105 Barking Road is a former public hall in

Canning Town Canning Town is a district in the London Borough of Newham, East London. The district is located to the north of the Royal Victoria Dock, and has been described as the "Child of the Victoria Docks" as the timing and nature of its urbanisation ...

, in the

London Borough of Newham The London Borough of Newham is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by the s ...

, in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The building is situated in the ward of Canning Town South, on the north of Barking Road, to the northeast of

Canning Town station Canning Town is a London Underground, Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and London Buses station in Canning Town in London, England. It is designed as an intermodal metro and bus station, fully opening in 1999 as part of the Jubilee Line Extensio ...

. 105 Barking Road is a classic example of a Victorian

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

with links to East

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

and labour movements during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The building is a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. Notable British activists including

Sylvia Pankhurst Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst (5 May 1882 – 27 September 1960) was a campaigning English feminist and socialist. Committed to organising working-class women in London's East End, and unwilling in 1914 to enter into a wartime political truce with ...

Will Thorne William James Thorne CBE (4 October 1857 – 2 January 1946) was a British trade unionist, activist and one of the first Labour Members of Parliament. Early years Thorne was born in Hockley, Birmingham, on 8 October 1857. His father and other ...

and

James Keir Hardie James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party, and served as its first parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908. Hardie was born in Newhouse, Lanarkshire. ...

all spoke here. Today, the building is the headquarters of the

social action In sociology, social action, also known as Weberian social action, is an act which takes into account the actions and reactions of individuals (or ' agents'). According to Max Weber, "Action is 'social' insofar as its subjective meaning takes ac ...

charity Community Links.

History

Construction

The building was designed by the British architect Lewis Angell (who also designed Stratford Old Town Hall in conjunction with John Giles) in the

Italianate style The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

, and was built between 1892 and 1894.

Connections with East End suffragette and labour movements

The public hall is associated with various prominent socialists and

s in the

, including

Eleanor Marx Jenny Julia Eleanor Marx (16 January 1855 – 31 March 1898), sometimes called Eleanor Aveling and known to her family as Tussy, was the English-born youngest daughter of Karl Marx. She was herself a socialist activist who sometimes worked as a ...

Keir Hardie James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party, and served as its first parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908. Hardie was born in Newhouse, Lanarkshire. ...

, Daisy Parsons and

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ...

who all spoke here. It also has a connection with the trade unionist

who addressed a meeting of his fellow workers at the site of the public hall in 1889: "''The way you have been treated in your work for many years is scandalous, brutal and inhuman. I pledge my word that, if you will stand firm and don't waver, within six months we will claim and win the eight-hour day, a six-day week and the abolition of the present slave-driving methods in vogue not only at the Beckton Gas Works, but all over the country''." Following the speech, he established the

National Union of Gasworkers and General Labourers The National Union of General Workers (NUGW) was an early general union in the United Kingdom, the most important general union of its era. History The union was founded in 1889 as the National Union of Gas Workers and General Labourers by Will ...

(a forerunner to GMB, now one of the three biggest trade unions in the UK). By late 1889 the Union had 20,000 members and its success prepared the ground for the

London Dock Strike of 1889 The London dock strike was an industrial dispute involving dock workers in the Port of London. It broke out on 14 August 1889, and resulted in victory for the 100,000 strikers and established strong trade unions amongst London dockers, one of whi ...

, and the rapid growth of unionism in East London. Thorne was elected as general secretary of the Union on the same year, to a seat on

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancien ...

town council in 1891, the borough's mayor in 1917–18, and MP for

West Ham South West Ham South was a United Kingdom constituencies, parliamentary constituency in the County Borough of West Ham, in what was then Essex but is now Greater London. It returned one Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) ...

in 1906, a seat he held for 12 years. Another local public figure connected with the hall is Daisy Parsons, a leading

and

's first female mayor. In 1914,

Parsons Parsons may refer to: Places In the United States: * Parsons, Kansas, a city * Parsons, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Parsons, Tennessee, a city * Parsons, West Virginia, a town * Camp Parsons, a Boy Scout camp in the state of Washingt ...

(along with

and the future leader of the Labour Party George Lansbury) held a meeting at Canning Town Public Hall to demand a minimum wage for women of 5s a day or £1 a week. In the following year, Parsons also gave an impassioned speech at the Woman's

Suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...

and Labour Meeting held at the hall, led by

. When the first London branch of the

Women's Social and Political Union The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was a women-only political movement and leading militant organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom from 1903 to 1918. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership and ...

(WSPU) was formed in

Minnie Baldock Lucy Minnie Baldock (née Rogers; 20 November 1864''1939 England and Wales Register'' – 10 December 1954)''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995'' was a British suffragette. ...

and

Annie Kenney Ann "Annie" Kenney (13 September 1879 – 9 July 1953) was an English working-class suffragette and socialist feminist who became a leading figure in the Women's Social and Political Union. She co-founded its first branch in London with Minnie ...

in 1906 (with

Adelaide Knight Adelaide Knight, also known as Eliza Adelaide Knight, (1871–1950), was a British suffragette. Biography Born in Tower Hamlets in 1871, Eliza Adelaide ("Addy") Knight was a frail child, born with deformed thumbs, who had two accidents in ch ...

as Secretary), several meetings were held at Canning Town Public Hall. The

East London Federation of Suffragettes The Workers' Socialist Federation was a socialist political party in the United Kingdom, led by Sylvia Pankhurst. Under many different names, it gradually broadened its politics from a focus on women's suffrage to eventually become a left com ...

continued to hold meetings at the hall after their split from the WSPU.

