Forres Town Hall

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Forres Town Hall
Mechanics' Institute Forres (geograph 5748830).jpg
Forres Town Hall
LocationHigh Street, Forres
Coordinates 57°36′40″N3°36′44″W / 57.6110°N 3.6121°W / 57.6110; -3.6121
Built1829
Architect Archibald Simpson
Architectural style(s) Neoclassical style
Listed Building – Category B
Official nameTown Hall, High Street, Forres
Designated30 March 1983
Reference no.LB31643
Moray UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Shown in Moray

Forres Town Hall is a municipal structure in the High Street, Forres, Moray, Scotland. The structure, which was the meeting place of Forres Burgh Council, is a Category B listed building. [1]

Contents

History

Plaque on the town hall commemorating its use as a hospital in the First World War Plaque on Forres Town Hall (geograph 3536989).jpg
Plaque on the town hall commemorating its use as a hospital in the First World War

The first municipal building in the town was the Forres Tolbooth in the High Street which was completed in the mid-16th century. [2] [3] It was primarily used as a prison and was rebuilt to a design by William Robertson in the Scottish baronial style in 1839. [4]

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the High Street, a masonic hall was erected in around 1790. [5] The hall was then re-modelled by Archibald Simpson in the neoclassical style in 1829 but, after the masonic lodge which had commissioned it got into financial difficulties in the mid-19th century, it was acquired by the local mechanics institute in 1855. [5] The façade of the building was then further enhanced to a design by John Forrest in 1901. [5] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with three bays facing onto the High Street; the central bay, which slightly projected forward, featured a doorway with a fanlight on the ground floor flanked by pairs of Doric order columns supporting an entablature with triglyphs. There was Venetian window on the first floor flanked by pairs of Ionic order columns supporting an entablature inscribed with the words "Mechanics' Institute". The outer bays were fenestrated with round headed windows on the ground floor and by pedimented sash windows on the first floor. The outer bays were also decorated, on the outer corners, by pairs of Doric order pilasters on the ground floor and by pairs of Ionic order pilasters on the first floor. At roof level, there was a modillioned cornice, a balustrade and a central modillioned pediment. [1] Internally, the principal room was the main assembly hall. [6]

The building was used as a British Red Cross hospital for wounded service personnel during the First World War and was then acquired by the burgh council for use as a town hall before being requisitioned for military use for the duration of the Second World War. [5] After the war the building reverted to municipal use but also continued to be used as an events venue: the rock band, the Silver Beatles, performed at the town hall during a tour of Scotland as the backing group for the pop singer Johnny Gentle in May 1960. [7] The building ceased to be local seat of government when the enlarged Moray District Council was formed in 1975. [8] The local masonic lodge, Lodge St Lawrence, continued to use the building as its hall until 1984. [5]

After Moray Council decided to close the building in 2017, the Forres Area Community Trust took over management of the building in July 2018 and, with financial support from the Scottish Land Fund, acquired ownership of it in March 2021. [9] [10] [11]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Historic Environment Scotland. "Town Hall, High Street, Forres (LB31643)" . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. ↑ "Forres Tolbooth". Prison History. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  3. ↑ "Forres Tolbooth". Forres Heritage. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  4. ↑ Historic Environment Scotland. "High Street, Tolbooth (LB31692)" . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Town Hall History" . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  6. ↑ "Main Hall". Forres Area Community Trust. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  7. ↑ "Tours and performances". Johnny Gentle. Archived from the original on 28 May 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  8. ↑ "Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  9. ↑ "Forres Town Hall a step closer to community ownership". Scottish Housing News. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  10. ↑ "A First For Forres Area Community Trust". Heritage Trust Network. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  11. ↑ "Forres Town Hall now under community ownership". The Northern Scot. 8 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
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