Westminster Central Hall
| Methodist Central Hall | |
|---|---|
Front entrance
|
|
| Location |
Westminster London, SW1 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Methodist Church of Great Britain |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Baroque architecture, Edwardian architecture |
| Groundbreaking | 1905 |
| Completed | 1911 |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | 2,300 (Great Hall) |
| Administration | |
| Circuit | Westminster |
| District | London |
| Clergy | |
| Minister(s) | Revd Dr Martyn Atkins |
The Methodist Central Hall (also known as Central Hall Westminster) is a multi-purpose venue and tourist attraction in City of Westminster, London. It serves primarily as a Methodist church and a conference centre, but also as an art gallery and an office building (formerly as the headquarters of the Methodist Church of Great Britain until 2000). It contains twenty-two conference, meetings and seminar rooms, the largest being the Great Hall.
Central Hall occupies the corner of Tothill Street and Storeys Gate just off Victoria Street in London, near the junction with The Sanctuary next to the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre and facing Westminster Abbey.
Methodist Central Hall was erected to mark the centenary of John Wesley's death. It was built in 1905–11 on the site of the Royal Aquarium, Music Hall and Imperial Theatre, an entertainment complex that operated with varying success from 1876 to 1903.
Methodist Central Hall was funded between 1898 and 1908 by the "Wesleyan Methodist Twentieth Century Fund" (or the "Million Guinea Fund", as it became more commonly known), whose aim was to raise one million guineas from one million Methodists. The fund closed in 1904 having raised 1,024,501 guineas (£1,075,727). Central Hall Westminster was to act not only as a church, but to be of "great service for conferences on religious, educational, scientific, philanthropic and social questions".
Central Hall hosted the first meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in 1946. In return for the use of the hall, the Assembly voted to fund the repainting of the walls of the church in a light blue – the paint is still there, albeit marginally cracked and peeling. At the time it was being used by the UN General Assembly, the congregation relocated to the Coliseum Theatre.
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