Building    From 3/5/1951 

Royal Festival Hall

Categories: Dance, Music / songs

A 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre. The only remaining building from the Festival of Britain and the first post-war building to be protected with a Grade 1 Listing, in 1981.

The project was led by London County Council's then chief architect, Robert Matthew, with a young team of talented designers including Leslie Martin, who was eventually to lead the project.

Built on the site of the former Lion Brewery, the foundation stone was laid in 1949 and the building was officially opened on 3 May 1951.

A London Inheritance has a splendid post about the construction of the RFH, with lots of historic photos.

We've chosen this image to illustrate the page because it puzzles us and perhaps someone out there can explain it to us. It show the ground floor north-east elevation of the RFH.  Between the 3 pillars are entrance doors. Behind the temporary stack of metal barriers etc. (bad timing on our part) is the feature which we cannot explain. The slanted projecting frame surrounds air vents at the top and a projecting rectangular space with some surprisingly domestic-looking windows.  And it is nicely finished with blue and grey tiles. The tiles are surely original while the air vents may not be.  The whole arrangement is so different from the rest of the building that we feel there must be a story behind it.  Something to do with the Architectural strand in the Festival of Britain?  Got any ideas?

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This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Royal Festival Hall

Commemorated ati

Clement Attlee - Royal Festival Hall

This film shows what looks like a time capsule being buried, and Attlee layin...

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Sir Anton Dolin

Sir Anton Dolin

Born Slinfold, Sussex. Real name Sydney Francis Patrick Healey-Kay. Ballet Dancer and Choreographer. Principal dancer with the Ballet-Russes and the Vic-Wells Ballet. Died Paris.

Person, Dance, France

1 memorial
David Norman

David Norman

Businessman and management consultant. He has held posts at many companies, and has been chairman of the Royal Ballet School and the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. This photo comes from the Kew A...

Person, Commerce, Dance, Gardens / Agriculture, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
Ricki Gail Conway

Ricki Gail Conway

Deputy chair of the Royal Ballet School.

Person, Dance, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
William H. Heath

William H. Heath

Mayor of Wandsworth 1936/37 and ballroom dancer. The cutting in our photograph is dated 24/8/1937, so we presume Mrs Heath was still around, and happy for him and Nellie Wood to go off together!

Person, Dance, Politics & Administration, Austria

1 memorial
Marie Taglioni

Marie Taglioni

Ballet dancer. Born Stockholm to an Italian father and Swedish mother, both in the dancing world. From an early age she lived around Europe. First appeared in London in 1829. She was aclaimed in he...

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1 memorial

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G. Norwood

G. Norwood

Surbiton man killed serving in WW1.

Person

War dead, WW1
1 memorial