Brighouse Town Hall

Last updated

Brighouse Town Hall
Brighouse Town Hall 002a.jpg
Brighouse Town Hall
LocationThornton Square, Brighouse
Coordinates 53°42′05″N1°46′54″W / 53.7014°N 1.7817°W / 53.7014; -1.7817 Coordinates: 53°42′05″N1°46′54″W / 53.7014°N 1.7817°W / 53.7014; -1.7817
Built1887
ArchitectJohn Lord
Architectural style(s) Neoclassical style
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameTown Hall
Designated2 December 1983
Reference no.1133856
West Yorkshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Shown in West Yorkshire

Brighouse Town Hall is a former municipal building in Thornton Square, Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Brighouse Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building. [1]

Contents

History

The first town hall in Brighouse was a building on the corner of Bradford Road and Bethel Street which had been designed by Mallinson and Barber as a public hall and opened by Sir George John Armytage, 6th Baronet on 14 October 1868. [2] [lower-alpha 1] After the responsibilities of the township expanded, civic leaders decided to procure municipal offices: the site they selected was an old malt kiln on the north side of Briggate. [3]

The new building, which was designed by John Lord in the neoclassical style, was officially opened on 16 March 1887. [3] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto Briggate; the central bay featured a doorway flanked by pilasters supporting a lintel with an entablature above inscribed with the words "Public Offices". [1] There were sash windows in the other bays on the ground floor and in all the bays on the first floor. [1] Internally, the principal room was the council chamber on the first floor which contained a chairman's chair with a finely carved reredos behind. [1]

The building became the headquarters of Brighouse Municipal Borough in 1894 and it hosted the future Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, when he gave a speech to Liberal Party supporters on 6 December 1904. [4] The town hall was further enhanced when the mayor, Alderman Robert Thornton, presented a large clock (informally known as "Owd Bob"), which was installed in the centre of a new open pediment and balustrade at a ceremony on 9 November 1914. [5] The area in front of the town hall, which had been occupied by Holroyd Buildings, was later renamed Thornton Square in his honour. [5] The young men of Brighouse were called up at the town hall during the First World War. [5]

The building ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council was formed in 1974. [6] The chime of bells, which Thornton had presented to the town at the same time as the clock, was removed from the town hall and placed in storage at that time. [5] The mayor's mace was also removed and transferred to Halifax Town Hall where it was placed in the mayor's parlour. [7]

After renting the building out to small businesses for many years, [8] [9] in December 2010, civic leaders decided that the town hall was surplus to requirements and the furniture in the council chamber, including the council chairman's chair and the carved reredos, were removed from the building and installed in the civic hall so that the town hall could be sold. [4] The building was sold to a private buyer in March 2011 [10] and, after a programme of conversion works, it re-opened as the Town Hall Dental practice in 2012. [11]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ This building survives and is now known as "Brighouse Civic Hall". [2]

Related Research Articles

Brighouse Town in West Yorkshire, England

Brighouse is a town within the metropolitan borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated on the River Calder, 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Halifax. It is served by Junction 25 of the M62 motorway and Brighouse railway station on the Caldervale Line and Huddersfield Line. In the town centre is a mooring basin on the Calder and Hebble Navigation. The United Kingdom Census 2001 gave the Brighouse / Rastrick subdivision of the West Yorkshire Urban Area a population of 32,360. The Brighouse ward of Calderdale Council gave a population of 11,195 at the 2011 Census.

Calderdale Metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England

The Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. The estimated population in mid-2020 was 211,439. It takes its name from the River Calder, and dale, a word for valley. The name Calderdale usually refers to the borough through which the upper river flows, while the actual landform is known as the Calder Valley. Several small valleys contain tributaries of the River Calder.

Briggate

Briggate is a pedestrianised principal shopping street in Leeds city centre, England. Historically it was the main street, leading north from Leeds Bridge, and housed markets, merchant's houses and other business premises. It contains many historic buildings, including the oldest in the city, and others from the 19th and early-20th century, including two theatres. It is noted for the yards between some older buildings with alleyways giving access and Victorian shopping arcades, which were restored in late 20th century. The street was pedestrianised in the early-21st century.

William Swinden Barber English architect (1832–1908)

William Swinden Barber FRIBA, also W. S. Barber or W. Swinden Barber, was an English Gothic Revival and Arts and Crafts architect, specialising in modest but finely furnished Anglican churches. The Barber churches often had crenellated bell-towers. He was based in Brighouse and Halifax in the West Riding of Yorkshire. At least 15 surviving examples of his work are Grade II listed buildings including his 1875 design for the Victoria Cross at Akroydon. An 1864 portrait by David Wilkie Wynfield depicts him in Romantic garb, holding a flower. He served in the Artists Rifles regiment in the 1860s alongside Wynfield and other contemporary artists.

