Dagenham Civic Centre

Because of the lack of available land in London, the Housing, Town Planning, &c. Act 1919 permitted the London County Council (LCC) to build housing and act as landlord outside of its territory. G. Topham Forrest was appointed as the chief architect on behalf of the LCC and between 1921 and 1935 the cottage estate, comprising around 26,000 homes, was developed. The area was to be called Becontree. In August 1928, following implementation of the Dagenham Urban District Council Act 1928 (18 & 19 Geo. 5. c. cxvii), the council purchased 135 acres, with the intention of using the area as public space. Planners decided to designate the entrance to the area, since named Central Park, as the site…

The Civic Centre is designed in the modern style. The interior features a stair hall which is made using champagne-coloured Botticino marble and the ceilings are decorated with art deco paintings. The internal doors are mostly mahogany with bronze fixtures. The Council Chamber is semi-circular in layout and is flanked by walnut-panels. The Mayor’s Parlour is panelled in Canadian betula veneer and sycamore. The building has a number of pieces of specially designed walnut furniture. Cherry, O'Brien and Pevsner, in their London: East volume of the Buildings of England series, describe the building as "Dagenham's best building by far and a good inter-war example of the traditional language of…