Summary
The former Deptford Town Hall, 1903-1907 (opened 1905), designed in an Edwardian Baroque style by Lanchester, Stewart and Rickards for the Metropolitan Borough of Deptford, with sculpture by Henry Poole, Albert Hodge, and the firm of T and E Nichols; the builder was HL Holloway of Deptford.
Reasons for Designation
Deptford Town Hall is listed at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* as a significant civic building by the distinguished architectural practice of Lanchester and Rickards;
* for its strikingly original and sophisticated principal elevation, in an eclectic Edwardian Baroque style;
* for its unusually rich and inventive use of external sculpture, by sculptors including Henry Poole, which includes both architectural detailing and portrait figures;
* the building’s neat plan, combining spaciousness and economy to accommodate a variety of ceremonial and administrative functions on a restricted site, remains largely intact, its legibility enhanced by contemporary signage;
* internal decoration, fittings and finishes, including plasterwork, metalwork, and chimneypieces, survive well and are distinctive and of high quality;
* the former town hall serves as an arresting local landmark, emphasised by its jaunty clock tower.
Historic interest:
* one of a small number of purpose-built town halls constructed immediately following the 1899 London Government Act, the remarkable building expresses pride in the newly-created borough and in the history of the local area, announcing its intended purpose as a centre of local life;
* the external and internal decoration of the building celebrates the naval and maritime associations of Deptford, the figures of historical admirals chosen to tell Britain’s naval story being the subject of ongoing and changing interpretation.
Group value:
* with the Grade II-listed public baths, constructed in 1895-98, and forming part of the same site which was later expanded to accommodate the town hall; the building also has group value with the main Goldsmiths College building and its chapel, first constructed as the Royal Naval School in 1843-1845.
History
The London Borough of Deptford was created in 1900, following the London Government Act of 1899. Prior to this, Deptford’s local government had been largely overseen by St Paul’s Vestry, from offices built on Tanners Hill in 1884-5; these had become cramped, and new accommodation was required for the expanded administrative functions of the new borough. Deptford Council took the opportunity to provide the necessary accommodation by commissioning a building which would reflect its new status, as did a small number of other newly created metropolitan boroughs. The site on New Cross Road had been acquired in 1892 for the provision of a public baths and washhouses, constructed in 1895-1898, to designs by the local architect Thomas Dinwiddy; these now stand to the rear of the town hall, facing on to Laurie Grove, and are listed at Grade II (National Heritage List for England (NHLE) entry 1252985). Space for a vestry hall had been included, but this was insufficient for the projected new town hall and the site had to be enlarged, allowing only a single show front; internally, the new building did not have room for a public hall, this additional function being provided by the Council Chamber. A souvenir brochure produced to commemorate the opening of the town hall observed that the building was ‘of peculiar interest to every ratepayer in Deptford and every resident in the neighbourhood’ conceived as being ‘the centre of local life in Deptford’. The new town hall was situated at the centre of the new borough, where a group of public buildings and amenities was growing up. In addition to the public baths, and the postal sorting office built immediately to the west of the town hall site in 1902, a Carnegie library followed in Lewisham Way in 1914 (NHLE entry 1358502). A short distance to the east, the Goldsmiths’ Technical and Recreative Institute was founded by the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths in 1891, in a building constructed as the Royal Naval School (NHLE entry 1193404); the institute became part of the University of London in 1905, the year the town hall opened.
A competition for the job of designing the building was held in 1902, with John Belcher, vice president (and then president) of the Royal Institute of British Architects and pioneer both of the Baroque Revival and of the integration of sculpture and architecture, as assessor. The chosen practice was that of Henry Vaughn Lanchester (1853-1953), James A Stewart (around 1866-1904), and Edwin Alfred Rickards (1872-1920). The firm had formed in 1896, rising quickly to prominence in the field of civic architecture with their victory in the 1897 competition for the design of Cardiff Town Hall (Cardiff became a city at the building’s opening in 1905); the competition for Methodist Central Hall in Westminster (NHLE entry 1264457) was won shortly before the opening of Deptford Town Hall. Their design for Hull College of Art (now the Northern Academy of Performing Arts, NHLE entry 1197653) which also opened in 1905, shows some clear similarities with that of the town hall. Overall responsibility for the Deptford project was given to Rickards, known for his facility in designing free-flowing ornament and sculpture; Lanchester’s particular skill was in planning. Stewart died in August 1904, whilst the town hall was under construction. The foundation stone was laid on 14 October 1903, and the building was opened by the Mayor, JA Pyne, on 19 July 1905; however, work continued until 1907. The cost was approximately £34,476.