A centre for the community

The building has also served as a relief centre for the local community on several occasions. On 19 January 1917, a factory of the chemical firm Brunner, Mond & Co in

Silvertown Silvertown is a district in the London Borough of Newham, in east London, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, Thames and was historically part of the parishes of West Ham and East Ham, Becontree Hundred, hundred of Becontr ...

exploded, killing 69 people on the spot, seriously injuring 98 others, 4 of whom later died, with a further 1,000 people who sustained minor injuries. The

Silvertown explosion The Silvertown explosion occurred in Silvertown in West Ham, Essex (now part of the London Borough of Newham, in Greater London) on Friday, 19 January 1917 at 6:52 pm. The blast occurred at a munitions factory that was manufacturing explos ...

caused massive destruction in the borough, around 70,000 homes were damaged, displacing a large number of residents. The public hall opened its doors and provided food, shelters, and clothes to those of who had lost their home. In February 1953, the Thames flooded the area of

and

Custom House A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting c ...

, it's known as

North Sea Flood of 1953 The 1953 North Sea flood was a major flood caused by a heavy storm surge that struck the Netherlands, north-west Belgium, England and Scotland. Most sea defences facing the surge were overwhelmed, causing extensive flooding. The storm and flo ...

. An estimated 1,500 homes were damaged; 105 Barking Road once again provided temporary accommodation for those affected.Community Links, A short history of 105 Barking Road (Texaco: London, 1993), p.9. Apart from hosting political events and delivering humanitarian aid, the public hall has also held a wide variety of community events. Newham Council's records show that 105 Barking Road was often to provide tea and entertainment for children selected from "the poorest streets". When

East Ham East Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham, England, 8 miles (12.8 km) east of Charing Cross. East Ham is identified in the London Plan as a Major Centre. The population is 76,186. It was originally part of the Becontree Hun ...

and

merged into

in 1965, the public hall at 105 Barking Road became an Adult Education Institute. The building continued its educational role until 1989 when the local authority ruled it unsafe.

1990-present

In 1990, local charity Community Links proposed to

Newham Council Newham London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Newham. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. The council is unusual in that its executive function is controlled by a di ...

that they would take over the building and bring it back into community use at no cost to the local authority. In return, the Council would lease 105

Barking Road List of A roads in zone 1 in Great Britain beginning north of the River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longe ...

to Community Links on a peppercorn lease. Following detailed negotiations, the Council agreed to this proposal in Spring 1991. Community Links began to raise fund to restore and revive the building and convert it to a multi-purpose community centre, and the plan was designed by British architect Richard Ellis. The construction work began with a 'Topping Out' ceremony attended by

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

on 2 December 1992. 128 companies provided free or substantially discounted materials, equipment, or professional services, and many community partners and individuals also made cash donations during the renovation. The total cost of the renovation project would have cost £1.5 million. However, with assistance pouring in from local community, Community Links only paid a little over £500,000 for the entire project. All the rest was contributed in kind. Community Links reopened the building with 7 days of celebration in October 1993, and it has been the home of the charity ever since.

Design

The hall's purpose was to provide a public meeting space and to administer council business in the southern part of the borough, where the population had expanded rapidly in the late nineteenth century. The site cost £2,400 (including land for the library) and construction cost £20,000. The

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

next door was constructed as part of the same development; the philanthropist

John Passmore Edwards John Passmore Edwards M.P. (24 March 1823 – 22 April 1911) ODNB article by A. J. A. Morris, 'Edwards, John Passmore (1823–1911)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 200 accessed 15 ...

donated the first thousand books to the library's collection.Historic England, 'Former public hall and library, Canning Town'. It was at first intended to include public baths on the ground floor of the hall, with a galleried assembly hall on the first floor, but this aspiration was abandoned in 1891 on the grounds of cost. Instead, a second public hall-cum-police court and offices were provided. The new hall and library were some of the first public buildings in the borough to be lit by electricity, generated by gas engines on site. These were used until 1898 when the power generating station at Abbey Mills came into operation. The key architectural features of the building include a mosaic terrazzo floor and stained glass windows. The exterior of the hall also retains an impressive Italianate façade of red brick, ornamented with decorative Portland stone friezes and panels.

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

states that the building has many architectural assets, including its "original stairs, doorcases and coloured glass windows and a vast first floor auditorium with surviving plasterwork ceiling, proscenium, and light fittings". Inside, the ground floor has an entrance lobby (with the mosaic terrazzo floor) with a foundation plaque, recording the names of councillors who oversaw the hall's construction. Two decorative cast-iron, open-well staircases lead from the main lobby to the mezzanine landing, the latter lit by stained glass windows in Art-Deco designs. A perpendicular corridor leading off from the landing gives access to the

Room and

Room, used for training workshops and community events. At the end of the corridor is the Neighbours Hall. The hall's principal decoration is its coffered ceiling, which has not been affected by the partial subdivision of the hall in the 1990s. Two of the original chandeliers, vast metal and frosted glass discs, remain in-situ. The sprung floor of the original stage also remains, although the stage arch has been partitioned. File:105_Barking_Road-Line_up.jpg, Queue for Form Filling Session at 105 Barking Road File:Mosaic_Terrazzo_Floor_at_105_Barking_Road.jpg, Mosaic Terrazzo Floor at 105 Barking Road File:Reception_at_105_Barking_Road.jpg, Reception at 105 Barking Road File:Crossover_at_105_Barking_Road.jpg, Crossover at 105 Barking Road File:Ceiling_in_Neighbour’s_Hall.jpg, Ceiling in Neighbour's Hall File:Chandelier_in_Neighbour’s_Hall.jpg, Chandelier in Neighbour's Hall

References

{{reflist Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Newham Canning Town