Anniversary of the opening of Woolwich Town Hall

Today is the 109th anniversary of the opening of the beautiful Woolwich Town Hall.

It was designed by architect Mr A Brumwell Thomas and it enabled the officers of the council to work under the same roof for the first time since the civic parishes of Eltham, Woolwich and Plumstead had been merged to create the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich some six years earlier, in 1900.

The official opening was conducted by the local MP, Will Crooks (just a couple of days before the General Election of 1906, in fact, in which he was re-elected) where he was presented with a gold key.

To mark the opening of the new municipal buildings, a souvenir booklet was produced and sold for one shilling (reproduced again to mark the building's centenary in 2006 - both can be seen at the Heritage Centre).



In the next edition of the Kentish Independent, there was a special supplement with photographs of the new town hall.



A very, very length article was also published in the paper following the opening, most of which I have transcribed below (apologies for any mistakes - it got quite tiring and I had to resort to using dictation software!)

Woolwich Town Hall
Opened by Mr Will Crooks
Interior viewed and Admired by Throngs of People

For something like three years the people of Woolwich have watched the growing up of their new Town Hall. When their friends have come to visit them they have taken them up Wellington Street to show them what was to be the Borough's municipal centre.

Then, by way of contrast, they have conducted them round to William Street, in order that they might learn by contrast the fuller force of the great thing that was happening. Lastly, they went home and talked over what it would cost.

This was a point upon which very few people had a really clear idea for, although the financial details have been published from time to time, the average man is generally apt to lose his way when he is asked to think in thousands. But this only made the subject all the more fascinating and the interest more vital. When such of them as obtained admittance to Saturday's function heard the lengthy and explicit statement of the Town Clerk, Mr A B Bryceson, they knew all about it. The applause which greeted every complimentary reference to the beauties of the place seemed to indicate, too, but no one present begrudged in the least a sum of £95,000 for the Borough's latest and greatest ornament.

Wellington Street was very much alive as the hour of three in the afternoon approached. From far and near men, women and children had gathered, and although admission was by ticket the splendid three domed entrance was quite full by the time the proceedings proper commenced. Viewed from the top of the board staircase, whether crimson covered platform was, it was a vast sea of faces which one looked down upon and the gallery contributed its own quota to the great throng.

THE PLACE OF PLEASANT MEMORY

The hall was fully described in these columns when last month the Duke of Connaught unveiled Mr Pomeroy's magnificent marble statue of Queen Victoria within it and those who were not present on that day and first saw the place for the first time would be prepared to confirm the eulogies painted of it then. It is, indeed, one of the finest things in the whole building period although the visitor admires the oak furnished little Council Chamber, the handsomely decorated public hall, and the compact and convenient committee rooms, this is the place of straight-lined art and generosity of expanse which lingers longest in the memory.

When details are considered the most noteworthy feature is undoubtedly the stained-glass windows. In these Mr Geoffrey Webb, of 38, Chester Terrace, N.W., has put some of these choicest work. He has had the advantage of consultation with the architect, Mr A. Brumwell Thomas, and Mr WT Vincent, president of the Woolwich Antiquarian Society.

The subjects treated in these windows are all reminders of the ancient greatness of Woolwich. The town and environs have a history full of poetry and romance, and the chapters called to mind by these lovely storied lights are of those in which the fancy of the lover of royal and loyal Woolwich most delights to revel.

KINGS IN PLENTY

Here, for instance, above the place where Mr Crooks stood to declare the buildings open stands Charles the First. It was autocracy in close proximity to democracy, but one forgets many things in the career of the Stuart dynasty as one remembers by the figure of Phineas Pett and the plans he has in his hand that in the seventeenth century Woolwich dockyard was a factor in the industry of the land. The inscription setteth forth in fitley ordained wording that:

Here in the month of October 1637 Phineas Pett the master shipbuilder having fixed the rigging and sails at the yards conducted King Charles 1st on board HMS Sovereign of the Seas before her final departure from Woolwich & the King is mightily pleased. HMS Sovereign of the Seas whose burden was 1637 tons, being the very number of the year of her launching was 127 feet long by the keel and 47 feet broad by the beam. Her building lost the King the affection of many of his subjects who rebelled against the levy of shop money.

