Beaumaris Town Hall

Last updated

Beaumaris Town Hall
Native name
Neuadd y Dref Biwmares
Town Hall and Tourist Information Centre - geograph.org.uk - 490742.jpg
Beaumaris Town Hall
LocationCastle Street, Beaumaris
Coordinates 53°15′47″N4°05′32″W / 53.2631°N 4.0921°W / 53.2631; -4.0921
Builtc.1785
Architectural style(s) Neoclassical style
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameTown Hall
Designated23 September 1950
Reference no.5589
Isle of Anglesey UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Shown in Anglesey

Beaumaris Town Hall (Welsh : Neuadd y Dref Biwmares) is a municipal building on Castle Street, in Beaumaris, Anglesey, Wales. The structure, which is the meeting place of Beaumaris Town Council, is a Grade II listed building. [1]

History

The first municipal building in the town was an Elizabethan structure in Castle Street which was completed in 1563. [2] [3] [4] By the late 18th century, it had become dilapidated and the local member of parliament and Irish Peer, Thomas Bulkeley, 7th Viscount Bulkeley, offered to pay for the construction of a new structure on the same site. [5]

The new building was designed in the neoclassical style, built in gritstones and was completed in around 1785. [1] [6] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto Castle Street; the ground floor, which was finished in rubble masonry, featured five round headed openings with voussoirs, while the first floor, which was finished in painted roughcast, was fenestrated by five sash windows with rusticated architraves and triple keystones. At roof level, there was a modillioned cornice. Internally, the principal rooms were the market hall on the ground floor and the ballroom on the first floor. [1] The latter room was described by the publisher of topographical dictionaries, Samuel Lewis, as "the most splendid ballroom in North Wales". [7]

A touring cinema company briefly offered silent film performances on a once weekly basis in the ballroom during the early part of the First World War. [8] In January 1940, during the Second World War, after the cargo ship, SS Gleneden, was hit by a German torpedo off Bardsey Island and then beached off Puffin Island, [9] all 60 crew were rescued and given food and drink in the building. [10]

The town hall continued to serve as the meeting place of the borough council for much of the 20th century, but ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged Ynys Môn-Isle of Anglesey Borough Council was formed at Llangefni in 1974. [11] [12] Instead, it became the meeting place of Beaumaris Town Council. [13] Shop fronts were installed in the central three openings to a design by Colwyn Foulkes and Partners of Colwyn Bay in 1975. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beaumaris Castle</span> Castle in Beaumaris, Anglesey, Wales

Beaumaris Castle, in Beaumaris, Anglesey, Wales, was built as part of Edward I's campaign to conquer north Wales after 1282. Plans were probably first made to construct the castle in 1284, but this was delayed due to lack of funds and work only began in 1295 following the Madog ap Llywelyn uprising. A substantial workforce was employed in the initial years under the direction of James of St George. Edward's invasion of Scotland soon diverted funding from the project, however, and work stopped, only recommencing after an invasion scare in 1306. When work finally ceased around 1330 a total of £15,000 had been spent, a huge sum for the period, but the castle remained incomplete.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beaumaris</span> Settlement in Wales

Beaumaris is a town and community on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, of which it is the former county town of Anglesey. It is located at the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey from the coast of North Wales. At the 2021 census, its population was 1,121. The community includes Llanfaes.

Sir Richard Bulkeley of Beaumaris, Anglesey and Lewisham, was a Welsh politician and courtier of Elizabeth Tudor, who sat in the House of Commons of England in 1563 and from 1604 to 1614.

Penmon is a promontory, village and ecclesiastical parish on the eastern tip of the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, about 3 miles (4.8 km) east of the town of Beaumaris. It is in the community of Llangoed. The name comes from Welsh: pen and Môn, which is the Welsh word for Anglesey. It is the site of a historic monastery and associated 12th-century church. Walls near the well next to the church may be part of the oldest remaining Christian building in Wales. Penmon also has an award-winning beach and the Anglesey Coastal Path follows its shores. Quarries in Penmon have provided stone for many important buildings and structures, including Birmingham Town Hall and the two bridges that cross the Menai Strait. The area is popular with locals and visitors alike for its monuments, tranquillity, bracing air and fine views of Snowdonia to the south across the Menai Strait.

Beaumaris was a parliamentary borough in Anglesey, which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of England from 1553, then to the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and to the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885, when the constituency was abolished. After 1832, the constituency was usually known as the Beaumaris District of Boroughs or simply the Beaumaris Boroughs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglesey</span> Island county in Wales

The Isle of Anglesey is a county off the north-west coast of Wales. It is named after the island of Anglesey, which makes up 94% of its area, but also includes Holy Island and some islets and skerries. The county borders Gwynedd across the Menai Strait to the southeast, and is otherwise surrounded by the Irish Sea. Holyhead is the largest town, and the administrative centre is Llangefni. The county is part of the preserved county of Gwynedd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Twrog's Church, Bodwrog</span> Church in Wales

St Twrog's Church is a small rural church at Bodwrog in Anglesey, North Wales. Built in the late 15th century in a medieval style, some alterations have been made but much of the original structure still remains. It has two 15th-century doorways and some 15th-century windows. The bull's head decoration used on the church denotes a connection with the Bulkeleys of Beaumaris, a prominent north Wales family over several centuries. Set in a remote part of the countryside in the middle of Anglesey, it is dedicated to St Twrog, who was active in the late 5th and early 6th centuries. The church's tithes were paid for at least two hundred years to Jesus College, Oxford, which has historically strong links with Wales, and the college at one point built a house for the priest who served St Twrog's and a neighbouring parish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grade I listed buildings in Anglesey</span>

In the United Kingdom, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical, or cultural significance; Grade I structures are those considered to be "buildings of exceptional interest". Listing was begun by a provision in the Town and Country Planning Act 1947. Once listed, strict limitations are imposed on the modifications allowed to a building's structure or fittings. In Wales, the authority for listing under the Planning Act 1990 rests with Cadw.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary's and St Nicholas's Church, Beaumaris</span> Church in Anglesey, UK

St Mary and St Nicholas Church, Beaumaris, an Anglican church, is a fourteenth century Grade I listed building in Beaumaris, Anglesey, Wales.

