Wotton-under-Edge Town Hall explained

Wotton-under-Edge Town Hall
Coordinates:51.6371°N -2.3538°W
Location:Market Street, Wotton-under-Edge
Built:1700
Architecture:Gothic Revival style
Designation1:Grade II Listed Building
Designation1 Offname:Town Hall
Designation1 Date:23 June 1952
Designation1 Number:1341570

Wotton-under-Edge Town Hall is a municipal building in Market Street, Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, England. The structure, which operates as a community events venue, is a Grade II listed building.

History

The building was commissioned as a market hall: the site chosen was an area known as Stony Chipping where regular markets were held. It was designed in the neoclassical style, built in stone and was completed in 1700. It was arcaded on the ground floor, so that markets could be held, with an assembly hall on the first floor. The assembly room was supported by fifteen Doric order columns laid out in three rows.[1] [2] The assembly hall was a popular venue for public meetings in the mid-19th century.[3] [4]

The arcading on the ground floor was infilled and the first floor refaced in the Gothic Revival style under the guidance of a restoration committee in 1872.[5] Further enhancements were made in 1884.[6] The new design involved a symmetrical main frontage of seven bays facing onto Market Street with the end bays projected forward as pavilions. The central bay featured a round headed doorway with voussoirs, set in a rusticated surround, with a tall round headed casement window with tracery on the first floor, and a gable above. The flanking bays contained segmental headed casement windows on both floors, separated on the ground floor by the original Doric order columns. The end bays also contained round headed doorways and were fenestrated in a similar style to the central bay but were surmounted by larger gables. Internally, the principal room was the main hall on the first floor.[7]

The borough council, which had met in the main hall on the first floor, was abolished under the Municipal Corporations Act 1883.[8] The Wotton-under-Edge Friendly Society continued to operate from offices in the building.[9] The assets of the corporation, including the town hall, were transferred to the newly formed Wotton-under-Edge Town Trust in 1890.[10] Rolls of honour to recognise local service personnel who had served in the First World War were installed in the building in 1920.[11]

The ground floor was subsequently used for regular "Town Hall Teas", which raise money for local charities, [12] [13] while the first floor was used for larger events.[14]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Wotton-under-Edge. Cotswolds.info. 21 September 2023.
  2. Book: Christopher, John. Wotton Under Edge Through Time . 2011. Amberley Publishing. 978-1445624419. 75.
  3. Book: Rammell, Thomas Webster. Report to the General Board of Health on a preliminary inquiry into the sewerage, drainage, and supply of water, and the sanitary condition of the inhabitants of the parish of Wotton-under-Edge . General Board of Health . 1854. 4.
  4. Book: Mathews, Rev. Edward . Anti-Slavery Lectures. American Baptist Free Mission Society . 5.
  5. Book: Wright, William Horace . Historical Notes Relating to the Borough of Wotton, and a List of Mayors of the Borough from 1660 . 1872. 46. Garmeson, Sinnock and Company.
  6. Book: Christopher (2011). 77.
  7. Web site: Wotton-under-Edge Town Hall. Gloucestershire Rural Community Council. 21 September 2023.
  8. Book: Municipal Corporations Act 1883 (46 & 46 Vict. Ch. 18) . 1883 . 10 August 2023.
  9. Book: Reports of the Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies. 78 . 55. House of Commons.
  10. Web site: Wotton-under-Edge Town Trust. Charity Commission. 21 September 2023.
  11. Web site: First World War Heroes of Wotton-under-Edge . 267. Bill. Griffiths. Wotton Heritage Centre. 21 September 2023.
  12. News: Wotton Town Council confirms its business as usual for Town Hall Teas. 30 July 2014. Gazette. 21 September 2023.
  13. News: Tuck in to a Wotton Town Hall Tea, all in aid of a good cause . 2 November 2019. Gazette. 21 September 2023.
  14. Book: Mills, Caroline. Slow Travel: The Cotswolds including Stratford-Upon-Avon, Oxford and Bath . 2017. Bradt Travel Guides. 978-1784770433 . 254.