Old Town Hall, Richmond Municipal building in London, England

The Old Town Hall, Richmond on Whittaker Avenue in Richmond, London is a former municipal building which from 1893 to 1965 served as the town hall for the Municipal Borough of Richmond.

Hackney Town Hall Municipal building in London, England

Hackney Town Hall is a municipal building in Hackney, London. The town hall, which is the headquarters of Hackney London Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.

Wandsworth Town Hall Municipal building in London, England

Wandsworth Town Hall is a municipal building on the corner of the High Street and Fairfield Street in Wandsworth, London. The building, which is the headquarters of Wandsworth London Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.

Colchester Town Hall Municipal building in Colchester, Essex, England

Colchester Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street in Colchester, Essex, England. The town hall, which is the headquarters of Colchester Borough Council, is a Grade I listed building.

Chatham Town Hall Municipal building in Chatham, Kent, England

Chatham Town Hall is a municipal building in Dock Road in Chatham, Kent, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Chatham Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.

The Town Hall, Christchurch Municipal building in Christchurch, Dorset, England

The Town Hall, Christchurch is a municipal building in Christchurch, Dorset, England. The building, which incorporates a room known as the mayor's parlour on the first floor, and is a Grade II listed building. It is currently the base of Christchurch Town Council.

Bootle Town Hall Municipal building in Bootle, Merseyside, England

Bootle Town Hall is a municipal building in Oriel Road in Bootle, Merseyside, England. The building, which is the headquarters of Sefton Council, is a Grade II listed building.

Thornaby Town Hall Municipal building in Thornaby, North Yorkshire, England

Thornaby Town Hall is a municipal building in the Mandale Road in Thornaby-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England. The building, which is owned by Thornaby Town Council, is a Grade II listed building.

Wokingham Town Hall Municipal building in Wokingham, Berkshire, England

Wokingham Town Hall is a municipal building in the Market Place in Wokingham, Berkshire, England. The building is the meeting place of Wokingham Town Council and is a Grade II* listed building.

Newbury Town Hall Municipal building in Newbury, Berkshire, England

Newbury Town Hall is a municipal building in the Market Place in Newbury, Berkshire, England. The building, which is the meeting place of Newbury Town Council, is a Grade II listed building.

Torquay Town Hall Municipal building in Torquay, Devon, England

Torquay Town Hall is a municipal building in Castle Circus in Torquay, Devon, England. The building, which is the meeting place of Torbay Council, is a Grade II listed building.

Bridlington Town Hall Municipal building in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England

Bridlington Town Hall is a municipal building in Quay Road, Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The town hall, which was the meeting place of Bridlington Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.

Ossett Town Hall Municipal building in Ossett, West Yorkshire, England

Ossett Town Hall is a municipal building in the Market Place, Ossett, West Yorkshire, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Ossett Borough Council is a grade II listed building.

Sale Town Hall Municipal building in Sale, Greater Manchester, England

Sale Town Hall is a municipal building in School Road, Sale, Greater Manchester, England. The town hall was the headquarters of Sale Borough Council until the council was abolished in 1974.

Dukinfield Town Hall Municipal building in Dukinfield, Greater Manchester, England

Dukinfield Town Hall is a municipal building in King Street, Dukinfield, Greater Manchester, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Dukinfield Borough Council, is a grade II listed building.

Colne Town Hall Municipal building in Colne, Lancashire, England

Colne Town Hall is a municipal building in Albert Road, Colne, Lancashire, England. The town hall, which is the meeting place of Colne Town Council, is a grade II listed building.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Historic England. "Town Hall (1133856)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  2. 1 2 Historic England. "Civic Hall (1133850)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Town hall's roots in the malt kiln". Brighouse Echo. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Brighouse Town Hall sell off – fury as 18th Century artefacts ripped out". Examiner Live. 7 December 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "How town hall's clock got its nickname". Brighouse Echo. 11 April 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  6. ↑ Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN   0-10-547072-4.
  7. ↑ Law and Administration Dept. (1 August 1998). Halifax Town Hall; a brief guide. Town Hall, Halifax: Halifax Borough Council.
  8. ↑ "Town Hall could be sold off". Examiner Live. 20 September 2008. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  9. ↑ "Brighouse Town Hall future under debate". Telegraph and Argus. 22 September 2008. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  10. ↑ "Eddisons sells Brighouse Town Hall at auction". Examiner Live. 8 March 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  11. ↑ "Town Hall Dental awarded for work in the community". Halifax Courier. 28 December 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.