| Salisbury Guildhall | |
| Coordinates: | 51.069°N -1.7945°W |
| Location: | Salisbury, Wiltshire, England |
| Built: | 1795 |
| Architect: | Sir Robert Taylor and William Pilkington |
| Designation1: | Grade II* Listed Building |
| Designation1 Date: | 28 February 1952 |
| Designation1 Number: | 1242739 |
Salisbury Guildhall is an 18th-century municipal building in the Market Place, Salisbury, England. The building, which is the meeting place of the Salisbury City Council,[1] is a Grade II* listed building.
The first guildhall, known as the "Bishop's Guildhall", was built on the initiative of the Bishop of Salisbury, Simon of Ghent, in around 1314.[2] It was so-called because this was the place where the bishop would exercise his feudal rights.[3] A second building, known as the "Council House" was built by the Merchants Guild to the north of the original building in 1585.[4] After the Council House was burnt down in a fire at a banquet, it was rebuilt, with a gift from Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie, 2nd Earl of Radnor, in 1780.[4]
In 1785 the bishop gave up his rights as clerk of the market and in return was released from his obligations to maintain the guildhall.[5] This enabled the old Bishop's Guildhall, which had become dilapidated, to be demolished.[6] The current building, which was designed by Sir Robert Taylor and William Pilkington, was built on the site of the former Bishop's Guildhall and completed in 1795. The design involved a portico with Doric order columns with triglyph frieze above; tall arched windows were inserted on each side of the portico. A grand jury room was added in 1829.[4]
In the 19th century, the judicial functions of the county were discharged at Devizes Assize Court in the summer and at Salisbury Guildhall in the lent.[7] There was a bomb explosion outside the guildhall in September 1884; according to the judge, the defendants had been "motivated by a mischievous desire to alarm the public".[8]
The building, which had been the meeting place of the municipal borough of Salisbury throughout much of the 20th century, became the headquarters of Salisbury District in 1974.[9] All magistrates' court hearings in Salisbury were held in the courtroom in the west wing of the guildhall.[10] [11] Additional judicial facilities, to accommodate the crown and county courts, were established in Alexandra House in St John's Street in the mid-1980s.[12] [13] Princess Diana visited the guildhall on 14 May 1991.[14]
After the abolition of the district in 2009, the guildhall became the meeting place of the newly created Salisbury City Council.[15] The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall visited, in the aftermath of the Salisbury nerve agent attack, on 22 June 2018.[16]
Works of art in the guildhall include a portrait by John de Critz of James VI and I,[17] a portrait by Peter Lely of John Seymour, 4th Duke of Somerset[18] and a painting by George Cole depicting a view of Salisbury from Harnham Hill.[19] The Victoria Cross awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel Tom Adlam during the First World War is also on display in the guildhall.[20]