| Thornbury Town Hall | |
| Coordinates: | 51.6077°N -2.5259°W |
| Location: | High Street, Thornbury |
| Built: | 1785 |
| Architecture: | Neoclassical style |
| Designation1: | Grade II Listed Building |
| Designation1 Offname: | Magistrates Court |
| Designation1 Date: | 4 September 1973 |
| Designation1 Number: | 1128795 |
Thornbury Town Hall, is a municipal building in the High Street, Thornbury, Gloucestershire, England. The building, which is the meeting place of Thornbury Town Council, is a Grade II listed building.
The first building on the site on the east side of the High Street between Silver Street and Soapers Lane was a public house known as the "Wine Tavern" which dated back at least to 1590.[1] It was acquired by an apothecary, John Gayner, who converted it for his own use in 1737.[1] The site was then acquired by an attorney, George Rolph, who decided to demolish the original building and commission the current structure.[1]
The new building was designed in the neoclassical style, built in brick with a stucco finish and was completed in 1785.[2] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with three bays facing onto the High Street; the central bay featured a portico with Ionic order columns supporting an entablature. The outer bays were fenestrated by tri-partite sash windows and, at roof level, there was a modillioned cornice and a parapet. Internally, the principal room was a large drawing room at the front of the building on the first floor.[2] Following George Rolph's death in 1815, the house passed to his son, William,[3] who enlarged the property by incorporating two other properties at the rear.[2]
Following William Rolph's death in 1848, the building was auctioned and acquired by the local justices of the peace.[2] They commissioned a local contractor, Daniel Burchell, to convert the building into a police station and courthouse.[2] Accommodation for the police sergeant and constables was created at the rear of the building. The drawing room was converted into a courtroom, which opened in time for the quarter sessions in March 1860.[2] [4] A large circular plaster cast recording the new use of the building and the date of the conversion was installed on the front of the building at first floor level.[5] The borough council, which had ceased to discharge the usual functions of a corporation,[6] was abolished under the Municipal Corporations Act 1883.[7]
Thornbury Rural District Council, which was established in 1894,[8] was not involved in the operation of the courthouse and instead established itself in council offices in Castle Street. The building in the High Street continued to operate as a police station until 1973, when a new police station opened in Rock Street, and continued to host magistrates court hearings until 1986, when the magistrates moved to a modern courthouse in Yate.[2] [9] The building then remained empty and deteriorating until it was acquired by Thornbury Town Council in April 1992. Restoration works, which involved the conversion of the courtroom into a council chamber, were completed in 1994.[2] The old custody cells in the police station were restored for use as a visitor attraction[10] and a tourist information centre was established on the ground floor of the building.[11]