The London Marriott County Hall Hotel is a Grade-II listed hotel at the

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Alber ...

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 ...

. It has 206 bedrooms.

History

The County Hall was designed by

Ralph Knott Ralph Knott (3 May 1878 – 25 January 1929) was a British architect. He was responsible for building the massive 6-storey "Edwardian Baroque" style County Hall building for the London County Council. Knott was a native of Chelsea and was th ...

in 1909 and work on the building began in 1912. In 1922 County Hall was officially opened by

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

and Queen Mary as the headquarters of the local government in London. The entire complex of seven buildings was completed in 1932 and the northern section of the building was built in 1933. The premises continued to expand, and became under control by the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

(GLC) in 1965. By the 1980s, the

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

controlled GLC was in conflict with the British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Government. Since the Parliament buildings were just across the river from County Hall, the latter sported a large banner recording the total number of unemployed in London. Subsequently, the GLC was abolished by the Prime Minister,

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

in 1986. The

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

(LCC) was established in 1889 by elected members of each London Borough in order to control public services within each borough. They focused on issues such as education, roads, city planning and council housing. For 64 years, County Hall served as the headquarters for local governments in London. Following the end of the GLC, the county hall sat vacant. It was purchased by the Shirayama Shokusan Corporation in 1993 and converted into a hotel in 1998.

Building

The building is constructed of

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 ...

from the Isle of Wight, and its foundation is a

plinth A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In c ...

composed of Cornish granite. The oak covered walls are nearly 100 years old and are marked by the English Heritage Foundation. The bronze doors that decorate the entrance were made by Crittals, with enrichments modelled by George Alexander. The plaque on the right side of the entrance commemorates the official opening by King George V in 1922. On the left is displayed a bronze relief of Ralph Knott, designed by

Gilbert Bayes Gilbert William Bayes (4 April 1872 – 10 July 1953) was an English sculptor. His art works varied in scale from medals to large architectural clocks, monuments and equestrian statues and he was also a designer of some note, creating chess piec ...

and unveiled in 1932. The sculptures of the four pavilions at the far end of County Hall were produced by A. F. Hardman. Visible at the cornice level are eleven coats of arms representing London Boroughs. This was completed in 1933 and overseen by E. Stone Collins after Ralph Knott's death. The County Hall building is six stories high and has of corridors. Deluxe Roomsfh

Hotel rooms and designs

London Marriott Hotel County Hall was officially opened by

Bill Marriott John Willard "Bill" Marriott Jr. (born March 25, 1932) is an American billionaire businessman who is the executive chairman of Marriott International, of which he owns 11.28%. Early life and education Marriott was born in Washington, D.C., ...

, Chairman and president of Marriott International Inc. on 23 September 1998. The current owner of County Hall is Japanese company, Shirayama Shokusan Ltd. The hotel currently has 206 bedrooms, 12 meeting rooms, The Library, Gillray's Steakhouse & Bar & the Club at County Hall including a 25m indoor swimming pool located on the 6th floor. All the meeting rooms in the hotel have been created from offices dating back to 1922.

References

{{Hotels in London Hotels in London Marriott hotels