Smith Square
 Early Georgian north side of the square with top of Victoria Tower of the Palace of Westminster beyond | |
  Smith Square (City of Westminster) (local authority since 1965) | |
| Type | Garden square with concert hall dominating space |
|---|---|
| Length | 275 ft (84 m) |
| Width | 240 feet (73 m) |
| Area | Westminster |
| Location | London |
| Postal code | SW1P |
| Nearest metro station | Westminster tube station |
| Construction | |
| Construction start | c.1726 |
| Other | |
| Status | west end of the north side: large building: Grade I listed |
Smith Squareis a square inWestminster,London, 250 metres south-southwest of thePalace of Westminster.Most of itsgardeninterior is filled bySt John's, Smith Square,aBaroquesurplus church, the inside of which has been converted to a concert hall. Most adjoining buildings (thus sharing its address) are offices, with the focus on organisations lobbying or serving the government. In the mid-20th century, the square hosted the headquarters of the two largest parties of British politics, and it is now hosts much of theDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairsand theLocal Government Association.It has a pedestrian or mixed approach to the four sides and another approach to the north.
History
[edit]The square was named after theSmith family:a family of bankers originally from Nottingham on whose land it was developed in the early eighteenth century. Its building up was arranged by Sir James Smith around 1726. №s 1 to 9, forming the north side, survive from this phase.[1]
Buildings
[edit]
SirJohn Smith,who was Conservative M.P. for Cities of London and Westminster from 1965 to 1970, lived at № 1. The campaigning journalistWilliam Thomas Steadlived at № 5 from 1904 until his death on board theTitanicin 1912. Another famous resident wasRab Butler,the Conservative Deputy Prime Minister.
№ 17 - Nobel House - cross-corner block built in 1928, for newly-formedImperial Chemical Industries(ICI). ICI leased it to the government in 1987, and it is currently headquarters for theDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Sharing the western part of the south side isTransport Housewhich from 1928 to 1980 head-quartered theLabour Partythen theTGWUuntil the 1990s. It is now the headquarters of theLocal Government Associationand is known as Local Government House.
№s 32-34 served asConservative Central Office,theConservative Party'sheadquarters between 1958 and 2003.[2]It stood empty until 2007 when it was sold for £30.5m to Harcourt Developments who planned to redevelop it as flats before the 2008 credit crunch hit.[3]It is now "Europe House".
№ 36 -Mulberry House- designed by SirEdwin Lutyensand constructed in 1911 forReginald McKenna,a senior politician who later became chairman of theMidland Bank.It was later bought byHenry Mond, 2nd Baron Melchettwho, in conjunction with his wife, Gwen, commissioned an elaborate interior re-decoration by the architectDarcy Braddell.The result has been described as "one of the most importantArt Decointeriors in London. "[4][5]It gained notoriety for the sculpture "Scandal", designed byCharles Sargeant Jaggerwhich is now housed in theVictoria and Albert Museum.[6]TheGrade IIlisted building went up for sale of £25 million in 2015.[7]
See also
[edit]- List of eponymous roads in London
- Imperial Chemical House
- Lord North Street– one of two northern approaches to Great Peter Street
- Victoria Tower Gardens– the eastern approach
References
[edit]- ^"Westminster World Heritage Site Management Plan (Appendix)"(PDF).Greater London Authority.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 12 November 2006.
- ^Hencke, David (9 February 2007)."Conservative Party Sell Smith Square Headquarters".The Guardian.London.Retrieved23 May2010.
- ^Hope, Christopher; Isaby, Jonathan (9 February 2007)."Final curtain on Smith Square – sold for £30m".
- ^"Scandal".Victoria & Albert Museum.Retrieved6 January2024.
- ^"Mulberry House, 36 Smith Square SW1"(PDF).OnTheMarket.Retrieved6 January2024.
- ^"Scandal".Victoria & Albert Museum.Retrieved6 January2024.
- ^https:// standard.co.uk/news/london/mulberry-house-menage-a-trois-scandal-house-in-westminster-goes-on-sale-for-ps25m-10286032.html[bare URL]
External links
[edit]
Media related toSmith Squareat Wikimedia Commons
