| Beaconsfield Town Hall | |
|---|---|
 Beaconsfield Town Hall | |
| Location | Penn Road, Beaconsfield |
| Coordinates | 51°36′43″N0°38′45″W / 51.6119°N 0.6458°W |
| Built | 1936 |
| Architect | Burgess, Holden and Watson |
| Architectural style(s) | Neo-Georgian style |
  Shown in Buckinghamshire | |
Beaconsfield Town Hall is a municipal building in Penn Road, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. The structure accommodates the offices and meeting place of Beaconsfield Town Council.
The town of Beaconsfield had been governed by a local board of health from 1850, which became Beaconsfield Urban District Council in 1894. [1] A group of local business leaders formed a private company to raise finance for the construction of a town hall on the west side of Station Road between the junctions with Gregories Road and Burkes Road. [2] Built at a cost of £3,500, it became known as the Coronation Town Hall, as it was completed just in time for the Coronation of George V and Mary, and was officially opened by the High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire, William Baring du Pré, on 14 June 1911. [2] The Coronation Town Hall was a public hall for functions and entertainment rather than offices or meeting place for the council; the urban district council continued to meet at the town's Reading Rooms at 8 The Broadway, Wycombe End, until the end of 1914. The urban district council then leased space in another new building, known as Council Hall, located directly south of the Coronation Town Hall at the corner of Burkes Road and Station Road, from January 1915; the council moved its offices to Council Hall and established their own council chamber on the first floor of the building. [2] [3]
In the early 1930s, civic leaders decided to co-locate all their functions in one building, with their offices having outgrown the available space at the 1915 Council Hall and the lease of the building coming to an end in 1936. The site they selected was open land on the east side of Station Road, some 300 yards (270 m) further north along the road from to the previous buildings and just south of the old Railway Hotel. [4] The new building was designed by Burgess, Holden & Watson together with the council surveyor, John Crosby, in the Neo-Georgian style, built in brown brick with stone dressings at a cost of £7,600 and was officially opened by the Chairman of Buckinghamshire County Council, Sir Leonard West, on 23 May 1936. [2] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with eleven bays facing onto Station Road; the central section of five bays, which slightly projected forward, featured a doorway on the ground floor and five French doors with a wrought-iron balcony on the first floor. The other bays were fenestrated with sash windows and, at roof level, there was a parapet and clock turret. Internally, the principal room was the council chamber on the first floor. [5] The building was originally called "Council Hall", with the older 1915 Council Hall on Burkes Road being renamed Burkes Court. [6] The 1911 Coronation Town Hall was demolished and a residential and retail building called Cardain House built on the site in the mid-1960s. [7]
The 1936 Council Hall continued to serve as the headquarters of the urban district council for much of the 20th century but ceased to be the local seat of government after the enlarged Beaconsfield District Council (subsequently renamed South Bucks District Council) was formed in 1974. The new council chose to use the former Eton Rural District Council's offices on Windsor Road in Slough as its headquarters. [8] [9] Council Hall in Beaconsfield was subsequently used, in part, as the offices and meeting place of Beaconsfield Town Council and as an approved venue for weddings and civil partnership ceremonies. [10] Beaconsfield Town Council now uses the name Town Hall for the building rather than Council Hall. [11]
A park known as the Beaconsfield Town Hall gardens was established in front of the town hall in 2003. The gardens included a seating area with a gazebo and plaques to celebrate local themes, including a street fair, a lute player, a coach and horses, a railway and a model village. [12] The plaques also celebrated famous former residents such as the writers, Enid Blyton and G. K. Chesterton. [13] Ornaments included small iron figures, designed by the artist, Steffi Goddard, depicting Blyton's characters, Noddy and Big Ears, [14] [15] and an armillary sphere sundial in blackened brass. [16] In 2012, a figure depicting the official mascot for the 2012 Summer Olympics, Wenlock, was also installed in the garden. [17]
Enid Mary Blyton was an English children's writer, whose books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Her books are still enormously popular and have been translated into ninety languages. As of June 2019, Blyton held 4th place for the most translated author. She wrote on a wide range of topics, including education, natural history, fantasy, mystery, and biblical narratives. She is best remembered today for her Noddy, Famous Five, Secret Seven, the Five Find-Outers, and Malory Towers books, although she also wrote many others, including; St. Clare's, The Naughtiest Girl, and The Faraway Tree series.
