Langham Place, London

Langham Placeis a short street inWestminster,central London,England.^[1]Just north ofOxford Circus,it connectsPortland Placeto the north withRegent Streetto the south inLondon's West End.It is, or was, the location of many significant public buildings, and gives its name to the Langham Place group, a circle of early women's rights activists.

Buildings

There are several major buildings on Langham Place, includingAll Souls Church,Broadcasting House,and theLangham Hotel.Queen's HallandSt. George's Hallwere also here untiltheir destruction during World War II.The area is associated with the architectJohn Nash,although all but one of his original buildings have been replaced.^[2]

Starting from the north, significant buildings include:

Broadcasting House

Broadcasting House is theBBC's headquarters. It was built in the 1930s in theArt Decostyle, designed by the architectGeorge Val Myer.Several of the BBC's national radio stations broadcast from the building. TheNew Broadcasting Houseextension, home ofBBC News,was built in 2005, and first used for broadcasting in 2013.

Langham Hotel

The Langham Hotel, on the west side of Langham Place, was built between 1863 and 1865 at a cost of £300,000. It is one of the largest and best known traditionalhotels in London.

All Souls Church

All Souls Church, just south of Broadcasting House, has a distinctive circularporticotopped with a stonespire.Completed in 1823 and consecrated in 1824, All Souls is the only surviving building in the area that was designed by John Nash.

St. George's Hall

St. George's Hall was a theatre built in 1867 and closed in 1966. It could accommodate between 800 and 900 persons,^[3]or up to 1,500 persons including the galleries. The architect wasJohn Taylorof Whitehall.^[4]

The hall was known for three decades for its presentation of theGerman Reed Entertainmentsalongside other musical works and lectures. After 1895, it was used forvaudeville,drama, magic shows, as the headquarters of theLondon Academy of Music,and even as a skating rink. In 1933, it became aBBCbroadcasting studio but was shut down after extensive damagefrom bombing in March 1943.The theatre was demolished in 1966, and the St Georges Hotel and Henry Wood House now stand on the site.

Queen's Hall

Queen's Hall was aclassical music concert hall.It opened in 1893 but was destroyed by anincendiary bombduringthe Blitzin 1941. It is best known for being where thePromenade Concerts( "Proms" ) were founded byRobert Newman,with SirHenry J. Wood,in 1895.^[5]

References

^Langham Place Guide,LondonTown.
^Regent Street History and Construction Archived12 February 2012 at theWayback Machine.
^Dickens, Charles Jr.(1879)."Public Halls, St. George's Hall".Dickens's Dictionary of London.Retrieved22 August2007.
^History of the Hall from the Arthur Lloyd website
^Ivan Hewett (12 July 2007)."The Proms and the Promenerders".Daily Telegraph.Retrieved20 July2008.^{[dead link]}

51°31′04″N0°08′36″W/ 51.5179°N 0.1434°W/51.5179; -0.1434

[1] Langham Place Guide,LondonTown.

[regentstreethistory-2] Regent Street History and Construction Archived12 February 2012 at theWayback Machine.

[3] Dickens, Charles Jr.(1879)."Public Halls, St. George's Hall".Dickens's Dictionary of London.Retrieved22 August2007.

[Lloyd-4] History of the Hall from the Arthur Lloyd website

[5] Ivan Hewett (12 July 2007)."The Proms and the Promenerders".Daily Telegraph.Retrieved20 July2008.^{[dead link]}

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