Sydenham Hill Community Hall And Retaining Walls

Sydenham Hill Community Hall is a community centre built between 1955 and 1957 by architect Donald McMorran, with assistance from Peter Nuttall, for the Corporation of the City of London. The building is constructed of brick, which has been colourwashed, and features pantiled roofs. The public hall is designed to seat eighty people and is the same height as the adjacent two-storey houses. It has three tall sash windows at the front and a round-arched door on the side, which is illuminated by a lamp. The retaining wall to the right of the hall has round-arched openings that connect the hall to a long range of flats on the west side of the green. Inside, the hall features a panelled dado and wood-block floors.

Donald McMorran is gaining recognition as a significant architect known for his traditional style during the 1950s. He distinguished himself by addressing progressive building types, such as public housing and schools, while maintaining traditional values of composition, proportion, and texture. This community hall is the smallest but finest of four housing schemes designed by McMorran, two of which were for the City Corporation. The hall is strategically located at the corner, linking No. 39 with the larger block of flats, and plays an important role in enclosing the group on its south-west side.