Caxton Hall
51°29′55″N 0°8′6.5″W / 51.49861°N 0.135139°W
Caxton Hall is a building on the corner of Caxton Street and Palmer Street, in Westminster , London, England. It is a Grade II listed building primarily for its historical associations. It hosted many mainstream and fringe political and artistic events and after the second world war was the most popular registry office used by the famous who did not marry in church.
History
It was designed in 1878 by William Lee and F.J. Smith in an ornate Francois I style using red brick and pink sandstone, with slate roofs.[1] It won the competition for a hall design set by the parishes of St Margaret and St John; and was originally called the Westminster City Hall.[2] The central entrance porch and canopy were added in the mid twentieth century . [1]
It was opened as Westminster Town Hall in 1883 and contained two public halls known as the Great & York Halls.[3] They were used for a variety of purposes including musical concerts and as a venue for public meetings.
The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), part of the British Suffragette movement held a ‘Women's Parliament’ at Caxton Hall at the beginning of each parliamentary session from 1907, with a subsequent procession to the Houses of Parliament and an attempt (always unsuccessful) to deliver a petition to the prime minister in person.[2] Caxton Hall's central role in the militant suffrage movement is now commemorated by a bronzed scroll sculpture that stands nearby in Christchurch Gardens. [4]
Alister Crowley and friends celebrated the Rites of Eleusis in the hall in October and November, 1910.
In 1940 it was the site of the assassination of Michael O'Dwyer, former Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab in India by Indian nationalist Udham Singh, as an act of revenge for the 1919 Amritsar massacre. [2] [5]
In World War II it was used by the Ministry of Information as a venue for press conferences held by Winston Churchill and his ministers.
The National Front, an openly neo-nazi British political party was formed at a meeting in Caxton Hall, Westminster on 7th February 1967.
It was also used as a central London registry office until 1979, and many famous people were married there including Donald Campbell (two marriages), Billy Butlin, Elizabeth Taylor, Diana Dors, Peter Sellers, Roger Moore, Orson Wells, Joan Collins, Yehudi Menuhin, Adam Faith, Robin Nedwell, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
Future Prime Minister Anthony Eden wedded the niece of the then Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Clarissa Churchill-Spencer there on 18 August 1952.[2]
The registry office closed in 1979 and the building stood empty for years getting a place on the Buildings at Risk Register.[2]
It was listed as a building of Special Architectural or Historic Interest on 15th March 1984.[1] It was redeveloped as apartments and offices in 2006. The facade , and former registry office at the front of the building facing Caxton Street were restored and retained being converted into luxury flats. The rear of the building , containing the halls was demolished and a circular office building , named the Asticus Bulding, was built on the site.[3]
References
- ^ a b c Caxton Hall At the National Heritage List for England, English Heritage. List entry Number: 1357266. Accessed July 2011
- ^ a b c d e CAXTON HALL The London Encyclopaedia, By Christopher Hibbert, Ben Weinreb, John Keay, Julia Keay, Matthew Weinreb, Pan Macmillan, 2009 ISBN 1405049251
- ^ a b GLA planning report PDU/0583/01 2003
- ^ The women's suffrage movement: a reference guide, 1866-1928 , Elizabeth Crawford, 2001 - Page 262 [1]
- ^ Freedom fighters of India (in four volumes) - Page 270 Lion M. G. Agrawal - 2008 [2]
- Mr. Eden weds niece of the Prime Minister ITN News 18 August 1952
- Caxton Hall in Westminster and the marriage of Diana Dors to Dennis Hamilton Nickel in the machine. Accessed July 2011
- MoLAS 2004 Report Caxton Hall . Accessed July 2011
External links
- Caxton Hall in Westminster and the marriage of Diana Dors to Dennis Hamilton Another Nickel in the Machine. Accessed July 2011. Many pictures of Caxton Hall events.