Mulberry Place
{{Short description|Municipal building in London, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name =Mulberry Place
| native_name =
| image =Tower Hamlets Town Hall 2015-06-19 02.jpg
| caption =View of Mulberry Place
| locmapin =United Kingdom London Tower Hamlets
| map_caption =Shown in Tower Hamlets
| coordinates ={{coord|51.5100|-0.0062|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| location =Mulberry Place, Blackwall
| area =
| built =1992
| architect =Sten Samuelson and the Beaton Thomas Partnership
| architecture =Modernist style
| governing_body =
}}
Mulberry Place, formerly Tower Hamlets Town Hall, is a building in Nutmeg Lane, Blackwall, London. It was the headquarters of Tower Hamlets London Borough Council from 1992 to 2023, before their relocation to the new Tower Hamlets Town Hall in Whitechapel Road.
History
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets was formed in 1965 by the merger of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Bethnal Green, Poplar and Stepney. The new authority was initially based at Bethnal Green Town Hall.{{London Gazette|issue=45244|page=13356|date=4 December 1970}}{{cite web|url=http://research.historicengland.org.uk/redirect.aspx?id=7096%7CLONDON%27S%20TOWN%20HALLS|title=London's Town Halls|page=178|publisher=Historic England|accessdate=14 May 2020}}
In the early 1990s, the council decided to move to a more modern building, on the site of the former East India Import Dock. The new Town Hall, completed in 1992 and occupied the following year,{{cite web|title='Modern Docklands: Modern commercial developments', in Survey of London: Volumes 43 and 44, Poplar, Blackwall and Isle of Dogs|first= Hermione |last=Hobhouse |location=London|year=1994|pages= 702–707|publisher=British History Online|url= http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vols43-4/pp702-707 |accessdate= 20 September 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/competitions/architect-sought-for-new-tower-hamlets-town-hall/10000257.article|title=Architect sought for new Tower Hamlets town hall|date=7 December 2015|publisher=Architects Journal|accessdate= 14 May 2020}} was built by the Nordic Construction Company, with Birse Construction the main contractor. The new building formed part of a larger development of four linked blocks, designed by Sten Samuelson and the Beaton Thomas Partnership in the Modernist style.{{cite web|title='Modern Docklands: Gazetteer of modern non-housing developments', in Survey of London: Volumes 43 and 44, Poplar, Blackwall and Isle of Dogs|first= Hermione |last=Hobhouse|location=London|year=1994|pages=707–724|publisher=British History Online |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vols43-4/pp707-724 |accessdate= 14 May 2020}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EW7k2KA4UkwC&pg=PA661|title=London: East|page=661|first1= Bridget|last1= Cherry|first2=Simon |last2=Bradley|first3=Charles |last3=O'Brien|first4 =Sir Nikolaus|last4= Pevsner|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2005|isbn= 978-0300107012}} The design made extensive use of reflective glazing and pink Sardinian granite.
The name Mulberry Place commemorates the construction of Mulberry harbours in the dock during the Second World War,{{cite web|url=http://www.portcities.org.uk/london/server/show/conMediaFile.423/Damaged-buildings-at-the-East-India-Docks-Blackwall.html|title=Damaged buildings at the East India Docks, Blackwall|publisher=Port Cities|accessdate=30 November 2019}} and reflects the sprig of mulberry included in the boroughs coat of arms in recognition of the East End's weaving heritage.{{cite web|title=Site describing the provenance of the coat of arms | date=19 March 2019 |url=https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Tower_Hamlets|access-date=16 October 2021}} The ship bell of the sloop HMS Crane is placed in the Town Hall foyer. The ship was adopted by the Borough of Bethnal Green during the Second World War and the connection with the ship and its crew has been maintained ever since.{{cite web|title=ELA article on Remembrance ceremony at the Town Hall |url=https://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/news/local-council/tower-hamlets-council-remembrance-3641972|access-date=16 October 2021}}
In February 2015 the council acquired the old Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel Road and announced plans to convert it for use as the new Tower Hamlets Town Hall to which the council would relocate when it became available.{{cite web|url=https://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/news/politics/old-royal-london-hospital-sold-for-9m-to-tower-hamlets-council-for-a-new-town-hall-1-3947250|title=Old Royal London Hospital sold for £9m to Tower Hamlets council for a new town hall|date=6 February 2015|publisher=Docklands and East London Advertiser|accessdate=20 September 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/tower-hamlets-mayor-spends-9m-turning-old-hospital-into-council-palace-10028492.html|title=Tower Hamlets Mayor Lutfur Rahman spends £9m turning old hospital into council 'palace'|date=6 February 2015|publisher=Evening Standard|accessdate=20 September 2020}}
In 2018, the Mulberry Place building's owner LaSalle Investment, which charges £5 million per year in rent for Mulberry Place,{{cite web|url=https://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/lgnl/council_and_democracy/New_town_hall/New_Town_Hall.aspx|title=New Town Hall|publisher=Tower Hamlets London Borough Council|accessdate=21 September 2020}} announced that it would convert the building into flats after the council moved.{{cite web|url=https://www.bdonline.co.uk/news/council-powerless-to-stop-town-hall-being-turned-into-flats/5095882.article|title=Council 'powerless' to stop town hall being turned into flats|publisher=BD|date=5 October 2018|access-date=30 November 2019}} The move to the new site was completed on 1 March 2023.{{cite news|url=https://www.eastlondonlines.co.uk/2023/03/historic-whitechapel-building-reopens-as-tower-hamlets-new-town-hall/|title=Historic Whitechapel building reopens as Tower Hamlets' new town hall|newspaper=East London Lines|date=1 March 2023|access-date=17 March 2023}}