Enfield Civic Centre is a municipal building in Silver Street,

Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...

, London. It is the headquarters of

Enfield London Borough Council Enfield London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Enfield in Greater London, England. It is one of 32 London borough councils in the United Kingdom capital of London. History There have previously been a number of l ...

History

Morris Singer bronze of boy with a fish at Enfield Civic Centre 02

The civic centre was commissioned to replace the aging former offices of the

local board of health Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environmenta ...

in Gentleman's Row. The site selected for the new building, which had previously been occupied by open land, was acquired by the

Municipal Borough of Enfield Enfield was a local government district in Middlesex, England from 1850 to 1965. History The parish of Enfield adopted the Public Health Act 1848 in 1850, and formed a local board of health of 12 members to govern the area. The local board's a ...

in 1939. The new building, which was designed by Eric G Broughton & Associates in the postmodern style, was completed in 1961. The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage with nine bays facing onto Silver Street; there were a series of small square windows amidst blue brickwork with a simple revolving door in the bay furthest north on the ground floor; there were nine larger windows amidst brown brickwork with two flagpoles below the window in the bay furthest north on the first floor. The New River formed a decorative feature as it flowed past the front of the building. Internally, the principal room was the council chamber on the first floor. A mural by

Gerald Holtom Gerald Herbert Holtom (20 January 1914 – 18 September 1985Westcott, Kathryn (20 March 2008"World's best-known protest symbol turns 50"'' BBC.co.uk (News)'' (Retrieved: 21 February 2010)) was a British artist and designer. In 1958, he designed ...

depicting scenes from local history was installed on the staircase and a bronze statue designed by Richard Bentley Claughton depicting the

Enfield Beast The enfield is a fictitious creature sometimes used in heraldry. Description The enfield has the head of a fox, forelegs like an eagle's talons, the chest of a greyhound, the body of a lion, and the hindquarters and tail of a wolf. It is occasiona ...

was erected on top of a tall pillar in front of the entrance. The civic centre continued to serve as the local of seat of government when the enlarged

London Borough of Enfield The London Borough of Enfield () is a London borough in North London. It borders the London boroughs of Barnet to the west, Haringey to the south, and Waltham Forest to the southeast. To the north are the districts of Hertsmere, Welwyn Hat ...

was formed in 1965. It was substantially expanded by the addition of a high, twelve-storey stainless steel tower, designed by the same firm of architects, which was erected by

Costain Group Costain Group plc is a British construction and engineering company headquartered in Maidenhead, England. Founded in 1865, its history includes extensive housebuilding and mining activities, but it later focused on civil engineering and commerci ...

at the north end of the original structure. A bridge structure, displaying the borough

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

, connected the original structure with the extension: the expanded complex was opened by the

Queen Mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the monarch, reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also u ...

on 6 May 1975. A

plaque Plaque may refer to: Commemorations or awards * Commemorative plaque, a plate or tablet fixed to a wall to mark an event, person, etc. * Memorial Plaque (medallion), issued to next-of-kin of dead British military personnel after World War I * Pl ...

was placed on the building to commemorate the occasion. In December 2014, a bronze statue of a smiling cherub holding a fish, which had been cast at the Singer Art Foundry and had been found abandoned at a local school, was given a new home at the civic centre. An extensive refurbishment of the complex, which included asbestos removal, a change to open plan working and new timber grill ceilings, was completed at a cost of £7 million in 2017.

References

{{reflist Enfield, London Government buildings completed in 1961 City and town halls in London Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Enfield