Wakefield Town Hall

Wakefield Town Hall is a municipal building in Wood Street in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It remains a venue for weddings and civil partnerships but is no longer the headquarters of Wakefield Council which is now based at County Hall. The town hall is a Grade I listed building.[1]

For the similarly named building in New Hampshire, United States, see Wakefield Town Hall and Opera House.
Wakefield Town Hall
Wakefield Town Hall
LocationWakefield, West Yorkshire
Coordinates53.6838°N 1.5014°W / 53.6838; -1.5014
Built1880
ArchitectThomas Edward Collcutt
Architectural style(s)Gothic style
Listed Building – Grade I
Designated30 March 1971
Reference no.1258995
Location of Wakefield Town Hall in West Yorkshire

History
The old town hall

The building was commissioned to replace the old town hall in Crown Court which had been completed in 1800.[2] After deciding that the old town hall was of insufficient status to complete with Leeds Town Hall and Bradford City Hall, civic leaders chose to procure a new town hall:[3] the site they selected was a vacant area between the mechanics institute and the old crown court.[4]

The foundation stone for the new building was laid by the mayor, Alderman William Henry Gill, in October 1877.[3] It was designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt in the Gothic style, built by William Holdsworth of Bradford and was officially opened by the new mayor, Alderman William Hartley Lee, in October 1880.[1][5] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with three bays facing onto Wood Street; the central section, which slightly projected forward, featured a doorway with an entablature and pediment and a balcony above; there were ornate oriel windows on the first floor and pedimented bay windows on the second floor and a steeply pitched roof above.[1] A 59 metres (194 ft) high, six-stage clock tower was erected at the north corner of the building.[6] Internally, the principal rooms were the council chamber, the mayor's parlour and the courtroom.[1]

The construction also involved the creation of a tunnel which linked the courtroom and the police cells in the basement of the town hall to the police station in Tammy Hall Street.[7]

Following the Second World War, a plaque was installed in the council chamber in June 1946 to commemorate the council's decision to award the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry the right to parade through the streets of the city with "drums beating, bands playing, colours flying and bayonets fixed".[8][9] Princess Elizabeth, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, visited the town hall and waived to the crowds from the balcony on 27 July 1949.[10][11]

The building was the headquarters of the County Borough of Wakefield until 1974 when it became the local seat of government for the enlarged Wakefield Metropolitan District.[12] However, in December 1987, Wakefield Council decided to acquire and refurbish County Hall, which was empty and deteriorating, and make County Hall its headquarters.[13] Following an extensive refurbishment of various parts of the town hall in 2016,[14] the council chamber was re-opened as the "Kingswood Suite", for use by the local Register Office as a venue for weddings and civil partnerships.[15] The old courtroom was also made available for use as a reception room.[16]

References
  1. Historic England. "Town Hall (1258995)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  2. Historic England. "Old Town Hall, Wakefield (1259842)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  3. "Wakefield Town Hall". Archiseek. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  4. "Ordnance Survey Map". 1851. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  5. "About T. E. Collcutt, Architect". The Building News and Engineering Journal. 3 January 1890. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  6. "Wakefield Town Hall". Skyscraper News. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  7. Trickett, Kevin (11 September 2020). "An introduction to Wakefield Town Hall". Heritage Open Days. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  8. "Wakefield welcomes The Rifles Regiment". Wakefield Council. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  9. Markham, Leonard (2005). The Wharncliffe Companion to Wakefield & District: An A to Z of Local History. Wharncliffe Books. ISBN 978-1903425893.
  10. "Royal Visit to Wakefield". Omnia. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  11. "Royal Visit to Wakefield". Yorkshire and North East Film Archive. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  12. Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN 0-10-547072-4.
  13. "County Hall". Wakefield Council. Archived from the original on 30 January 2010. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  14. "Wakefield Town Hall". Magill Painting. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  15. "Weddings and Celebrations at Wakefield Town Hall". Experience Wakefield. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  16. Thornborrow, Peter; Gwilliam, Paul (2018). Wakefield in 50 Buildings. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1445659060.
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