Showing posts with label Brent Town Hall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brent Town Hall. Show all posts

Wednesday, 24 September 2025

A Visit to Brent’s former Town Hall (now the Lycée International de Londres Winston Churchill) in Forty Lane, Wembley.

Guest post by local historian Philip Grant, in a personal capacity.

 

Today 24th September is the 35th anniversary of the Town Hall being given Grade II listed status for its architectural and historic significance.

 

1. Brent Town Hall in 2009.

 

Last Monday, I was in the Council Chamber at Brent Civic Centre, presenting a petition to save a heritage building. Two days earlier, I had been in the Council Chamber at another local heritage building, the former Brent Town Hall in Forty Lane, Wembley. As part of its 10th anniversary, the French Lycée was giving guided tours of this Grade II listed (since 24 September 1990) building, which I had last been in to attend a Planning Committee meeting in 2013, as part of Open House weekend.

 

2.The Council Chamber (still with that name) is regularly used for school meetings.

 

The building dates from the late 1930s, after Wembley and Kingsbury Urban District Councils had merged in 1934. A site of just over 2 hectares was bought, on a hillside between Kings Drive and The Paddocks, land which had previously been a polo club (with paddocks for its ponies), then used as a camp for a huge jamboree of Boy Scouts from across the British Empire, in conjunction with the Exhibition at Wembley in 1924. A promising young architect, Clifford Strange, was chosen for the town hall’s design in 1935, and work eventually got underway in 1937 (after a public enquiry over whether the Council should borrow £160,000 to fund the building – equivalent to around £14.5m now).

 

3.Ceremonial breaking of the first ground for the Town Hall in 1937.

 

The foundation stone was laid on 9 October 1937, and carries the name of the Urban District Council, even though it had received its charter, becoming the Borough of Wembley, a week earlier. Strange’s design, in Lincolnshire brick but with a steel frame, was different from many town halls of the same period because it was influenced by the work of the Dutch architect, Willem Dudok, and features from Scandinavian buildings. It has an asymmetrical plan, with the main entrance off-centre, and a “T” shape, with a frontage 350ft (106 metres) long and a large Assembly Hall stretching out at the back, behind the wide central staircase tower.

 

4.Aerial view of WembleyTown Hall, nearing completion in 1939.

 

One of the first things I learned on my visit to the building is that the Lycée, since purchasing the Town Hall from Brent Council and taking occupation at the beginning of 2014, has been very careful to preserve the fabric and features of the heritage building. This has meant long discussions at times with Historic England, and extra expense, but the results of their care are evident as you go around it. Even the framed school photographs, in the reception area as you pass through the entrance doors, are stuck (reversibly) to the marble wall, as no drilling is allowed. 

 

One original feature, just inside the doors, is the box office window, where tickets for Town Hall events were sold. The grand Assembly Hall, which would seat 1,200 people, was not just for show. It was a commercial entertainment venue, with a full programme of events organised by the Council’s own Entertainments Manager, and employing its own dance orchestra. Events were advertised weekly in the local newspapers – this example is from March 1952 (the same week that Wembley History Society was formed, when more than 100 residents answered an invitation from the Mayor to attend a founding meeting in the Council Chamber!).

 

5.A Wembley Borough Council entertainments advert.
(Source: Brent Archives local newspaper microfilms)

 

Going up the pale cream marble staircase, with matching marble walls and art deco style hand rails, on the left at the next level is the internal entrance to the Library. Wembley did not have its own library service, this was provided by Middlesex County Council, and the Town Hall Library until at least the 1950s was just a reference library, with the main public access via steps up from Kings Drive. I remember it as a normal Brent Public Library, where I would display posters advertising the History Society’s programme of talks, and where I organised two small local history exhibitions (including one celebrating the Society’s 60th anniversary).

 


6.Part of the 2012 Wembley History Society exhibition in the Town Hall Library.

 

The Lycée still uses the library for its original purpose, but it is also more than that, including tables for playing chess, and a small display of “finds” from the grounds by its Archaeology Club. It is a bright and airy space, as you can see from this photograph.

 

7.The former Town Hall Library in September 2025.