Llanfaes Friary was a Franciscan friary in the now vanished medieval town of Llanfaes, close to what is now Beaumaris, in south east Anglesey, Wales. It was founded around 1237 in memory of Joan, wife of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth. The Friary survived the depopulation of the town, but was dissolved in 1538 and most of the buildings dismantled soon afterwards. The land became an estate on which, in 1623, Rowland Whyte built a house which he called Friars. It became one of the many properties of the Bulkeley family, and was substantially rebuilt in 1866. By the 20th century the house and grounds were owned by James Hartley Burton. In 1939 they were requisitioned for wartime use, adapting and repairing flying boats, by Saunders-Roe, who continued after the war with a wide variety of light engineering activities. The industrial uses finally came to an end in the late 1990s. An archaeological dig on the site in 1991 identified substantial buried remains of the friary church and other monastic buildings. The site is a Scheduled monument.

Beaumaris Food Festival is an annual food festival held over a weekend usually during September in Beaumaris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hafotty</span> House in Llansadwrn, Anglesey

Hafotty, Llansadwrn, Anglesey, Wales is a medieval hall house dating from the mid 14th century. Described in the Gwynedd Pevsner as "one of Anglesey's classic small medieval houses", Hafotty is a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llangefni Town Hall</span> Municipal Building in Llangefni, Wales

Llangefni Town Hall is a civic building dating back to the mid 19th-century, in the town of Llangefni, Anglesey, Wales. It is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Terrace, Beaumaris</span> Terrace in Anglesey, Wales

Victoria Terrace, on the seafront in Beaumaris, Anglesey, Wales is a range of early 19th century townhouses. The terrace was designed by the architectural partnership of Joseph Hansom and Edward Welch for the Beaumaris Corporation. The development was a central part of the corporation's plans to reposition Beaumaris as a fashionable seaside resort in response to its declining maritime trade. The terrace was sold off in the early 20th century and is now divided into nineteen apartments. No. 1 remaining as a single house. This, and each apartment, No.s 2-20 inclusive, is designated a Grade I listed building, the Cadw listing record describing the whole block as "an outstanding and well-preserved late-Georgian terrace of national importance".

Sidney Colwyn Foulkes OBE FRIBA FILA AMTPI (1884-1971) was a Welsh architect, especially known for his architectural designs in Colwyn Bay, cinemas and council estates in North Wales. He was one of the first industrial landscape architects in Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flint Town Hall</span> Municipal Building in Flint, Wales

Flint Town Hall is a municipal structure in the Market Square, Flint, Flintshire, Wales. The town hall, which is the meeting place of Flint Town Council, is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narberth Town Hall</span> Municipal Building in Narberth, Wales

Narberth Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street, Narberth, Pembrokeshire, Wales. The structure, which is currently used as a shop, is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llangollen Town Hall</span> Municipal Building in Llangollen, Wales

Llangollen Town Hall, is a municipal building in Castle Street, Llangollen, Denbighshire, Wales. The structure, which is the meeting place of Llangollen Town Council, is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Town Hall, Usk</span> County Building in Usk, Wales

The Old Town Hall is a municipal building in Old Market Street, Usk, Monmouthshire, Wales. The structure, which is now used as the local club of the Royal British Legion, is a Grade II listed building.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Cadw. "Beaumaris Town Hall (5589)". National Historic Assets of Wales . Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  2. Llwyd, Richard (1832). Beaumaris bay: the shores of the Menai, and the interior of Snowdonia. J. Parry. p. 8.
  3. "Beaumaris". All about Anglesey. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  4. Catherall, Thomas (1860). Catherall's Hand Book. The Stranger's best guide to Llandudno and the Great Orme's Head. T. Catherall. p. 49.
  5. Pinnock, William (1822). "The History and Topography of North Wales, with Biographical Sketches". G. and W. B. Whittaker. p. 11.
  6. Siddall, Ruth (2021). Natural Stone and World Heritage The Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd. CRC Press. ISBN   978-1000481228.
  7. Lewis, Samuel (1845). A topographical dictionary of Wales. Vol. 1. S. Lewis & Co. p. 77.
  8. "Town Hall in Beaumaris". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  9. "SS Gleneden (+1940)". Wrecksite. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  10. Jones, Geraint (2012). Anglesey at War. History Press. ISBN   978-0752490236.
  11. Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN   0-10-547072-4.
  12. Pretty, David A. (2005). Anglesey: The Concise History. University of Wales Press. p. 147. ISBN   978-0708319437.
  13. "Meetings of the Council". Beaumaris Town Council. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  14. "Town Hall, Castle Street (23151)". Coflein. RCAHMW . Retrieved 14 May 2022.