The Heritage Lottery Fund is supporting a project called Memories of Twickenham Riverside which concentrates on five sites that underline the leisure, industrial and historical aspects of the town’s close association with the river.

One of these is the Queen’s Hall, at the rear of a building constructed in 1877 by property developer Sir Charles James Freake, an architect and builder responsible for many famous nineteenth century developments in west London, including Eaton Square and Onslow Square. The Hall was opened in November 1881 and it was there in that year that Lillie Langtry is said to have made her debut in a drama called Plot and Passion.

The Hall seems to have undergone a number of manifestations, including becoming a library attached to the Town Hall, before getting “lost” as a result of demolition and redevelopment work on Twickenham’s High Street. Its recent “rediscovery” and plans to build flats on the site was featured in The Richmond and Twickenham Times. If anyone would like a copy of that article, please let me know. Otherwise, some photographs of what remains of The Queen’s Hall are to be found at www.memoriesoftwickenhamriverside.com – Click on “Project” and then on “Queen’s Hall”.