 

Continuing up the stairs, you come to the large landing space in front of the Assembly Hall, which the signs the Lycée inherited tell you is still called the Paul Daisley Hall, named after the former Council Leader and Brent East M.P. who tragically died of cancer in 2003. This space is often used by students to congregate and chat during breaks, and the curved display cases on either side of the entrance to the Hall are currently hidden by protective sheeting. This photograph from 2012 will give you an idea of what they look like, and of the marble which they used to line the walls of the central staircase area in the 1930s.

 

8.One of the display cases beside the Hall entrance (used for the WHS exhibition in 2012)

 

At the edge of the photo above, you can just see a sign for the ladies’ toilets. Although those toilets have now been extensively modernised for use by the Lycée’s students, the original metal letters for the “Ladies Cloakroom”, fixed into the marble, have still been retained above the entrance. 

 

When you enter the Paul Daisley Hall itself, you can see what a large public hall it is, still with its original parquet flooring, which has been sanded and polished to show it at its best. However, as it is now used as an indoor sports hall, there are the markings for several courts, and the wood-lined lower walls of the lofty hall are protected by absorbent sheeting to protect them from damage. The stage area is also screened off, although this can be removed when the hall is used for performances.

 

 

9.The Paul Daisley Hall, now used by the Lycée as a sports hall.

 

As you go up the staircase to the next level, there is a great view across Wembley Park through the large window which fronts the central tower of the building. Originally, it looked across to the twin towers of Wembley Stadium, and when I was there more than ten years ago you could see the new stadium. Now you can barely see the Wembley Arch, for all the tower blocks built during the past decade (whatever happened to ‘protected views’ of the Stadium!).

 

 

10.Wembley Park, from the central staircase window.

 

11.The 60th anniversary memorial on the glass screen fronting the Council Chamber.

 

As you emerge from the stairs at the next level, the Council Chamber is in front of you, separated from the landing by a full height glass screen. This curved screen is another innovative feature of the late 1930s Town Hall, whose design includes elements of both modernism and Art Deco, and allows plenty of light into the Council Chamber. To the left on this floor are the three Committee Rooms, all wood panelled, with partitions which can be folded back to create one large room. The students in the group showing us round were reminded that this provided a good-sized exam room, but their “Professeur” said that it had also been used recently for a staff cèilidh (well, parts of France do have a Celtic connection!).

 

12.The Council Chamber from the public gallery.

 

I included a photo inside the Council Chamber early in this article, but we were also able to visit the public gallery on the top floor, to look down on it. The three arm chairs (apparently used by the Mayor and others during formal Council meetings – can any present or former councillors confirm that in a comment, please?) were left behind by Brent when the Town Hall was sold, as features of the heritage building. We were told by Laurent (pictured – the Lycée’s Chief Executive Officer, and proud guardian of the heritage building since 2014) that students are not allowed into the public gallery, as the railing at the front is too low for today’s safety standards, but can’t be changed because it is an original feature.

 

13.Inside and outside views of the former Town Hall’s roof garden room.

 

Another part of the former Town Hall, that I had never been in was what I will call the roof garden room. This is very much an Art Deco feature, which is set back from the three-storey right-hand office wing of the building. Although most of the windows in the building were replaced with modern-standard copies of the originals as part of its refurbishment before the Lycée opened in September 2015, the 1930s floor to ceiling windows in this room had to be retained. I don’t know what the room’s original purpose was, although at a guess I would think it was for official receptions of the Council’s guests.

 

14.A corner of the “Mayor’s Parlour”, with its original desk.

 

Nearby is the former Mayor’s Parlour, where the Mayors of Wembley, then Brent, would have their office and would also entertain guests. It has beautiful wood panelled walls, with curved corners, again an Art Deco feature. It is now the office of the Lycée’s Head of School, Mireille Rabaté, and includes the matching desk which was part of the original Town Hall, again left by Brent Council as part of the building’s heritage. And the photo on her desk is, of course, of Winston Churchill, after whom this bilingual international school is named. If you wish to read about the Lycée, you can find their website here.


 

Philip Grant.

 


Sunday, 3 September 2017

Artificial lawn replaces Wembley Lycee willow

July 21st 2017
September 2nd 2017
When I reported on the demise of the magnificent willow that use to grace the Marriage Garden at the former Brent Town Hall LINK a couple of sceptics were doubtful that it had come down in the storm as a Lycee staff member had told me.

Over the summer holiday the area has been landscaped with artificial grass and some kind of wooden construction is in process.

I leave you to draw your own conclusions.

