Saturday, February 6, 2010

Bow House, London

Bow HouseIn 2009 English Heritage listed Bow House, the former Poplar Town Hall, at Grade II level.

At the time,the BBC website carried this story about the building and several others in Tower Hamlets that also received Grade II listing.

The story quotes Ewart Culpin, who designed the building with his son, Clifford as saying the building was "the first town hall in this country to be erected in the modern style".

Mosiac, Bow HouseAlong the face of the canopy above the entrance there is a mosiac with four figures representing literacy and educational subjects such as art, reading and geography. The mosiac also includes Poplar Borough Council coat of arms and a zig-zag water motif representing Poplar's location on the River Thames.

The underside of the canopy shows various locations along the Thames with representations of ships and many of the cargoes they transported up the river.

Mural, Bow House

The major piece of decoration on the front of Bow House in a series of friezes depicting various trades and professions.

Frieze, Bow House

Frieze, Bow House

Frieze, Bow House

Frieze, Bow House

Frieze, Bow House

2 comments:

  1. I was married here 25 yrs ago ... it was as beautiful on the inside as it was on the outside back then.... lovely pics

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  2. Thanks for the comment ... I wonder what it is like inside now?

    ReplyDelete