County Hall, Glenfield

County Hall is a municipal building on Leicester Road (the A50) in Glenfield, Leicestershire. It is the headquarters of Leicestershire County Council.

County Hall, Glenfield
County Hall
County Hall
Location within Leicestershire
General information
Architectural styleBrutalist style
AddressGlenfield, Leicestershire
CountryUnited Kingdom
Coordinates52.6557°N 1.1880°W / 52.6557; -1.1880
Completed1967
Design and construction
ArchitectIn-house architectural team

History

In the first half of the 20th century meetings of Leicestershire County Council were held at the Assembly Rooms in Hotel Street, Leicester[1] while County Offices were established at No.1 Grey Friars in Leicester in 1936.[2] After deciding that this arrangement was inadequate for their needs, county leaders chose to procure a new county headquarters: the site they selected at Glenfield had previously been open land which they considered was a more economical solution than a city centre site.[3]

Construction on the new building began in spring 1965.[4][5] It was designed by the in-house architectural team in the Brutalist style, was built at a cost of £1.4 million and was completed in November 1967.[4] The design for the five-storey building involved continuous bands of glazing with concrete panelling above and below: a concrete mural depicting the River Soar by Tony Hollaway was unveiled at that time.[4] An extension to accommodate a computer suite opened in 1970 and the Rutland Building extension was completed in 1974.[4] The principal room was the council chamber which was panelled with Japanese teak and Bombay rosewood.[4]

Queen Elizabeth II made an official visit to County Hall during a tour of Leicestershire on 17 November 1989.[6][7] A memorial to commemorate local people from the county who had died since the Second World War was unveiled on 9 November 2012: the memorial, entitled "Stand Easy", was designed by Kenny Hunter from Glasgow and comprised four bronze statues which were modelled on soldiers from Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College.[8][9][10]

Works of art in the building include a painting by John Ferneley depicting the Melton Mowbray Horse Fair.[11] The building also contains a large collection of modern art collected by a former Director of Education, Stewart C. Mason.[12]

The Lord Lieutenant’s Young Person of the Year Awards are held annually at County Hall.[13]

References
  1. "Leicester Birth & Baptism Records". Forebears. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  2. "Greyfriars Conservation Area Character Appraisal" (PDF). Leicester City Council. 1 November 2014. p. 30-31. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  3. "Ordnance Survey Map". 1962. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  4. "Go behind the scenes at County Hall as bosses give the Mercury access to off-limits areas". Leicester Mercury. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  5. "Vintage documents reveal original County Hall plans". Loughborough Echo. 30 November 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  6. "Queen's Visit To Leicester and Loughborough November 1989". Leicester University. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  7. "Postcard of the Queen at County Hall". 1989. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  8. "Design for Leicestershire armed forces memorial". BBC. 22 February 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  9. "Leicestershire war memorial bronze statues installed". BBC. 17 October 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  10. Hunter, Kenny. "Stand Easy". Art UK. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  11. Ferneley, John. "Melton Mowbray Horse Fair". Art UK. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  12. "Leicestershire County Council Artworks Collection". Art UK. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  13. "The Lord Lieutenant's Young Person of the Year Awards". Leicestershire County Council. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
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