Withington Town Hall Explained

Withington Town Hall
Coordinates:53.4259°N -2.2379°W
Location:Lapwing Lane, Withington
Built:1881
Architect:Lawrence Booth
Architecture:Baroque Revival style
Designation1:Grade II Listed Building
Designation1 Offname:Former Withington Town Hall
Designation1 Date:5 November 1990
Designation1 Number:1291512

Withington Town Hall, also known as West Didsbury Town Hall, is a former municipal building on Lapwing Lane, Withington, a town in Greater Manchester in England. The building, which served as the offices and meeting place of Withington Urban District Council and now accommodates a firm of solicitors, is a Grade II listed building.

History

Following significant population growth, largely associated with the textile industry, a local board of health was established in Withington in 1876.[1] The new board decided to commission a venue for their meetings: the site they selected, on the south side of Lapwing Lane, was occupied by Lapwing Farm.[2] The new building was designed by Lawrence Booth in the Baroque Revival style, built in buff brick with stone dressings at a cost of £2,000 and was completed in 1881.[3] In 1882, stables and various outbuildings were added, to designs by Joseph Swarbrick.[4] [5]

In 1894, the board was succeeded by an urban district council, which made the building its town hall.[6] The building ceased to be the local seat of government in 1904, when the district was annexed by the City of Manchester.[7]

The building was used as a rest centre with capacity for 300 people during the Manchester Blitz in the Second World War.[8] After the war the building remained a venue for public meetings and for dances and concerts.[9]

Manchester City Council continued to use it to deliver services until 1990, when it was declared surplus to requirements, sold for commercial use and converted into offices.[10] [11] After being extensively refurbished for an events management business, APS, in 2007,[12] it went on to become the home of a firm of solicitors, Pabla and Pabla, in 2014.[13] [14]

Architecture

The building is constructed of buff brick, with red brick and terracotta dressings, and a slate roof. It has a rectangular plan, with two storeys and five bays, forming a symmetrical composition. Ornamentation includes fluted pilasters, and the first floor has large windows with elliptical heads. The central bay features a round headed doorway, with voussoirs and a keystone, flanked by brackets supporting a pediment. A carved crest of the Mosley family, who were the lords of the manor, can be seen in the pediment above the doorway. The central bay also features a gable with a terracotta roundel, under a band with the wording "LOCAL BOARD OFFICES". Above this is a pyramidal turret with a clock, topped by a weather vane. Inside, there is a large staircase with an open well, and a former assembly hall on the first floor.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Introduction. Withington Civic Society. 7 March 2024.
  2. Web site: Ordnance Survey Map . 1860. 7 March 2024.
  3. Book: Hartwell, Clare . Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East . Hyde . Matthew . Pevsner . Nikolaus . Nikolaus Pevsner . The Buildings of England. . 2004 . New Haven and London . 978-0300105834 . 485 .
  4. John Swarbrick, architect and antiquary . Kelsall . Frank . Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society . 2006 . 102. 179.
  5. Web site: Withington Local Board Offices. Lapwing Lane, West Didsbury. Architects of Greater Manchester 1800–1940. 6 March 2024.
  6. Book: Posts vacant. The British Journal of Nursing with which is Incorporated the Nursing Record . 31 . 26 December 1903. 529.
  7. Web site: Township of Withington records . The National Archives . 6 March 2024.
  8. Book: Phythian, Graham. Blitz Britain: Manchester and Salford . 2015. History Press. 978-0750965583.
  9. Web site: A Walk on the West Side. 7. West Didsbury. 6 March 2024.
  10. Web site: Fry . Kath . Cropper . Karen . Leisure Services . Manchester 1984 . 6 March 2024.
  11. News: Tague . Neil . Green light for Lapwing Lane office . 6 March 2024 . Place North West . 26 October 2021.
  12. News: Chris is copped by the high life. 15 February 2007. Manchester Evening News. 6 March 2024.
  13. News: APS moves to Abney Hall. 8 July 2014. Place Northwest. 6 March 2024.
  14. Web site: Press releases. Pabla and Pabla. 6 March 2024.