The Shepherd's Bush Pavilion is a Grade II listed building, currently a hotel, formerly a cinema and bingo hall, in

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, i ...

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 ...

. Built in 1923 as a cinema, it was badly damaged by a flying bomb in 1944. In 1955, it was restored and re-opened, but it changed ownership a number of times, and eventually in 1983 became a bingo hall. The Pavilion closed its doors for good in 2001, and remained empty and disused for much of the next decade. In 2009, planning permission was granted for conversion into a luxury hotel. Demolition work began in 2012, with only a part of the building's façade retained. The re-built hotel, the Dorsett Shepherd's Bush, London, opened in 2014.

History

Origins

The Pavilion was originally built as a cinema, designed by

Frank Verity Francis Thomas Verity (1864–1937) was an English cinema architect during the cinema building boom of the years following World War I. Early life Verity was born in London, educated at Cranleigh and joined Thomas Verity, his father, in his ar ...

for Israel Davis. It opened in August 1923, when it won the RIBA London Street Architecture Award for the best London facade. The panel noted the "imposing structure of brick and stone in which the former material especially is used with great imagination". From the beginning, the project was very ambitious – the films were accompanied not by a mere piano but by the Pavilion Symphony Orchestra, and a sophisticated lighting system created colour effects during the films – such as blue lights for rain, or red for fire. The interior was classical in style, using 3 shades of copper, and seated 2,000 spectators. It had no less than 2 miles of carpet and solid silver lamps for lighting, and was awarded a Bronze Medal by the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

WW2

Much of the sumptuous interior work would be lost when the building was badly damaged 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 1944, towards the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and the original interior was destroyed.

Modern era and decline

After the war , the Pavilion was repaired (though not entirely to the original design), and reopened in 1955 as the Gaumont Theatre. It was then closed again in 1969 for further refurbishment, when a new floor was installed, dividing the large open space into two levels – a cinema upstairs and a Bingo Club below. In 1974, the Pavilion acquired a new status as a Grade II listed building although, given the war damage and subsequent alterations, little remained of the original interior design or layout. In 1983, the cinema closed for the last time, leaving the bingo hall open for a while longer. However, in 2001 even the bingo hall closed, and the building fell into disuse.

Redevelopment as a hotel

Shepherd's Bush Pavilion Hotel Under Construction

Shepherd's Bush Pavilion 10 December 2013

In both 2004 and 2006, planning permission was given for conversion into a hotel, but investors withdrew from the project owing to the difficulty of converting the building, in particular the relatively small number of rooms, few of which would have enjoyed any natural daylight or views. The building was left unoccupied and in disrepair for several years, prompting

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

to add it to its 'Building at Risk' register. In 2009, planning permission was granted to convert the empty building into the 4 star Shepherds Bush Pavilion Hotel, designed by architects Flanagan Lawrence. At the end of February 2012, it was reported that the £25 million conversion of the derelict building would begin in March 2012. In the summer of 2012, the building was largely demolished, retaining only the original facade. When completed the hotel would have 11 floors, and the existing curved roof would be replaced by a glass roof. In September 2012, a planning variation was requested by the developers, to change the proposed development from a 242-room hotel to one with 322 smaller rooms. The proposed variation was opposed by local residents who feared that the fundamental character of the new building would be quite different from what was originally proposed. The new hotel is to run by the Asia-based hotel group

Dorsett Hospitality International Dorsett Hospitality International, formerly known as Kosmopolito Hotels International (formerly traded as ), is an international hotel and hospitality organization. Established in 2007, the company is a subsidiary of Far East Consortium Internat ...

, listed on the

Hong Kong Stock Exchange The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK, also known as Hong Kong Stock Exchange) is a stock exchange based in Hong Kong. As of the end of 2020, it has 2,538 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of HK$47 trillion. It is repor ...

. It opened in June, 2014.

Bibliography

* Denny, Barbara, ''Hammersmith and Shepherd's Bush Past'', Historical Publications Ltd, London (1995),

References

External links

Shepherd's Bush Blog
Retrieved December 2011

Retrieved December 2011
Evening Standard, article by Sri Carmichael, 8 February 2010
Retrieved December 2011
The Pavilion at www.londontown.com
Retrieved December 2011

Retrieved December 2011
Hammersmith & Fulham Chronicle, 5 March 2012
Retrieved February 2013
Cinema Treasures
Retrieved February 2013
premier construction news June 2013
Retrieved January 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Shepherd's Bush Pavilion 1923 establishments in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures completed in 1923 Buildings and structures in the United Kingdom destroyed during World War II Event venues established in 1923 Former cinemas in London Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Grade II listed theatres Hotels in London

Pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

Buildings and structures demolished in 2012