The Willesden Trades Hall Charity is celebrating the launch of its inaugural project at the building, with a grant of £85,675 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, and further match-funding from The Architectural Heritage Fund.
Over the next eight months, the Board of Trustees, comprised of local stakeholders, will commence the process of regenerating this historic building, via three key objectives. The board will be supported by heritage specialists, London Historic Buildings Trust, and award-winning architecture and design firm, Adjaye Associates to:
1. Invigorate and communicate the historic significance and legacy of the building and appraise and address its material condition and needs.
2. Facilitate the reopening of the ground floor (former London Apollo Club) for ‘meanwhile’ community use
3. Identify a viable long-term future for the building that will benefit the diverse communities of Brent.
Project activities will include the delivery of a series of building investigations, community consultations and architectural services by Adjaye Associates; a pilot programme of cultural and heritage activities overseen by London Historic Buildings Trust; and actions to strengthen the governance and resilience of the new Charity on its journey towards the full repair and renovation of the building.
Alan Scott, Chair of Trustees said:
The Willesden Trades and Labour Hall is a building with great historical and cultural significance to Brent, London and the nation as an iconic home for the British Labour movement. Since the early twentieth century the hall has played a crucial role in the political, economic and social history of the local area, and indeed the nation. The London Apollo Club, opened in 1969, was one of the first venues exclusively for Reggae and Afro-Caribbean culture in Europe and as such a historic community asset for that diaspora. We are now extremely excited to have the opportunity to re-invigorate this building’s legacy and imagine how it can migrate into the future.
Stuart McLeod, Director of England - London & South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:
Thanks to National Lottery players, we’re delighted to support this important first step in the regeneration of the Willesden Trades Hall along with money from The Architectural Heritage Fund. It will look to shape a sustainable future for this much-loved community asset, bringing the Hall back into meaningful use and celebrating its heritage for generations to come. At the Heritage Fund, we believe in the power of heritage to bring people together and this project is a great example of this.
ABOUT THE WILLESDEN TRADES HALL CHARITY
The Charity was launched in 2024 with the purpose of preserving and maintaining the Willesden Trades & Labour Hall and London Apollo Club as a site of architectural, historical and cultural interest and significance, and to benefit the residents of the London Borough of Brent.
The Willesden Trades Hall and the Labour movement, the arts and the London Apollo Club
The Willesden Trades Hall has in recent times fallen into disuse. The Willesden Trades Hall Charity owns the Hall and is the grateful recipient of resilience funding from the National Heritage Lottery Fund and the Architectural Heritage Fund so it can commence the reinvigoration of this legacy building for the twenty first century with the support of the London Historic Building Trust as Project Managers.
The Labour movement
From no 375 High Road trade unionists, the trades council and Labour movement activists have met and organised industrial action and campaigns for over 100 years: it has been the venue for significant advances in emancipation, particularly with respect to women’s workers’ rights as headquarters for actions from the National Federation of Women Workers in the early twentieth century. In 1924 Sylvia Pankhurst founded the Willesden Branch of the Communist Workers Movement at the Hall. In 1926 the Hall became the HQ of the General Strike. The General Strike was followed by the Hunger Marches in the 30s protesting high unemployment. Marchers were welcomed at the hall.
The 2-year Grunwick strike of the 1970’s for unionisation because of low pay and intimidating practices by the employers was organised by a group of mainly Asian women workers at the nearby Grunwick factory. Its strike committee met at the hall. The local trades council coordinated the level of solidarity the Grunwick strike achieved between women from minority ethnic backgrounds and the wider trade union movement.
In the 1980s it was the London base for the Kent Miners during the Miners’ Strike and followed by the Peoples March for Jobs in the 1980s. Local dinner ladies provided lunches for the marchers.
The Hall’s reputation for solidarity was international when Nelson Mandela visited the UK in 1962 and was invited to Brent. His intention was to speak at the Hall, but the attendance was overwhelming, and the event was moved to another venue.
The London Apollo Club, Reggae and the Afro-Caribbean Community
In 1969 the London Apollo Club was launched by Bob Marley on the ground floor of the building. Despite local resistance mainly due to racism the club became a treasured cultural and community venue for the local Afro -Caribbean community. It provided a space for activism and solidarity for the community (which continues at the Brent Black Music Co-operative next door) and welcomed legendary national and international reggae artists including John Holt, Elton Ellis, Gregory Isaacs. The London Apollo Club prevailed until the pandemic lockdown of 2020 but had sadly to close.
The Future
Following de-industrialisation in the 1980s, the weakening of the trade union movement and the retreat of collective bargaining, the Hall, its funding and its activities have slowly declined and the Willesden Trades and Labour Hall Society was deregistered in 2000.
The building itself has since been neglected and needs attention, some urgent. The Charity has been formed to seek solutions for the buildings’ future. WTLH Services Ltd (by Guarantee) was awarded a first grant by the National Heritage Lottery Fund. WTLH Services transferred ownership of the building to Willesden Trades Hall Charity which was formed in December 2024.
The new project, funded by the Heritage Fund and AHF, will pursue a broad community consultation to inform how to best care for the building’s legacy and ensure this legacy migrates into the future both as part of the Labour movement and as a cultural and music venue. The charity has the firm and broad intention of creating new spaces for the Labour movement, the community and the arts by facilitating education, history, practices of community care, a place to meet and the cultural and creative enterprise that reflects the diverse constituents of Brent.
The Building
The Charity will be procuring an architect-led design team who can start the process of defining a practical and creative direction for the renovation and development of the building long term, that has an affinity with the area and its communities, and can bring a creative vision to bear onto the ethical, cultural ambitions of the Charity as they reflect the material legacy of the building and its historical activities.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL LOTTERY HERITAGE FUND
Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. That’s why as the largest funder for the UK’s heritage we are dedicated to supporting projects that connect people and communities to heritage, as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.
Over the next 10 years, we aim to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to make a decisive difference for people, places and communities.
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