Before the willow came down

Friday, 21 July 2017

The demise of one of Wembley's wonderful willows


Trees are too often an undervalued part of our local heritage and personal histories. The willow above, in the Marriage Garden at Brent (formerly Wembley) Town Hall, probably appears in thousands of wedding albums across generations.

According to the Lycee security officer I spoke to the tree came down in the recent storm.

After the Town Hall was sold-off by Brent Council to the Lycee International des Londres Winston Churchill it became part of the children's playground and doubtless figured large in their creative play and exploration.


The storm occurred after the school broke up for the summer holiday so children will return to find a large gap in their playground. This was the scene today.


Wembley is well endowed with mature willows with local doctors' surgeries and playcentres named after them.

There is a magnificent specimen, in need of a trim, just behind the Lycee in Greenhill Way:


If you would like one of your pictures of the Marriage Garden willow published please send in jpeg or png format to me at martintinrfrancis@virginmedia.com

Monday, 3 April 2017

Wembley Lycee restores memorial gardens


The Lycee Internnational de Londres LINK which now occupies the former Brent (and previously to that Wembley) Town Hall had been criticised by locals for the neglect of the former municipal gardens in front of the building LINK but now seem to have taken action.  The gardens include a number of memorial trees, some to former councillors and others to major world events. Memorials to the latter have been incorporated into the formal garden next to Brent Civic Centre.

Although  the planting of privet around the perimer of the gardens and the restoration of flower beds to grass may have been done by professional gardeners some of the planting appears to have been done by Lycee students.  Their action is a welcome recognition of local sensitivities.

The Holocaust

Hiroshima
Abolition of Slave Trade
40 years of Peace in Europe

Tuesday, 7 June 2016

Work starts on mowing Wembley French School's meadows

Flower beds in formr times
Today after the 'meadow' was cut back

Cutting waits to be completed on the south side of the steps

 It was probably a coincidence but following a flutter of comments on Twitter at the weekend, work started today cutting the grass back in the former municipal gardens in front of the Lycee de Londres  previously Brent Town Hall and before that Wembley Town Hall.

It is a rough and ready job and still lots of litter around but let's hope it is the first stage in a restoration of what was once a source of local pride.


Monday, 21 March 2016

Lycee litter annoys locals


Locals have stopped me to complain about litter and neglect in the former munical gardens outside the old Brent Town Hall,  now belonging to the Lycee de Londres Winston Churchill. The litter is dropped by passersby rather than the school but residents suggest the school is responsible for clearing it up as the land belongs to them.

Apart from the litter there is a pile of rubble and no spring planting has taken place in the flower beds. The gardens contains contain several memorial trees and the plaques remain.

The French School wanted to excavate a basement swimming pool on the gardens on the southern side of the building but their application was twice refused by Brent Planning Committee.

The main school grounds are beautifully landscaped and maintained.  The gardens on Forty Lane appear to be a neglected no man's land.


Thursday, 17 December 2015

Planning Committee sinks plans for a swimming pool at the former Brent Town Hall

The Kilburn Times has reported LINK that Brent Council Planning Committee has refused permission for the fee paying Lycee International de Londres Winston Churchill to build a 5 lane swiming pool sunken into the garden area in front of the former Brent Town Hall bulding, adjacent to Forty Lane and the Paddocks.

There were few objections to the plans and the Planning Officers' Report recommended approval  LINK  and continued to do so after members of the Committee visited the site and raised various issues  LINK 

The Kilburn Times quotes a Brent Council spokesperson: “The Planning Committee voted unanimously to refuse the proposal based, in particular, on concerns about its effect on the setting and views of the Grade II Listed Building on this prominent frontage site.”

This is an impression of the new pool building included in the planning application:


The refusal comes as a surprise and some local people and schools had been looking forward to the promised public access when the pool was not being used by the French School.

Around the corner there is some uncertainty over the promised community swimming pool, and the extent of public access.  on the site of the former Dexion House. This would be a 2,500 m2 pool in the basement of one of two new buildings which are given over to student accommodation.






Saturday, 21 November 2015

Brent’s Coat of Arms – some thoughts on history, and on justice

Guest bog by Philip Grant
The Coat of Arms which used to grace the front of Brent Town Hall in Forty Lane has been preserved, and will shortly be on display in the Civic Centre. A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Brent’s Regeneration Department, and asked if I would ‘review for accuracy’ the proposed text of the sign which would be displayed alongside it. As a keen local historian, I was happy to assist them, and was able to correct several minor errors and suggest some improvements. The resulting text and artwork for the sign can be seen below.



