How Romford Town Hall Became Havering Town Hall

9th October 20261st October 2026 The Havering Daily 0 Comments Act, England's, Essex, Greater London, Havering, Havering Character Study Havering, Havering Town Hall, Historic England, Hornchurch, Hornchurch Urban District, London, London Borough, Main Road Town Hall, Mayor, Municipal Borough, Romford, Romford Town hall, Romford Town Hall Became Havering Town Hall, Royal Liberty, Town Hall, Upminster min read

The building had already served Romford for 28 years when local government reorganisation created the London Borough of Havering in 1965.

Havering Town Hall was never originally built for Havering at all. When its doors opened in 1937, it was Romford Town Hall and the headquarters of the newly incorporated Municipal Borough of Romford.

That changed as part of the biggest reorganisation of London local government in decades.

The London Government Act 1963 created Greater London and a new structure of 32 London boroughs. In this part of Essex, the former Municipal Borough of Romford and Hornchurch Urban District were brought together to form the London Borough of Havering.

The new Havering council was elected in 1964 and initially operated as a shadow authority while the outgoing councils continued their work. Full powers transferred on 1 April 1965, when the old authorities ceased to exist and the new London borough formally took over.

Romford’s Main Road Town Hall was retained as the headquarters of the new borough. From then on, the building that had been created for Romford became Havering Town Hall.

The change is still visible in the building’s history. Historic England’s listing begins by describing it as having been “built as Romford Town Hall” before detailing the later alterations and its current role.

The new borough also needed its own civic identity. Havering’s coat of arms was granted on 1 March 1965, shortly before the authority assumed full powers. Its design deliberately drew together different parts of the new borough, including references to the old Royal Liberty of Havering, Romford, Hornchurch and Upminster.

The Town Hall itself had already been enlarged in 1960, when three bays were added to the south-west in materials and a style designed to match the original 1937 building. That expansion meant the site was better placed to accommodate the enlarged authority when Havering arrived five years later.

The result is an interesting quirk of local history. The institution called the London Borough of Havering dates from 1965, but its Town Hall dates from 1937. The building therefore spent its first 28 years serving Romford before becoming the civic centre for the whole borough.