lost its role as the seat of London's government. Talk soon became of what was to happen to the building, and plans to relocate the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
to the site from its Westminster campus were over-ruled by Mrs Thatcher, seemingly disapproving of further slogans from students. The building remained in use by the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) until its abolition in 1990 when the building was transferred to the London Residuary Body
London Residuary Body
The London Residuary Body was a body set up in 1985 to dispose of the assets of the Greater London Council after the council's abolition in 1986. Similar residuary bodies were set up for the metropolitan counties. After the abolition of the Inner London Education Authority, the LRB took control of...
and eventually sold to private investors.
On October 21, 2005, the High Court of England and Wales, upheld a bid by the owners of the building, Shirayama Shokusan, to have the Saatchi Gallery
Saatchi Gallery
The Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art, opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985 in order to exhibit his collection to the public. It has occupied different premises, first in North London, then the South Bank by the River Thames and currently in Chelsea. Saatchi's collection, and...
evicted, on grounds of violating its contract, particularly using space outside of the rented area for exhibits. Today, the majority of the building, including the entire fourth and fifth floors, remains empty since the dissolution of the GLC. Another small section of the building is occupied as a Premier Inn.
The County Hall Island Block, an annex of the main building, was demolished in 2006 to make way for a hotel. The building, also known as No 1 Westminster Bridge Road, had been disused since 1986 and had become a derelict eyesore.
The 2007 series of Comic Relief does Fame Academy
Comic Relief Does Fame Academy
Comic Relief Does Fame Academy is a spin-off of the original Fame Academy show where celebrities sing as students of the Academy. The programme was launched in 2003 to help raise money for the charities supported by Comic Relief, with the final of the show occurring on Red Nose Day...
was filmed and broadcast from County Hall.