The building was commissioned to replace an earlier
Sessions House at
Newington Causeway in
Newington which had been completed in 1791. Following the implementation of the
Local Government Act 1888, which established councils in every county, it became necessary to find a meeting place for
Surrey County Council. However, as Newington formed part of the
County of London from 1889 and therefore lay outside the area administered by the council, county leaders chose to procure a new purpose-built county headquarters. The site selected had previously formed part of the Woodbines Estate in Kingston. Construction work on the new building began in 1891. and it was officially opened with bands playing on 13 November 1893. Access was from Grove Road, which was renamed Penrhyn Road, in honour of the first chairman of the county council, Edward Penrhyn. The design for the original building (the north east section of the current complex), which was faced in
Portland stone, involved an asymmetrical main frontage with seven bays facing onto Penrhyn Road; the central section featured an arched doorway which was projected forward and a clock tower with a
belfry and a dome above. County leaders again developed ambitions to move the county administration to a location that was actually within the county of Surrey. In July 2003, the county council decided to procure new facilities in
Woking in Surrey and to sell County Hall; that project, which would have been procured under a
private finance initiative contract, was abandoned because of its high cost in January 2006.
Redevelopment of site In October 2020, the county council announced proposals to move to
Woodhatch Place in
Reigate and to sell County Hall in Kingston. The last full council meeting in the building had already been held, on 17 March 2020, with meetings in the latter part of 2020 being held online due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The council vacated County Hall in December 2020, and declared that Woodhatch Place would be the council's headquarters with effect from 1 January 2021. The site and building were purchased by a developer, RER London, in March 2021. The company announced that they were planning "A high quality, residential led, mixed used development comprising residential units (including affordable housing) and commercial / community floorspace". == Artworks ==