City Hall | |
---|---|
General information | |
Type | City hall |
Architectural style | Art Deco |
Location | Norwich, Norfolk, England |
Address | City Hall, St. Peter's Street, Norwich, NR2 1NH |
Current tenants | Norwich City Council |
Completed | 1938 |
Height | 56.4 m (185 ft) |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Charles Holloway James, Stephen Rowland Pierce |
Website | |
www | |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
Official name | City Hall including Police Station |
Designated | 29 January 1971 |
Reference no. | 1210484 |
Norwich City Hall is an Art Deco building completed in 1938 which houses the city hall for the city of Norwich in Norfolk, England. It is one of the Norwich 12, a collection of twelve heritage buildings in Norwich deemed of particular historical and cultural importance. It was designated as a Grade II* listed building in 1971. [1]
The new City Hall saw the demolition in Norwich of Tudor, Regency and Victorian buildings on St Peters Street and the Market Place, including many yards and dilapidated municipal buildings. The architects Charles Holloway James and Stephen Rowland Pierce, designed the building after Robert Atkinson had prepared a layout for the whole Civic Centre site at the request of Norwich Corporation (now the City Council). A competition took place in 1931 which attracted 143 entries, with Atkinson as the sole judge. After the winning design was chosen the Depression and a protracted planning process delayed the start of the building, and the foundation stone was not laid until 1936. [2] Norwich City Hall was officially opened by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on 29 October 1938. [3] [4]
The architects designed for Norwich an Art Deco public building of national significance. It was built to the highest standards, using superior materials and methods of its day. Even the bricks were specially made, each one being two inches longer than usual to better reflect the proportions of the finished building. Charles Holloway James and Stephen Rowland Pierce engaged Alfred Hardiman as their consultant sculptor. [5] He contributed the iconic lions passant which guard the building, and three figures of Recreation, Wisdom and Education outside the Council Chamber. His colleague James Woodford designed the six main bronze doors, incorporating 18 roundels showing the history and industry of Norwich. [6] Eric Aumonier carved the city arms above the Regalia Room window on Bethel Street, [1] and Margaret Calkin James provided textiles for some of the important rooms. [7]
The materials used include Italian marble and English stone, Honduras mahogany and Australian walnut. Seating is upholstered in Moroccan leather, and rooms panelled in elm, oak, teak and birch. The Lord Mayor's octagonal parlour is panelled in sycamore with French walnut trim, with the door finished in English walnut. The main frontage of the building is 280 feet long, incorporating a 200ft balcony. [8] The city council claims that the balcony is the longest such structure in the UK. [9] Meanwhile, the bell in the clock tower has the deepest tone in East Anglia; [10] [11] it, together with the clock, was manufactured by Gillett & Johnston of Croydon. [12]
Norwich Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Norwich, Norfolk, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Norwich and the mother church of the diocese of Norwich. It is administered by its dean and chapter, and there are daily Church of England services. It is a Grade I listed building.
Gillett & Johnston was a clockmaker and bell foundry based in Croydon, England from 1844 until 1957. Between 1844 and 1950, over 14,000 tower clocks were made at the works. The company's most successful and prominent period of activity as a bellfounder was in the 1920s and 1930s, when it was responsible for supplying many important bells and carillons for sites across Britain and around the world.
Nottingham Council House is the city hall of Nottingham, England. The 200 feet (61 m) high dome that rises above the city is the centrepiece of the skyline and presides over the Old Market Square which is also referred to as the "City Centre". It is a Grade II* listed building.
Luton Town Hall is a building at the junction between Manchester Street, Upper George Street and George Street, Luton, England; the current building was completed in 1936 on the site of the older Town Hall, which was burnt down 19 July 1919, following the Peace Day Riots. The current hall, which is the headquarters of Luton Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.
Anglia Square is a shopping centre in the north of Norwich city centre, in Norfolk, England. Opened in 1970, it was part of a larger Norwich redevelopment during this period, which was also complemented by the establishment of the nearby HMSO building, Sovereign House, which opened in 1969. The square took six years to build, but was never actually finished.
Charles Holloway James,, (1893–1953), architect, specialised in designs for homes and housing projects, but also completed large public works, particularly in collaboration with Stephen Rowland Pierce.
Stephen Rowland Pierce F.R.I.B.A, F.S.A. (1896–1966) was an architect and town planning consultant. In partnership with Charles Holloway James he designed several large British public buildings, including Norwich City Hall.
The architecture of Mumbai blends Gothic, Victorian, Art Deco, Indo-Saracenic & Contemporary architectural styles. Many buildings, structures and historical monuments remain from the colonial era. Mumbai, after Miami, has the second largest number of Art Deco buildings in the world.
Norwich Guildhall is a municipal building on Gaol Hill in the city of Norwich, Norfolk, England. It is a Grade I listed building.
Norwich 12 was an initiative by the Norwich Heritage Economic and Regeneration Trust (HERT) to develop 12 of Norwich's most iconic buildings into an integrated family of heritage attractions to act as an international showcase of English urban and cultural development over the last 1,000 years.
Southport Arts Centre, formerly known as Cambridge Hall, is on the east side of Lord Street, Southport, Sefton, Merseyside, England, and stands between Southport Town Hall and the Atkinson Art Gallery and Library. It was built in 1873–74 and originally contained an assembly hall. The centre contains mixed architectural styles and has a tall clock tower at the right end. During the 20th century the assembly hall was converted into a theatre, and it forms part of the arts complex known as The Atkinson. The arts centre is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
Norwich War Memorial is a First World War memorial in Norwich in Eastern England. It was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the last of his eight cenotaphs to be erected in England. Before Lutyens' involvement, several abandoned proposals had been made for commemorating Norwich's war dead, and by 1926 the newly elected lord mayor was determined to see the construction of a memorial before he left office. He established an appeal to raise funds for local hospitals in memory of the dead as well as a physical monument. He commissioned Lutyens, who designed an empty tomb (cenotaph) atop a low screen wall from which protrudes a Stone of Remembrance. Bronze flambeaux at either end can burn gas to emit a flame. Lutyens also designed a roll of honour, on which the names of the city's dead are listed, which was installed in Norwich Castle in 1931.
Johnstone Shire Hall is a heritage-listed town hall at 70 Rankin Street, Innisfail, Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Hill & Taylor and built from 1935 to 1938 by Van Leeuwen Brothers. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 13 January 1995.
Lambeth Town Hall, also known as Brixton Town Hall, is a municipal building at the corner of Brixton Hill and Acre Lane, Brixton, London. The town hall, which is the headquarters of Lambeth London Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.
Wallington Town Hall is a municipal building in Woodcote Road, Wallington, London. It is a Grade II listed building.
Burnley Town Hall is a municipal building in Manchester Road, Burnley, Lancashire, England. The town hall, which is the headquarters of Burnley Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.
Great Yarmouth Town Hall is a municipal building in Hall Plain, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England. The town hall, which is the meeting place of Great Yarmouth Borough Council, is a Grade II* listed building.
Padiham Town Hall is a municipal building in Burnley Road, Padiham, Lancashire, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Padiham Urban District Council, is a grade II listed building. It is the meeting place of Padiham Town Council.
Slough Town Hall is a former municipal building in Bath Road, Slough, Berkshire, England. The town hall was the headquarters of Slough Borough Council until 2011. The building has been used as a school since 2012.
Letchworth Town Hall is a municipal building in Broadway, Letchworth, Hertfordshire, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Letchworth Urban District Council, is a Grade II listed building.