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.
LINK TO CONSULTATION
VIRTUAL TOUR AND MORE
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.
LINK TO CONSULTATION
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.
heritagefund.org.uk
