SOUTH LONDON GALLERY FIRE STATION
station building was no longer considered
fit for purpose. In 1934 it was acquired by
Kennedy’s butchers and used as their head
office and as a factory for their sausage
making operation until 2007. Then, in
2008, the building was sold at auction and
remained empty and in a poor state until it
was donated to the SLG by an anonymous
benefactor in 2014.
A former Victorian fire station has been
converted into an inspiring new gallery
space for the South London Gallery (SLG),
one of London’s best loved contemporary art
galleries.
Located just 110 yards opposite the main
SLG building, the South London Gallery Fire
Station at 82 Peckham Road now serves
as an annexe or second venue, which has
effectively doubled the size of the overall
gallery, adding 425m² of public space.
Seeing its potential as an amazing exhibition
and education space, the SLG raised almost
£4million, enabling a £1.5m construction
budget to restore the by now semi-derelict
Fire Station, with major support coming
from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Arts
Council England and the Mayor’s London
Regeneration Fund.
New facilities include: an archive gallery and
exhibition space on ground floor, a kitchen
and terrace, with community and education
facilities on the second and third floors and
a top floor artists’ studio, all designed to
enrich the visitors’ experience.
A fine example of Victorian Gothic
architecture, the newly restored gallery
has already won several accolades,
including a 2019 RIBA London Award
and a RIBA National Award for its sensitive
restoration at the same time as a radical
reconfiguration and internal transformation
by 6a architects.
THE HISTORY
Dating back to 1867 and still in operation
until 1925, Camberwell Station - as it was
then called - was designed by Edward Cresy
Jr and is now one of the oldest surviving
examples of a purpose-built fire station in
London.
4 - www.refurbandrestore.co.uk
A SIGNIFICANT TRANSFORMATION
Following extensive planning and
community consultation, London based 6a
architects were appointed by the gallery
director Margot Heller to mastermind the
restoration of the Grade II* listed building.
Constructed after the formation of London’s
Metropolitan Fire brigade (MFB), the four-
storey building comprised a ground floor
with two appliance bays and stables for the
horses that pulled the fire engines plus other
working areas, while the three upper floors
served as living quarters for the fire brigade
officers and their families.
By the1920s the London Fire Brigade
had been modernised, and so the old fire
Though structurally sound, the building was
in poor condition with water ingress and dry
rot and was listed on the English Heritage ‘At
Risk’ register.
The aim of the new design was to keep true
to the layout, character and scale of the
original building, whilst introducing more
inviting and light-filled spaces across all four
floors.