Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
The People's Palace began in 1886, with the purpose of providing an educational and cultural centre for the local community. It was financed by the Beaumont Trust, established under the will of John Barber Beaumont to support the Philosophical Institution that he had founded, and occupied the site of the former Bancroft's School acquired from the Drapers' Company. The Palace was to comprise the Queen's Hall, a library modelled on that of the British Museum, a swimming bath, a gymnasium, and a winter garden as well as schools. The foundation stone of the Queen's Hall was laid by the Prince of Wales in June 1886, and it was opened by Queen Victoria in the following year. The Queen's Hall was used for lectures, concerts and organ recitals, shows of birds and flowers, exhibitions of animals and pictures, fetes and other entertainments which, reportedly, were attended by thousands of people. The library and swimming bath were completed in 1888 as were the technical and trade schools which later developed into Queen Mary College. The Bow and Bromley Institute amalgamated with the People's Palace as a branch of East London College in 1898. The winter garden, begun in 1890 and completed in 1892, was also used for concerts and refreshments. The gymnasium, constructed in 1891, had a roller-skating rink in the basement. However, the financial management of the Palace soon ran into difficulties. It was saved by the Drapers' Company which committed a subsidy of £70,000 over ten years.
In 1889 a separate students' library had been established and by 1902 the Governors agreed that the original library should be transferred to the Borough of Stepney to form the basis for the first public library in Mile End. In 1911 the Visiting Committee of the Palace Governors was split into two to form a Palace Committee and a College Committee albeit still under the umbrella of the Palace Governors. This was the beginning of a final administrative separation of the Palace from the College which was formalised in 1913.
In 1931 a fire completely destroyed the Queen's Hall and it was decided to resite the People's Palace in St Helen's Terrace. This gave the whole of the original site to the College and finally achieved the physical separation of Palace and College. The new People's Palace was opened in 1937, providing a concert and dance hall. However, postwar conditions meant that the People's Palace was no longer financially sustainable, and in 1953 it came on the market. In 1954 it was acquired by Queen Mary College. Then in 1956 it was renamed the Queen's Building by HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and became an integral part of Queen Mary College.