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Ruskin House

Co-operatives in the United KingdomGeorgian architecture in LondonGrade II listed buildings in the London Borough of CroydonGrade II listed houses in LondonHouses in the London Borough of Croydon
John Ruskin
Ruskin House, Coombe Road (geograph 4427676)
Ruskin House, Coombe Road (geograph 4427676)

Ruskin House, situated in its own grounds on Coombe Road, Croydon, South London, has been a centre of Britain's progressive movements for a century. It is the headquarters of the Communist Party of Britain and Croydon's Labour, Trade Union and Co-operative movements and is itself a co-operative with shareholders from organisations across the four movements.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Ruskin House (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 51.3675 ° E -0.096666666666667 °
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Address

Coombe Road 23
CR0 1BD London (London Borough of Croydon)
England, United Kingdom
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Phone number

call+442086869888

Website
ruskinhouse.org.uk

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Ruskin House, Coombe Road (geograph 4427676)
Ruskin House, Coombe Road (geograph 4427676)
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Nearby Places

Queen's Gardens, Croydon
Queen's Gardens, Croydon

The Queen's Gardens is a public garden in the centre of Croydon, South London. The gardens are bordered by Croydon Town Hall, Bernard Weatherill House, the site of the former Taberner House, Park Lane and Katharine Street. In their present form, and under their present name, the gardens and their central fountain were opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1983. The area had previously consisted of the smaller Town Hall Gardens, and the site of Croydon's police station. The Town Hall Gardens had originally been laid out in the 1890s on the site of the disused spur railway line leading to Croydon Central station. The gardens now comprise areas of lawn with standard trees, a central fountain with benches, and a sunken garden area with formal flower beds and trees exploiting the former track bed and station wall complete with original railings on top. Situated just across from Croydon's register office, the gardens are popular for wedding photographs. A subway exits the park under Park Lane into an underground car park and across to the Fairfield Halls: the gardens are regularly used as a route between the Council offices and the underpass. The cancelled Park Place development featured proposals to radically alter the Queen's Gardens, with a more formal and modern planting style, an ice rink, space for performances and entrance into the Park Place shopping centre. The gardens remain part of the Croydon Vision 2020 regeneration plan. After Taberner House was demolished in 2014–2015, the former site was redeveloped with completion expected in late 2021. The new housing created extended into the Queen's Gardens itself and there was some concern that the former urban ornamental park had effectively been absorbed into the new project for the use of the residents.

Ashcroft Theatre
Ashcroft Theatre

The Ashcroft Theatre is a theatre located within the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, South London. The theatre was named after Croydon-born Dame Peggy Ashcroft and is a proscenium theatre with a stepped auditorium. The mural on its fire curtain is by the artist Henry Bird. A variety of productions are held throughout the year such as drama, ballet, opera and pantomime. The venue has a seating capacity of 763 and can be converted into a cinema as it has a large screen giving full Cinemascope and standard film format.The Ashcroft Theatre was opened on 5 November 1962 by Dame Peggy Ashcroft. The opening ceremony included the reading of a monologue specially penned by Sir John Betjeman called ‘Local Girl Makes Good'. The first play was ‘Royal Gambit' starring Dulcie Gray. Those to have trodden the boards at The Ashcroft Theatre include Richard Todd, Rex Harrison and Dame Peggy herself.The auditorium is on two tiers with the stalls heavily raked. The front of the circle is unadorned and the straight walls have natural finishes. The stage, with false proscenium, is well equipped with 30 single purchase counterweight sets for flying, and an orchestra pit on a hydraulic lift which can accommodate up to 16 players. Alterations to the forestage were undertaken to lessen the barrier provided by the original Juliet balcony and side door structures.The theatre closed in 2016 for renovation work on the Fairfield Halls, and reopened in September 2019. During the refurbishment, the centre aisles of the theatre were removed to create a Continental Auditorium seating arrangement, increasing capacity to 798 without kills. Further works in January 2020 replaced the recycled seating from before the renovation works with new grey seating, creating a much more modern look.