Description

The following building shall be added:

HEATHFIELD TERRACE
TQ 2078
787-/10/10012 (south side)
Chiswick Town Hall (former)
GV II

Former Town Hall, now council offices. 1876 by W J Trehearne, extended to east and west in
1900-1 by Arthur Ramsden. Stock brick with Bath stone dressings, quoins, cornice and porte
cochère. Slate roof. Original building a symmetrical composition of three bays with central porte
cochère, leading through double-height entrance hall to assembly hall and supper room with
council chamber over. Secondary staircase hall in later three-bay range to east (in identical style).
Two storeys and (tiny) attics. Main range with round arched windows to first floor, square
windows under cornice brackets to ground floor, all of them paired except for tripartite
composition over panelled double entrance doors in round-arched stone surround. Porte cochère
with grouped Corinthian columns set on square bases, round-arched openings with carved
spandrels and stone balustrade. Deeply moulded modillion eaves cornice with balustraded parapet,
pediments over main and secondary entrances. Side elevation to Sutton Court Road of 1900-1 a
symmetrical tripartite composition with central entrance between four-bay ranges under pediments.
The window pattern is reversed, with round arches on the ground floor and square windows on
the first floor.
Richly decorated interior. Double-height entrance hall with tiled dado, imperial staircase with iron
balustrades. Oak panels (1911) commemorate Ramsden's extension. This and the corridors beyond
have colourful terrazzo floors. Behind, large assembly hall, formerly the Devonshire Hall, of seven
bays with round-arched arcades under keystones and heavy dentilled cornice, stage with console
brackets forming proscenium, coved top-lit ceiling. Balcony with elaborate cast-iron balustrade.
Side entrance in Sutton Court Road has double doors with coloured glass, also coloured glass in
fanlight, leading to paybox for hall. On other side is the supper room or Hogarth Room, with
smaller, lower stage with similar cornice bracket proscenium. Pilasters to walls, trabeated ceiling,
mahogany double doors to side lobby. These lead to dark but richly decorated side lobby, with
marble dado and fireplace, and bust of Hogarth. Coloured glass toplights. Staircase with fat marble
balustrade ascends to council chamber. Entrance to this lined in lincrusta, with coloured glass
toplights and in double doors. Council chamber simpler, a five-bay chamber whose one-bay
balcony has elaborate, polished, carved wood front. Open timber truss rafter roof coloured glass
in gables. Mayoral and committee rooms now used as offices, reached off corridors lined with
succulent green tiles.
Included as an unusually lavish example of a town hall, with a good array of decorated public
spaces.

Listing NGR: TQ2051878335

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Chiswick Town Hall at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q5102165

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

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  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects, Supplement 2014
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  Old House Handbook 2 Books Bundle Collection (Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair,Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability)
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  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)