{{Short description|Former gallery and social centre in London, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}} {{Use British English|date=August 2015}} thumb|right|250px|Frontage of the 491 Gallery. The '''491 Gallery''' was a squatted self-managed social centre and multi-disciplinary gallery in Leytonstone, London, England, that operated from 2001 to 2013.<ref name="491G">{{cite web|url=http://491gallery.org/|title=491 Gallery|date=14 January 2013|access-date=16 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206181616/https://491gallery.org/|archive-date=6 December 2019}}</ref> Taking its name from its street number, 491 Grove Green Road, the former factory was home to a community-led art organisation and served as an exhibition space for a diverse range of artists of different origins working in varied media. It contained a range of art and music studios, which were used to host workshops, classes and musical rehearsals.<ref name="guardian">{{cite news|title=Positive occupation|work=The Guardian|author=Diane Taylor|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2008/aug/27/housing.communities|date=2008-08-27|access-date=2008-09-21| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080903081115/http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/aug/27/housing.communities| archive-date= 3 September 2008 <!--DASHBot-->| url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="ft">{{cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/2b3038ce-2675-11e2-9295-00144feabdc0|title=Supporters speak out for community art space|date=4 November 2012|last=Jones|first=Claire|newspaper=Financial Times|access-date=2012-11-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112004031/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2b3038ce-2675-11e2-9295-00144feabdc0.html|archive-date=12 November 2012|url-status=live}}{{registration required}}</ref> The building was subsequently demolished in 2016.
== Origin == [[File:Lamb at 491 Gallery set list.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Musicians that performed at the 491 Gallery included Lamb, who played a secret show on their final live tour in 2004.]] The building, originally a factory, was later used as a storage space and warehouse for materials being used to construct the A12 that cuts through Leytonstone and the surrounding areas. Unlike the rest of the surrounding buildings, it and the few neighbouring houses were not subject to compulsory purchase orders and demolition for the A12 site.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1989/may/15/city-of-london-various-powers-bill-by#column_95|title=City of London (Various Powers) Bill (By Order)|access-date=29 November 2008|author=House of Commons of the United Kingdom|author-link=House of Commons of the United Kingdom|date=15 May 1989|work=Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)|publisher=Her Majesty's Government|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090702001315/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1989/may/15/city-of-london-various-powers-bill-by#column_95|archive-date=2 July 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> When in late 2000 the building was abandoned, it became occupied by a group of homeless drug users, who remained in it for some six months. Within a month of their vacating the premises, the building was reoccupied by a group of artists,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wussu.com/squatting/s0202141.htm|title="491 Squat Gallery activities February–March 2002", archived copy of original announcement of 491 Gallery.|author=The Art Organisation|access-date=2012-07-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120505061253/http://www.wussu.com/squatting/s0202141.htm|archive-date=5 May 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> who spent the next several years turning it into a community space.<ref name="guardian" /> The neighbouring building, formerly houses, was also occupied, and named Vertigo, after the film by Alfred Hitchcock, a famous resident of Leytonstone.
== Activities ==
The 491 Gallery and Vertigo collectively collaborated on hosting regular exhibitions and offered studio space for musicians to use. They were maintained largely through small donations made by the public. Transport for London, the 491 building's legal owner at the time, agreed to allow the continued use of the building, although no formal arrangement was made with the occupants.<ref name="guardian" /> The owner of the Vertigo building allowed its use for an annual peppercorn rent of £1.<ref>{{cite news|title=Into the housing wilderness step 15,000 squatters|work=The Independent|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/money/spend-save/into-the-housing-wilderness-step-15000-squatters-523995.html|author=Sara Newman|date=2006-01-22|access-date=2009-11-15| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091028050850/http://www.independent.co.uk/money/spend-save/into-the-housing-wilderness-step-15000-squatters-523995.html| archive-date= 28 October 2009 <!--DASHBot-->| url-status= dead}}</ref> The Gallery regularly hosted art exhibitions, themed events and film screenings, such as a Transition Towns screening of The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil.<ref>{{cite news|title=LEYTONSTONE: Film on 'peak oil' to be screened|publisher=Waltham Forest Guardian|url=http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/wfnews/wfnewsinbrief/4639682.LEYTONSTONE__Film_on__peak_oil__to_be_screened/|author=Claire Hack|date=2009-10-12|access-date=2009-09-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218045624/http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/wfnews/wfnewsinbrief/4639682.LEYTONSTONE__Film_on__peak_oil__to_be_screened/|archive-date=18 February 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>
Following a fire in 2008,<ref>{{cite news|title=Fire at the 491 Club|publisher=Waltham Forest Guardian|url=http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/archive/2008/09/03/Top+Stories+%28lltopstories%29/3642070.LEYTONSTONE__Fire_at_the_491_Club_/|author=Sarah Cosgrove|date=2009-10-12|access-date=2009-11-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218045637/http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/archive/2008/09/03/Top+Stories+(lltopstories)/3642070.LEYTONSTONE__Fire_at_the_491_Club_/|archive-date=18 February 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> the Vertigo building was rebuilt throughout by its residents, and in 2009 was decorated with an exterior mural of Hitchcock to add to the artistic tributes in the local area, such as the mosaics in the neighbouring Leytonstone Underground station.<ref>{{cite news|title=A mural of Alfred Hitchcock has appeared in the film legend's birthplace, Leytonstone|publisher=Waltham Forest Guardian|url=http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/4677527.LEYTONSTONE___Punk_rock__Hitchcock_looms_large/|date=2009-10-12|access-date=2009-11-15| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091017184530/http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/4677527.LEYTONSTONE___Punk_rock__Hitchcock_looms_large/| archive-date= 17 October 2009 <!--DASHBot-->| url-status= live}}</ref>
== Closure ==
In June 2012, Transport for London sold the building to property developers seeking to demolish the building and build a block of flats.<ref name="ft" /><ref name="threat">{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/wfnews/9839388.LEYTONSTONE__Community_art_space_under_threat/|title=Community art space under threat|author=Figen Gunes|publisher=Waltham Forest Guardian|date=2012-07-26|access-date=2012-07-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053916/http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/wfnews/9839388.LEYTONSTONE__Community_art_space_under_threat/|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
On 14 January 2013, the 491 Gallery closed and was given to the new owners. The Vertigo building was not subject to sale.<ref name="491G"/> In the spring of 2016 the former gallery building and its community garden were demolished. The Vertigo building was also sold, and eventually demolished in 2019.{{cn|date=July 2021}}
== See also == * The M11 link road protest which accompanied the construction of the neighbouring dual carriageway.
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [http://491gallery.org/ 491 Gallery website]
{{Coord|51.5670|0.0063|type:landmark_region:GB-WFT|display=title}} {{SquatE&W}}
Category:Art museums and galleries established in 2000 Category:Music venues in London Category:Social centres in the United Kingdom Category:DIY culture in the United Kingdom Category:2000 establishments in England Category:Defunct art galleries in London Category:Leytonstone Category:Former squats Category:Squats in the United Kingdom Category:Defunct organisations based in London Category:Demolished buildings and structures in London Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 2016