County Hall is a former municipal building in Penrhyn Road,

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

, England. The building, which was the headquarters of

Surrey County Council Surrey County Council is the county council administering certain services in the non-metropolitan county of Surrey in England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1965 the Conservative Party has ...

from 1893 to 2020, is a landmark in Kingston and is a

Grade II 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 ...

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 ...

History

The building was commissioned to replace an earlier

Sessions House A sessions house in the United Kingdom was historically a courthouse that served as a dedicated court of quarter sessions, where criminal trials were held four times a year on quarter days. Sessions houses were also used for other purposes to do wi ...

Newington Causeway __NOTOC__ Newington Causeway is a road in Southwark, London, between the Elephant and Castle and Borough High Street. Elephant & Castle Underground station is at the southern end. It follows the route of the old Roman road Stane Street. In 19 ...

in Newington which had been completed in 1791. Following the implementation of the

Local Government Act 1888 Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

, which established councils in every county, it became necessary to find a meeting place for

. However as Newington formed part of the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

from 1889 and therefore lay outside the area administered by the council, county leaders chose to procure a new purpose-built county headquarters. By 1890 six towns were being considered:

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

, Kingston, Redhill,

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the historic county of Surrey and since 1965 it has ...

and

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

. The site selected had previously formed part of the Woodbines Estate in Kingston. Construction work on the new building began in 1891. It was designed by Charles Henry Howell, County Surveyor and partner in Howell and Brooks, in the

classical style Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect V ...

, was built by

Higgs and Hill Higgs and Hill was a major British construction company responsible for construction of many well-known buildings in London. History The company was established in 1874 by the merger of the firm of Thomas Hill (managed by Rowland and Joseph Hill ...

. The first meeting in the building was held on 17 October 1893, and it was officially opened with bands playing on 13 November 1893. The building was reported to have cost over £60,000. Access was from Grove Road, which was renamed Penrhyn Road, in honour of the first chairman of the county council, Edward Penrhyn. The design for the original building (the north east section of the current complex), which was faced in

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building sto ...

, involved an asymmetrical main frontage with seven bays facing onto Penrhyn Road; the central section featured an arched doorway which was projected forward and a clock tower with a belfry and a dome above. There were sculptures by Farmer and Brindley on the face of the building. Inside the principal rooms were the council chamber and the clerk to the council's office. An extension to the west of the original block, designed by

E. Vincent Harris Emanuel Vincent Harris (26 June 1876 – 1 August 1971), often known as E. Vincent Harris, was an English architect who designed several important public buildings in traditional styles. Early life He was born in Devonport, Devon, and e ...

, was opened by the

Duke of Gloucester Duke of Gloucester () is a British royal title (after Gloucester), often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; the curren ...

in 1930. The Ashcombe Block, which created a quadrangle behind the original block, was completed in 1938. The Ashcombe Block was destroyed by a

flying bomb A flying bomb is a manned or unmanned aerial vehicle or aircraft carrying a large explosive warhead, a precursor to contemporary cruise missiles. In contrast to a bomber aircraft, which is intended to release bombs and then return to its base for ...

in July 1944 and rebuilt in 1953. Further additions, which created a second quadrangle to the south, were completed in 1982. Following local government reorganisation in 1965, County Hall was no longer within the administrative county of Surrey, but within the

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a borough in southwest London. The main town is Kingston upon Thames and it includes Surbiton, Chessington, Malden Rushett, New Malden and Tolworth. It is the oldest of the four royal boroughs in Eng ...

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

. County leaders again developed ambitions to move the county administration to a location that was actually within the county of Surrey. In July 2003 the county council decided to procure new facilities in

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

in Surrey and to sell County Hall; that project, which would have been procured under a

private finance initiative The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 199 ...

contract, was abandoned because of its high cost in January 2006.

Redevelopment of site

In October 2020 the county council announced proposals to move to Woodhatch Place in

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earlie ...

and to sell County Hall in Kingston. The last full council meeting in the building had already been held, on 17 March 2020, with meetings in the latter part of 2020 being held online due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The council vacated County Hall in December 2020, and declared that Woodhatch Place would be the council's headquarters with effect from 1 January 2021. The site and building were purchased by a developer, RER London, in March 2021. The company announced that they were planning "A high quality, residential led, mixed used development comprising residential units (including affordable housing) and commercial / community floorspace".

Artworks

Works of art in County Hall included portraits of

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

and

Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...

by Allan Ramsay and of the former

Lord Lieutenant of Surrey This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Surrey. Since 1737, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Surrey. Lord Lieutenants of Surrey *William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton 1551–1553? *William Howard, ...

, Lord Onslow, by

Godfrey Kneller Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 – 19 October 1723), was the leading portrait painter in England during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and was court painter to Kingdom of England, English and Br ...

Film location

Film and television productions that have made use of County Hall for location filming have included: ;Films *''

Vera Drake ''Vera Drake'' is a 2004 British period drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh and starring Imelda Staunton, Phil Davis, Daniel Mays and Eddie Marsan. It tells the story of a working-class woman in London in 1950 who performs illegal abor ...

'' (2004) *''

102 Dalmatians ''102 Dalmatians'' is a 2000 American crime comedy film directed by Kevin Lima and produced by Edward S. Feldman and Walt Disney Pictures. The sequel to the 1996 film '' 101 Dalmatians'', a live-action remake of the 1961 Disney animated film of ...

'' (2000) *''

Keeping Mum ''Keeping Mum'' is a 2005 British black comedy film co written and directed by Niall Johnson and starring Rowan Atkinson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith and Patrick Swayze. It was produced by Isle of Man Film, Azure Films and Tusk Production ...

'' (2005) ;Television *''

The Wrong Mans ''The Wrong Mans'' is a British BBC Television comedy-drama series, co-produced with the American online television provider Hulu. It premiered on BBC Two on 24 September 2013 and in the United States on 11 November 2013. Considered a crit ...

'' *''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of I ...

'' *''

Silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

'' *''

Call the Midwife ''Call the Midwife'' is a BBC period drama series about a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s and 1960s. The principal cast of the show has included Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, Helen George, Bryony Hanna ...

'' *''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

'' *'' Ashes to Ashes'' *''

Jonathan Creek ''Jonathan Creek'' is a long-running British mystery crime drama series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. It stars Alan Davies as the titular character, who works as a creative consultant to a stage magician while also solvi ...

'' *''

Criminal Justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the Rehabilitation (penology), rehabilitation of o ...

'' *''

Top Boy ''Top Boy'' is a British television crime drama series, created and written by Ronan Bennett. The series is set in the fictional Summerhouse estate in the London Borough of Hackney and focuses on two drug dealers Dushane ( Ashley Walters) and ...

'' *''

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States on P ...

'' *''

Silent Witness ''Silent Witness'' is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC, which focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in 1996, the series was created by Nigel McC ...

'' *''

Saxondale ''Saxondale'' is an English television situation comedy programme, starring Steve Coogan and co-written by Coogan and Neil Maclennan. The series is directed by Matt Lipsey and produced by Ted Dowd. Coogan and Henry Normal served as executive pr ...

References

{{reflist K Buildings and structures in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Local government in Surrey Local government buildings in London Government buildings completed in 1893