The Victorian Society, 1 Priory Gardens, Chiswick, London W4 1TT

Details

Accessibility

"Half of the ground floor is level access, with the other half accessed by three steps. First floor is accessed by a staircase only"

Brief description

https://www.victoriansociety.org.uk/about-us/history-of-the-victorian-society/

https://programme.openhouse.org.uk/listings/10300

"Part of the original Bedford Park development restored by the Victorian Society and used as their headquarters since the 1970s. Picturesque style; 3-storeys, Red and yellow brick; Dutch gable; oriel windows. Dated 1880, designed by E. J. May."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Victorian_Society

"The Victorian Society is a UK charity and amenity society that campaigns to preserve and promote interest in Victorian and Edwardian architecture and heritage built between 1837 and 1914 in England and Wales. As a statutory consultee, by law it must be notified of any work to a listed building which involves any element of demolition or structural alteration.[1] 

The society, a registered charity,[2] fights to protect Victorian and Edwardian heritage from demolition or careless alteration. As a membership organisation, the majority of its funding comes from subscription fees and events. As one of the National Amenity Societies, The Victorian Society is a statutory consultee on alterations to listed buildings, and by law must be notified of any work to a listed building which involves any element of demolition.[1]

The society:

• Provides advice to churches and local planning authorities on how Victorian and Edwardian buildings and landscapes can be adapted to modern use, while keeping what is distinctive about them.
• Advises members of the public on how they can help shape the future of their local Victorian and Edwardian buildings and landscapes.
• Provides information to owners of Victorian and Edwardian houses about how they can better look after their buildings.
• Helps people understand, appreciate and enjoy the architectural heritage of the Victorian and Edwardian period through its publications and events.

The society has worked to save numerous landmark buildings such as St Pancras Station,[15] Albert Dock in Liverpool, the Foreign Office and Oxford University Museum.[4] Its campaigns have not always been successful, notably its failed attempts to save the Euston Arch from demolition in 1961.[16]

Examples of the society's work with churches include making complaints against proposals of church PCCs to use upholstered chairs during renovation,[17][18] and appealing against proposals to raise money by selling original features.[19]

In 2015, the society launched a campaign to preserve Victorian gasometers, after utility companies announced plans to demolish nearly 200 of the now-outdated structures. Costelloe, the society's director at the time, commented: "Gasometers, by their very size and structure, cannot help but become landmarks. [They] are singularly dramatic structures for all their emptiness."[20]

The society publishes an annual list of the Top Ten Most Endangered Victorian or Edwardian Buildings in England and Wales.[21]

The counterpart organisations to the society for the protection of the heritage of earlier and later periods are the Georgian Group (for buildings erected between 1700 and 1840) and The Twentieth Century Society (for post-1914 buildings)."

Address

The Victorian Society, 1 Priory Gardens, Chiswick, London W4 1TT

Email

https://www.victoriansociety.org.uk/contact/

Phone

020 8994 1019

Website

https://www.victoriansociety.org.uk/

www.victoriansociety.org.uk

x.com/thevicsoc

www.facebook.com/thevicsoc

Directions

Easy parking nearby

Opening Times

Always check with the venue directly for up-to-date information including opening times and admission charges as they may be subject to change

Transport

2024: "TUBE: Turnham Green; BUS: 94"

Amenities

Toilets