There in the council chamber, bluff King Hal and Elizabeth the (more or less) Good, his queenly daughter, days down upon the green covered benches which are quite Parliamentary in their minutes away. It was kindly to give Henry and not Charles this particular honour. Hal could generally managed to get his way with the people's representatives, while Charles-well, it would have been an unfair reminder of uncomfortable episodes to have given him those benches to look upon.

Yonder, too, overlooking Wellington Street, are more Kings-four of them this time. After Poitiers, John of France was brought captive to England and here remained for four years. By that time diplomacy had brought about a treaty. Whether there was much "vereeniging" or whether eloquent politicians talked about the matter as "haggling over blackmail" matters nothing to us in these peaceful days of Hague Conventions and Maxim guns. The great historical fact stands out that John was allowed to run off home for a holiday and see if he could raise a matter of a million and a half. Sad to relate and would stand well for the hapless monarch and so he "surrendered to his recognisance" The refreshing honesty of the proceedings struck the King of England is forcibly as it does us of the present day sometimes when a first class misdemeanant fails to clear off to the Argentine. So they had a little dinner to celebrate it. In fact, it was rather a great affair. A couple more kings were asked to come in and help to make the thing a success, and the inscription tells us:

Here at Eltham Palace in Epiphany title of 1364, King Edward III entertained with great splendour three noble Kings, viz, John of France, David Bruce of Scotland and Waldemar of Denmark.

In the window Edward is handing a loving To John in token that there is no animosity between them, while Bruce, of Scotland and Waldemar of Denmark, are looking on smiling a stained and grassy approval. The words of the mouth and the meditations of the heart of the rulers of Woolwich cannot but be happy and for bearing in the presence of such an illustrious example of Regal brotherhood.

Phineas Pett, the premier shipwright; Pepys the dear old diarist; Sir Martin Bowls, once Lord Mayor of London; Lovelace, the luckless lyrist and prisoned petitioner; Maudsley, Arsenal lad and mighty engineer; and, not least loveable and admirable of all, Charles George Gordon, killed at Khartoum, all have been brought to people the new Town Hall of Woolwich and temper the hot beste of our modern life with their older strength and calm.

Enough is been said in description of parts of the building. The quality of the work put into them and the other many details of interest can only be judged by a personal visit.

The mayor, Mayoress and Council met at the old town Hall and walking procession, the macebearer, Mr T Hall, in front. At the door of the new building Mr Brumwell Thomas presented Mr Crooks with the gold key with which to unlock the portal. The keyboard the following inscription:-

Presented on the opening of Woolwich town hall to William Crooks Esq MP by A Brumwell Thomas, architect.

The door was opened, and Mr crooks and the municipal dignitaries proceeded to the head of the staircase.

THE MAYOR'S WELCOME

In his opening speech the man expressed his pleasure having to perform duty of welcoming them in the new town hall and municipal buildings. They had been familiar with the outside of them sometime and they were now making acquaintance with the inside it was not his intention to say one word of praise or disapproval, but presently they would be able to judge for themselves whether the Municipal Buildings Committee and the architect had deserved one of them. Those buildings with the child of the first Borough Council the Woolwich elected. The present Borough Council had been in the position of stepmother. It had endeavoured to carry out the original plans in the spirit they would've been done, had there been no election from the beginning to the present day. It was for them now to use this building which had been provided for council deliberations and for the officers to carry on my work in place of the previous cramped, makeshift offices. They would now all be under one roof and he would be very much surprised if it did not result in even more efficient work been accomplished for the borough. The council would have a new chamber and committee rooms in which to meet and serve the borough, and they hoped that the more beautiful surroundings under which they would meet in the future would not be without effect in raising the town of the deliberations and impressing upon their minds the necessity of doing a duty so that the welfare of the borough might be enhanced. He concluded by remarking that he hoped that occasion might be typical of happy days in store for the borough in the future than in the past. (Hear, hear and applause.)

STATEMENT BY THE TOWN CLERK

Mr Bryceson made the following statement:-

The provisions of buildings, comprising a complete set of offices for the business of the council and a whole for the use of the public, for the opening of which we are assembled this afternoon, was a necessary sequence of the incorporation of the borough under the London Government Act, 1899. The effect of this incorporation was to weld into one whole the representatives and offices of a number of different local authorities which were, at that date, administering the local government in the three parishes which now form the borough. The centralisation of the duties of his authorities was not, however, accompanied by a corresponding centralisation of the work it involved.

