| Alcester Town Hall | |
|---|---|
 The Town Hall in 2014 | |
| Location | Henley Street, Alcester |
| Coordinates | 52°12′57″N1°52′06″W / 52.2158°N 1.8684°W Coordinates: 52°12′57″N1°52′06″W / 52.2158°N 1.8684°W |
| Built | 1618–1641 |
| Architect | Simon White |
| Website | alcestertownhall |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Designated | 10 February 1956 |
| Reference no. | 1024606 |
  Shown in Warwickshire | |
Alcester Town Hall is the town hall of Alcester, Warwickshire, England. It is a grade I listed building. [1]
The lower part of the two-storey hall was built in 1618, when the Lord of the Manor Sir Fulke Greville gave £300 for the construction of a Market Hall for the town. The lower floor originally consisted of a stone colonnade. The architect for the lower part was Simon White of Chipping Campden. The upper floor was intended originally to also be made of stone, but as this was found to be too costly, it was instead built from timber covered with plaster, and was completed in 1641. [2] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with six bays facing onto Church Street; each of the bays was flanked by short Tuscan order columns; there were three sash windows on the first floor. [1]
The open lower floor was originally used as a covered market. In 1765 the Lord of the Manor, Francis Greville, 1st Earl of Warwick, agreed to revoke all market tolls payable to him on the condition that the hall was kept in good repair by the people of Alcester. [3] In 1813 Francis Ingram-Seymour-Conway, 2nd Marquess of Hertford became Lord of the Manor and improvements included a horse drawn fire engine which was installed in the ground floor of the building. [3] The village lock-up, which had been located in the south west corner of the building and had been used for petty criminals, became redundant in 1850 when a dedicated police station opened in Henley Street. [3]
In 1873 Francis Seymour, 5th Marquess of Hertford filled in the colonnade so that the ground floor could be used as a courtroom for petty sessions. [3] On the Church Street frontage, the centre section of four bays then featured round headed windows and doorways with fanlights were inserted in the end bays (these have since been removed). [1] It was around this time that the ceiling in the first floor room was modified to create the present hammerbeam roof. [3]
During the First World war the building was used as a hospital for casualties who had been injured on the Western Front and after the war civic leaders acquired the freehold of the building from George Seymour, 7th Marquess of Hertford so that it could become a memorial to local people who had died in the war: it was renamed the Alcester War Memorial Town Hall. [3]
During the Second World War the local people of the town participated in Warship Week in February and March 1942: they raised finance for the Royal Navy and chose to adopt the Flower-class corvette, HMS Monkshood: the ship saw action in the Battle of the Atlantic. [4] [5] A plaque to commemorate the adoption of the ship by the people of Alcester was presented to ship and, more recently, acquired by the Alcester and District Local History Society and installed in the town hall. [6] A model of the ship made by Bob Woodfield had previously been installed in the town hall. [6] [7]
In 1956, the hall received grade I listing. [8] Works of art in the town hall include a portrait by M. C. McLaren of John William Roberts who was High Bailiff of Alcester in 1958. [9] There is also a bailiff's mace which dates back to the 16th century. [10] Today the town hall is used as a general purpose venue. [11]
Alcester is a market town and civil parish of Roman origin at the junction of the River Alne and River Arrow in the Stratford-on-Avon District in Warwickshire, England, approximately 8 miles (13 km) west of Stratford-upon-Avon, and 7 miles south of Redditch, close to the Worcestershire border. The 2011 census recorded a population of 6,273.
The titles of Earl of Hertford and Marquess of Hertford have been created several times in the peerages of England and Great Britain.
Henley-in-Arden is a town in the Stratford-on-Avon District in Warwickshire, England. The name is a reference to the former Forest of Arden. Henley is known for its variety of historic buildings, some of which date back to medieval times, and its wide variety of preserved architectural styles. The one-mile-long (1.6 km) High Street is a conservation area.
Ragley Hall is a stately home, located south of Alcester, Warwickshire, eight miles (13 km) west of Stratford-upon-Avon. It is the ancestral seat of the Marquess of Hertford.
