The Alliance House Building
A Permanent Home for the Movement
For many years the Alliance maintained an office in its spiritual home at Deansgate in Manchester.
In November 1859 a London office was first opened in the Strand, followed by further homes in, and about , the Westminster area, including 11 Tothill Street. In 1918 a prestigious office was secured at 1 Victoria Street which provided a home until the final move to Caxton Street in 1942.
1 Victoria Street, London. 1918-1942
At a meeting of UKA held in Manchester in October 1937 Robert Wilson Black announced a plan to build a new headquarters building for the temperance movement. The site chosen was adjacent to Caxton Hall and was then occupied by the medical school of Westminster Hospital.
The scheme was to involve the erection of an eight story office building with a dedicated hall for meetings, there would be an office for the Alliance and the rest of the building would be available for rental to provide guarateed finance to support the dissemination of information for years to come.
The architects chosen for the project were Messers Murrell and Piggott FRIBA and it was anticipated that the cost of the purchase of the land and completion of the building would be in the region of £75,000.
Luncheon Menu & List of speakers from the stone laying ceremony.
The project would be financed by existing capital and a mortgage whilst a further £15,000.00 would be required to be raised by subscription.
The foundation stone, which can still be seen or the corner of Palmer Street and Caxton Street was laid by William Bingham JP, a stalwart supporter of the Alliance, on May 25th 1938.
Remarkably the old building was demolished, site cleared and building completed within a period less than less than 12 months.
Alliance House was opened on 26th November 1938 and through the generosity of its supporters was free from debt by 1950. It still stands today as a testament to the vision of Robert Wilson Black to ensure a lasting legacy and future for the movement.
Article in Alliance News, January 1939, details the opening of Alliance House.