Event    From /5/1951  To /9/1951

Festival of Britain

'A tonic for the Nation', The Festival was intended to cheer us all up after WW2, and incidentally to celebrate the centenary of the 1851 Great Exhibition. The symbol for the Festival was designed by Abram Games.

All the Festival buildings on the south bank except the Royal Festival Hall have since been demolished and replaced by other buildings forming the much-loved (British irony) arts complex known as The South Bank. The Festival of Britain was a nationwide event with two other sites in London: the Pleasure Gardens in Battersea and the Live Architecture Exhibition in Poplar, originally 'Neighbourhood 9' but then renamed the 'Lansbury Estate', after George Lansbury. Diamond GeezerCaroline's Miscellany and A London Inheritance have all done good posts about this Estate. The City of London laid out a garden beside St Paul's, Festival Gardens.

The Festival Pleasure Gardens were installed in the northern part of Battersea Park. These included a water-garden and a tree-walk. There was also a fun fair on the section between Central Avenue and what is now the children's zoo. The BBC has photos of many of the items.

2019: Ian Visits spotted a Festival of Britain bench in an Essex village.

2019: In the 1957 film 'The Key Man' / 'Life at Stake' (not be be confused with the 1955 film with the same two titles), at about 57 mins, two characters meet in the Thameside Restaurant under Waterloo Bridge, left over from the Festival. This nice piece of modernist architecture remained until 1962.

2023: An email from 'Londonist: Time Machine' reminded us that the recreation of Sherlock Holmes’s study, now to be found upstairs at The Sherlock Holmes pub near Charing Cross, was created for the Festival of Britain. The catalogue of the "Exhibition on Sherlock Holmes" states that it was held at "Abbey House, Baker Street, London NW1, May - September 1951". Often described as Holmes's study, the recreated room is described in the catalogue as his living room.

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Festival of Britain

Commemorated ati

Dome of Discovery

{The plaque is laid flat on the ground.} This commemorative plaque was set i...

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Festival of Britain - Arts

The relief shows the Royal Festival Hall, surrounded by a violin, saxophone, ...

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Festival of Britain - Churchill Gardens

See a similar plaque in N7 for information about them.

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Festival of Britain - London Pride

London Pride. Frank Dobson CBE, RA. 1886 - 1963. Commissioned for The Festi...

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Festival of Britain - N16

Festival of Britain, 1951, Award for Merit.

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Show all 19

Other Subjects

Peter Blake

Peter Blake

Artist. Born Peter Thomas Blake in Dartford. During the 1950s he became one of the best known pop-artists. His best known work is probably the cover of The Beatles album 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts...

Person, Art

1 memorial
Victor Weisz

Victor Weisz

Born Berlin. As a left-wing Jew he decided to leave Germany as Hitler rose to power. Signed himself "Vicky". Click on external site for more information and to see some of his work. Committed s...

Person, Art, Germany

1 memorial
Eric Newton

Eric Newton

Artist, writer, broadcaster and art critic. He produced several books in addition to his newspaper and radio work. His radio broadcasts made him well known to the British public in the 1930s. Art c...

Person, Art, Literature

2 memorials
Donald McGill

Donald McGill

Cartoonist. Born Donald Fraser Gould McGill in (depending on source), 46 Park Street, Regent's Park or Blackheath. He started work as a naval draughtsman, but began illustrating postcards when a re...

Person, Art

2 memorials
Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Born 70 Parson Street, Glasgow. Architect, designer and watercolourist. He was a designer in the Arts and Crafts movement and the main exponent of Art Nouveau in the United Kingdom. Married Margare...

Person, Architecture, Art, Seriously Famous, Scotland

1 memorial