Trowbridge Town Hall

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Trowbridge Town Hall
Trowbridge Town Hall - geograph.org.uk - 368293.jpg
Trowbridge Town Hall
LocationMarket Street, Trowbridge
Coordinates51°19′12″N 2°12′24″W / 51.3201°N 2.2068°W / 51.3201; -2.2068Coordinates: 51°19′12″N 2°12′24″W / 51.3201°N 2.2068°W / 51.3201; -2.2068
Built1889
Architectural style(s)Jacobethan style
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameTown Hall
Designated26 November 1976
Reference no.1364209
Trowbridge Town Hall is located in Wiltshire
Trowbridge Town Hall
Shown in Wiltshire

Trowbridge Town Hall is a municipal building in Market Street, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Trowbridge Urban District Council, is a Grade II listed building.[1]

History[]

Plaque on the left of the doorway to the town hall

After significant population growth, largely associated with the cloth industry, a local board of health was established in Trowbridge in 1864.[2] In the 1880s, the local board decided that the town needed a municipal building and a wealthy cloth merchant, Sir William Roger Brown, offered to pay for it to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria.[2] The site the board selected was occupied by a manor house known as "The Limes".[2]

The foundation stone for the new building was laid by Lady Brown on 21 June 1887.[3] The new building was designed in the Jacobethan style, built in ashlar stone at a cost of £20,000 and officially opened by the Duchess of Albany on 14 June 1889.[3] The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage with three bays facing onto Market Street; the central bay featured an arched doorway flanked by brackets supporting a balustrade; there was a pair of mullion windows on the first floor and a tall Italianate style clock tower with a spire above.[1] In the left hand bay there was a giant round headed window with tracery on the first floor and a shaped gable above, while to the right there was a large oriel window with a shaped gable above.[1] Internally, the principal rooms were the courtroom, which was used as a venue for petty sessions,[2] the council chamber and the ballroom.[4] The building was also equipped with police cells for people facing trial and an area to the rear of the town hall was landscaped to create a "Sensory Garden".[5]

The area became an urban district with the town hall as its headquarters in 1894[6] and King George V and Queen Mary visited the town hall on a visit to the county and surrounding area in November 1917.[5][7] Performers in the ballroom in the 1960s included the rock bands, Rod Stewart and the Soul Agents, in December 1964,[8] The Who, in April 1965[9] and Small Faces in August 1965.[9] The building continued to serve as the headquarters of the urban district council for much of the 20th century[10] but ceased to be the local seat of government after the enlarged West Wiltshire District Council was formed in new offices at Bradley Road in 1974.[11][12][13] The town hall was subsequently used as a magistrates' court until 2003,[14] and it continued to be used as the venue for coroners' inquests into the deaths of military personnel.[15][16] In 2011, a group of residents formed the Trowbridge Town Hall Trust to help restore the building,[17] and, since then, it has been used for exhibitions and community events.[5]

Works of art in the town hall include a bust by Edward Sheppard depicting the benefactor, Sir William Roger Brown,[18] as well as portrait of him by an unknown artist.[19]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Historic England. "Town Hall (1364209)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Chettle, H. F.; Powell, W. R.; Spalding, P. A.; Tillott, P. M. (1953). "'Parishes: Trowbridge', in A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 7, ed. R B Pugh and Elizabeth Crittall". London: British History Online. pp. 125–171. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  3. ^ a b Plaque on the left of the doorway to the town hall
  4. ^ "Our history". Trowbridge Town Hall. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "A guided tour inside Trowbridge Town Hall with Director David Lockwood". Trowbridge Nub News. 23 July 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Trowbridge UD". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Royal visit: 9 November 1917" (PDF). Melksham Remembers. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  8. ^ "The Soul Agents". Bruno Ceriotti. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Trowbridge Gig History". BBC. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  10. ^ "No. 44711". The London Gazette. 7 November 1968. p. 11980.
  11. ^ Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN 0-10-547072-4.
  12. ^ "No. 46805". The London Gazette. 23 January 1976. p. 1212.
  13. ^ "More than 90 council buildings will be sold to save £85m". Wiltshire Times. 15 October 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Magistrates' courts to close". BBC. 10 June 2003. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  15. ^ "Trowbridge hall's valuable artefacts are 'under threat'". Wiltshire Times. 16 July 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  16. ^ "Ten years of war, 10 years of inquests". BBC. 4 October 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  17. ^ "Trowbridge Town Hall tours provide insight into iconic building". Wiltshire Times. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  18. ^ Sheppard, Edward. "William Roger Brown (1831–1902)". Art UK. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  19. ^ "Sir Roger Brown". Art UK. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
Retrieved from ""