Shoreditch Town Hall has received a £10,000 Heritage Lottery Fund Sharing Heritage grant for its project More Light, More Power: 150 Years of Shoreditch Town Hall to celebrate the building's 150th anniversary.
There will be a temporary exhibition of photos and materials around the building as well as some permanent displays to inform visitors about the building's history. There will also be a commemorative publication, tracing the Town Hall's roots in 19th century progressive politics to its role in East London working class culture as a music hall and boxing venue and its current use as an arts and events space.
A team of staff and volunteers from Shoreditch Town Hall, working with project coordinator Brona O’Toole, will meet local people, carry out a selection of interviews and document stories and memories of the building to add to the research from archives, public sources and personal collections.
Director Nick Giles said, "it has been our ambition for some time now to produce a more comprehensive history of the Town Hall, so that we can better celebrate what is a unique, landmark building, its colourful history and the role it has played in people’s lives over the past one hundred and fifty years.
"Thanks to this support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, we will now be able to achieve this and, importantly for us, run a project that will enable us to go out into the community and work with a diverse team of volunteers."
Stuart Hobley, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund London, said, "Heritage Lottery Fund support will recognise the historical and architectural importance of Shoreditch Town Hall in celebration of the building’s 150th anniversary. Thanks to National Lottery players, communities will be able to mark this special occasion with a project exploring and preserving the local history of the Town Hall, leading to a commemorative publication and exhibition at the heart of Shoreditch.”