Lindley Hall in Elverton Street,

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

is the older of the two Royal Horticultural Halls and is owned by RHS Enterprises Limited, which is part of the charity

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

in central

. The other is Lawrence Hall, which is no longer owned by the RHS; both are close to

Vincent Square Vincent Square is a grass-covered square in Westminster, London, England. It is London's largest privately-owned square, covering 13 acres, lined with mature trees including London Planes. In among a network of backstreets, it chiefly provides ...

. Although built as an exhibition hall, Lindley Hall is increasingly used for product launches,

conferences A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

fashion show A fashion show is an event put on by a fashion designer to showcase their upcoming line of clothing and/or accessories during a fashion week. Fashion shows debut every season, particularly the spring/summer and fall/winter seasons. This is wh ...

s, banquets, weddings and other events.RHH to close halls for £1.2m refurbishment
''Event'' magazine, 4 April 2006. Retrieved 5 October 2011.

History

It was the monarch

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

who had mooted the idea of the

having a purpose-built exhibition hall for its shows. Lindley Hall was designed by Edwin J Stebbs and was built in 1904 of red brick with stone dressings and banding, with

Arts and Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

features and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

details. His focus on achieving as much natural light as possible remains a key part of the character of the building, though complete blackout is also possible. It is noted for its classic

Edwardian architecture Edwardian architecture usually refers to a Baroque Revival architecture, Neo-Baroque architectural style that was popular for public buildings in the British Empire during the Edwardian era (1901–1910). Architecture up to 1914 is commonly inclu ...

. On 22 July 1904, together with the Society's patron

Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, queen-consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 Januar ...

, King Edward VII officially declared the venue open. The hall hosted the

All England Open Badminton Championships The All England Open Badminton Championships is the world's oldest badminton tournament, held annually in England. With the introduction of the BWF's latest grading system, it was given Super Series status in 2007, upgraded to Super Series Premi ...

from 1910 to 1939. It was registered as a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

in 1970.Royal Horticultural Society Old Hall, Westminster
at British Listed Buildings website. Retrieved 2011-10-07. It is named after the English botanist

John Lindley John Lindley Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidology, orchidologist. Early years Born in Old Catton, Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four c ...

. The

Lindley Library The Lindley Library in London is the largest horticultural library in the world. It is within the headquarters of the Royal Horticultural Society. Library The main part of the library is based at 80 Vincent Square, London, within the headquarters ...

, based on his collection, is also managed by the RHS on the same site.

Interior

Events

Events held at the hall include: *

1946 World Snooker Championship The 1946 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament held from 4 February to 18 May 1946. Joe Davis won the title by defeating Horace Lindrum by 78 to 67 in the final, although the winning margin was reached at 73–62. It ...

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...

Womenswear Launch (2003) *

International Peace Conference The International Peace Conference was an anti-war conference held on December 10, 2005. It was organised by the Stop the War Coalition (StWC), and included speakers from Iraq, the United States, and Italy. The conference sold out a week before ...

(2005) *

Lancôme Lancôme () is a French perfume and cosmetics house that distributes products internationally. A subsidiary of L'Oréal, Lancôme offers skin care, fragrances, and makeup. History Founded in 1935 by Guillaume d'Ornano and his business partn ...

Colour Design Awards (2006) *

Stella McCartney Stella Nina McCartney (born 13 September 1971) is an English fashion designer. She is a daughter of English singer-songwriter Paul McCartney and American photographer and animals rights activist Linda McCartney. Like her parents, McCartney is ...

Spring/Summer Collection Fashion Show (2009) *

Tom Ford Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched Tom Ford (brand), his eponymous brand in 2005, having previously been the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves Sai ...

Spring/Summer 2015 show for

London Fashion Week London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London, England, twice a year, in June and September. Showcasing over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers, it is one of the 'Big Four' fash ...

(2014) *

Moschino Moschino () is an Italian Luxury goods, luxury fashion house founded in 1983 by Franco Moschino in Milan known for over-the-top, Camp (style), campy designs. The company specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, and fashion accessories. Moschino's ...

Men's Spring/Summer 2015 Collection Fashion Show (2014) and Men's Autumn/Winter 2015 Collection Fashion Show (2015) *

Katie Piper Kate Elizabeth Sutton (née Piper; born 12 October 1983) is an English writer, activist, television presenter and model from Andover, Hampshire. In March 2008, her ex-boyfriend raped her and stabbed her several times in the arms. Two days late ...

fundraising dinner (2014) for the Katie Piper Foundation. Attended by

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...

(a patron of the foundation),

Cheryl Fernandez-Versini Cheryl Ann Tweedy (born 30 June 1983) is an English singer and television personality. She rose to fame as a member of Girls Aloud, a pop girl group created through ITV's reality competition show '' Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. Named the ...

Louis Walsh Michael Louis Vincent Walsh (born 5 August 1952) is an Irish music manager and television personality. He has managed Johnny Logan (singer), Johnny Logan, Boyzone, Jedward and Westlife, four of Ireland's most successful pop acts in the 1990s an ...

, and

Mel B Melanie Janine Brown, Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 29 May 1975), commonly known as Mel B or Melanie B, is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, and actress. She rose to fame in the mid 1990s as a member of the Pop mus ...

Mary Katrantzou Mary Katrantzou (born January 1983) is a Greek fashion designer who lives and works in London. Early life Mary Katrantzou was born in Athens, Greece to an interior designer mother and a father who trained in textile engineering. Katrantzou mo ...

Autumn/Winter Collection 2015 show for

(2015) *

Paul Smith Paul Smith is the name of: Music * Paul Smith (composer) (1906–1985), American film music composer * Paul Smith (pianist) (1922–2013), Los Angeles jazz pianist * Paul Smith (English singer) (born 1979), vocalist and songwriter of British in ...

Fashion Show * Coys of Kensington Classic Car Auctions *

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

Launch Event *Used as a vaccination centre during the Covid-19 Pandemic (2021) * The most prolific hirer of the hall since it was built is Matthew Adams who has held his monthly Adams Antiques Fairs there since May 1989

Film and television

Use of Lindley Hall as a filming location include: * BBC Question Time (TV Programme) *

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, ''Life thru a Lens'', was re ...

– Old Before I Die (Music Video) *

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The origins of the compa ...

Q5 (Advertisement) *

Harry Styles Harry Edward Styles (born 1 February 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His showmanship, artistry, and flamboyant fashion have had a Cultural impact of Harry Styles, significant impact on popular culture. Styles's musical ca ...

As It Was "As It Was" is a song by English singer-songwriter Harry Styles, released through Erskine and Columbia on 1 April 2022 as the lead single from his third studio album, '' Harry's House'' (2022). The song was written by Styles alongside his pro ...

(Music Video)

References

External links

Royal Horticultural Society Old Hall
at English Heritage's

Images of England Images of England is an online photographic record of all the listed buildings in England at the date of February 2002. The archive gives access to over 323,000 colour images, each of which is matched with the item's listed designation architectu ...

{{Royal Horticultural Society Royal Horticultural Society Grade II listed buildings in the City of Westminster Event venues established in 1904 Badminton venues Badminton in England 1904 establishments in England