The inadequacy of the existing accommodation, the distance which separated the three different offices at which the duties of the old authorities were carried out, and the distribution of the staff in cramped and insanitary buildings, when did it quite impossible to carry on the business of the borough without much unnecessary loss of time and expense, and with the efficiency which is to be desired.

Realising this, the council, early in the first year of its existence, determined upon the erection of a suitable municipal Centre of administration. These buildings are the result of the action, and will, it is hoped, afford sufficient accommodation for the present needs of the Borough and for its reasonable future necessities

The site upon which the buildings are collected is freehold, and was acquired at a cost of £15,204. It has an area of about 9000 square yards, a frontage to Wellington Street of 123 feet, to Upper Market Street of 255 feet and to Lower Market Street of 38 feet. The buildings, including furniture and equipment to complete, and all architects and other fees, will, it is estimated cost a little over £80,000, so that the total cost of the whole scheme may be approximately stated at £95,000.

The money required to cover this expenditure has been borrowed for varying periods from 10 to 60 years, according to the purpose for which the expenditure was required, and the repayment of these loans will involve for the first 10 years the levying of the rate of 14d in the pound. Actually expiration of 10 years and for the next 20 years later 1 1/2d in the pound, and for the remaining thirty years a rate of 1/2d in the pound.

The main building comprises a council chamber, committee room suite and 70 rooms, which will be used as offices; and the public all portion of the building comprises a large hall, capable of seating, even under the London County Council's stringent regulations, and exclusive of the platform, 750 people. The hall is supplemented by an Paul cloakroom and lavatory accommodations for both sexes and a refreshments room.

The buildings have been designed in the classical Renaissance style by, and carried out under the direction of, Mr A Brumwell Thomas of Westminster, a well-known architect, who has, in the ability and refinement he has displayed in his work, I think you will agree, added increased blaster to the high reputation he already holds. The work has been carried out by Mr JK Johnson and Sons, of Leicester, the principal contractors, and a number of other firms whose names appear in the souvenir book, to which I shall in the moment refer.

The whole of the administrative staff of this council will be housed under one roof any inconvenience which has been largely occasioned during the past five years by reason of the separation of different departments will no longer exist, and the centralisation affected will, it is anticipated, result in substantial saving in the cost of administration, and in increased efficiency. The Borough council, as the sanitary authority in the bell, has for sometime past felt anomalous position has its own staff under insanitary conditions, and directing buildings of completeness, both in structure and sanitation, which of these buildings present, it feels that the influence upon the bath, and upon the promotion generally of structural artistic and sanitary matters cannot but be beneficial.

Historically Woolwich is one of the most interesting, if not the most interesting powers in London. Its history travels back to the reign of King Alfred, and this is distracted in the sixth lunettes surrounding this hall, and in the other principal windows. For many years, Woolwich and Eltham both formed parties of a Royal Manor thereby enjoying certain priveleges as, for example, the excusal from payment of tolls, and in consequence can boast of many Royal associations. Famous for the Dockyard, the oldest of the Royal dockyards. We find that in 1512 was built first great battleship, the "Harry Grace a Dieu" more familiarly known as the great Harry which later conveyed his Majesty King Edward the 8th to the field of the Cloth of Gold and in 1637 was launched that famous ship the Sovereign of the Seas built by Phineas Pett in the dockyard, and the inspection of which by Charles the first, is represented in the window immediately behind this platform, which has been also famous for personal association with it of men such as Gordon, Maudsley and Lovelace, soldier, engineer and poet respectively, whose memories are perpetuated in the windows of the public call. Other historical associations are illustrated in the windows of the committee room suite notably the meeting rooms of the four kings at Eltham.

For many years, each of the three parishes now forming the borough is subject to the jurisdiction of the Lords of the manner and the local justices, and the only administration was in open Vestry. The parish of Woolwich was however the first emerge from this primitive state, and in 1807 obtained a private at constituting a body of commissioners with certain powers, which eventually resulted in the adoption of the public health act, 1848 and the election of the late local board. The act of 1887 contains many curious provisions, including the employment of a Dustman, who twice every week was to sound a bell, or with an audible and distinct voice give notice to the inhabitants of the removal of all dust, et cetera, and armed watchmen and Beatles to keep watch and Ward within the town, but together with an act of the succeeding session also affecting Woolwich is now repealed.

