Some parts of Greater Kennington have survived for centuries, some were lost as a result of enemy action, and other parts bulldozed as a result of short term thinking and poor planning. Others are lost in plain sight as not many people know about them. Have you ever noticed the former Pelham Mission Hall in Lambeth Walk?

The quite striking Mission Hall was built on 1910 to a design by local architects Waring and Nicholson, who possibly collaborated on the stunning Doulton Pottery building (below) in Black Prince Road. It replaced something called a “beerhouse” of which little is known. The Hall was in fact a church, complete with an outdoor pulpit. One can imagine that it’s no coincidence that a church should supplant a beerhouse, and perhaps the Rector used his bully pulpit to warn the marketgoers in Lambeth Walk about the evils of drink and its associated lascivious behaviours.

The Mission Hall is one of those rare survivors of the bygone era of a Cockney Kennington tinged with deprivation and struggle. When the Hall was built Lambeth Walk had over 100 market stalls run by street sellers, or costermongers, who would hawk their wares in a melodic street patter which can still be heard in East Street market in Walworth. If you want to know more about the history or Lambeth Walk itself, check out our post from 2021.

Like the pawn shops and fruit sellers which once dominated Lambeth Walk to ease the hardship of people, there is no longer the need for a rector to be spouting the value of pious living for eternal salvation. Today the Hall has stopped  saving souls but is a home to creating sculpture. The Henry Moore Sculpture Studio exists as a creative place for sculpture courses and a space for creating lovely things. They offer a range of courses in all aspects of sculpture which are not free, and periodic lectures which are. Check out their website for information about both.