| Berkhamsted Civic Centre | |
|---|---|
 Berkhamsted Civic Centre | |
| Location | High Street, Berkhamsted |
| Coordinates | 51°45′36″N0°33′50″W / 51.7601°N 0.5640°W |
| Built | 1938 |
| Architect | John Hadfield |
| Architectural style(s) | Neo-Georgian style |
  Shown in Hertfordshire | |
Berkhamsted Civic Centre is a municipal building in the High Street in Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, England. The structure accommodates the offices and meeting place of Berkhamsted Town Council.
In the 19th century, the main municipal building in the town was Berkhamsted Town Hall. [1] After it was formed in 1898, Great Berkhampstead Urban District Council (as it was initially called) met in the local workhouse (on the corner of High Street and Kitsbury Road). In 1908 the council bought at auction the premises of a local building contractor, William Nash & Son, for the sum of £2,300. These premises comprised a house facing High Street, behind which was a former Wesleyan Chapel (by then used as a workshop), with a large yard and other outbuildings. These premises were converted to serve as the council's offices and meeting place, with the former chapel becoming the council chamber. [2] [3] [4] [5] In the early 1930s, after the council decided it needed more office space, it acquired the adjacent fishmonger's shop and demolished both buildings. [5] The new civic centre was designed by the council surveyor, John Hadfield, in the Neo-Georgian style, built in red brick with stone dressings and was officially opened by the chairman of the council, Councillor Walter Pitkin, on 14 October 1938. [6] [7]
The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with seven bays facing onto the High Street; the central bay, which slightly projected forward, featured a round headed entrance with brick voussoirs, a keystone, wrought iron gates and a deeply recessed doorway inside. There was a wrought iron balconet and French door on the first floor, flanked by pilasters supporting an open pediment, while the other bays were fenestrated by sash windows on both floors. Internally, the principal rooms were a courtroom on the ground floor and a council meeting room on the first floor. [8]
The council maintained garaging behind the civic centre for the local fire engines until 1969, when the fire service moved to Castle Street. [9] The civic centre continued to serve as the local seat of government until the enlarged Dacorum Borough Council was formed in 1974. [10] The courtroom was subsequently converted into an assembly hall and the council meeting room became the offices and meeting place of Berkhamsted Town Council. [11] In the 1980s and 1990s, the civic centre was a significant events venue: the rock band, Marillion, performed their first concert there in 1980, [12] the jazz singer, Elaine Delmar, performed there in 1986, [13] and the American jazz tenor saxophonist, Scott Hamilton, took part in a BBC concert, which was broadcast from there, in 1998. [14] Also, the Master of the Queen's Music, Malcolm Williamson, delivered at least one premiere of his works at the civic centre in the 1980s. [15] [16]
A wooden sign bearing the coat of arms of the town was presented by the Berkhamsted Citizens Association and erected on the pavement outside the civic centre in 1983. [17] The garaging behind the civic centre, previously used by the fire service, was converted into a museum store for Dacorum Heritage in 1994. [18]
Berkhamsted is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, 26 miles (42 km) north-west of London. The town is a civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which is based in the neighbouring large new town of Hemel Hempstead. Berkhamsted, along with the adjoining village of Northchurch, is encircled by countryside, much of it in the Chiltern Hills which is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Amersham is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, 27 miles (43 km) northwest of central London, 15 miles (24 km) south-east of Aylesbury and 9 miles (14 km) north-east of High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt.
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Waterside Theatre. It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milton Keynes.
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Hemel Hempstead is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England. It is 24 miles (39 km) northwest of London. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500.
Tring is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire, England. It is situated in a gap passing through the Chiltern Hills, classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 30 miles (50 km) from Central London.
Dacorum is a local government district with borough status in Hertfordshire, England. The council is based in Hemel Hempstead. The borough also includes the towns of Berkhamsted and Tring and surrounding villages. The borough had a population of 155,081 in 2021. Dacorum was created in 1974 and is named after the ancient hundred of Dacorum which had covered a similar area. The borough of Dacorum is the westernmost of Hertfordshire's ten districts. It borders St Albans, Three Rivers, Buckinghamshire and Central Bedfordshire.
Amersham Rural District was a rural district in the administrative county of Buckinghamshire, England from 1894 to 1974, covering an area in the south-east of the county.
Cow Roast is a hamlet within the civil parishes of Northchurch and Wigginton in Hertfordshire, England. It is between Tring and Berkhamsted, along the A4251, adjacent to the Grand Union Canal and the West Coast Main Line. Today it comprises a row of 20th-century houses and a marina, together with several older properties including a restaurant. There are three car dealerships and a petrol station beside the main road.
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.
Dean Incent's House is a 15th-century timber-framed house in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. It is reputed to be the birthplace of John Incent, a dean in the Church of England who held office at St Paul's Cathedral from 1540 to 1545.
Dacorum Heritage (DH) is a local history advocacy group in the United Kingdom. It collects and records the history of the Borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire, in the south of England, and aims to encourage the appreciation of the heritage of Dacorum.
Aylesbury Crown Court, also known as Old County Hall, is a former judicial facility and municipal building in Market Square, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, completed in 1740. The building served as the meeting place of Buckinghamshire County Council from 1889 until 2012, and was used as a court until 2018. It is a Grade II* listed building.
Berkhamsted Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. It is a Grade II listed building.
Bourne Town Hall is a municipal building in North Street, Bourne, Lincolnshire, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Bourne Urban District Council, 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.
Buckingham Town Hall is a municipal building in the Market Square, Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, England. The structure, which was the meeting place of Buckingham Borough Council, is a Grade II* listed building.
Berkhamsted Rural District was a rural district in Hertfordshire, England from 1894 to 1974, covering an area to the west of the county. Until 1937 the official spelling of the district's name was Berkhampstead Rural District.
Tring Market House is a municipal building in the High Street, Tring, Hertfordshire, England. The structure, which is the meeting place of Tring Town Council, is a Grade II listed building.
The Forum is a municipal building in Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. The building accommodates the meeting place and offices of Dacorum Borough Council as well as the local library.
The work (which, significantly, he dedicated to Bessie [his mother]), was given its first performance at a concert Malcolm and Elizabeth Poston organised at the Berkhamsted Civic Centre to celebrate Simon [Campion]'s 50th birthday