In their winning submission the architects described their design as being ‘in the traditional style of the C17 and C18 century buildings of the riverside towns such as Greenwich, Gravesend and Rochester’, with sculptural decoration expressing the strong maritime associations of Deptford. Belcher noted that the ‘artistically treated’ design was ‘characteristic of the traditional architecture of the locality, and affords an opportunity for the historical illustration of the interesting events connected with the district’. The Naval Dockyard at Deptford had fostered the growth of the settlement and dominated its economy from the C16 until the early C19. Although the new borough had been formed out of the Parish of St Paul’s, the former dockyard being in the Parish of St Nicholas to the north (which in 1899 became part of the Borough of Greenwich), the diverse identity of the area had been informed by its naval, maritime and trading history. Deptford and its inhabitants suffered greatly from the closure of the dockyard in 1869, though the area maintained a Thames-based economy until the end of the C19.
Sculpture formed an integral part of the design from the outset. Initially, the architects proposed that the frontage should include six standing bas reliefs of admirals, an additional two being placed on the returns of the main façade, However, the number was reduced to four, probably on the grounds of cost; in 1902 Rickards had to argue for the importance of the sculptures to the Council, stating that ‘if the figures were removed it would spoil the elevation of the building’. For the architects, the initial idea was to represent admirals ‘who may have been connected with the town’ but subsequently generalised types ‘intended to represent the four periods of naval history in the person of an admiral of the Drake, Blake, Nelson & modern periods respectively’ were proposed. The Council, however, was insistent on recognisable portraits of the three historical naval figures, together with one of the celebrated contemporary Admiral and First Sea Lord Sir John (commonly known as Jacky) Fisher (1841-1920). The Admiralty, when consulted by the sculptor, Henry Poole, gave the opinion that Fisher would not wish to be included, and that it would be ‘unwise’ to represent any individual; nonetheless, inspiration for the final figure may have been drawn from Fisher. The external sculpture was undertaken by a number of different artists. Besides carving the figures, Henry Poole may have made models for all the principal external sculpture. Master of the Royal Academy’s Sculpture School from 1894 to 1928, Poole was an eminent practitioner, who worked extensively with Lanchester and Rickards on buildings including Cardiff and Methodist Central Hall. Albert Hodge, responsible for carving the ornament of the central bay window, trained as an architect but became a specialist in architectural sculpture, working on numerous prestigious commissions, including Cardiff Town Hall. The firm of T and E Nichols undertook the naval battle scene in the building’s central pediment, and probably also the seal of Deptford Council situated over the cartway.
Each of the three historical admirals represented on the front of the town hall was the most celebrated naval commander of his day. Sir Francis Drake (around 1540-1596) was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe, and became a national hero for his role in defeating the Spanish Armada in 1588; he was knighted in 1581 by Queen Elizabeth I on the Golden Hind at Deptford. In the 1560s, early in his career, Drake took part in voyages to West Africa, enslaving Africans for sale in Spain’s Caribbean colonies with his cousin John (later Sir John) Hawkins (1532-1595), who pioneered the English development of that trade. Robert Blake (1598-1657), appointed ‘general at sea’ in 1649, is frequently seen as the first true organiser of the navy. Commanding the navy throughout the Commonwealth, Blake protected English maritime trade interests against the Dutch, including the transatlantic routes between Britain, West Africa and the Caribbean. Horatio (later Viscount) Nelson (1758-1805) was famous for his naval victories against the French during the Napoleonic Wars, especially the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, during which he lost his life; Deptford Town Hall opened in Trafalgar’s centenary year, a fact celebrated in the souvenir brochure. A letter written by Nelson in 1805 expresses opposition to the campaign for the abolition of the slave trade; like many naval officers, particularly those who had spent time in the Caribbean and formed affiliations with plantation owners, Nelson appears to have believed in the necessity of the colonial system to the navy, and hence to national security.
