| Eye Town Hall | |
|---|---|
 Eye Town Hall | |
| Location | Broad Street, Eye |
| Coordinates | 52°19′16″N1°08′46″E / 52.3211°N 1.1461°E |
| Built | 1857 |
| Architect | Edward Buckton Lamb |
| Architectural style(s) | Italianate style |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Official name | Town Hall |
| Designated | 20 October 1971 |
| Reference no. | 1316536 |
  Shown in Suffolk | |
Eye Town Hall is a municipal building in Broad Street in Eye, Suffolk, England. The building, which is the meeting place of Eye Town Council, is a Grade II* listed building. [1]
The building was commissioned to replace the Corn Exchange in Broad Street, which had previously been used as a civic meeting place, and was largely paid for by the local member of parliament, Sir Edward Kerrison, 2nd Baronet. [2] It was designed by Edward Buckton Lamb in the Italianate style, built in red and brown brick with rhombus-shaped sections of flint decoration and was completed in 1857. [1]
The design involved an irregular and asymmetrical design with three bays facing east onto Broad Street. The central bay, which slightly projected forward, featured three narrow sash windows with cornices on the ground floor, a tall round headed sash window with an architrave on the first floor and a gable above; behind and to the right there was a two-stage tower with tall round headed windows in the first stage, a plain second stage and a dome and a lantern above. The north and south elevations both featured a single round headed casement window with a gable above, while west elevation featured five round headed casement windows with a cornice above. Internally, the principal rooms were the council chamber, which was on the first floor and reached by a spiral staircase, and the main hall. [3] There was also a lock-up for petty criminals in the tower. [4] A journalist writing for The Builder described the structure as a "very successful brick building", [5] whereas the architectural historian, Nikolaus Pevsner, described it as "the horrible town hall of 1857 with the horrible tower". [6]
A clock was installed in the second stage of tower at the expense of a local brewer and mayor, Charles Tacon, to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897. [4] The building was the venue for the hotly-contested result in the 1906 Eye by-election, when the returning officer revealed that the Liberal Party candidate, Harold Pearson, had won by just 197 votes. [7] A war memorial, in the form of a simple cross, which was intended to commemorate the lives of local service personnel who had died in the First World War, was unveiled outside the town hall in the presence of Colonel Sir Courtenay Warner on 24 July 1921. [8] [9] The leader of the British Union of Fascists, Sir Oswald Mosley, addressed a crowd in the town hall in January 1939 and claimed that, under a government led by him, "nothing would be imported into England that could be produced in this country." [10]
The building continued to serve as the headquarters of the borough council for much of the 20th century, [11] but ceased to be local seat of government when the enlarged Mid Suffolk District Council was formed in 1974. [12] Instead, the building became the meeting place of Eye Town Council. [13]
A limited programme of refurbishment works, which included repairs to the roof and to the brickwork, was carried out with financial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and from English Heritage and was completed in March 2011. [14] [15] The building was included on the Heritage at Risk Register [16] until a more significant programme of works, which included new toilets and upgraded lighting facilities, was carried out with financial support from Historic England, Suffolk County Council and Mid Suffolk District Council and completed in summer 2018. [17] Works of art in the town hall included a painting by Martin Archer Shee of General Sir Edward Kerrison, 1st Baronet; [18] [19] four paintings, including the portrait of Kerrison were vandalised during the execution of the works. [20]
Eye is a market town and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district, in the north of the English county of Suffolk, about 4 miles (6 km) south of Diss, 17.5 miles (28 km) north of Ipswich and 23 miles (37 km) south-west of Norwich. The population in the 2011 census of 2,154 was estimated to be 2,361 in 2019 and updated to 2,210 following the 2021 census. It lies close to the River Waveney, which forms the border with Norfolk, and on the River Dove. Eye is twinned with the town of Pouzauges in the Vendée department of France.
Suffolk County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the county of Suffolk, England. It is run by 75 elected county councillors representing 63 divisions. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association.
Eye Castle is a motte and bailey medieval castle with a prominent Victorian addition in the town of Eye, Suffolk. Built shortly after the Norman conquest of England in 1066, the castle was sacked and largely destroyed in 1265. Sir Edward Kerrison built a stone house on the motte in 1844: the house later decayed into ruin, becoming known as Kerrison's Folly in subsequent years.
Runcorn Town Hall is in Heath Road, Runcorn, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. It was originally built as Halton Grange, a mansion for Thomas Johnson, a local industrialist. After passing through the ownership of two other industrialists, it was purchased in the 1930s by Runcorn Urban District Council and converted into their offices. Since 1974, it has been the meeting place for Halton Borough Council.
Ealing Town Hall is a municipal building in New Broadway, Ealing, London, England. It is a Grade II listed building.
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Faversham Guildhall is a municipal building in the Market Place in Faversham, Kent, England. The structure, which was the meeting place of Faversham Borough Council, is a Grade II* listed building.
Chipping Campden Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, England. The building, which is the meeting place of Chipping Campden Town Council, is a Grade II* listed building.
Wayland Hall, also known as Watton Town Hall, is a community events venue in Middle Street, Watton, Norfolk, England: the structure, which also accommodates a local history museum, is a grade II listed building.
The Moot Hall is a municipal building in Market Cross Place in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England. The building, which is the meeting place of Aldeburgh Town Council, is a Grade I listed building.
Hadleigh Town Hall, also referred to as the New Town Hall, is a municipal building in the Market Place in Hadleigh, Suffolk, England. The building, which is the meeting place of Hadleigh Town Council, is a Grade II listed building.
Arundel Town Hall is a municipal building in Maltravers Street in Arundel, West Sussex, England. The building, which is the meeting place of Arundel Town Council, is a Grade II listed building.
Malmesbury Town Hall is a municipal building in Cross Hayes in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England. The structure, which is the meeting place of Malmesbury Town Council and the home of the Athelstan Museum, is a Grade II listed building.
Dumbarton Municipal Buildings is a structure in Glasgow Road, Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. The structure, which is used as a venue for weddings and civil partnership ceremonies, is a Category B listed building.
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