Plaque to commemorate the opening of Russell House
Russell House was opened in 1950 and named after the then Chair of the City of Westminster Housing Committee, Alderman Russell. The plaque commemorates the opening and is situated just inside the Charlwood Street entrance to the building.
It was built on a site where numerous houses had been destroyed by a parachute mine in October 1940, and is now within the Pimlico Conservation Area.
The architect was Albert J Thomas, who, before the war, had been responsible for the design of Camden Town Hall, now a listed building. He had also spent 25 years as senior architect to Sir Edwin Lutyens, considered to be one of Britain’s greatest classical architects.
Note also the name of the Town Clerk, Sir Parker Morris, who later gave his name to the Parker Morris Standards. These defined minimum space requirements for public housing and were mandatory between 1967 and 1980.