Croydon Town Hall

Croydon's first town hall, which was located on the west side of the High Street, was initially intended as a market house and was completed in 1566: it was subsequently used as a town hall until it was demolished in 1807.{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ULcHAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA22|title=A topographical history of Surrey, by E.W. Brayley assisted by J. Britton and E.W. Brayley, jun. The geological section by G. Mantell|first1=Edward Wedlake|last1=Brayley|first2=John|last2=Britton|date=17 September 2017|publisher=|via=Google Books}} The second town hall, which was built on the site of the first town hall, was designed by Samuel Pepys Cockerell in the classical style and completed in 1808;{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/ashortchronicle00andegoog|quote=croydon town hall.|title=A Short Chronicle Concerning the Parish of Croydon in the County of Surrey|first=John Corbet|last=Anderson|date=17 September 1882|publisher=Ballantyne, Hanson and Company|via=Internet Archive|page=201}} it was demolished as part of the town's High Street widening scheme in 1893.{{cite web|url=http://research.historicengland.org.uk/redirect.aspx?id=7096%7CLONDON%27S%20TOWN%20HALLS|title=London's Town Halls|page=42|publisher=Historic England|accessdate=25 April 2020}}

After civic leaders found that the town hall in the High Street was inadequate for their needs, they elected to construct a purpose-built town hall: they chose the site of Central Croydon railway station, which was redeveloped for council use in 1895, as part of a plan to install "Municipal Offices, Courts, a Police Station, Library and many other public purposes and yet leave a considerable margin of land which might be disposed of".{{cite web|url=https://www.croydon.gov.uk/democracy/themayor/historic/townhall|title=Town Hall|date=8 April 2014|publisher=|accessdate=16 September 2017}} The building, which was designed by Charles Henman{{cite book|first1=Bridget |last1=Cherry |first2= Nikolaus |last2=Pevsner|title=London 2: South. Buildings of England series|publisher=Penguin Books|year= 1983|isbn=0-14-071047-7|page=214}} in the Victorian style and built in red brick by Messrs. W.H. Lascelles & Co, was officially opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales on 19 May 1896.

The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with nine bays facing onto Katherine Street; the central section featured an arched porch on the ground floor; there was a large segmented window on the first floor and five narrow round headed windows on the second floor with the borough coat of arms above. A square clocktower, {{convert|176|ft|m}} tall, was erected adjacent to the west of the main building. The clock and bells were made by the Croydon firm of Gillett & Johnston.Anon. 1896, pp. 12–13. Above each clockface was a keystone carved in the form of a human head, representing respectively the four cardinal points of the compass: an "Esquimaux" (north), a "Hottentot" (south), a "Chinaman" (east) and an "American Indian" (west). To the west of the clocktower was Braithwaite Hall, with pitched roof and turret, and the corn exchange, with loggia. Braithwaite Hall was named after the Revd John Masterman Braithwaite (1846–1889), a former vicar of Croydon.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/site-unseen-braithwaite-hall-croydon-clocktower-london-1325435.html |title=Braithwaite Hall, Croydon Clocktower, London|work=The Independent|date =23 January 1996|accessdate=15 November 2020}}{{efn|John Braithwaite was the father of the actress, Lilian Braithwaite.{{cite odnb |first1=Diana |last1=Morgan |first2=K. D. (revised) |last2=Reynolds |title=Braithwaite [married name Lawrence], Dame (Florence) Lilian (1873–1948) |id=32036 |year=2004 }}}} Internally, the principal rooms were the council chamber, the mayor's parlour and the committee rooms.

A statue of Queen Victoria, which was sculpted by Francis John Williamson, was erected outside the town hall in 1903.{{cite web|url=https://www.londonremembers.com/memorials/queen-victoria-statue-croydon|title=Statue: Queen Victoria statue – Croydon|publisher=London Remembers|accessdate=5 April 2020}} A war memorial, designed by James Burford and incorporating two bronze sculptures by Paul Raphael Montford, was erected in 1921.{{NHLE|num=1268438|desc=Croydon War Memorial|grade=II*|accessdate=15 January 2021}}

The building served as the headquarters of the County Borough of Croydon for much of the 20th century and went to become the local seat of government of the enlarged London Borough of Croydon on its formation in 1965.{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1963/33/contents|title=Local Government Act 1963|publisher=Legislation.gov.uk|accessdate=25 April 2020}} Council officers and their departments moved out to Taberner House, located to the south east of the town hall, in 1967.{{cite web|url=http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=1478|title=Taberner House, London|publisher=Skyscraper News|accessdate=23 April 2020}} The building continued to be used as a judicial facility until the combined courts centre in Barclay Road opened in 1968.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jUi8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT93|title=The Democratic Courthouse: A Modern History of Design, Due Process and Dignity|first1= Linda|last1= Mulcahy|first2= Emma|last2= Rowden|year=2019|publisher=Taylor and Francis|isbn=978-0429558689}}{{cite web|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/iha-civil-and-coroners-courts/heag141-civil-courts-iha/|title=Law Courts and Courtrooms 2: Civil and Coroner's Courts|page=10|publisher=Historic England|date=1 August 2016|access-date=26 February 2023}}

The whole building, including the council chamber, the mayor's parlour and committee rooms, was extensively renovated in the late-1980s and early 1990s. This enabled parts of the building which were not required for council meetings to be re-purposed as an arts venue known as the Croydon Clocktower in 1994.{{cite web|url=http://www.eastlondonlines.co.uk/2015/12/david-lean-cinema-returns-to-croydon-clocktower-auditorium/|title=David Lean Cinema returns to Croydon Clocktower Auditorium |publisher=East London Lines |date= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129195628/http://www.eastlondonlines.co.uk/2015/12/david-lean-cinema-returns-to-croydon-clocktower-auditorium/ |accessdate=5 April 2020|archive-date=29 January 2018 }} At the same time a new public library was established in a new structure behind the town hall and the old local studies library was converted for use as the new David Lean Cinema. Meanwhile, Braithwaite Hall continued to be made available for concerts, theatre and children's shows.{{cite web|url=https://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/6299424.concert-idas-march/|title=Concert: Ida's march|work=News Shopper|date=11 September 2002|accessdate=15 November 2020}}

After Taberner House became inefficient to operate, council officers and their departments moved to Bernard Weatherill House, located to the south of the town hall, in May 2013.{{cite web|url=https://openhouselondon.open-city.org.uk/listings/6026|title=Bernard Weatherill House|publisher=Open House London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119115357/https://openhouselondon.open-city.org.uk/listings/6026|accessdate=23 April 2020|archive-date=19 January 2019}}

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book |author=Anon. |title=Some Account of the Municipal Buildings, Croydon, in commemoration of the opening by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales K.G. &c. 19th May 1896. With several views. |location=Croydon |year=1896 |url=https://historicaltexts.jisc.ac.uk/bl-000828634 }}

==External links==

{{LB Croydon}}

{{Buildings and structures in Croydon}}

Category:Culture in the London Borough of Croydon

Category:Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Croydon

Category:City and town halls in London

Category:Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Croydon

Category:Government buildings completed in 1896