Thomas Retford Somerford (1881 - 25 June 1948) was a British architect, best known for the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

billiard hall A billiard, pool or snooker hall (or parlour, room or club; sometimes compounded as poolhall, poolroom, etc.) is a place where people get together for playing cue sports such as pool, snooker or carom billiards. Such establishments commonly serv ...

s he designed for the Temperance Billiard Hall Co Ltd. The Temperance Billiard Hall Co Ltd was a

Pendleton, Lancashire Pendleton is a small village and civil parish in Ribble Valley, within the county of Lancashire, England. It is close to the towns of Whalley and Clitheroe. The parish lies on the north west side of Pendle Hill below the Nick o' Pendle. The vi ...

company that as part of the wider temperance movement built billiard halls in the north of England and London. Somerford was initially an assistant to

Norman Evans Norman Evans (11 June 1901 – 25 November 1962) was an English stage and radio comedian, best remembered for his sketches and programmes entitled "Over the Garden Wall". Biography He was born in Rochdale, Lancashire, and started his working li ...

, and later was lead architect in his own right. Several of these former halls designed by Somerford are now

Grade II listed 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 ...

buildings. His 1912-1914 hall at 134-141

King's Road King's Road or Kings Road (or sometimes the King's Road, especially when it was the king's private road until 1830, or as a colloquialism by middle/upper class London residents), is a major street stretching through Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

, Chelsea, London is now a

building. Somerford's hall at 411-417 Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, London is also still there, but the frontage has been sub-divided into a number of smaller shop units, and the upper storeys are used as a hotel. Together with fellow architect E A Stone, he designed the Astoria in Brixton, London in 1929 (now the

Brixton Academy Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Wes ...

music venue).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Somerford, Thomas 20th-century British architects 1881 births 1948 deaths