1951

Royal Festival Hall

Image source: serendipityproject.wordpress.com

A 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre. 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.

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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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Other Subjects

Baroness Betty Boothroyd, O.M., P.C.

Betty Boothroyd was born on 8 October 2023 in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, the daughter of Ben Archibald Boothroyd (1886-1948) and Mary Boothroyd née Butterfield (1901-1982). In the 1939 England and...

Person, Dance, Politics & Administration, USA

1 memorial

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...

Person, Dance, France, Italy, Sweden

1 memorial

Ballet Rambert

Britain's oldest dance company. Founded by Dame Marie Rambert initially as Rambert Dancers, and then, at the Mercury Theatre, in 1931, as the Ballet Club and then, until the 1980s, as Ballet Ramber...

Group, Dance

2 memorials

Royal Ballet School

Originally founded by Ninette de Valois as the Academy of Choreographic Art. Its students are chosen purely for their dancing talent and not for any academic ability. Famous dancers and choreograph...

Group, Children, Dance, Education

1 memorial

Royal Opera House

Home of the Royal Ballet and Royal Opera. Originally built in 1732 as a playhouse. The current building is the third on the site, following the fires that destroyed the first two.

Building, Dance, Music / songs

1 memorial

Previously viewed

Pasqua Rosée

Manservant brought to London from Ottoman Smyrna by his employer, Daniel Edwards, a dealer in coffee and other goods from the east. Rosée is variously described as being Armenian or from Sicily. Ro...

Person, Commerce, Armenia, Italy

1 memorial

World War 1

We'd always assumed that this war was known as the Great War until WW2 came along at which point it was renamed as World War One or the First World War. But the term was first used in print in 1920...

Event, Armed Forces, Tragedy

402 memorials

Great Fire of London

Started on a Sunday morning. After 4 days the destruction included: - an area of one and a half miles by a half mile - 87 churches - 13,200 houses - only 6 people are recorded as having died (but ...

Event, Tragedy

55 memorials

Guest family

Group, Benefactor

1 memorial

Surrey Yeomanry

Unit of the British army. First formed as volunteer cavalry and reformed in 1901. It saw action in both world wars. It is maintained today by 2 (Surrey Yeomanry) Field Troop, 579 Field Squadron (EO...

Group, Armed Forces

1 memorial