This coat of arms used to appear on Brent Council’s letterhead, and on various Council publications, but in recent years has been replaced by a modern branding logo. Looking at the coat of arms again, and the civic messages it conveys, has given me some thoughts which I will share with you here. Please feel free to add your own thoughts as “comments” below.

The designers could not use all of the information which I supplied. One of the details left out, about the banner held by the lion (taken from Wembley’s coat of arms), was that it shows the scales of justice, and commemorates the Saxon moot court held at a site near the present-day Kingsbury Circle. There was a form of local government here a thousand years ago, when Wembley was part of an area of Middlesex known as the Hundred of Gore. The name had nothing to do with blood, but with the triangular spear-head shape of the small field where the Hundred’s inhabitants used to meet.

The Moot (or meeting) for each Hundred was held in the open air on a regular basis, to discuss any problems, disputes or petty crimes which had arisen in the Hundred since the last meeting. The parties to an issue raised would put their case, anyone else who had a point to make could do so, and the matter would then be decided by a vote. The majority view decided the issue, and everyone was expected to accept it.

Illustration of a Saxon Moot, from “Wembley through the Ages” by the Rev. H.W.R. Elsley

I do not know how well this early system of local government worked in practice, but both Wembley (in the 1930’s) and Brent (when it was formed in 1965) were keen to use the symbol of the scales of justice, to show their commitment to fairness for all, which is what the Moot was meant to deliver. 
 
With over 300,000 inhabitants, it is not possible for the people of our borough to meet together in a field for an open discussion of issues which are then decided by a majority vote. Once every four years, we elect 63 councillors to represent us, in the expectation that they will hear the facts and evidence on matters of local concern, debate them and reach decisions democratically. Like the Saxon villagers of old, we have the right to attend Council meetings, and for several years we have been able to watch and listen to Full Council meetings online. In June 2014, we were given the hope that we could participate in our modern version of the Moot, when “Deputations” were introduced. The Council Leader explained the purpose of these in the “Brent & Kilburn Times” (12 June 2014) as follows:

‘Cllr Butt said, “New proposals allow the public to speak in council meetings for the first time ever is aimed at bettering how the community engages with the council and allows residents to hold us to account.” ‘

So far, in my experience, this measure to bring more openness into Brent’s local democracy has not lived up to its original promise.

Martin Francis made the first request to present a Deputation in September 2014, on the (overdue) appointment of a permanent Chief Executive. He was denied the chance to speak, on the grounds that he had not given sufficient notice (even though he did so within the time set out in a “tweeted” invitation issued by Brent Council itself) LINK 

I have given valid notice to make Deputations a number of times, but have never been allowed to present them. I asked Scrutiny Committee, in November 2014, to allow me to make a Deputation seeking scrutiny of Brent’s decision to appeal against the Employment Tribunal judgement in the Rosemarie Clarke case. They were persuaded not to hear me, by misleading advice from Brent’s then Legal Director (who had a clear conflict of interests in the matter). LINK 

At the end of April 2015, I gave notice to make a Deputation about the Equalities and HR Policies and Practices Review, which was on the Scrutiny Committee agenda. I was told that I could do so, but only if I did not refer to the Rosemarie Clarke Employment Tribunal case, which the review had been set up to learn the lessons from. Although I explained why it would be both relevant and reasonable to refer to that case, the committee accepted the advice of Council lawyers that I should not be allowed to speak on those terms. LINK
 

A year after Martin’s first attempt, I asked to present a Deputation to Full Council, to welcome the new Chief Executive, and to emphasise the importance of high standards of conduct in carrying out Council business. On this occasion, I was prevented from speaking only by the personal discretion of the Chief Legal Officer, who wrongly claimed that my proposed subject was ‘inappropriate’, and ‘in reality, a complaint about how the Council has handled your request for greater transparency.’ LINK
 

Does Brent Council still uphold the spirit of fairness that its use of the scales of justice in its Coat of Arms was meant to show? You can add your answers, whether “yes” or “no”, as comments below. Personally, I hope that the presence of the Coat of Arms, on display in the Civic Centre, will be a reminder to councillors and Council Officers of the standards that, historically, Brent should be aspiring to.

