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Blythe House is a listed building located at 23 Blythe Road, West Kensington, London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, UK. Originally built as the headquarters of the Post Office Savings Bank, it is now used as a store and archive by the Victoria and Albert,
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and British Museums. In the 2015 Autumn Statement the Government announced it would fund new storage for the museums and then sell off Blythe House.


Post Office Savings Bank

Blythe House was built between 1899 and 1903 as the Headquarters of the Post Office Savings Bank, which had outgrown its previous offices at Queen Victoria Street. By 1902 the Bank had 12,000 branches and more than 9 million accounts, with some 4,000 headquarters staff. The complex included a post office, "intended mainly to deal with the extensive official correspondence involved in the work of the Savings Bank."
The National Archives National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives. Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...
: Public Record Offic
NSC 23/4 Planning of the Blythe Road building.
Unsigned memo. Undated but likely 1899–1908
The post office handled a ton of post (about 100,000 letters) every working day. The post office building still houses the West Kensington delivery office. The main hall on the ground floor gave access to the offices of the Controller and his staff, and also the Public Enquiry Office. The first floor housed the correspondence branches, while the ledger branches were on the floors above. The top floor was mostly taken up with dining rooms and a kitchen. Approximately 1,000 of the staff were female; to avoid the risk of improper mixing of the sexes, females were segregated in the south block of the building, which had its own entrance. The work of the Bank increased greatly during the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, and by 1919 additional staff were spread over six outstations (including at the new
Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in ...
). An extension to the East (as envisaged in the original plans) was built starting in 1921, which could accommodate an extra 1000 staff, at an estimated cost of £150,000. By the 1930s continuing increases in the Bank's business, and the proposed move of the Savings Certificate department to Blythe House, necessitated further expansion and
Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or i ...
authority for a western extension was given in 1938. However, presumably because of the looming threat of
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, the scheme was omitted from the Ministry of Works building programme, and planning postponed indefinitely. The western extension was never built. In 1963 the government announced that the Bank's main centre of operations would be moved to Glasgow, in line with its general policy of dispersing civil service departments out of London. A small headquarters staff remained in London, moving to Charles House on
Kensington High Street Kensington High Street is the main shopping street in Kensington, London, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Kensington High Street is the continuation of Kensington Road and part ...
. The Bank finally vacated Blythe House in the early 1970s. File:Blythe House main block 1924.JPG, The main block of Blythe House, in c.1924 File:Blythe House East extension 1924.JPG, The eastern extension of Blythe House, with the post office in front File:Blythe House ledger room 1924.JPG, Female clerks attending to savings ledgers File:Blythe House adding machine room 1924.JPG, Clerks operating adding machines c.1924 File:Blythe House Envelope-making machines 1930s.JPG, Machines used to fold envelopes for the Savings Bank's extensive correspondence File:Blythe House preparing totals for daily balance 1930s.JPG, 1930s clerks preparing daily balances File:Blythe House Post Office Savings mosaic.jpg, The Post Office Savings Bank logo in mosaic on the east wall of Blythe House


Proposed and temporary uses

After the Savings Bank dispersal was announced, several proposals were made for the Blythe House site.
London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kn ...
enquired about using the land to build housing for people displaced by redevelopments in Hammersmith, North Kensington and Paddington, while the
Civil Service Clerical Association The Civil and Public Services Association (CPSA) was a trade union in the United Kingdom, representing civil servants. History The union was founded in 1921, when the Civil Service Clerical Union and the Clerical Officers' Association merged ...
lobbied for the building to remain in civil service use: "It is, admittedly, an old building, but it is solid and a good deal better than some of the other offices being used for Civil Servants."
The National Archives National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives. Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...
: Public Record Offic
WORK 12/716 National Savings Bank, Blythe Road, Kensington: future use of site
G Challis (Assistant Secretary, Civil Service Clerical Association) to PD Jones (Civil Service National Whitley Council). 29 April 1969
It was rumoured that the restaurant chain J. Lyons and Co., whose food preparation factory
Cadby Hall Cadby Hall was a major office and factory complex in Hammersmith, London which was the headquarters of catering company Joseph Lyons and Co. for almost a century. Origins The name originated from Charles Cadby, piano manufacturer, who purchased ...
was adjacent to Blythe House, wanted to acquire the site. Hammersmith Chess Club used Blythe House as their home venue for a period of time in the mid 70s, having moved on from a draughty and cold St Paul's Church Hall nearby. In the summer of 1979 Blythe House was used for the temporary exhibition of gifts to the Queen from the All-Japan Handicraft Cultural Association, given in connection with the Silver Jubilee celebrations.


