Keith Greenough and Theresa Dhaliwal Davies – September 2018 The official opening of Toynbee Hall’s wonderfully restored old hall is fast approaching and finishing touches of the redevelopment are being put in place. The new entrance hall has wonderful and unique light wood furniture. The hallway surrounding the original staircase has an exhibit celebrating Toynbee…
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By Keith Greenough and Rosie Spiegelhalter. Last week I made a brief visit to Toynbee Hall. It’s amazing to see how things have moved on in just four weeks since I last called in. All around finishing touches are being applied. What struck me most was how original features are juxtaposed with new elements –…
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By Keith Greenough and Xia Lin Recently I visited the apartments on the upper floors of the old hall. These will be home for the new residential voluntary workers. Work is nearing completion with painting, carpeting and fitting out of kitchens and bathrooms almost there. It is wonderful that the residential voluntary workers programme is…
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By Keith Greenough and Eleanor Sier. Today I met with Eleanor Sier, Heritage Learning and Participation Manager at Toynbee Hall. We took a tour of the new ‘Picture Gallery’ which is located between the old hall and the new extension at the rear. The gallery is a wonderfully light and airy space with glass paneling…
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By Keith Greenough and Jim Minton With the roof now in place things are really taking shape. But Toynbee Hall is so much more than just a building. We want it to be a part of the community and a real catalyst for positive change for the future, inspired by what has gone before. Keith…
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By Keith Greenough and Kevin Walker I joined Toynbee Hall on its redevelopment journey over 2 1/2 years ago, having worked in project management for over 15 years. At that time, the estate was the worse for wear, disconnected and confusing, but very much loved by those who worked and visited here. I recognised immediately…
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By Clare Corbett and Keith Greenough I recently joined other former residential volunteers ahead of the demolition of Profumo House, my home from 2003-2004. It’s wonderful that the grotty kitchens and overheated rooms of the past will be replaced with a modern multipurpose building that can support Toynbee Hall’s pioneering advice and wellbeing services –…
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By Kate Swade and Keith Greenough I lived in Attlee house as a residential volunteer for Toynbee Hall in 2003 and 2004. There were five of us in the flat, and we had a great time working on different Toynbee Hall projects and having fun in London. Even then it was clear that the building…
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By Liz Allen and Keith Greenough By Liz Allen, Archivist, Toynbee Hall We knew that Ziegler had painted this frieze but we had no real evidence it remained here. We felt there was a slim chance the boards above the wooden paneling in the Lecture Hall were the frieze painted over in white. So we…
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By Karen Hart and Keith Greenough At last the day arrived when I placed our precious building into the hands of the contractor who will be restoring and transforming Toynbee Hall over the coming year. Over 5 years in the planning, the progress in the first 5 weeks of construction has been very encouraging. The…
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