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.

2025: Ian Visits reported that the escalator at Alperton Station had been taken from the Dome of Discovery at the Festival of Britain.  It had fallen out of use in 1988, was subsequently decommissioned and is now set to be replaced with a lift.

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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 20

Other Subjects

Sir Kenneth Clark

Sir Kenneth Clark

Broadcaster and art historian. Born Kenneth Mackenzie Clark. He was keeper of the department of fine art at the Ashmolean Museum and Director of the National Gallery from 1934 to 1945. Came to nati...

Person, Art, History, TV & Radio

1 memorial
Neil Irons

Neil Irons

From his own website: "Scottish artist Neil Irons has been based in London since 1987, moving to his current studio in Walthamstow in January 2008. His visual practise incorporates Painting, Sculpt...

Person, Art, Scotland

3 memorials
Alfred Bestall

Alfred Bestall

Author and illustrator. Born Alfred Edmeades Bestall in Mandalay, Burma. He served in the army during WW1, transporting troops in red double-decker buses. Following his studies at the L.C.C. Centra...

Person, Art, Children, Literature, Burma, Wales

1 memorial
Madge Gill

Madge Gill

Artist. Born in a flat at the site of the plaque as Maude Ethel Eades. Being illegitimate she was an embarrassment to her family, who sent her to a Dr Barnado's orphanage. She later went to Canada ...

Person, Art, Paranormal, Canada

2 memorials
John Leech

John Leech

Humorous artist and illustrator, was born at 28 Bennett Street, Stamford Street. Died at home at 6 The Terrace, Kensington.

Person, Art

1 memorial

Previously viewed

Percy George Bentham

Percy George Bentham

Sculptor. Born Fulham. City and Guild Art School Newsletter 2014 confirms that 'Navigation' (being conserved by the school at the time of publication) is by Bentham, who studied at the school.

Person, Sculpture

1 memorial
Mrs Robinson

Mrs Robinson

Of St Georges' Place, Hyde Park Corner.

Person, Benefactor

1 memorial
Mary Anne Clarke

Mary Anne Clarke

WC1, Tavistock Place, 15-17, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

The Marchmont Association give the address at the time as 31 Tavistock Place. Old maps show a chapel (with various names over the years) ...

3 subjects commemorated, 2 creators
Lord Palumbo

Lord Palumbo

Created a life peer on 4 February 1991 as Baron Palumbo of Walbrook in the City of London.

Person, Property

7 memorials