Philip Grant

  Text and artwork for the proposed sign at Brent Civic Centre

 

Monday, 24 August 2015

Exclusive preview: Lycée International de Londres - Winston Churchill, in Wembley



500 students will be starting at the Lycée International de Londres - Winston Churchill on Thursday September 3rd. The private fee paying Lycée will operate in the old Brent (formerly Wembley) Town Hall.

I was given a preview of the refurbished building as well as the newly built block last week,.

As the Town Hall is a Grade 2 listed building refurbishment had to take place under strict conditions and I was interested in how the unique features designed by architect Clifford Strange had been preserved.

Acoustic ceilings have been installed in many of the rooms with lighting in sympathy with the original period of the building. The Paul Daisley Hall is now an assembly/sports hall with multi-use games area markings painted on the floor.

The original wood panelling is protected from damage  by a series of boards and the stage can be separated  from the hall by a partition to create a drama area.

The former Council Chamber has a state of the art video wall installed that will enable it to be used for international conferencing. The public gallery will enable parents and visitors to watch proceedings in the hall without disturbing the students.

The glass engraving at the entrance to the Council Chamber has been retained.

The parquet flooring in the old Committee Rooms has been restored and the rooms will retain a variety of uses, including formal examinations.

The Mayor's Parlour is now the Headteacher's Office and restoration has extended to the wooden desk and fire place. The electric fire remains in position in the fire place.

For me the most impressive room was the old Town Hall Library. Cleaned up and repainted, but empty of furniture, the room was full of light and the proportions beautiful.

The staircases and banisters remain as they were with some changes in the corridors to enable access for disabled pupils.

Some of the roof areas are accessible from the rooms and one roof garden has been carefully landscaped, albeit with astroturf.

A huge kitchen has been installed with a dining hall for pupils that overlooks landscaped gardens. There are expected to be three sittings for lunch eventually, each lasting 25 minutes, and children will have the choice of a French, international or vegetarian dish. Lunches are included in the school fees.

There are comfortable common rooms for middle and senior pupils which will be equipped with games as well as social seating areas. There will be student coucnls for both lower and upper secondary pupils.

The new block houses technology based subjects with Art, Science, Design Technology and IT rooms furnished and equipped to a high standard.

Outside there is a primary playground with a landscaped area shaded by the huge willow that can be seen from The Paddocks and three different MUGAs.

A unique feature is the running track due to be marked out along the frontage of the building between King's Drive and the Paddocks.

The school aims to be paperless with staff and pupils all having ipads. Secondary pupils will have an ipad each and there will be one between two at the primary level.

Photovoltaic panels have been installed on the roof and the school travel plan will encourage secondary pupils to travel to school by public transport. Pupils have been instructed to walk to school from Wembley Park station along the west side of Bridge Road, crossing at the junction with Forty Lane, and then proceeding right to the school across Barn Hill and King's Drive.

I was told the Lycée wants to cooperate with local schools in Wembley and does not see itself in competition with them. When the Autumn term is underway they will explore potential links with the community including evening classes.

My overwhelming feeling was one of regret that the same degree of care and investment in quality in this private school is not available for our new state schools. The Lycée will inherit a sense of history, permanence and continuity too often missing from our  'warehouse' schools.

And perhaps also missing from our new Civic Centre.

School website (English version)

Tuesday, 11 August 2015

Update on The Winston Churchill Wembley French School

Living locally I have been following with interest the redevelopment of the former Brent (and Wembley) Town Hall as, what we have been calling locally, the Wembley French School. It is not clear what the new bus destination that will replace 'Brent Town Hall' will be.

The internal works are nearly complete and most activity is now on landscaping works. One can't help but be struck by the high quality of the work for this private fee paying school in comparison with the 'off the peg' cheap new school build in the public sector as well as free schools in converted buildings with little play space: compare these grounds with Michaela's tiny 'car park' play space benath the building and next to the railway line.

Many of the trees on the site have been kept which provides pleasant shaded areas around the buildings and there has been some new planting and landscaping.

The Lycee International Londres Winston Churchill is due to open on Thursday September 3rd to Years 1-11 and applications are open until Wednesday August 26th.

The playground on the space once occupied by the huts of the Town Hall annex - new primary building in background


The front of the building which is to be a running track

Primary building from The Paddocks

Impression of finished building and grounds