Epsom Town Hall

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Epsom Town Hall
Spring in Epsom (6980053288).jpg
Epsom Town Hall
LocationThe Parade, Epsom
Coordinates51°19′58″N 0°15′54″W / 51.3329°N 0.2650°W / 51.3329; -0.2650Coordinates: 51°19′58″N 0°15′54″W / 51.3329°N 0.2650°W / 51.3329; -0.2650
Built1934
ArchitectHubert Moore Fairweather and William Alfred Pite
Architectural style(s)Neo-Georgian style
Epsom Town Hall is located in Surrey
Epsom Town Hall
Shown in Surrey

Epsom Town Hall is a municipal building in The Parade, Epsom, Surrey, England. It is the headquarters of Epsom and Ewell Borough Council.

History[]

The first town hall in Epsom was a building designed by John Hartchard-Smith in the Italianate style which was completed in 1883; located at the corner of Church Street and Upper High Street, it was built with terracotta facings and featured a prominent Venetian window in the middle of a curved corner frontage.[1][2] In the early 1930s, civic leaders decided to demolish the old town hall and procure a new building: the site they selected was vacant land on the north side of The Parade.[3] The site had previously been occupied by a domestic residence which was being referred to as "Cromwell House" by the 18th century.[4]

The new building was designed by Hubert Moore Fairweather and William Alfred Pite in the Neo-Georgian style and was officially opened by the former local member of parliament, Lord Ebbisham, in 1934.[5][6] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with seventeen bays facing onto The Parade with the end three bays at each end slightly projected forward; the central bay featured a doorway flanked by two pairs of pillars supporting a balcony with iron railings; there was a French door above the doorway on the first floor and sash windows in all other bays on the ground floor and the first floor.[6] Internally, the principal room in the building was the council chamber.[7][8]

The building served as the headquarters of Epsom Urban District Council, and from 1937, when the area became a municipal borough, it served as the headquarters of Epsom Borough Council.[9] It remained the local seat of government when the enlarged Epsom and Ewell Borough Council was formed in 1974.[10]

In the early years of the new millennium civic leaders decided to relocate various council departments that had been accommodated around the borough into an expanded town hall facility: a new block was constructed to the east of the main building with a modern atrium and new portico which linked the two blocks: the expanded facility was brought into use in 2003.[11] In a small ceremony at the town hall in June 2019, Station-Sergeant Thomas Green, the victim of the Epsom riot which took place at the end of First World War, was commemorated when his great-grandson, David Kirkham, donated Green's service medals so they could be put on display at the local museum.[12]

Works of art in the town hall include a painting by Hendrick Danckerts depicting Nonsuch Palace[13] and a painting by William Birch depicting Epsom Downs Racecourse.[14]

References[]

  1. ^ Chatterton, Frederick (1923). Who's Who in Architecture. The Architectural Press. p. 118. Archived from the original on 2019-12-30. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  2. ^ Malden, H. E. (1911). "'Parishes: Epsom', in A History of the County of Surrey". London: British History Online. pp. 271–278. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1913. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  4. ^ "Epsom Town Hall, Epsom". Surrey Archaeological Society. 1999. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  5. ^ "George Rowland Blades". Epsom and Ewell History Explorer. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Epsom Town Hall, Surrey: the main front". Royal Institute of British Architects. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Location Details: Council Chamber, Epsom Town Hall". Epsom and Ewell Borough Council. Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  8. ^ "Epsom Town Hall, Surrey: the council chamber". Royal Institute of British Architects. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  9. ^ "Epsom and Ewell MB/UD". Vision of Britain. Archived from the original on 2007-03-13. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  10. ^ Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN 0-10-547072-4.
  11. ^ "Unison Epsom and Ewell Takes Flight". Unison. 19 December 2017. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  12. ^ "A 'stain on the fair name of our soldiers': Remembering a Canadian riot that turned deadly in England in 1919". CBC. 17 June 2019. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  13. ^ Danckerts, Hendrick. "Nonsuch Palace from the North East". Art UK. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  14. ^ Birch, William. "Epsom and Ewell from the Grandstand". Art UK. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
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