The building was commissioned by the Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth to replace a smaller town hall building on Kennington Road. After a design competition that attracted 143 entries, Septimus Warwick and H. Austen Hall were selected to design the building in Edwardian Baroque style. Construction began in 1905, with the foundation stone laid by the mayor on the 21 July 1906. The original cost of the building, excluding furnishings, was put at £40,000. It was formally opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales, the futureKing George V and Queen Mary on 29 April 1908. The building was extended westwards between 1935 and 1938 to sympathetic designs by Whinney, Son and Austen Hall with E.R. Silver, adding an extra floor and an Assembly Hall. In 1964 a plaque was unveiled at the town hall to commemorate the life of Violette Szabo GC, a member of the Special Operations Executive, who had been brought up in Brixton before serving in the Second World War. The building was transferred to the London Borough of Lambeth in 1965 and subsequently became the seat of government for that body. As part of the council's redevelopment of the area, which includes the construction of new residential units and offices alongside, the town hall underwent a £25 million refurbishment, which was completed in 2018.
Features
The building occupies a triangular site, with its longest and principal facades at Brixton Hill and Acre Lane. The rounded front entrance is on the junction of these two roads; above it rises the 134 feet high clock tower which is the building's principal feature and is a local landmark. The clock chimes out every 15 minutes. Sculpted stone figures surround the four clock faces, at the corners of the tower, representing Justice, Science, Art and Literature. On the Brixton Road facade near the foundation stone is a stone war memorial with the names of Lambeth Borough Council staff who died in the First World War. The main external materials are Portland stone, Norwegian granite and red brick. Both the exterior and interior feature many original decorative details such as sculptures, metalwork and stained glass. Interior spaces include the Council Chamber, meeting rooms, atrium and a community room.
