18th Century Assembly Rooms Building At Threat Of Demolition
By Reb_BEvans | Monday, September 13, 2010, 21:43
Campaigners from the Crystal Palace Triangle Planning Group (CPTPG) have been fighting to stop the former Assembly Rooms building on Westow Street, from being demolished by current ownwers, Greek Orthodox Church of St Constantine & Helen.
At just over 180 years old, it is one of the oldest buildings in Crystal Palace, but years of abandonment and neglect have caused the building to fall into disrepair. Local residents and campaigners want to see the building restored to its former glory and replaced with a community and cultural centre and two flats. CPTPG member Sue Nagal told thisislocallondon that she was 'concerned the building had deteriorated so badly it could not be restored'.
The unlisted building would need to have a structural analysis and independent assessment before work of any kind could be agreed on, whilst under the management of Croydon Council.
We seem to be becoming more accustomed to seeing run down or abandoned buildings in our local area, it is particularly worrying when it is houses, but on the high street, empty shops look untidy and can give the wrong impression. If a building has some historic relevance, then I think it is important for it to be protected and preserved for all to appreciate.
What do you think should happen to the former Assembly Rooms? Would you like anther community hall or do you think it could be used for another retail premises of some kind? We want YOUR thoughts...
Comments
Thank you for your comments I found them very interesting, as I did not know the full history of the building. It is a shame it has been left as it is and an even bigger shame that given the extent of the deterioration, there is now little that can be done to restore it to back to its former glory. I hope the planning application is approved swiftly.
By Reb_BEvans at 22:04 on 23/09/10
ReportHi, As a member of the congregation of Sts Constantine and Helen and someone who's read both the structural and heritage reports I fully support the planning application for a New Cultural Centre to replace the current run down building adjacent to the Church.
FIrstly from a heritage point of view there is a misconception the the building ever served as a meeting or assembly room. In fact it was a billiards saloon and served as a low significance to the local community.
English heritage also rejected the building for listing in both 1992 and 2007 due to the building's low heritage significance.
Restoration of the Billiards Saloon would require such a high degree of replacement of the building fabric that very little of the original structure would be left.
Architecturally the building's front facade underwent massive changes in the 20th century and the pediment and architraves were replaced with crude copies of the original building. As a consequence the only original parts are the upper weatherboarded parts of the flank and rear walls. The interior again is described as having no architectural siginficance.
The full set of planning documents which include the heritage and structural documents can be downloaded at the following link
http://tinyurl.com/2wjdmgm
By Churchgirl at 12:01 on 20/09/10
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