Description

SOUTHWARK

TQ3379 SPA ROAD
636-1/5/715 (North West side)
Bermondsey Municipal Offices and
attached railing and brackets

II

Borough hall. 1928-1930. By Henry Tansley, FRIBA. Coursed
ashlar blocks. Roof parapeted. Designed in emulation of the
early C19 Greek Revival.
EXTERIOR: 2 storeys over basement and 9-window range. All
openings are flat with moulded architraves. Steps up to
centrally placed entrance set under giant tetrastyle Ionic
portico; tympanum to pediment with the Borough arms in low
relief; anthemion to peak with blocky attic storey behind.
Portico entablature with dentil cornice continuous across the
elevation which is articulated by plain, 2-storey pilaster
strips; shallow rebate to the right corner.
The entrance is distinguished by a very elaborate cornice with
paterae frieze and is flanked by a pair of small windows with
grilles of an original design. Railings and torcheres to
either side of entrance and railings to basement area.
The design returns to the right for 9 bays; the corner bay of
the return is broader than the rest, its windows framed by
Ionic distyle 'in antis'; the 1st-floor window with a balcony.
Railings to narrow area.
Entrance in the 7th bay has iron grille and 8-panel door of
original design. Plaque to the right of the main entrance:
Borough of Bermondsey Municipal Offices/ This Foundation Stone
Was Laid October 20, 1928 by Alderman Harry C Bateman JP/
Architect H Tansley FRIBA/ WE Baker General Manager of the
Works/ GF Avery Supervisor of the Works.
INTERIOR: of special note are vestibule, entrance and stair
hall. Rectangular vestibule entered through veined marble
aedicule; similar aedicules and mouldings to entrance hall in
which Doric columns support an elliptical gallery. Imperial
stair to north lit by electric torcheres. First-floor gallery
roofed by an elliptical dome supported on coupled columns.
Pavement of an original design.
Such grand display in the entrance to municipal buildings,
where the greatest care is usually taken on the decoration of
the council chamber, is explained both by the fact that this
structure was an annexe to a building next door, now
demolished, and that the architect was able to buy these
richly veined marble features from a house in Park Lane
demolished in 1927-28.

(Harwood E (English Heritage): London Region Report on
Bermondsey Municipal Offices, Spa Road: 1990-).

Listing NGR: TQ3381879200

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Bermondsey Municipal Offices And Attached Railing And Brackets at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q26665688

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

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  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
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  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
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  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback