Basic Site Details | Name: | Scandinavian Sailors’ Home, West India Docks | | Town, district or village: | Poplar/Limehouse | | City or county: | London | | Country: | England | | Parish: | | | Status: | | | Grid ref: | | | Notes: | Listed Grade II
Built as an officers’ annex to Riverside House, the Scandinavian Sailors’ Temperance Home of 1887-1888. Money was raised in Scandinavia through the support of the Swedish royal family and a government loan of £3,500. Count C Lewenhaupt, the Swedish and Norwegian ambassador to Britain, laid the foundation stone on 6 August 1902 and the building was completed early 1903, but at a cost considerably over the estimates. In 1929, their original function all but ended, the two buildings were transferred to the Salvation Army and altered internally to form the East London Hostel for Homeless Men, opened 18 February 1930. The Hostel closed in June 2003 and Riverside House demolished. The Architectural Review of 1903 contained a description as follows:
The new building contains twenty-one bedrooms, a commodious hall, sitting and writing rooms for officers, and a large café. The building is faced in yellow stocks and red bricks. The roof is covered with Tibertwaite green slates. The structure was erected on concrete piers reaching from the gravel bottom through a stratum of waterlogged dock mud about 12 feet deep. The builders were Messrs Harris and Wordrof of Limehouse and Mr W Heathcote was Clerk of Works. Messrs Niven and Wigglesworth are the architects. [Architectural Review Volume 14 July-Dec 1903 p35]
| Alternative Names| The following alternative names are associated with this building/design: | | | Name | Current name? | Notes |  | East London Hostel for Homeless Men | | 1930-2003 with Riverside House | | Grieg House | Yes | |
Building Type Classification| The building is classified under the following categories: | | | Classification | Original classification? | Notes | | Hostel | | Salvation Army Hostel 1930-2003 |
Street Addresses| The following street addresses are associated with this building: | | | Address | Main entrance? | Notes | | 20, Garford Street | | |
Events| The following date-based events are associated with this building: | | | From | To | Event type | Notes | | 6 August 1902 | | Foundation stone | Foundation stone laid | | Early 1903 | | Opened | |
PeopleDesign and Construction| The following individuals or organisations have carried out design/construction work. Where architects or practices worked together, matching letters appear beside their names in the Partnership Group column. | | | Name | Role | Partnership Group | From | To | Notes | | David Barclay Niven | | | 1902 | 1903 | | | Herbert Hardy Wigglesworth | | | 1902 | 1903 | | | Niven & Wigglesworth | | | 1902 | 1903 | |
ReferencesPeriodical References| The following periodicals contain references to this building: | | | Periodical Name | Date | Edition | Publisher | Notes | | Architectural Review | 1903 | v 14 | | July-Dec 1903 p35 with photograph and plans.
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