Bookable
An Apollonaut travel guide
Moments in a longer story.
Selected milestones in the history of County Hall and SEA LIFE London Aquarium.
On this page
A council building and an aquarium
These dates describe the place you can learn about here. They are not a company timeline for Apollonaut.
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1911
Building begins
Work starts on County Hall, designed by Ralph Knott.
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1922
County Hall opens
King George V opens the main building, home of the London County Council.
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1986
The GLC abolished
The Greater London Council, County Hall’s later occupant, is abolished.
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28 March 1997
The London Aquarium
The aquarium opens in County Hall.
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April 2008
Merlin Entertainments
Merlin Entertainments buys the aquarium.
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2009
SEA LIFE London
The aquarium reopens as part of SEA LIFE, with an underwater tunnel and the Shark Walk.
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May 2011
Penguins
A penguin exhibit opens with gentoo penguins from Edinburgh Zoo.
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2015
A move within the building
The aquarium moves to a different part of County Hall.
Follow the stories behind the dates
A timeline is a beginning. The longer history introduces the people and places; the sources below provide further context.
Read at the source
Sources & further reading
Links lead to the original publishers.