Poplar Town Hall
| Poplar Town Hall | |
|---|---|
 The building in 2007 | |
  Shown in Tower Hamlets | |
| 51°31′42″N 0°01′11″W / 51.5284°N 0.0198°W | |
| Location | Bow Road, Poplar |
| History | |
| Built | 1938 |
| Site notes | |
| Architect(s) | Culpin and Son |
Architectural style | Modernist style |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Designated | 24 February 2009 |
| Reference no. | 1393151 |
Poplar Town Hall is a municipal building at the corner of Bow Road and Fairfield Road in Poplar, London. It is a Grade II listed building.[1]
History
[edit]The building was commissioned to replace the Old Town Hall, located 1.7 miles (2.7 km) due south on Poplar High Street.[2][3] The site chosen for the new building had been occupied by a 19th century vestry hall.[4]
The foundation stone for the new building was laid by the former mayor, Alderman Charles Key, on 8 May 1937.[5][6] It was designed by Culpin and Son in the Modernist style in a shape that took the form of a trapezoid.[1][7] The design involved a rounded frontage at the junction of Bow Road and Fairfield Road; there were layers of continuous stone facing panels above and below a continuous band of glazing on the first, second and third floors.[4] The Builders, a frieze by sculptor David Evans on the face of the building, was unveiled by George Lansbury at the official opening of the building on 10 December 1938.[1] Made of Portland stone panels, it commemorated the trades constructing the town hall and symbolised the borough's relationship with the River Thames and the youth of Poplar.[8][9] The principal rooms were the council chamber, the mayor's parlour and an assembly hall which benefited from a sprung Canadian maple dance floor.[10] The architect, Edwin Culpin, claimed it was "the first town hall in this country to be erected in the modern style".[11]
The building was proclaimed by the council to be the first town hall to be erected in the modernist style[4] but ceased to function as the local seat of government when the enlarged London Borough of Tower Hamlets was formed in 1965.[12]
After being used as workspace by the council until the mid-1980s, the town hall was sold in the 1990s to a developer who added a roof extension and converted it for commercial use.[10] The complex had included a theatre, with a 35 feet (11 m) proscenium arch, which was demolished by the developer in 2000.[13] The complex was subsequently used as a business centre.[4]
The roof extension containing private homes was damaged by a fire on 23 August 2023.[14]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 Historic England. "Former Poplar Town Hall (Bow House), 157 Bow Road (1393151)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
- ↑ Historic England. "Old Poplar Town Hall and Council Offices (1260135)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
- ↑ "Old Poplar Town Hall". London Remembers. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 Smith, Joanna (1998). "Greater London | Tower Hamlets | Bow Road | Bow House (Formerly Poplar Town Hall) (1993-08-03)". London's Town Halls (PDF) (Report). 93/1998. Historic England. pp. 180–181. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ↑ Boardman, David. "Bow House - Former Poplar Town Hall, London". manchesterhistory.net. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ↑ "Poplar Town Hall – foundation". London Remembers. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ↑ "Poplar Town Hall, Bow Road: under construction". London Picture Archive. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ↑ "The Builders: Architect". Public Monuments and Sculpture Association. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2007.
- ↑ "Carved relief, former Poplar Town Hall, Bow Road, Poplar, London". Historic England. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- 1 2 East, John; Rutt, Nicola, eds. (24 March 2012). "The Civic Plunge Revisited" (PDF). The Twentieth Century Society. pp. 27–28. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ↑ "Poplar Town Hall – 1930s". London Remembers. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ↑ "Local Government Act 1963". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ↑ "Bow". Theatres Trust. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ↑ "Bow fire: Homes 'severely damaged' in east London blaze". BBC News. Retrieved 17 August 2025.