A county hall or shire hall is a common name given to a building that houses the seat of local government for a county.
The location of the county hall has usually denoted the county town.
In the case of Surrey, England, when county boundaries changed the county hall remained in Kingston upon Thames. [1] County halls usually contain a council chamber, committee rooms and offices. [2]
County halls in England, with the ceremonial county they served, include: [lower-alpha 1]
County halls ceased to have a role in Scotland in 1975, when a system of large regional councils was introduced. [59] Former county halls in Scotland, with the county they served, include: [lower-alpha 2]
County halls ceased to have a role in Northern Ireland in 1973, when a system of local government districts was introduced. [93] Former county halls in Northern Ireland, with the county they served, include: [lower-alpha 3]
County halls in Wales, with the county they served, include: [lower-alpha 4]
County halls in the Republic of Ireland, with the county they serve, include:
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
This page gives an overview of the complex structure of environmental and cultural conservation in the United Kingdom.
Cadw is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. Cadw works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage sites of Wales, to make them available for the public to visit, enjoy, and understand their significance. Cadw manages 127 state-owned properties and sites. It arranges events at its managed properties, provides lectures and teaching sessions, offers heritage walks, and hosts an online shop. Members of the public can become members of Cadw to gain membership privileges.
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural and/or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, Cadw in Wales, and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency in Northern Ireland. The classification schemes differ between England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The term has also been used in the Republic of Ireland, where buildings are protected under the Planning and Development Act 2000, although the statutory term in Ireland is "protected structure".
Three separate historic buildings councils were created by the Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act 1953, one for each of England, Scotland, and Wales. Each Historic Buildings Council advised the relevant government minister on the exercise of powers under the 1953 Act relating to the preservation of listed buildings and other buildings of special architectural or historic interest, including applications for grants. Responsibilities for advice in relation to the Planning Act 1990 were added later.
Y Gaer is a municipal structure in Glamorgan Street, Brecon, Powys, Wales. The complex, which includes a museum, an art gallery and a library and incorporates a structure which was once the shire hall for Brecknockshire, is a Grade II* listed building.
The Shire Hall is a municipal building in Newport, south Wales. It is a Grade II listed building.
The Shire Hall, Monmouth, Wales, is a prominent building on Agincourt Square in the town centre. It was built in 1724, and was formerly the centre for the Assize Courts and Quarter Sessions for Monmouthshire. The building was also used as a market place. In 1839–40, the court was the location of the trial of the Chartist leader John Frost and others for high treason for their part in the Newport Rising.
The Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales is a heritage register of significant historic parks and gardens in Wales. It is maintained by Cadw, the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and was given statutory status in 2022.
The Market Hall, in Priory Street, Monmouth, Wales, is an early Victorian building by the prolific Monmouth architect George Vaughan Maddox. It was constructed in the years 1837–39 as the centrepiece of a redevelopment of part of Monmouth town centre. After being severely damaged by fire in 1963, it was partly rebuilt and was the home of Monmouth Museum from 1969 to 2021. At the rear of the building are original slaughterhouses, called The Shambles, opening onto the River Monnow. The building is Grade II listed as at 27 June 1952, and it is one of 24 buildings on the Monmouth Heritage Trail. The Shambles slaughterhouses are separately listed as Grade II*.
George Vaughan Maddox was a nineteenth-century British architect and builder, whose work was undertaken principally in the town of Monmouth, Wales, and in the wider county. Working mainly in a Neo-Classical style, his extensive output made a significant contribution to the Monmouth townscape. The architectural historian John Newman considers that Monmouth owes to Maddox "its particular architectural flavour. For two decades from the mid-1820s he put up a sequence of public buildings and private houses in the town, in a style deft, cultured, and only occasionally unresolved." The Market Hall and 1-6 Priory Street are considered his "most important projects".
Monmouthshire is a county and principal area of Wales. It borders Torfaen and Newport to the west; Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the east; and Powys to the north. The largest town is Abergavenny, with the other major towns being Chepstow, Monmouth, and Usk. The county is 850 km2 in extent, with a population of 95,200 as of 2020. The present county was formed under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, which came into effect in 1996, and comprises some sixty percent of the historic county. Between 1974 and 1996, the county was known by the ancient title of Gwent, recalling the medieval Welsh kingdom. In his essay on local government in the fifth and final volume of the Gwent County History, Robert McCloy suggests that the governance of "no county in the United Kingdom in the twentieth century was so transformed as that of Monmouthshire".
Gloucester Shire Hall is a municipal building in Westgate Street, Gloucester. The shire hall, which is the main office and the meeting place of Gloucestershire County Council, is a grade II listed building.
The Shire Hall is a municipal building in Fore Street, Hertford, the county town of Hertfordshire, England. The building, which currently serves as a Magistrates' Court, is a Grade I listed building.
The Shirehall is a building on St Peter's Square, Hereford, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade II* listed building.
The Shire Hall is a municipal structure in Broad Street, Presteigne, Powys, Wales. The building incorporates a well-preserved courtroom and a museum known as "the Judge's Lodging". Once the judicial centre for Radnorshire, is a Grade II* listed building.
The Shire Hall is a municipal structure in Glanhwfa Road, Llangefni, Anglesey, Wales. The building, which served as the headquarters of Anglesey County Council, is a Grade II listed building.
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