| Date | 13 August 2010 |
|---|---|
| Source | Slough Observer |
| Reference | VP-0002 |
| Volume | Views of the Past |
| Collection | Views of the Past |
Transcript
Mr Kipling and the big elephant frieze
Views of the past by Elias Kupfermann
Here are some more of the images which will appear in my new book, entitled Vanished Windsor, which contains many old photographs of buildings and scenes in central Windsor which have long since disappeared.
THIS week we are looking at a building which I am sure many Windsorians will remember The Kipling Building, which was in Alma Road. I am sure some readers will recall the delightful elephant frieze which once graced one of its walls.
The Kipling Building was originally designed as a dormitory block for the Imperial Service College (formerly the United Services College).
The College came to Windsor in 1906 and amalgamated with St Mark’s School which was situated in Alma Road. In 1911, the school was renamed The Imperial Service College.
By the end of the 1930s, the college was having difficulty coping with the number of boys it could accommodate and a further house, The Kipling Memorial Building, was built.
The foundation stone records that it was laid by Princess Alice on March 9 1939, and construction took place during that year.
The new accommodation block was named after the famous author Rudyard Kipling, who wrote The Jungle Book. Kipling had attended the United Services College (later renamed The Imperial Service College) in 1878, when it was originally situated in Devon.
Due to wartime financial restraints, the school moved to Hertfordshire in 1942 and The Kipling Building was sold to the Windsor Corporation in 1943.
By 1950, all the municipal departments which had been previously scattered throughout the town, had moved into the Kipling Building, which remained their home for the next 20 years.
After the formation of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in 1974, many of the departments moved into the offices of Maidenhead Town Hall.
The Kipling Building then became surplus to requirements and was sold in 1981 to the Rank Hovis McDougall Company. The old municipal building was demolished in 1982. The company then constructed a new building, Imperial House, which has been home to a number of businesses over the last 30 years.
The elephant frieze was saved and incorporated into the new structure. However, Imperial House is currently threatened with redevelopment and so the cycle of change continues.
The Kipling Building is the most recent vanished building to feature in my new book on Windsor’s history.
Images
