| Dawley Town Hall | |
|---|---|
 The building in 2025 | |
| Location | New Street, Dawley |
| Coordinates | 52°39′46″N2°27′59″W / 52.6629°N 2.4665°W |
| Built | 1873 |
| Architect | Mr Patterson |
| Architectural style(s) | Gothic Revival style |
| Website | Official website |
  Shown in Shropshire | |
Dawley Town Hall is an events venue in New Street in Dawley, Shropshire, England.
The venue was commissioned as a temperance hall for the International Organisation of Good Templars. Their aim was to encourage abstinence from alcohol within the local mining community, and they formed a company to finance and commission the building. The site they selected was an elevated point in Dawley known as Dun Cow Bank. [1]
The foundation stone for the new building was laid by the Rector of Church Tilton in Cheshire, the Reverend William Bishton Garnett-Botfield of Decker Hill, on 13 October 1873. [2] [3] It was designed by a Mr Patterson of Wellington in the Gothic Revival style, built by Rowland Smitheman of Broseley in brick with a stucco finish at a cost of £900, and was probably completed sometime in 1874. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of three bays facing onto New Street. The central bay featured a round headed doorway with grey brick quoins on the ground floor, and three tall round headed windows on the first floor. The outer bays were also fenestrated by tall round headed windows. There was a gable above which was modillioned and contained a date stone above the central bay. Internally, the principal room was the main hall which was 60 feet (18 m) long and 40 feet (12 m) wide. There was a gallery at the east end and a stage, suitable for an orchestra, at the west end. [4]
The building hosted a variety of events, and in 1900 showed its first film. In 1913, it became the Royal Windsor Variety and Picture Palace, but this closed before the end of the First World War. The venue then became a theatre, before it was acquired by Dawley Urban District Council, which let it out for a wide variety of events. [5] [6] After the Second World War, these included both Catholic and non-conformist church services. [5] In November 1962, it hosted the public enquiry into plans for Dawley New Town, which were later realised as Telford. [7]
In 2002, the hall became the home of an amateur dramatics group, the Telford Stage School. The school moved out in 2010, [8] following which, the building was refurbished at a cost of £150,000. [9] [10] Following completion of the works, the building reopened and was made available for local groups so that they could host events. [11] [12] In August 2015, an event was held at the town hall to celebrate the life of the local swimmer, Matthew Webb, who was the first recorded person to swim the English Channel for sport without the use of artificial aids. [13]
The town hall annex, immediately to the north of the main building was reopened as a community meeting room, known as Randle House in memory of a former mayor, Malcolm Randle, in February 2022. [14] [15] In November 2023, Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, visited the town hall and met with civic leaders and members of the local branch of the Royal British Legion and unveiled a plaque commemorating the 150th anniversary of the building. [16] [17] [18]
Shropshire is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England, on the border with Wales. It is bordered by Cheshire to the north-east, Staffordshire to the east, Worcestershire to the south-east, Herefordshire to the south, and the Welsh principal areas of Powys and Wrexham to the west and north-west respectively. The largest settlement is Telford, while Shrewsbury is the county town.
Telford is a town in the Telford and Wrekin borough in Shropshire, England. The wider borough covers the town, its suburbs and surrounding towns and villages. The town is close to the county's eastern boundary, and near the River Severn. The notable hill near the town called The Wrekin is part of the Shropshire Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. To the south of the town is the Ironbridge Gorge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Places around the Ironbridge Gorge area, which were developed into the town itself, are internationally recognised as being "The Birthplace of Industry" being to a large extent constructed during the Industrial Revolution on the Shropshire Coalfield. The town is the main administrative centre for Telford and Wrekin Council.
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Telford and Wrekin is a borough and unitary authority in Shropshire, England. In 1974, a non-metropolitan district of Shropshire was created called the Wrekin, named after a prominent hill to the west of Telford. In 1998, the district became a unitary authority and was renamed "Telford and Wrekin", which remains part of the Shropshire ceremonial county and shares institutions such as the Fire and Rescue Service and Community Health with the rest the county.
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Dawley is a former mining town and civil parish in the borough of Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. It was originally proposed be the main centre of the 'Dawley New Town' plan in 1963, however it was decided in 1968 to name the new town as 'Telford', after the engineer and road-builder Thomas Telford. Dawley is one of the older settlements in Shropshire, being mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086). It is divided into Dawley Magna and Little Dawley.
The Telford Steam Railway (TSR) is a heritage railway located at Horsehay, Telford in Shropshire, England, formed in 1976.
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The Wrekin is a constituency in the House of Commons of the British Parliament, located in the county of Shropshire in the West Midlands of England. It has existed continuously since its creation by the Representation of the People Act 1918, and is named after a prominent landmark hill in the area, The Wrekin. It has been represented by the Labour and Conservative parties since the 1920s, a post held since 2005 by Conservative MP Mark Pritchard.
Madeley is a historic market town and civil parish in the borough of Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. The parish had a population of 18,774 at the 2021 census.
Telford and Wrekin Council elections are held every four years. Telford and Wrekin Council is the local authority for the unitary authority of Telford and Wrekin in the ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. Until 1 April 1998 it was a non-metropolitan district. Since the last boundary changes in 2023, 54 councillors have been elected from 32 wards.
The Telford Langley School is a coeducational secondary school with academy status, located in the Dawley area of Telford in Shropshire, England.
Telford College is a further education college in Telford, Shropshire, England. It operates from one main site and many in-company training sites and community-based courses spread out across Shropshire and the whole of the United Kingdom. During 2017 the college improved its Ofsted rating to Grade 3.
Woodside is a residential area within the civil parish of Madeley in Shropshire, England. It is also the name of an electoral ward of both Madeley Town Council and the borough of Telford and Wrekin. The population of the borough ward at the 2021 Census is given as 7,597.
Shrewsbury is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, 33 miles (53 km) northwest of Wolverhampton, 15 miles (24 km) west of Telford, 31 miles (50 km) southeast of Wrexham and 53 miles (85 km) north of Hereford. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 76,782. It is the county town of the ceremonial county of Shropshire.
The Royal Victoria Hotel is a former hotel situated in Newport, Shropshire. It dates back to 1830 and gains its name from Queen Victoria, who as Princess Victoria of Kent visited the hotel in 1832 and who gifted the hotel with a pair of tortoise shells to commemorate the visit. The building has been extended over time and operated as a hotel, bar and restaurant before it finally closed in 2015.
Horsehay and Dawley railway station is a heritage railway station in the town of Dawley and village of Horsehay in the Telford and Wrekin borough of Shropshire, England. The station was opened in 1859, closed in 1962, then reopened in 1976 as part of the Telford Steam Railway. Originally, the station was on the former Wellington and Severn Junction railway. It consisted of one platform with a signal box at the end of the platform controlling access to the goods yard. It is now the working base of the Telford Steam Railway.
Telford Theatre, formerly Oakengates Town Hall, is an events venue in Limes Walk in the town of Oakengates in Shropshire, England.
Doseley is a village in the Telford and Wrekin borough in Shropshire, England. It forms part of the Dawley Hamlets civil parish alongside Aqueduct, Horsehay, Lightmoor, Little Dawley and Spring Village.
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The Minister said that the purpose of the New Town would be to provide housing and employment for people from Birmingham and the Black Country – particularly Birmingham – and to relieve congestion in that area.