Festival of Britain construction site on South Bank
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Title
Festival of Britain construction site on South Bank
Festival of Britain construction site on South Bank
Reference
SC_PHL_01_260_F6715 (Collage 91768)
Date
Collection
London Metropolitan Archives: LCC Photograph Library
Description
Festival of Britain construction site in Waterloo Road, Waterloo, running north from the junction of Waterloo Road and Tenison Way. The view shows derelict single-storey buildings, with a high wall at the rear. The large three-storey construction contained within scaffolding is a building for the Festival of Britain. This site formerly contained dwellings on Howley Place which ran parallel to Waterloo Road. In the background, the chimneys of Letts Wharf are in view. After the Festival of Britain this became the site of the Shell Centre, now The Whitehouse Apartments. To the right is Cornwall House, a six-storey reinforced concrete building constructed between 1912 and 1915 for Her Majesty's Stationery Office, with tunnels connecting it to nearby Waterloo Station. It is now the Franklin-Wilkins Building part of Kings College London Campus. The Festival of Britain was a nationwide event that took place in the summer of 1951. Originally intended to mark the centenary of the Great Exhibition of 1851, it became a way to celebrate Britain and its achievements rather than including international themes. The construction of the Festival on its flagship South Bank site required the demolition of the industrial and residential buildings between Waterloo Bridge and County Hall. After the Festival, the South Bank site was cleared of all festival infrastructure except the Royal Festival Hall on the orders of Winston Churchill, who saw the Festival as a beacon for socialist ideas.
Festival of Britain construction site in Waterloo Road, Waterloo, running north from the junction of Waterloo Road and Tenison Way. The view shows derelict single-storey buildings, with a high wall at the rear. The large three-storey construction contained within scaffolding is a building for the Festival of Britain. This site formerly contained dwellings on Howley Place which ran parallel to Waterloo Road. In the background, the chimneys of Letts Wharf are in view. After the Festival of Britain this became the site of the Shell Centre, now The Whitehouse Apartments. To the right is Cornwall House, a six-storey reinforced concrete building constructed between 1912 and 1915 for Her Majesty's Stationery Office, with tunnels connecting it to nearby Waterloo Station. It is now the Franklin-Wilkins Building part of Kings College London Campus. The Festival of Britain was a nationwide event that took place in the summer of 1951. Originally intended to mark the centenary of the Great Exhibition of 1851, it became a way to celebrate Britain and its achievements rather than including international themes. The construction of the Festival on its flagship South Bank site required the demolition of the industrial and residential buildings between Waterloo Bridge and County Hall. After the Festival, the South Bank site was cleared of all festival infrastructure except the Royal Festival Hall on the orders of Winston Churchill, who saw the Festival as a beacon for socialist ideas.
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