During the First World War, the town hall was used as an enlistment centre; amongst the recruits was Norman Manley, later Premier of Jamaica. Conscientious objectors were called to the town hall’s Council Chamber to be questioned at a military service tribunal on their reasons for refusing to fight. These tribunals were notable for being held in private, without press or public in attendance – Deptford Borough Council was the only local authority in the country to hold tribunals in this manner. One member of the tribunal panel was suffragist Beatrice Drapper, a prominent Labour Party activist who went on to become Deptford’s first female mayor in 1927. During the Second World War the town hall received some damage when a crowded Woolworth’s store opposite was hit by a V2 rocket bomb, on 24 November 1944, killing 168 people; the town hall’s timber clock tower had already been taken down as a precaution, and was later re-erected.
Deptford Town Hall ceased to be the local seat of government when the former Metropolitan Borough of Deptford merged administratively with Lewisham, forming the London Borough of Lewisham, in 1965; the former town hall was subsequently used as offices. In 1994, during renovation work, the building’s ship weathervane was stolen; a replacement was later installed. The site was acquired by Goldsmiths, University of London, in 1998, and now provides offices and teaching space, with the Constance Howard Gallery in the basement. The former Council Chamber is used for concerts and other public events. In 2019 the former town hall building was occupied for 137 days by members of Goldsmiths Anti-Racist Action, a student protest group, making demands in connection with the treatment of and support for Black, Asian, and minority ethnic students and staff at the College. One of these demands was that the four statues on the front of the building be removed in recognition of historic associations with slavery in the iconography of the building. Goldsmiths conducted a public consultation on the future of the statues and concluded in 2022 that they would be retained with contextual material.
Details
Town Hall in an Edwardian Baroque style, 1903-1907 (opened 1905), by Lanchester, Stewart and Rickards for the Metropolitan Borough of Deptford; the builder was HL Holloway of Deptford. Sculpture was by Henry Poole, Albert Hodge, and the firm of T and E Nichols; the marble work was by Messrs Jenkins, and the internal decorative plasterwork by GP Bankart.
MATERIALS: stock brick faced with Portland stone to the front sections, the external sculpture also being of Portland stone. The roofs are of slate, with tall Portland stone chimneys to the front, and brick to the rear sections. The building retains its original multi-pane casement windows, mullioned and transomed to the front sections, together with ironwork and rainwater goods.
PLAN: the main range of the building is rectangular on plan, with wedge-shaped projections to west and east, narrowing to the south. The accommodation of the building extends to the south beyond the main range, with additional space in the basement. To the south is a small mid-C20 two-storey block, linked to the main building; this addition is of lesser interest.
EXTERIOR: the frontage is two storeys high and seven bays wide, the outer two bays being set back slightly; the whole is united by an entablature between ground and first floor, and by that at eaves level, where the cornice incorporates a dentil band. The central, entrance, bay, receives emphasis from an semi-elliptical oriel window over a porch, the porch formed by two arching winged Tritons, facing away from one another with their arms entwined through a giant scroll, which serves as a keystone; their serpentine tails fall to frame the round-arched entrance to the building. The upper part of the arch is filled with a wrought-iron screen, in which is set a swagged lantern flanked by seahorses; below are the words ‘DEPTFORD TOWN HALL’. Within the opening is a pair of double doors with four raised and fielded panels, with a plain fanlight above, fronted by the screen. The entrance is reached by nine steps. At first-floor level, the oriel’s central opening holds French doors behind a wrought-iron balconette edged with acanthus: bay surrounds the initials ‘DB’ (Deptford Borough), with the date ‘1905’. The opening is framed by rolled acanthus with, to either side, female and male term figures. Above the opening is a composition formed of a ship’s prow, with lanterns and a central crown; chains are draped from the deck, and oars fan out to either side, with waves breaking around them. The prow is supported by dolphins; below, cornucopias descend across the top of the opening, spilling fruit. The ground floor, which is raised on a basement arcade of wide round-headed openings, is set back behind a colonnade supporting the first floor, with panelled square piers between the windows and at either end, and Tuscan columns framing the windows: the effect is evocative of a C16 or C17 guildhall with open market below and hall above, and possibly the suggestion is that the ground