LOCAL HISTORY
Town hall ’ s past
This October , read stories on a movie legend and a Lady at ealingnewsextra . co . uk / history
Ealing Town Hall will close next year for refurbishment and reconfiguration . When it reopens , it will continue as the borough ’ s primary civic building but will also feature a boutique hotel , a bar and more .
The distinctive , late-Victorian , neo-gothic building in Ealing Broadway has stood for almost 130 years and once housed a swimming pool and library .
It was built between 1886 and 1888 , and was the physical embodiment of the
Charles Jones growing prosperity and population of Ealing , which had only stood on its own for a couple of decades .
Until the 1860s , the town and district of Ealing had been part of the same parish as Brentford and was governed by the parish vestry . The two places separated when the Local Government Act of 1858 allowed districts to apply to become Local Boards and , in 1863 , Ealing residents successfully petitioned the government to achieve this new status .
The first meeting of the board was on 25 May , 1863 . They appointed two members of staff . One was Charles Jones , who was appointed as surveyor .
More than 20 years later , the task fell to Jones to build a new , more impressive , town hall that could act as a status symbol for the growing borough . It was to replace a smaller building on the corner of the Mall ( now Metro Bank ) which was also designed by Jones in the previous decade to hold council meetings and house offices .
Jones negotiated the purchase of the land in Uxbridge Road on which the town hall now stands . The owners were the Wood family , Ealing ’ s major landowners . There had previously been a falling out between the Wood family and the council , and as a conciliatory gesture the Woods sold the land for £ 500 , a fraction of its true value .
Jones designed the town hall and it cost £ 16,000 to build . It included a public library and swimming baths . There was also a fire station in the complex behind the building . Jones wrote “ people said it was too good – of course , our reply was that ‘ Nothing is too good for Ealing .’”
Another feature of the town hall was the Victoria Hall ( named to commemorate Queen Victoria ’ s Golden Jubilee in 1887 ), which was designed to accommodate the various clubs and societies that existed in Ealing . This hall was paid for by the subscriptions of local people . Chief among these were Baron Rothschild and Sir Edward Montagu- Nelson ( after whom the Nelson Room is named ), each contributing £ 500 .
Fittingly , the Victoria Hall will remain available for community groups to hire when the restored town hall opens .
Edward , Prince of Wales ( later Edward VII ) opened the town hall on 15 December 1888 . Jones recalled that the occasion was ‘ a red letter day for Ealing ’.
In 1965 , the old boroughs of Ealing , Acton and Southall were abolished . They were merged into one new local authority , Ealing Council . It now oversees an area with almost 340,000 people living in it – one of the largest populations in London . For more on the town hall ’ s revamp , visit ealingnewsextra . co . uk
30 around ealing October 2017