Transport House was the headquarters of the
Transport and General Workers' Union
The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general union, general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland—where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU)—with 900 ...
(T&G), and also originally of the
Labour Party, the
Trades Union Congress
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...
, and the
Workers' Travel Association. The term "Transport House" was once a
metonym
Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something associated with that thing or concept. For example, the word "wikt:suit, suit" may refer to a person from groups commonly wearing business attire, such ...
for both
Labour Party headquarters and the T&G.
The building located on
Smith Square and
Dean Bradley Street,
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
was owned by the T&G and officially opened in May 1928. The T&G started to occupy it from 1926, moving from their first headquarters in
Matthew Parker Street.
The TUC moved out to
Congress House between 1956 and 1958. The Labour Party moved out in 1980, transferring its headquarters to what later became known as ''
John Smith House''. The T&G remained until the 1990s, when they moved to a modern building on
Theobalds Road,
Holborn
Holborn ( or ), an area in central London, covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part (St Andrew Holborn (parish), St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Wards of the City of London, Ward of Farringdon Without i ...
, which is now also known as Transport House.
The original building is now called Local Government House and houses the headquarters of the
Local Government Association
The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local government in England, local authorities in England and Wales. Its core membership is made up of 317 English councils and the 22 Welsh councils through the ...
and a
conference centre.
The local headquarters of the T&G in a number of other cities were also called Transport House.
References
{{London-struct-stub
Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster
Exhibition and conference centres in London
Labour Party (UK) facilities
British trade unions history
Headquarters of political parties in the United Kingdom
Transport and General Workers' Union
Local government buildings in London