floor, once open, has now been filled. It has also been suggested that the arrangement is inspired by Michelangelo’s loggia to the Palazzo dei Conservatori in Rome. The ground-floor windows are of tripartite form, with arched upper lights between the columns. Above, the first-floor windows are set in moulded surrounds, with aprons below; above are window-heads with console brackets enriched with acanthus or seaweed, below which are drops formed of clusters of shells. To either side of the main section, and between the windows, are the sculpted figures of the admirals, carved in bas relief, but in imitation of statues within niches. Here, the influence of Jean Goujon’s C16 arrangement of relief sculpture at the Hotel Carnavalet in Paris has been suggested. Each man stands on a rough stone platform, and above each is a consoled cornice – as above the windows – but broken by the prow of a representative ship from the time of the admiral, with fish supporters. Beneath each figure is a panel inscribed with a date over an oak wreath decorated with appropriate emblems. To the west is Sir Francis Drake, lavishly dressed in slashed jerkin, ruched sleeves, pumpkin hose and ruff, with gloves and sword. Behind him is a globe, with the words ‘America’ and ‘Africa’ inscribed on the relevant land masses. In the panel below is the date ‘1587’ (for his raid on Cadiz), whilst the wreath is draped with a crucifix, beads and jewels, together with a chalice, described in the souvenir brochure as suggesting ‘the spoils of a Spanish galleon, or the plunder of some Spanish church’. Blake wears Puritan dress, with leather jerkin, gloves, tall boots and sword, and carries a wide-brimmed hat. Below him is the date ‘1652’ – the year of his victory over the Dutch admiral, Van Tromp, with navigational dividers and a bible. Nelson is dressed in uniform, with bicorne hat and sword; on his breast are the insignia of four chivalric orders, and his two naval gold medals hang round his neck. Behind him is a mounted cannon and cannon balls, and draped rigging. Below, the date ‘1805’ represents the Battle of Trafalgar, whilst the wreath is adorned with orders and decorations bestowed on Nelson, some apparently unfinished. The modern-day admiral is in uniform with medals and insignia; he wears a bicorn hat and sword. Behind him are ropes, chains, and a mooring bollard; below, binoculars and a sextant, with the date ‘1905’, marking the opening of the town hall. Above the central three bays is an attic storey with end pilasters, the pediments carved with anchors and crowns, supporting an open-bed gable pediment containing a relief sculpture of a naval battle on a churning sea, the ships’ sails torn with cannon shot. The timber eaves of the pitched roof project over the pediment, giving it a maritime air. This is emphasised by the timber clock tower which rises above it in two stages, surrounded by a balustrade; the lower stage has ventilation louvres, the upper stage bears the clock faces. The tower has a tented pyramidal copper roof, surmounted by a weathervane in the form of a ship. The set-back eastern bay follows the form of the main section, with the ground-floor window recessed, and columns supporting the first floor. The first-floor window inverts the configuration of the other windows, being of arched form, with the apron above – below the window-head. The window – to the Mayor’s Parlour – has a comparatively simple iron balcony. The east return wall has two square-headed windows at ground floor level, and two round-arched windows at first-floor level, above the entablature. The western set-back section has a tall arched opening for a cartway, over which is the seal of Deptford Council, the shield signifying aspects of Deptford’s history, with flanking tridents and fish; a crab serves as a keystone to the arch. The opening contains timber gates with panels containing crosses. To the east is a doorway leading to the secondary stair, with a lantern above; the stair is lit by a small window above the door. At first floor window is an architrave with apron and flanking consoles, containing one window opening above another. To the east is a door opening to small curved balcony, akin to a crow’s nest on a ship, from which rises a flagpole. The western return wall is blind, the lower part being partially obscured by the brick wall defining the passageway to the neighbouring building, the former postal sorting office. (Neither the brick wall nor the former postal sorting office is included in the listing.)
In the rear parts of the building, the stock brick is exposed, laid in English bond, and the windows have cambered brick arches. There is a canted bay rising to mezzanine level on both east and west elevations. To the rear of the building, the south-west wing is higher, to accommodate the attic. These parts of the building are without ornament, though on the west elevation brackets supporting pipework are decorated with starfish and shells. The addition to the south is a small gabled two-storey building. A metal walkway is attached to the south elevation; this is not included in the listing.