The local board existed for 48 years, up to 1900, and was at that time the only local board left in the whole of the country. Forty-eight years later than Woolwich, in 1856 Plumstead and Eltham, under the provisions of an act passed in 1855, advanced in local government and became part of the Plumstead District Board of Works, so remaining until 1894, when by an act of that year, Plumstead was separated from the body, and became a separate elective vestry. Eltham remaining, until the incorporation of the borough, a part of the Board of Works, thereafter known as the Lee Board of Works. The old authorities existing immediately prior to incorporation of the borough involved together a representation of 175 members whereas the present council consists of only 42.

In considering the administrative requirements of the borough, and the work which is at present involved therein, not only has regards to be had to the duties of those old authorities, all of which have been transferred to the present council, but to further powers which have been transferred under the London government act from the London County Council; To the many new undertakings, electricity, baths, libraries, et cetera; and recent legislation, all of which have largely increased the scope of the council's work.

With this increase of work and responsibility, it is interesting also to note that the rateable value of the borough has increased from £584,295 on 1 November, 1900, to £776758 at the present time. The number of staff on 1 November, 1900, was 54 and is now 114.

Enough has been said to convey a general impression of the vast work involved in the administration of a borough, which is the second largest in area in the metropolis, to enable everyone present to realise the necessity for the buildings which are about to be opened, and the beauty and usefulness of which will enhance the dignity of the borough, and will for ever be a sort of congratulations, not only to those were taken part in, and I responsible for that direction, but to the whole of its inhabitants.

In conclusion, the committee desire me to say that a handsome souvenir book, containing a more detailed description of the buildings, with illustrations, and a historical retrospect of the local government of the borough, has been prepared, and will be on sale during the coming week at the price of 1s.

IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE

When called upon Mr Crooks said simply "it is my pleasing duty to declare this building open in the public service and for the citizens of Woolwich"

NOTHING SHODDY

Councillor George Bishop (chairman of the building committee) moved the vote of thanks to Mr crooks. He remarked that the building committee had been practically unanimous in everything they had undertaken in connection with this work, and they had striven to give the very best value for the town. Everything of the best had been procured, and there was nothing shoddy. The decorative and artistic work was a credit to those who have executed it. The committee decided that there should be no sweated labour-(hear, hear)- And as far as possible saw that all work had been fairly paid for. They had provided the a home for the council to meet and officials to work, which would Woodbound to the wedding of the town, and he he was expressing the wish of every counsellor on both sides of the house, that's the legislation made doing that for the power of what it would be for it advancement. With the help of the London County Council representatives and Mr crooks he hopes to see Trimas running about seeing in all directions and a subway under the Thames, and communication made so that all should be closer together and so help to make Woolwich a very desirable place in which to live.

Councillor LJ Jones seconded. The building was a beautiful building and it was a great honour for any man to be asked to open it. It was the finest thing in Woolwich. He hoped it expressed their thoughts, or at least that the thoughts which passed through their minds might be as beautiful as the place. But it was also an honour conferred upon the citizens of the borough that Mr Crooks should declare the building open. He thought that was greater than the honour which had been conferred upon Mr Crooks.

"PURITY, LOVE AND DUTY"

Responding to the vote, Mr Will Crooks said, when it was suggested he should open the buildings, he had made up his mind that he would speak on the advantages of municipal government, but in view of a certain event he would not do so (hear, hear). It would be manifestly unfair for him to allude to things happening outside. (Hear, hear) their duty as citizens was always to select the best citizens to serve the people for the well-being of the community. Councillor Jones had said that the town Hall was the greatest thing in the borough. Well, the greatest thing a Borough could have was a happy, contented and healthful people. (hear, hear). He hoped that when the councillors and Aldermen got to work they would realise the greatest ideal of public service and that the debates should be free from personalities. There was a beautiful and inspiring motto which would stand for all time "Purity, love and duty." He hopes that it might always be an inspiration to them. He trusted that all who use the buildings would do so for the good of the citizens and that God would bless their efforts (hear, hear and loud applause)

Thanks to Jonathan at the Heritage Centre for help locating the souvenir book and archive article.

Hi Alan - yes, wouldn't it be great to find the key. As I read it, the key was actually presented to Will Crooks so I wonder if it just remained his and within his family? He died in 1921 - wonder in what circumstances it was "seen" in 1934.