A major project to save the Palace’s North East Office Building (NEOB) – the last truly inaccessible area in the seven acre building – has been completed.
BFF were the Conservation Architects for this latest stage of the award-winning restoration of the Grade II listed Victorian venue, which has prepared a derelict section of the Palace’s East Wing ready for reuse. The Office Building was first used in 1875 to house the ‘offices of the administrators’. It was subsequently used as a ticket office, porters facilities, costume room and, from 1970, as the office space for the Open University.
Decayed brickwork and timber have been removed, as have historic roof lanterns (which will be carefully restored in the next phase of works). New timber floors, walls and roof coverings have been installed.
The project was made possible thanks to £760,000 of funding from Historic England, which was unlocked by match funding from corporate trustee, Haringey Council. The next phase of the project will be to explore options for bringing the secured building back into use.
At a special celebration event, held on Wednesday 30 April, partners and funders enjoyed a special tour of the NEOB, curated by the Ally Pally Creative Learning team and volunteers from their Community Curatorial team. The tour explored their work in the community, as well as the history of the NEOB,
Speaking at the celebration event, Emma Dagnes OBE, Alexandra Park and Palace CEO, said:
“We are delighted to complete this project and save our North East Office Building. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Historic England, with their vital funding – and support from Haringey Council – they’ve helped us make the extraordinary possible. Our next step is to explore how we bring the NEOB back into use. Fully restoring heritage spaces like this takes time, patience and, for us as a charity, support.
What we do know, is that when we are able to reopen parts of the Palace, something magical happens. Lives are changed. Communities grow. New stories begin. In 2018, we restored and reopened our stunning East Wing – and brought our Theatre back to life after 80 years of silence. The North East Office Building is the next step on Ally Pally’s restoration journey.
And, as ever, it’s not just about bricks and mortar, it’s a chance to ask big questions: how can we make this project matter to our community? How can we design it to serve future generations? What stories will it tell?
This Palace is buzzing with life. It’s not heritage that’s locked in a glass cabinet – but something you can walk through, dance in, sing in, and be part of. It’s living heritage, for all.”
Duncan Wilson CBE, Historic England CEO, said:
“Protecting the nation’s heritage is a truly collaborative process. Saving this part of the historic Alexandra Palace is a great example of what can be achieved when organisations come together. I’m pleased that Historic England has been a crucial part of this, both through funding support and by providing expertise and advice.
It’s not just about restoration, but how the spaces are then brought to life. This is something that Ally Pally does so well, it’s in its DNA.
It’s an extraordinary place, and extraordinarily resilient. There is so much potential too, and there’s that feeling of so much more to come.”