The Queens' Building 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

Mile End Mile End is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, England, east-northeast of Charing Cross. Situated on the London-to-Colchester road, it was one of the earliest suburbs of London. It became part of the m ...

in the

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, London borough covering much of the traditional East End of London, East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropol ...

. Originally opened in 1887 as an educational and cultural venue for the East End of London, known as the People's Palace, it now serves as one of the main buildings of

Queen Mary University of London , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...

History

The first section of the Queens' Building, then known as the People's Palace, was opened by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

on 14 May 1887. Much of the initial funding for the construction of the building was provided by

John Thomas Barber Beaumont John Thomas Barber Beaumont (1774–1841) was a British army officer, painter, author, and philanthropist. He was successful in the insurance business, and projected a settlement in South America. Life Born John Thomas Barber on 21 December 17 ...

, who, following his death in 1840, had left a sum of money to be used to promote the education and entertainment of the people in the vicinity of the nearby Beaumont Square. It included a large concert hall called the Queen's Hall, a library, now known as the Octagon, a gymnasium, swimming pool, garden and tennis court. A large section of the building, including the Queen's Hall, was completely destroyed by a fire on 26 February 1931. It was rebuilt in the following years, with a much greater focus on education, including lecture theatres and laboratories, and was incorporated as Queen Mary College on 12 December 1934. The People's Palace itself was rebuilt as a new building located to adjacent to the current Queens' Building, and continued on as a theatre, cinema and music hall for a number of years, until revenues declined and it was purchased by the college in 1954.

References

External links

Queens' Building - Queen Mary Venues
{{Queen Mary University of London Queen Mary University of London Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Mile End