Hornsey Town Hall

Hornsey Town Hall was built in 1935 by R. H. Uren, and it forms the central element of a composition around a small green space, flanked by former buildings belonging to the Gas Board and the Electricity Board. The building is constructed of handmade pink brick with stone dressings, featuring flat roofs and stone-coped parapets. It’s an example of the Modern architectural style incorporating a high level of craftsmanship.

The building has two storeys, an L-shaped front with seven bays facing a courtyard, and six narrower bays on the right inner return. A set-back attic floor is likely a later addition. A tall, rectangular tower is located at the junction of the wings. The main block features long, first-floor windows with bronze bars and guards, and a bronze balcony to the three central windows. Below, a wide, triple entrance is accentuated by rusticated brickwork, flanked by plain windows. The tower has a large entrance with a carved stone surround, below a copper-grilled window with a bronze hood. The tower walls, with raised brick strips, rise to the top stage, where stone hoods crown five and four slit windows. A bowed, cantilevered first floor projects at the North end. The rear elevation includes round-cornered canopies over entrances flanking a stair tower, that features a curved, full-height window with glazing bars and an oversailing flat roof.

The interior decoration and furnishings were all part of the original design, and much remains intact, including floor surfaces, wall cladding, columns, doors, light fittings, and the main imperial staircase which has a decorative openwork metal balustrade. Inlaid wood-panelled walls with clocks, cupboards, and bookcases are found in the Borough Engineer’s Office (Room 108), the former Mayor’s Parlour, and the Committee Room. The Council Chamber retains its original seats and desks, arranged in a half-round. A galleried theatre has inlaid wood-panelling to its walls.

R. H. Uren was recognized with architectural awards, including the RIBA Architecture Medal and the Gold Medal of the Worshipful Company of Tylers and Bricklayers. Hornsey Town Hall was the first town hall in Britain to be modelled on Dudok's seminal town hall at Hilversum, and influenced subsequent buildings.