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St Olaf House

Coordinates: 51°30′23″N 0°05′11″W / 51.5064°N 0.0864°W / 51.5064; -0.0864
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St Olaf House
The south face of St Olaf House in 2021
Map
General information
StatusComplete
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameSt Olaf House
Designated13 May 1971
Reference no.1385977
TypeHouse
Architectural styleArt deco
LocationBermondsey, London Borough of Southwark
Address27 Tooley Street
Town or cityLondon
CountryUnited Kingdom
Coordinates51°30′23″N 0°05′11″W / 51.5064°N 0.0864°W / 51.5064; -0.0864
Construction started1928
Technical details
MaterialPortland stone

St Olaf House is a Grade II* listed building on Tooley Street in the London Borough of Southwark. The house was built on the site of St Olave's Church between 1928 and 1932, and is now part of London Bridge Hospital.

History

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St Olaf House was built between 1928 and 1932 by Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel as a headquarters for the Hay's Wharf Company.[1][2][3] The house was built on the site of the demolished St Olave's Church, Southwark,[2][3] in the art deco style.[4] The building is made out of Portland stone.[2][5] It is six storeys high, T-shaped, and faces the River Thames.[2][5] The entrance hall has a terrazzo floor.[1] The exterior has 39 terracotta panels designed by Frank Dobson.[2] Outside the building, there is also a black and gold mosaic by Dobson depicting Saint Olaf, the Norwegian king who helped protect London from the Danes in 1014.[1][6] The engraver commissioned was Robert Lambert Gapper, then a post-army student under Henry Moore. There is also an inscription about the former St Olave's Church.[2][5]

Hay's Wharf became disused in 1969.[1] In the 1980s, St Olaf House was purchased by London Bridge Hospital; it is used for consultation rooms and the hospital's cardiology department.[1] It became a Grade II* listed building in 1971,[5] and is part of the Tooley Street conservation area.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Hay's Wharf and St Olaf House". Architecturally. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "St Olaf House, London". Modernist Britain. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  3. ^ a b "St Olaf House". London Remembers. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  4. ^ Watson, Bruce (2004). Old London Bridge: lost and found. Museum of London Archaeology. p. 24. ISBN 9781901992489.
  5. ^ a b c d "St Olaf House". Historic England. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Tooley Street: Conservation area appraisal" (PDF) (pdf). Southwark Council. July 2003. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
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