The front area of the building is lined with glazed brick, as is the lightwell running along the southern part of the east elevation; this lightwell is in two parts, the dividing wall having an arched opening.
INTERIOR: the building was planned around the central stair hall, with the principal offices on the ground floor, the council chamber and committee rooms on the first floor, and additional accommodation on a mezzanine floor. Plans of the building were published in the opening brochure and in the contemporary architectural press; the room names given below are taken from these sources, and from surviving brass door plaques taking the form of cartouches. The overall plan of the building has survived largely as built, though room uses have changed. Decoration in the ceremonial areas is intact, and the building retains original fittings and finishes, including many original chimneypieces, ranging from the elaborate bolection-moulded marble and plasterwork designs found in the principal spaces, to the simpler bowed examples in the lesser offices; the more important fireplaces have cast-iron grates with the canopy taking the form of a shell. Door surrounds are bolection-moulded, with panelled doors, and deep moulded cornices and skirtings are found throughout the building. Floors in the principal circulation spaces are of marble, laid in geometric patterns, with terrazzo in secondary areas and WCs. Timber floors in offices are now covered.
The external double doors give access to a small lobby, beyond which is a barrel-vaulted Vestibule. The double doors to either end of the Vestibule have glazed sections, and an elliptical light set in a segmental-pedimented overdoor, carved with the initials ‘DB’; the brass door handles also bear these initials. From there, the Entrance Hall is approached via a corridor, in which are hung, to the east, a memorial honouring Deptford Borough Council members, staff and employees who served in the First World War, and to the west, an elaborate board for indicating the times and rooms of meetings. The entrance hall has a central screen of marble columns supporting two barrel-vaults running across the building, with two central domes over the passageway leading to the principal stair. In the northern (front) part of the building, suites of offices lie to either side of the Entrance Hall, with the interconnecting offices of the Town Clerk’s department to the west and those of the Borough Surveyor’s department to the east. The private offices of the Town Clerk and Borough Surveyor are accessed directly from the Entrance Hall as well as from the Vestibule – the entrance from the Vestibule representing a change from the published plans. The Town Clerk’s General Office to the west is accessed from the Entrance Hall via a door in a glazed screen; this room extends into the building’s western projection, with a tall column supporting the junction of beams, and retains a large cupboard or store. To the east, the glazed screen leads into a Waiting Room, with large offices to either side accessed through glazed walls, each having two doors. The Drawing Office is in the wedge-shaped projection at the east end of the Waiting Room; this office has lost its fireplace. The rear offices are set at lower-ground-floor level, reached by a further flight continuing downwards to the basement from the principal stair; the steps are of moulded concrete and there is a plain metal balustrade with a ramped handrail. Offices open from a narrow terrazzo-floored passageway running to the rear of the stair; a room lit by the bay window to the east was occupied by the Medical Officer, and that to the west by the Borough Accountant. There was also accommodation for the Borough Accountant’s General Office, the Ledger Clerk and the Rates Office, as well as spare offices. An additional wall has created a corridor to the west of an office in the south-east corner of the building.
