Wesley House
Wesley House
LocationBull Hill, Leatherhead
Coordinates51°17′48″N 0°19′51″W / 51.2967°N 0.3308°W / 51.2967; -0.3308
Built1935
ArchitectC. H. Rose and H. R. Gardner
Architectural style(s)Neoclassical style
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameWesley House, with Steps and Walls to Front
Designated6 April 1999
Reference no.1113328
Wesley House, Leatherhead is located in Surrey
Wesley House, Leatherhead
Shown in Surrey

Wesley House, formerly the Council Offices, is a former municipal building on Bull Hill, Leatherhead, Surrey, England. The building, which was the headquarters of Leatherhead Urban District Council, is a Grade II listed building.[1]

History

Following significant population growth, largely associated with the development of family-based manufacturing firms,[2] the area became an urban district in 1894.[3][4] Civic leaders initially established themselves in offices in Church Street.[5] However, as the responsibilities of local authorities increased, the council decided to procure purpose-built council offices: the site they selected on Bull Hill was occupied by an 18th century building known as "Kingston House".[6][lower-alpha 1]

The works began with the demolition of Kingston House which took place in 1933.[7] The new building was designed by C. H. Rose and H. R. Gardner in the neoclassical style and built in red brick with stone dressings.[1] At its official opening in May 1935, Viscount Wakefield unveiled a plaque to commemorate John Wesley's historic visit to Kingston House.[8] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with nine bays facing onto the corner of Bull Hill and Leret Way with the end bays featuring sash windows with swan-necked pediments on the first floor; the central bay featured a flight of steps leading up to a doorway with a stone surround and brackets supporting an entablature.[1] On the first floor there was an iron balcony bearing the town's coat of arms and a prominent rounded headed French door flanked by full-height pilasters supporting a pediment.[1] At roof level there was a copper flèche and a weather vane.[1] Internally, the principal rooms were an entrance hall, which was decorated in an Art Deco style, and a semi-circular council chamber which jutted out to the rear of the building and featured fine wooden panelling.[1]

The council offices continued to serve as the headquarters of Leatherhead Urban District Council for much of the 20th century and remained a meeting place for the enlarged Mole Valley District Council after it was formed in 1974.[9] However, it ceased to be the local seat of government when the district council moved to modern offices at Dorking in 1983.[10][11]

Renamed Wesley House to commemorate the connection with the Methodist theologian, the building was then occupied by the local Citizens Advice Bureau and by a security alarms business before being sold to a developer in December 1999.[12] The developer refurbished the council chamber, converted the remainder of the building for commercial use and added a glass and steel west wing onto the complex.[13]

Notes

  1. ↑ Kingston House was a private dwelling which had been designed in the Queen Anne style and built in the 18th century. The house was the home of the Richard Belson who invited the Methodist theologian, John Wesley, to preach a sermon in the house on 23 February 1791.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Historic England. "Wesley House, with Steps and Walls to Front (1113328)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  2. ↑ Vardey, Edwina, ed. (1988). History of Leatherhead : a town at the crossroads. Leatherhead: Leatherhead and District Local History Society. pp. 149–152. ISBN 978-0-95-060091-8.
  3. ↑ "Leatherhead UD". Vision of Britain. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  4. ↑ Malden, H. E. (1911). "'Parishes: Leatherhead', in A History of the County of Surrey". London: British History Online. pp. 293–301. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  5. ↑ "No. 33224". The London Gazette. 26 November 1926. p. 7720.
  6. 1 2 Banks, Joyce (2002). "Some notes on early Methodism in Surrey" (PDF). Surrey Archaeological Society. p. 195. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 January 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  7. ↑ "Potted History No. 10: Kingston House / Wesley House - Leatherhead" (PDF). Leatherhead and District Local History Society. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  8. ↑ "Surrey". England's Christian Heritage. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  9. ↑ Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN 0-10-547072-4.
  10. ↑ "Mole Valley council building too 'expensive to run'". Get Surrey. 14 October 2011. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  11. ↑ Vardey 1988, pp. 296–299
  12. ↑ "Wesley House saga ends with sale". Get Surrey. 24 December 1999. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  13. ↑ "Wesley House" (PDF). Halcyon Offices. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
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