Old Town Hall, Kennington Road

The building you see, now known as the Old Town Hall, was originally constructed on a piece of land that local officials once considered too damp to build upon. Because the site was part of the Duchy of Cornwall estate, the project faced intense scrutiny and was only approved after a formal poll of local ratepayers, who had to weigh the necessity of a new municipal home against the potential for extravagant spending. Completed in eighteen fifty-three, it served as the administrative heart of the parish of Lambeth until the borough outgrew its walls and moved operations to a larger facility in Brixton in nineteen zero eight.