Arrow is a village in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. Together with the entirely rural hamlet of Weethley, it forms since 2004 the civil parish of Arrow with Weethley. The parish lies midway between Redditch and Evesham. From Alcester the River Arrow flows southwards to the river Avon, and to the west of the river the present road to Evesham joins that to Worcester at a busy junction where, near the Old Toll House, stands the hamlet of Arrow, a group of modernized black and white farm workers' cottages which have risen up the social scale to become homes for business people. Arrow with Weethley parish falls under the local government district and parliamentary constituency of Stratford-on-Avon, and the Church of England Diocese of Coventry.
This is an incomplete list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire. Since 1728, all Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Warwickshire.
Kinwarton is a village in the valley of the River Alne, Warwickshire, to the north east of the market town of Alcester. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,082. The ground is mostly low-lying, with a maximum altitude of 206 ft. and some of the fields near the river are liable to floods. The road from Alcester to Henley-in-Arden runs through the middle of the parish. A branch road leads off to the church and rectory about a quarter of a mile to the south and thence continues as a field-path down to a ford across the River Alne below Hoo Mill. From the north side of the main road a by-road branches off to Coughton.
Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Francis Seymour was a Royal Navy officer. After serving as a junior officer during the French Revolutionary Wars, Seymour commanded the third-rate HMS Northumberland under Admiral Sir John Duckworth at the Battle of San Domingo during the Napoleonic Wars. He also commanded the sloop HMS Kingfisher at the blockade of Rochefort and the fifth-rate HMS Pallas under Admiral Lord Gambier at the Battle of the Basque Roads. He then saw active service during the War of 1812.
Luddington is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Warwickshire. The population in 2001 was 457, increasing to 475 at the 2011 Census. It is located about 5 kilometres outside the town of Stratford-upon-Avon on the banks of the river Avon and has views south over the Cotswolds. Facilities and communications include a phone box, a 19th-century church, a post box, a marina with a 17th-century lock, a village green and a recently refurbished village hall originally built in 1953. The parish encompasses Dodwell Caravan Park to the north of the village. The village is reputed to be the meeting place of Anne Hathaway and William Shakespeare, as Anne was from the parish, and local lore states that they probably conducted their courtship in the area.
Isabella Anne Seymour-Conway, Marchioness of Hertford was an English landowner, courtier and a mistress of King George IV when he was Prince of Wales. She was born in 1759 at Temple Newsam, Leeds, and was the eldest daughter of Charles Ingram, 9th Viscount of Irvine, and his wife Frances Gibson Shepheard Ingram. She married Francis Ingram-Seymour-Conway, 2nd Marquess of Hertford, in 1776, at age sixteen, being his second wife.
Edward Conway, 1st Earl of Conway PC, FRS, of Ragley Hall, Alcester, in Warwickshire, was an English peer and politician who served as Secretary of State for the Northern Department between 1681 and 1683.
Exbury House is an English country house in Exbury and Lepe, Hampshire, situated on the edge of the New Forest.
The Shire Hall is a municipal building in Fore Street, Hertford, the county town of Hertfordshire, England. The building, which currently serves as a Magistrates' Court, is a Grade I listed building.
The County Hall is a municipal building complex in Pegs Lane, Hertford, Hertfordshire. The building, which is the headquarters of Hertfordshire County Council, is a Grade II* listed building.
St Peter's Church is the Anglican church in the village of Binton in Warwickshire.
Keighley Town Hall is an early 20th century municipal building in Keighley, West Yorkshire, England. It is a Grade II listed building.
Hereford Town Hall is a municipal building in St Owen's Street, Hereford, Herefordshire, England. The building is a Grade II* listed building.
The Old Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. The town hall, which was the meeting place of Hemel Hempstead Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.
Leyburn Town Hall is a municipal building in the Market Place, Leyburn, North Yorkshire, England. The structure, which is used for retail purposes and as an events venue, is a grade II listed building.
Hanley Town Hall is a municipal building in Albion Square in Hanley, Staffordshire, England. The building, which is used as the local register office, is a Grade II listed building.
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