Towcester Town Hall

Towcester Town Hall is a municipal building in Watling Street, Towcester, Northamptonshire, England. The town hall, which is the meeting place of Towcester Town Council, is a grade II listed building.[1]

Towcester Town Hall
Towcester Town Hall
LocationWatling Street, Towcester
Coordinates52.1319°N 0.9882°W / 52.1319; -0.9882
Built1866
ArchitectT. H. Vernon
Architectural style(s)Italianate style
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameTown Hall
Designated19 August 1976
Reference no.1371643
Shown in Northamptonshire

History

After significant population growth during the early 19th century associated with the town's role as a coaching stop on Watling Street,[2] a turnpike road which had been paved by the engineer, Thomas Telford, local businessmen decided to form a company to develop a town hall and corn exchange: the site chosen was a prominent location in the market place which clearly defined its southern boundary.[3]

The foundation stone for the building was laid by the Earl of Pomfret, who lived at Easton Neston house, on 8 September 1865.[1] It was designed by T. H. Vernon in the Italianate style, built by J. Wheeler with ashlar stone and was completed in 1866.[4][5] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with three bays facing onto Chantry Lane; the central bay, which slightly projected forward, featured a round headed doorway flanked by pilasters and brackets supporting a stone parapet; there were two small rounded headed sash windows separated by a colonette and flanked by pilasters on the first floor and a carved pediment above.[1] The outer bays featured two large round headed sash windows separated by pilasters on the ground floor and three small rounded headed windows separated by colonettes on the first floor.[1] At roof level there was a clock tower with a copper-clad belfry.[1] The clock was made by Arthur Garrett of Towcester.[6] Internally, the principal room was the public hall.[1]

After further growth and improved connections following the opening of Towcester railway station in April 1866,[7] the area was designated a rural district in 1894.[8] The building continued to serve as the headquarters of the local rural district council for much of the 20th century[9] and remained the local seat of government after the enlarged South Northamptonshire Council was formed in 1974.[10][11]

After South Northamptonshire Council decided to relocate to modern and more substantial promises nearby, the town hall became the responsibility of the parish council in 1983.[12] The parish council was superseded by Towcester Town Council which established offices in the town hall and subsequently used the building as its meeting place.[13] Although the committee room on the ground floor was leased out to estate agents, Bartram & Co. in January 2018,[14] the public hall has continued to be used for concerts and community events.[15]

References
  1. Historic England. "Town Hall (1371643)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  2. Sunderland, John (1998). "The History of Towcester". Milton Keynes Heritage. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  3. "Towcester: conservation area appraisal". South Northamptonshire Council. July 2012. p. 12. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  4. Giggins, Brian (1 November 2019). "Towcester Guide". Towcester Town Council. p. 12. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  5. The British Almanac. Knight & Co. 1867. p. 168.
  6. The name of the clockmaker is visible just below the face of the clock
  7. Jenkins, Stanley C. (1990). The Northampton & Banbury Junction Railway. Headington, Oxford: Oakwood Press. p. 18. ISBN 0-85361-390-7.
  8. "Towcester RD". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  9. "No. 45242". The London Gazette. 3 December 1970. p. 13238.
  10. Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN 0-10-547072-4.
  11. "No. 46391". The London Gazette. 1 November 1974. p. 10525.
  12. "Towcester Town in Drawings". Towcester and District Local History Society. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  13. "Council Meeting Agenda" (PDF). Towcester Town Council. 13 January 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  14. "Premises Committee Meeting Agenda" (PDF). Towcester Town Council. 15 January 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  15. "Towcester Town Hall, with Towcester Choral Society and guests". Oxford Welsh Male Voice Choir. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
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