Durham Town Hall

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Durham Town Hall
Durham Markt.jpg
Durham Town Hall
LocationMarket Place, Durham
Coordinates 54°46′38″N1°34′33″W / 54.7773°N 1.5757°W / 54.7773; -1.5757 Coordinates: 54°46′38″N1°34′33″W / 54.7773°N 1.5757°W / 54.7773; -1.5757
Built1665; extended 1851
Architect Philip Charles Hardwick
Architectural style(s) Perpendicular style
Listed Building – Grade II*
Designated19 February 1970
Reference no.1160184
Durham UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Shown in County Durham

Durham Town Hall is a municipal building in the Market Place, Durham, England. It is a Grade II* listed building. [1]

Contents

History

The Great Hall Durham Town Hall The Great Hall.jpg
The Great Hall

The current complex replaced an earlier timber guildhall on the site which was built in 1356 and replaced by a stone structure commissioned by Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall in 1535. [2] The earliest part of the current facility is the guildhall which was commissioned by Bishop John Cosin and dates back to 1665. [1] The town hall was extended in 1752, when George Bowes, the mayor, [3] commissioned extensive alterations to the mayor's parlor. [4] The facade of the town hall was completely refaced in 1754. [4] John Fenwick, a leading abolitionist, spoke at an emancipation meeting held in the hall in 1826. [5]

The complex was extended to the west, i.e. the rear of the guildhall, to create a town hall, which was designed by Philip Charles Hardwick in the Perpendicular style, in 1851. [1] The Great Hall inside the complex is 72 feet (22 m) long, is richly panelled and has a hammerbeam roof which is 56 feet (17 m) high. [6] The walls of the Great Hall are lined with wooden plaques commemorating some of freemen of the City of Durham including the footballer Sir Bobby Robson, the writer Bill Bryson and the cleric Archbishop Desmond Tutu. [2]

The complex also includes the council chamber which was the meeting place of the municipal borough of Durham and Framwelgate until 1974 and then of Durham District until it was dissolved in 2009; it remains the meeting place of the mayor and aldermen of Durham, who are now appointed by charter trustees. [2] The adjoining indoor markets, which were built around and underneath the town hall complex, opened on 18 December 1852. [7] Further alterations were made in 2008 including a new public entrance, disabled access and fire protection throughout the complex installed at a cost of £0.8 million. [8] [9]

The facility, which was opened to public viewing in November 2018, [10] includes a case displaying some of the belongings of Józef Boruwłaski, a court dwarf known as "the Little Count" who wrote the "Memoirs of Count Boruwlask", an autobiography of his life. [10] It also contains the original city charter, the city's civic sword and the pikes of the mayor's personal bodyguard. [6] The scabbard of the civic sword is described as being "of purple velvet, the colour of the old palatine of Durham". [11]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Historic England. "Town Hall and Guildhall (1160184)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 "Durham Town Hall". Britain Express. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  3. ↑ "List of former mayors" (PDF). Durham County Council. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  4. 1 2 Page, William (1928). "'The city of Durham: Introduction (3 of 3)', in A History of the County of Durham". London: British History Online. pp. 29–53. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  5. ↑ The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal. Henry Colburn and Company. 1826. p. 166.
  6. 1 2 "Durham Market Place". England's North East. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  7. ↑ "Durham Market Place" (PDF). Durham Pointers. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  8. ↑ "Hall gets new lease of life with £800,000 renovation project". Northern Echo. 15 November 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  9. ↑ "Durham Town Hall". BBC. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  10. 1 2 "Durham's calling! The town hall opens its doors and explores its own history". Chronicle Live. 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  11. ↑ "Civic insignia and Durham Town Hall". Durham County Council. The sword. Retrieved 4 July 2020.

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