Waltham Forest Town Hall: a 20th century design classic
- London On The Ground
- Oct 26
- 4 min read
Recently restored and open to the public, its clean classical exterior hides subtly impressive art deco details inside.
In 1932 the municipal borough of Walthamstow, then part of Essex, decided that its Victorian town hall on Orford Road was no longer big enough. The council sought bids from architects to design new civic buildings on a large rural site previously occupied by Chestnuts Farm.
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The winning architect was Philip Dalton Hepworth. His simple Portland stone exterior in the stripped classical style features a portico rising to the full three storey height of the building.
Look carefully between its columns and you can see carved reliefs depicting crafts and trades.
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The inscription above the portico says ‘Walthamstow Town Hall’ and a copper-clad clock tower rises above the entrance, emphasising the symmetry of the overall design.
Walthamstow, Leyton and Chingford merged to form the London Borough of Waltham Forest in 1965, since when this has been Waltham Forest Town Hall.
Inside, the building is full of art deco jazz age details, with stylish lighting, wooden panelling, fine staircases and ornate plasterwork.
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The decorative plaster design in the foyer ceiling includes a disc inscribed with the L, S, D symbols for pounds, shillings and pence, where a cash desk once stood.
Another interesting item in the foyer is a plaque commemorating the more than 1,400 air raid warnings in Walthamstow during World War II. It is made from metal taken from a German V2 rocket that landed near the town hall on 14 September 1944. The wood for the frame came from the old town hall and a tithe barn at nearby Moone’s Farm.
The foundation stone was not laid until 1938 and construction was further delayed by the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Remarkably, however, the building was completed during the war in 1942.
Wartime conditions imposed budgetary and practical constraints. This almost led to a decision to clad the exterior with bricks. Fortunately, however, Portland stone prevailed.
Nevertheless, compromises were necessary for some of the finishes in the town hall’s interior. The floor of the foyer is made of terrazzo, rather than marble, and plywood replaced oak in some of the wooden details. In the council chamber, Victorian chairs from the old town hall were used.
A 2021 restoration and renovation project replaced the seating and desks in the council chamber with new furniture, although older chairs were also restored and can still be seen in the building.
The meeting rooms, featuring wooden panelling and cork walls that were once used to pin notices, have also been restored.
The war influenced the design of the town hall’s basement, which includes a civil defence bunker. Upgraded during the Cold War, it features steel doors and one-way air valves designed to absorb the shock of bomb blasts.
The doors were made by John Tann, a company with origins as safemakers that made the reinforced door at the London Silver Vaults.
The yellow paint and ‘air lock’ style of these doors has led to comparisons between the town hall basement and a yellow submarine.
The recent renovations opened up spaces inside the building, including the foyer and workspaces for council staff.
Outside, an interactive water feature has replaced an old fountain in Fellowship Square (in front of the building).
Laid out in 2024, a new garden has been created at the rear, dedicated to Queen Elizabeth II.
The rear garden space features a plaster cast of The Arch, a sculpture by Henry Moore. From this garden, five sculptures can be seen on a central projecting section of the building. Created by John Francis Kavanagh, they represent Education, Fellowship, Motherhood, Recreation and Work.
The sculpture of Fellowship is based on the Victorian designer, artist, philanthropist and socialist William Morris, who was born in Walthamstow.
The meeting rooms in the town hall include curtains with designs by Morris and his daughter May Morris.
On the right of Fellowship Square as you look at the town hall stands the assembly hall. Also completed in 1942 as a theatre and dance hall, and with a very impressive interior, it soon saw use as a communal kitchen during the war.
It is a popular concert venue, hosting performances by musicians including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, violinist Yehudi Menuhin, opera singer Placido Domingo, Sex Pistols, The Stranglers and Iron Maiden.
A number of sources say that The Rolling Stones played Walthamstow Assembly Hall in 1963. Curiously, a couple of decades earlier, in 1941-42, the Mayor of Walthamstow was Eliza Richards, grandmother of Rolling Stone Keith Richards.
Unfortunately, when I visited (in October 2025), the assembly hall was closed for renovations.
The coat of arms of Walthamstow, and of Waltham Forest, features the motto “Fellowship is Life”, which comes from a quote by William Morris.
A slightly longer version of the quote is inscribed over the portico of the assembly hall: “Fellowship is life and lack of fellowship is hell”.
The Walthamstow coat of arms is inlaid into the town hall’s foundation stone outside the main entrance. Underneath the stone a time capsule was buried in 1938, only to be opened if the building is demolished.
Walthamstow Town Hall, Grade II listed by English Heritage, is well worth a visit. Tours, led by local tour guide Joanna Moncrieff (who is also, like me, a Clerkenwell and Islington Guide), take place once a month and can be booked via Eventbrite here.
Click on any image to enlarge
Walks available for booking
For a schedule of forthcoming London On The Ground guided walks and tours, please click here.
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