Downham Market Town Hall

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Downham Market Town Hall
Downham Market - Town Hall - east side (geograph 3995699).jpg
Downham Market Town Hall
LocationBridge Street, Downham Market
Coordinates 52°36′10″N0°22′38″E / 52.6027°N 0.3771°E / 52.6027; 0.3771 Coordinates: 52°36′10″N0°22′38″E / 52.6027°N 0.3771°E / 52.6027; 0.3771
Built1887
Architect John Johnson
Architectural style(s) Renaissance Revival style
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameTown Hall
Designated16 November 1972
Reference no.1342634
Norfolk UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Shown in Norfolk

Downham Market Town Hall is a municipal building in Bridge Street, Downham Market, Norfolk, England. The structure, which is managed by Downham Market Town Council, is a Grade II listed building. [1]

History

Following their appointment in 1835, [2] the first municipal building procured by the improvement commissioners in Downham Market was a courthouse on London Road in 1861. [3] [4] They then decided to commission a new civic building, which was financed by public subscription, to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria; the site they selected was on the west side of the Market Square. [5]

The new building was designed by John Johnson in the Renaissance Revival style, built by Bennett Brothers in yellow brick and brown carrstone at a cost of £1,730 and was officially opened by the member of parliament, William Tyssen-Amherst, on 20 October 1887. [6] [7] [8] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto the Market Square; the central bay featured a doorway with a fanlight flanked by square Doric order columns supporting a cornice and a balustraded balcony. On the first floor, there was a central round-headed French door, while the other bays were fenestrated by square-headed windows on the ground floor and round-headed windows on the first floor. At roof level, there was a balustrade, a panel inscribed with the words "Town Hall" and a central gable containing a shield and a stone inscribed with the date of construction. On the north side of the building there was a short tower with a mansard roof and a weather vane. [1] Internally, the principal rooms were an assembly hall, a corn exchange, a library and a reading room. [9] The local literary institute, which had been established in 1865 following a gift by Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby, occupied the library and reading room following completion of the town hall. [9]

Following significant growth in the population, largely associated with the status of Downham Market as a market town, the area became an urban district in 1894. [10] The town hall continued to serve as the headquarters of the urban district council for much of the 20th century but ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged King's Lynn and West Norfolk District Council was formed in 1974. [11]

Downham Market Town Council took over management of the building in 2008 and carried out a programme of refurbishment works, which included the installation of a lift, in 2013. [12] The Downham Market Heritage Centre, which had been established as a local history museum on the first floor of the town hall in the early 21st century, [13] rapidly outgrew its accommodation and relocated to the old fire station in Priory Road in March 2016. [14]

Related Research Articles

Downham Market Market town in Norfolk, England

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West Dereham Human settlement in England

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References

  1. 1 2 Historic England. "Town Hall (1342634)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  2. ↑ "Downham Market Improvement Act 1835". Vlex. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  3. ↑ Historic England. "Magistrates Court Complex (1342624)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  4. ↑ "A former courthouse – in pictures". The Guardian. 24 July 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  5. ↑ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1887. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  6. ↑ Leader, Robert (2006). In Search of Secret Norfolk: A Souvenir and Guide to Norfolk. Thorogood. ISBN   978-1854183729.
  7. ↑ "Opening of the Town Hall". Norfolk Chronicle. 20 October 1887. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  8. ↑ "Plaque marking history of town hall is unveiled in Downham Market". Lynn News. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  9. 1 2 "Downham Market". Kelly's Directory of Norfolk. 1896. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  10. ↑ "Downham Market UD". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  11. ↑ Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN   0-10-547072-4.
  12. ↑ "Historic town hall benefits from £76,000 make-over". Eastern Daily Press. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  13. ↑ Dunford, Martin; Lee, Phil (2012). The Rough Guide to Norfolk and Suffolk. Rough Guides. p. 177. ISBN   978-1848366060.
  14. ↑ "Official opening for the Downham's new centre". Your Local Newspaper. 18 March 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
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