The imperial marble stair is lit by a shallow dome with four elliptical lights. The plasterwork of the ceiling is lavish, with acanthus, flowers, putti and cartouches, as well as seaweed, fish and shells. The ceiling is supported on paired unfluted Ionic columns, defining a gallery around the stair. The wrought-iron balustrade protecting the stair and landing consists of a framework of scrolls and acanthus integrating rosettes, together with crossed anchors and tridents looped with mobile chains; the handrail is of gunmetal. At the head of the stair, between the two flights, is a balcony with a wrought-iron balustrade bearing the initials ‘DB’. Opposite this is the entrance to the Council Chamber, with double doors set in a bolection-moulded marble surround, the upper part being surrounded by plasterwork decoration consisting of a large shell serving as an overdoor, with the words ‘COUNCIL CHAMBER’ in a cartouche, flanked by two large mermaids, their tails coiling to either side of the doorway, with festoons of fruit and flowers. The Council Chamber, which occupies the front of the building at first-floor level, has oak panelling to dado level, with tiered seating to the west – forming the public gallery – and a marble chimneypiece to the east. A board above the fireplace names the Mayors of Deptford; to the north is a memorial to the citizens of Deptford who gave their lives in both world wars, and to all who served; to the south is a Borough of Deptford Roll of Honour. The room no longer holds the original mayor’s dais and other furnishings; these were not designed by Lanchester and Rickards. An enlarged dais has been inserted at the eastern end of the room. The ceiling is in three compartments, with rich plasterwork to the central section; the decoration is in a more restrained C18 style here than in other public parts of the building, though the maritime theme continues in the anchors flanking the upper lights, and the shell and seaweed cornice moulding. Cartouches bear the date ‘1904’, whilst ventilation grilles to west and east bear the initials ‘DB’. The walls have moulded plasterwork panels. The entrance to the room, and that to the central balcony, is framed by a semi-elliptical canopy, intended for a pelmet and curtains. Other first-floor rooms were originally rooms serving the Council, most retaining original brass plaques indicating their former use. There is a large former Committee Room to the south, with entrances to both east and west of the stair; hanging above each is the seal of Deptford Council, carved in timber. This room has now been divided, with a smaller unit to the west. The room retains its moulded plaster panels and deep coved ceiling. At what was originally the centre of the room is a bolection-moulded fire-surround with corresponding hearth, above which is a shell niche, decorated with elaborate plasterwork incorporating fish and scrolled seaweed, with the Borough initials. This room is connected with further former Committee Rooms by folding double doors to east and west. In the room to the east, the chimneypiece is framed by an aedicule with a niche, and a coved ceiling with ventilation grilles bearing the Borough initials; this room connects via double doors to the north with a former Ante Room to the Council Chamber. The western room has lost its coved ceiling; this room connects with a former Retiring Room. The enfilade has been interrupted by the insertion of a corridor at the north ends of the Ante Room and Retiring Room. The building’s north-eastern projection houses the mayor’s suite, originally accessed directly from the Ante Room, with the Mayor’s Parlour and WC, opening from a small lobby. The Mayor’s Parlour retains its marble chimneypiece, the grate having an elaborate shell canopy, with a niche above, corresponding with the room’s round-headed windows. The WC, which originally corresponded directly with the Mayor’s Parlour, has a marble-topped corner basin.
At mezzanine level, to the rear of the building, the opening from the stair landing is flanked by oval wrought-iron grilles; set into each is a lantern, described in the souvenir brochure as ‘a ship’s lantern of antique design, lit by electricity’. Rooms at this level were for members of the council and officials. At the centre is the Members Library, entered through double doors; this room retains its bolection-moulded chimneypiece with shell grate, and moulded wall panels. The former Assembly Room to the east has been subdivided, the northern portion retaining a Cloakroom and the southern portion a substantial moulded timber chimneypiece with shell grate. To the east are smaller offices with bowed fire surrounds. There are WCs in the south-east and south-west corners, with later tiling and fittings; two sets were provided so that one could be set aside for women when necessary. Access to an office extension to the south of the building has been made via a stair leading from the south end of the western passage. At first-floor level this extension consists of a single room lit by casement windows on three sides. As noted above, the extension is of lesser interest.
The secondary stair is in the north-west projection, and is of concrete, having a tubular iron handrail with scrolled ends. On the principal floor, this stair serves the Kitchen and the Service Room preceding it, both of which are lined to half height with glazed brick; the Kitchen’s wide fire surround is also of glazed brick. Above, the public gallery of the Council Chamber is entered through double doors. At attic level, indented footholds provide access to the roof space. The rooms formerly allocated to the building’s caretaker are in the attic; these rooms were not inspected. The basement was originally used for muniments, with some additional offices, and WCs for staff. This area has seen some reconfiguration and alteration, particularly to the front part, which is now a gallery space. However, original skirtings and cornices survive, together with some simple doors set in moulded architraves, and a door set in a glazed screen in one place. In the south-east corner, the WC area has been subdivided, but retains its glazed brick, a row of original urinals, and a row of original cubicles with doors. Floor surfaces in the basement area have later coverings.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: the front area of the building is protected by cast-iron railings with urn finials, punctuated by piers of wrought iron, incorporating the initials ‘DB’; the railings are set in a ramped dwarf wall.
