In 1969, the London Apollo Club was launched in the Hall, hosting weekly live
music events for nearly 50 years. Although it has not reopened since
COVID-19, the Club remains a cherished cultural venue and a social hub for
the Afro-Caribbean community, both in Brent and across London.


The Club has welcomed legendary reggae artists such as John Holt, Elton
Ellis, Bob Marley, and Gregory Isaacs, becoming a beloved meeting place
for the Afro-Caribbean community, especially during times when they were
not always welcomed in other music and social venues.


Currently, the Brent Black Music Co-operative serves as the temporary local
home for reggae following the Club’s closure. We eagerly anticipate the
return of the London Apollo Club to the Hall after initial ground floor
improvements are completed by Summer 2025.

London Apollo Club

Relaunch

We are excited to announce that we have secured the initial funding to begin a major renovation and relaunch, ensuring we continue to serve our community for another century. To achieve this, we are hiring a coordinator and appointing surveyors and architects who will lead the project, guided by extensive community consultation.

Contact Us

Contact us for more information and

if you wish to join the Willesden Trades Hall Friends Group.

Willesden Trades Hall charity registration number 1210000

Registered office 375 High Road, Willesden, London NW10 2JR

© 2024 Willesden Trades Hall

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Willesden Trades Hall charity

Welcome to the Willesden Trades Hall, located in the vibrant and multicultural London Borough of Brent, near Church End and Harlesden. Our community is rich in diversity, with 65% of residents belonging to Black, Asian, and minority ethnic groups, making it one of the most diverse areas in England and Wales.


The Charity Commission has officially registered the Willesden Trades Hall as a charity, recognizing its role as a community centre and its commitment to preserving local heritage.


Additionally, the London Borough of Brent has acknowledged the Willesden Trades Hall for its historic and social significance.

The Future

The charity trustees have secured funding to refurbish the building. We are starting with a community consultation to gather input from local residents, charities, community organisations, the cultural sector, the Brent trade union movement, and the statutory sector, including the NHS. This feedback will help inform us and the architects about the building’s future uses.


We envision the refurbished Willesden Trades Hall will provide spaces for:

  • Live music
  • The arts and creative sectors
  • A wide range of education and training
  • Meeting venues and offices for local social causes, including trade unions


The Trustees do not plan to organise activities in the Hall themselves. Instead, they will encourage and invite the community to hire the Hall for their meetings, events, training sessions, live music, exhibitions, and more.

Additionally, we plan to open a café and bar in the Hall to ensure it functions as a social center for our local community—a friendly and relaxed place to visit and socialise.

The Hall has a significant heritage having played a key role in the culture, arts, and social politics of Brent for over a century.


  • Sylvia Pankhurst founded the Willesden Branch of the Communist Workers Movement in 1924
  • The 1926 General Strike was locally organised from the Hall
  • The Hunger strikers who marched across the country in the 1930s used the Hall as their local base
  • Nelson Mandela visited the UK in 1962 and one of his first stops was to speak at the Hall. However, the event was so well attended we had to decamp to the Anson Hall
  • In 1974-76 the Grunwick strike committee, supporting the South Asian women workers, led by Jayaben Desai, who were on strike for the right to unionise, was based in the Hall

Heritage