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the east, Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, and Oxfordshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Milton Keynes, and the county town is Aylesbury.
The London Borough of Bromley is a borough in London, England. It borders the county of Kent, of which it formed part of until 1965. The borough's population in the 2021 census was 329,991. It is named after Bromley, its principal district. Other districts are Penge, Hayes, West Wickham, Chislehurst, Beckenham and Orpington. The local authority is Bromley London Borough Council.
Beaconsfield is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, 23+1⁄2 miles northwest of central London and 16 miles southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within five miles : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High Wycombe.
Noddy is an English character created by English children's author Enid Blyton. Noddy first appeared in a book series published between 1949 and 1963, illustrated by the Dutch artist Harmsen van der Beek from 1949 until his death in 1953, after which the work was continued by Peter Wienk. Television shows based on the character have run on British television from 1955 to 2020.
Bekonscot Model Village and Railway is a model village built in the 1920s in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, UK at a scale of one inch to one foot. It portrays aspects of England mostly dating from the 1930s and contains several fictitious villages featuring replicas of notable local buildings. The model railway has almost 10 scale miles of tracks and in 2001, a 7 1/4 in gauge railway was opened to transport visitors. Bekonscot has become both a popular tourist location and a part of English culture. It is commonly referred to as the oldest surviving model village in the UK and by 2020, had received over 14 million visitors. Authors such as Enid Blyton, Mary Norton and Will Self have been inspired by the village.
South Bucks was one of four local government districts in the non-metropolitan county of Buckinghamshire, in South East England.
Knotty Green was once a rural hamlet in the Buckinghamshire Chiltern Hills. It is characterised by large houses set in their own extensive grounds and though it remains within the civil parish of Penn today it has become contiguous with the market town of Beaconsfield. Houses in the area of Knotty Green are often some of the most expensive in the country with houses often exceeding 6,000 sq ft, and £3 million in value.
The Beaconsfield School is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. The school has approximately 870 pupils.
This is a list of 762 books by Enid Blyton (1897–1968), an English children's writer who also wrote under the pseudonym of Mary Pollock. She was one of the most successful children's storytellers of the 20th century.
The town of Chesham formed a local government district in the administrative county of Buckinghamshire, England from 1884 to 1974. It was administered as a local government district from 1884 to 1894, and as an urban district from 1894 to 1974.
The town of Beaconsfield formed a local government district in the administrative county of Buckinghamshire, England from 1850 to 1974. It was administered as a local board district from 1850 to 1894, and as an urban district from 1894 to 1974.
Green Hedges was a large house situated off Penn Road in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. It was the home of Enid Blyton from 1938 until shortly before her death. She wrote most of her books there, and it was the location of her famous Story Parties.
Buckinghamshire Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Buckinghamshire in England. It is a unitary authority, performing both county and district-level functions. It was created on 1 April 2020, replacing the previous Buckinghamshire County Council and the councils of the four abolished districts of Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern, South Bucks, and Wycombe. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes Milton Keynes.
High Wycombe Town Hall is a public building located on Queen Victoria Road in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The building, which is used as an events venue, is a Grade II listed building.
Sale Town Hall is a municipal building on School Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, England. The town hall was the headquarters of Sale Borough Council until the council was abolished in 1974.
Aylesbury Town Hall is a name which has been used for two different buildings in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England. Since 2007 the name has been used for an office building at 5 Church Street, which serves as the headquarters of Aylesbury Town Council. The name was also formerly used for a complex of buildings which had been built in 1865 as a corn exchange in Market Square, and which served as the offices and meeting place of the local council from 1901 to 1968. The majority of the old town hall was demolished shortly afterwards, leaving only the entrance archway facing Market Square still standing, now called Town Hall Arches. This remaining part of the old town hall is a Grade II* listed building as part of the range of civic buildings on the southern side of Market Square including the old County Hall.
Marlow Town Hall is a municipal building in the Market Square, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England. The structure, which was used as a public events venue, is a Grade II* listed building.
Liversedge Town Hall is a former municipal building and town hall on Knowler Hill in the town of Liversedge, West Yorkshire, England. The building, which formerly operated as the offices of Liversedge Urban District Council, is now used as private residential accommodation.
The Municipal Offices are located on Queen Victoria Road in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The structure is used as the High Wycombe local area office of Buckinghamshire Council.
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