The Bradlaugh Hall Building (1900)

A Neglected Historical Monument in the Walled City of Lahore

Abstract

Lahore is known as a city that holds through time, capturing and conserving the intelligent human growth in structural standing. The diversity of Lahore culture is unimaginable so is its architecture that unfortunately has affected some of these historical buildings badly in terms of its functional form. Due to this a public disconnect between the value of history and its function is found. This paper is an attempt to identify one such neglected legacy in the form of Bradlaugh Hall that holds a history of the Indian struggle against the British rule. A striking amalgamation of Victorian and Muslim-Indian design. However, it was locked down after the partition of India and was later allotted to a technical Institute by the Evacuee Trust Properties Board (ETPB). This paper discusses the architectural significance of the Bradlaugh building and the role of ETPB, especially with regards to the protection of buildings like the Bradlaugh Hall and many other buildings that need special attention. The study reveals that this vacant property is in a depreciated form that needs to be considered for protection and there is an urgent need to formulate an appropriate adaptive reuse plan for this structure and many others.