Museum stores

In 1979 Blythe House was formally acquired by the Government from the Savings Bank for £6.5m, with the intention that it be used for storage by museums and galleries. A letter to the directors of the national galleries and museums garnered initial interest from the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...
, and the Natural History, British, Science and Victoria and Albert Museums.
The National Archives National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives. Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...
: Public Record Offic
WORK 17/528 Blythe Road, Kensington: storage for museums
SJ Battershall to JM Warnes & GAE Gray, ref ESS/A/ llegible 21 June 1978
The British Library had previously expressed an interest in taking the whole building in place of their existing repository at Woolwich; the director of the V&A
Sir Roy Strong Sir Roy Colin Strong, (born 23 August 1935) is an English art historian, museum curator, writer, broadcaster and landscape designer. He has served as director of both the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London ...
had also lobbied for Blythe House to be used for the public display of several of his museum's collections: "Surely Blythe Road—which is a ''marvellous'' building—should be not just a dumping ground but an exciting new complex for the public." The building is now used to store small and medium-sized artefacts from the collections of three museums: * The
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
from previous stores at Crayford, Kent; Shepherdess Walk; and Edgware Road. * The
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, including items from the
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collections; a conservation laboratory, a photographic studio, and a
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area where newly arrived items are examined. * The
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
(from previous stores at Perivale; Leighton House; Ruskin Avenue, Kew – the present site of
The National Archives National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives. Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...
; and Hounslow), including the Archive of Art and Design; the
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Collections; the V&A Theatre and Performance Archives; and the V&A's own institutional archive.


Architecture

Blythe House was designed by the
Office of Works The Office of Works was established in the English royal household in 1378 to oversee the building and maintenance of the royal castles and residences. In 1832 it became the Works Department forces within the Office of Woods, Forests, Land Reven ...
under Sir Henry Tanner. Its overall style is Edwardian Baroque in pinkish-red brick with
Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building ...
dressing. The building is four storeys high, with attics and sub-basements, and comprises long north and south ranges which are linked by two cross-ranges. The original plans intended for east and west ranges to be added, forming a rectangular plan; the east range was built 1921–22, but the west range was not built. Until around 1925 the building had its own power station, supplying electricity to passenger and goods lifts, printing presses and more than 11,000 lamps; the chimney, centred to the south of the building, is in the style of a
campanile A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tow ...
. Pevsner described the building as contributing to a "curiously muddled area …its vast bulk not very convincingly dressed up with
Wrenaissance Edwardian architecture is a Neo-Baroque architectural style that was popular in the British Empire during the Edwardian era (1901–1910). Architecture up to the year 1914 may also be included in this style. Description Edwardian architecture is ...
trimmings." The walls of the main workrooms were clad in glazed bricks, rather than the usual plaster. These were said to "afford a good reflecting surface for light and are also to be commended for sanitary reasons." This may have been a retrospective justification: the Controller of the Bank was initially against the innovation as being cold and prone to condensation, and preferred plastering. However, the plasterers were at that time on strike, and completion of the building would have been delayed by six months if the glazed bricks were not used instead. He was also swayed by seeing similar bricks used in the new offices of the
Prudential Assurance Company Prudential plc is a British multinational insurance company headquartered in London, England. It was founded in London in May 1848 to provide loans to professional and working people. Prudential has dual primary listings on the London Stock ...
. Blythe House and the associated post office were
listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...
grade II in 2004.


Film location

Blythe House was used as a location for television series in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including '' Minder'' and '' The New Avengers''. The building is featured extensively as the fictional headquarters of "The Circus" in the 2011 film '' Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy''. Used as exterior shots of ITV drama ''
The Halcyon ''The Halcyon'' is a British television period drama broadcast on ITV which began airing on 2 January 2017. It was created and written by Charlotte Jones. The series focused on examining World War II London from 'a new perspective', and was s ...
'' and the
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series ''
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''. Used as hospital in The Father


Notable people

*
Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and ...
was employed as a boy clerk at Blythe House from July 1906 – April 1910.


References

{{Coord, 51.4964, -0.2135, type:landmark, display=title Houses completed in 1903 Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Edwardian architecture in London Postal savings system