| Durham Town Hall | |
|---|---|
 Durham Town Hall | |
| Location | Market Place, Durham |
| Coordinates | 54°46′38″N1°34′33″W / 54.7773°N 1.5757°W |
| Built | 1665; extended 1851 |
| Architect | Philip Charles Hardwick |
| Architectural style(s) | Perpendicular style |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Designated | 19 February 1970 |
| Reference no. | 1160184 |
  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]
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]
Durham is a cathedral city and civil parish in the county of Durham, England. It is the county town and contains the headquarters of Durham County Council, the unitary authority which governs the district of County Durham. The built-up area had a population of 50,510 at the 2021 Census.
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre, guildhall, or municipal building is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city or town council and at least some other arms of the local government. It also often functions as the office of the mayor, if the relevant municipality has such an officer. In large cities, the local government is often administratively expansive, and the city hall may bear more resemblance to a municipal capitol building.
The Borough of Stafford is a local government district with borough status in Staffordshire, England. It is named after Stafford, its largest town, which is where the council is based. The borough also includes the towns of Stone and Eccleshall, as well as numerous villages and surrounding rural areas.
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The City of Durham was, from 1974 to 2009, a non-metropolitan district of County Durham in North East England, with the status of borough and city.
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