Stoke Newington Municipal Buildings And Surrounding Walls

Stoke Newington Municipal Buildings and Surrounding Walls

This former Town Hall, now municipal offices and assembly hall, was built between 1935 and 1937 by architect J Reginald Truelove for the Metropolitan Borough of Stoke Newington. The building is constructed of handmade buff bricks with a Portland stone ground floor and cornice, lavish stone dressings throughout, and a Westmorland slate roof.

The plan comprises council offices in a segmental building, with a square assembly hall to the east and library offices beyond. The structure rises to two storeys with a recessed attic at the rear.

The main elevation of the council offices curves through ninety degrees in a segmental arc spanning fifteen bays. This is a symmetrical composition with broad stone bands over the ground floor stonework and a dentiled cornice. Projecting stone pavilions flank the composition, with a broader recessed centrepiece featuring giant round columns in antis, all with balconies. The central balcony is recessed between the columns and set over the entrance. A marble architraved doorcase, bronze double doors, and a flagpole supported on a single volute mark the principal ceremonial entrance, though the main public entrance now faces Stoke Newington Church Street directly, with a decorative balcony front. All windows are metal with margin lights set in stone architrave surrounds, including those lighting the seven-bay attic. The rear elevation is also symmetrical, nine windows wide with alternating stone architraves; the central window features a pediment, and end staircase windows flank it. A projecting entrance to the left has a consciously austere surround with a single window above. The assembly hall has a three-bay frontage with stone end pavilions on either side of four giant columns in antis. Double doors with decorative ironwork tracery stand between the columns, with balconies above. A high stone pediment with unmoulded guttae crowns this section. Three-bay links connect the main building to the former town hall and library offices on either side; the library offices have their own entrance and balcony. The exterior notably retains its wartime camouflage markings. High piers topped with original lights and overthrow frame the Stoke Newington Church Street frontage; the rear elevation features walls that form an important part of the overall composition.

Interiors

The principal council chamber and committee rooms are accessed from the original central entrance via an entrance lobby with a marble terrazzo floor and an imperial staircase of teak with wrought iron and silvered bronze balustrade. The stair hall and vestibule leading to the former council chamber feature lunettes, pilasters, and commemorative boards. The council chamber was originally of double height with a public balcony; it now has a false ceiling with the lower part used as office space, but the balcony survives along with the original moulded ceiling featuring a dome and Diocletian windows. The entire space retains fine Australian walnut panelling with pilasters. The former mayor's parlour sits above the ceremonial entrance, beyond which lie the committee rooms. These rooms have retractable walls allowing them to be joined into one curved space and feature moulded ceilings, cornices, and plasterwork.

The Assembly Hall remains complete and unaltered. It is rectangular in plan with a narrow gallery to the south and a proscenium arch to the north; the other walls are lined with pilasters. The floor is a sprung dance floor of Canadian maple. Access to the hall is via a foyer through double doors with metal grilles; the foyer has a marble terrazzo floor laid in a decorative pattern.

The building is included as a good example of an inter-war town hall and assembly hall complex, distinguished by particularly good materials and fine detailing throughout.