The King's Building is a

Grade I 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 that forms part of the Strand Campus of

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Originally named the College Building, the King's Building was designed by

Sir Robert Smirke Sir Robert Smirke (1 October 1780 – 18 April 1867) was an English architect, one of the leaders of Greek Revival architecture, though he also used other architectural styles. As architect to the Board of Works, he designed several major ...

in the course of the College's foundation in 1829. As the founding building, it was built between 1829 and 1831 on land granted to King's College by the Government to complete the riverside frontage of

Somerset House Somerset House is a large Neoclassical complex situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadrangle was built on the site of a Tudor palace ("O ...

. There are today a total of eight floors in the King's Building: Basement level, Ground level, Levels 1 to 4, Level 4U and Level 6. The King's Building houses a number of administrative departments (Estates & Facilities Offices, Admissions Office, Accommodation and Cashiers' Office), lecture theatres (most notably the Edmond J. Safra Lecture Theatre and Anatomy Lecture Theatre), the College Chapel, the Great Hall, various function rooms (Old Council Room, Committee Room, River Room, Somerset Room, St David's Room), study rooms and a catering outlet.

King's Building Foyer

King's Building Foyer is the old entrance hall of the building. Two marble statues of

Sappho Sappho (; el, Σαπφώ ''Sapphō'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her Greek lyric, lyric poetry, written to be sung while ...

and

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or co ...

are placed in the foyer. They were bequeathed in 1923 by Frida Mond, the wife of

Ludwig Mond Ludwig Mond FRS (7 March 1839 – 11 December 1909) was a German-born, British chemist and industrialist. He discovered an important, previously unknown, class of compounds called metal carbonyls. Education and career Ludwig Mond was born i ...

and a friend of Israel Gollancz, Professor of English Language and Literature at

. The two statues are said to symbolise the King's motto of sancte et sapienter ('holiness and wisdom'). The papier-mâché version of Reggie the Lion, the mascot of

King's College London Students' Union King's College London Students' Union (KCLSU) is an independent charitable organisation that's works to further the interests of its members (approximately 36,000 students at King's College London). It governs the 300 student societies and a ...

(KCLSU) is also placed in the King's Building foyer, behind Sappho on the staircase outside the Great Hall. The King's Building Foyer regularly displays free exhibitions in foyer display cases. The exhibitions are curated by King's College London Archives and Special Collections,

Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives The Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives (LHCMA) at King's College London was set up in 1964. The Centre holds the private papers of over 700 senior British defence personnel who held office since 1900. Individual collections range in size f ...

at King's, and sometimes co-curated with other organisations outside the College, such as the

British Dental Association The British Dental Association (BDA) is a registered trade union for dentists in the United Kingdom. Its stated mission is to "promote the interests of members, advance the science, arts and ethics of dentistry and improve the nation's oral he ...

Museum.

Great Hall

The Great Hall is located on the Ground floor of the King's Building. It is one of the central congregation spaces within the building, and is used for many events and activities, including the annual King's Fellows Dinner, banquetings, examinations, press conferences and presentations. The architect of

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

, Sir John Nash, offered free services for the building and the Great Hall. However, this was declined by King's College. The College was in favour of the services of the architect of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

, Sir Robert Smirke, since Smirke was already the architect of Somerset House. In the 21st century, the Great Hall was refurbished and restored. Many original features and styles of the Hall have been restored, including the oak panelling, joinery and the King's College crest. The Grade I listed windows were repaired, and the Grade I listed ceiling and the original column

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

were repainted.

College Chapel

King's College London Chapel 2, London - Diliff

The College Chapel forms part of the King's building. It was originally designed by Sir Robert Smirke in 1831. The

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

chapel seen today was designed and reconstructed by

Sir George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

in 1864, at a cost of just over £7,000. The College Chapel is located on Level 2, which is above the Great Hall. It is accessible via a grand double staircase from the foyer. The original chapel was described as a low and broad room "fitted to the

ecclesiological In Christian theology, ecclesiology is the study of the Church, the origins of Christianity, its relationship to Jesus, its role in salvation, its polity, its discipline, its eschatology, and its leadership. In its early history, one of the Chu ...

notions of

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

's reign."Heulin (1979), p. 1 However, it was proposed to be reconstructed in 1859 since its style had fallen out of fashion. Scott suggested that "...in a classic building, the best mode of giving ecclesiastical character is the adoption of the form and, in some degree, the character of an ancient

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

." There were many developments in the 20th century that changed the design of the chapel. For example, the windows were glazed with tinted cathedral glass instead of stained glass under church architect Dykes Bower's direction, and the original designs on the aisle and apse walls were repainted.

Anatomy Theatre and Museum

The Anatomy Theatre and Anatomy Museum are located on Level 6 of the King's Building. The Anatomy Theatre was built in 1927 above the College Chapel. It was originally an institution (

anatomical theatre An anatomical theatre (Latin: ) was a specialised building or room, resembling a theatre, used in teaching anatomy at early modern universities. They were typically constructed with a tiered structure surrounding a central table, allowing a lar ...

) used in teaching anatomy, however the last anatomical dissection and demonstration took place in 1997. Renovated in 2009, the Anatomy Theatre and Museum is now a facility for teaching, research and performance, and is programmed and managed by King's Cultural Institute. Because many original features of the Anatomy Theatre were still intact, restoration and replacements were carried out. A

sprung floor A sprung floor is a floor that absorbs shocks, giving it a softer feel. Such floors are considered the best kind for dance and indoor sports and physical education, and can enhance performance and greatly reduce injuries. Modern sprung floors are s ...

was laid, Access Grid technology and digital surround sound was designed, and a projector was installed in the Anatomy Museum. The anatomy professor's office was also stripped back to its original tiles and was converted to a canteen.

Gallery

File:KCL King's Building 3 Final.jpg, King's Building File:King's College, Strand, London. Engraving by J. C. Carter. Wellcome V0013842.jpg, King's Building Engraving by J. C. Carter File:Strand102.jpg, The Embankment terrace entrance to the Strand Campus File:Statues of Sappho (fronting) and Sophocles (back) at King's College London's main hall.jpg, King's Building Foyer File:London King's College Statue Sophocles 01.jpg, Sophocles Statue in the Foyer of King's Building File:London King's College Statue Sappho 02.jpg, Sappho Statue in the Foyer of King's Building File:Reggiethelion.jpg, King's Mascot "Reggie the Lion" in the Foyer of King's Building

References

External links

Official website of King's College London

King's Building Foyer virtual tour
{{King's College London, state=expanded School buildings completed in 1831 King's College London 1829 establishments in England Grade I listed buildings in the City of Westminster Grade I listed educational buildings Strand, London