Halifax Town Hall | |
---|---|
General information | |
Architectural style | Classical style |
Classification | |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
Designated | 31 July 1963 |
Reference no. | 1314024 |
Town or city | Halifax |
Country | England |
Construction started | 1861 |
Completed | 1863 |
Cost | £50,126 [1] |
Client | Halifax Council |
Technical details | |
Structural system | Sandstone |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Charles Barry Edward Middleton Barry |
Halifax Town Hall is a grade II* listed, [2] 19th century town hall in the town of Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It is notable for its design and interiors by Charles Barry and his son, Edward Middleton Barry, and for its sculptures by John Thomas. The town hall is also the headquarters of Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council.
The Mayor and corporation first proposed that they build a new town hall in 1847. They suggested it again in 1853 after the town had become a borough five years earlier but they still had no central offices. They proposed it again in 1856. The later proposals were prompted by the 1853 Improvement Act, which allowed the borough to borrow £15,000 to build a town hall, courthouse and police station. The 1856 proposal was also prompted by John Crossley, who was at that time developing Princess Street and Crossley Street, using the architects Lockwood and Mawson who later designed Bradford City Hall. This may explain why the town hall blends in with several Crossley Street buildings, which are now listed as a group. [3]
The council, Edward Akroyd and John Crossley requested that Charles Barry judge the design entries; he disliked all three entries and was asked in turn to submit his own design. His design was accepted, but he died in 1860. His son, Edward Middleton Barry, completed the design which was erected on a 148 x 90 ft plot on John Crossley's land. The foundation stone was laid in 1861. [1] Whiteley Brothers were the builders. It was listed on 31 July 1963. [4] [5]
Three hundred and fifty-eight trains brought 70,000 people, and thousands more walked, to attend a two-day session of openings and visits in Halifax by Prince Albert Edward (the future King Edward VII) on 3 and 4 August 1863. There was a grand procession to the town hall on 4 August, through decorated streets. This was followed by a service in the Piece Hall at which thousands of children sang hymns while 870 police controlled the crowd. [4] [6] Perhaps Victoria herself might have opened the town hall, but for her widowhood in 1861 and her subsequent retirement from public life. Edward was 22 years old and had married the 18-year-old Princess Alexandra in March of that year. However, by 4 August, she was four months pregnant with the future Duke of Clarence, pleaded illness and did not join her husband for the opening, to much public disappointment. It rained:
"Even though shorn of its principal attraction through the unfortunate absence of the Princess of Wales, and though dimmed as regards its pomp and circumstance owing to the rain which fell at so very inconvenient a time, the opening of the new town hall by the Prince of Wales is still an event of which Halifax may well be proud ... The enthusiasm and almost unbounded devotion of a people to their future monarch has been symbolised in every form of decorative skill and beauty, by gay banners, many coloured flags and the ornamentations of the designers, vying with nature, ever profuse in her lovely gifts, to form floral designs of the most varied, chaste and unique description. Our very streets were redolent with the fragrance of the flower garden ... The rain began to fall somewhat heavily by eleven o'clock on Monday night and, as far as we can learn, continued to fall all night. From a very early hour in the morning it descended literally in torrents, ceaselessly, pitilessly. It would be impossible to calculate the amount of real misery experienced here." Halifax Courier , August 1863. [6]
When Edward arrived by royal train on 3 August, he was greeted with a salute by two guns on Beacon Hill, and a guard of honour comprising 300 soldiers. There was a banquet at Manor Heath, where 100 people serenaded him in the rain, then there was a balloon ascent and a firework display. Hundreds of men had to be drafted in to control crowds arriving at Halifax railway station, and more were placed along the line to control the hundreds of extra trains. When the town hall was opened to the public on 11 August, the mayor presented four marble busts of Victoria, Albert, Edward, and Alexandra. These were put in storage from 1954 after redecoration and restored to public view on 6 September 2008. [6]
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited the town hall in October 1937 and met civic leaders. [7] In 1958, the film Room at the Top was filmed in the town hall, at All Souls' Church and at Halifax railway station. [8] In 1994–95 the offices on the ground floor were double-glazed. [9] In 2006–07 the carved, wooden Overgate Hospice panel was presented to the town hall by local woodcarvers. [10] [11] In 2008 the town hall was judged one of the ten most spectacular in Britain by Architecture Today magazine. [12] Groups can visit the town hall by arrangement. [13]
The building is detached and built of sandstone in the classical style, with a tower and steeple at the corner. There is a rusticated basement and two storeys above with arcades, columns and arches. Around the top of the walls there is a balustrade with finials. There is a metal roof with skylights. The steeple is 180 feet high, metal-covered and decorated by John Thomas with statues representing the four continents. [13] The entrance has a porch with an arch and balustrade with ball finials. The other entrances on the west side have old iron lamp standards and new lanterns, and one has an iron balustrade. This building should be understood in the context of the whole group of buildings in Crossley Street, which are all listed. [14]
24,000 tons of local Ringby sandstone from Swales Moor was used for the building. The portico has the old Halifax coat of arms over its arches, with the heads of Wisdom, Justice and Mercy. [1]
This structure is 180 ft high, with a carved tile-effect on the spire. The four continent statues by John Thomas are as follows. Africa faces away from Crossley Street and consists of an ancient Egyptian and two boys. North America, above the tower portico, is a Native American with two small figures holding a paddle and a roll of tobacco. Europe, at the front of the tower in Crossley Street, has emblems of civilisation and refinement. After sculpting these, John Thomas died, and Asia was carved under the supervision of Daniel Maclise. Asia faces down Crossley Street, on the opposite side of the tower from the portico, and is a figure with a Chinese boy and tea chest and a child with flowers. On the corners of the spire are four seven-foot angels. [1]
The tower contains five bells by John Taylor & Co of Loughborough, the largest of which weighs 3 tons. The bells have not rung at night since 1918 when Dame Nellie Melba complained that they disturbed her at Halifax's Princess Hotel. [1]
A chiming clock was installed in the tower by John Moore & Sons of Clerkenwell in 1863; [15] this was replaced by a new Cambridge-chiming clock by Potts & Sons of Leeds in 1922, which was converted to automatic winding in 1965; [16] prior to this date the clocks had been hand-wound for over a century. The four clock faces have mottos carved over them, such as "Delay not to do well". [17]
Inside there is a branching staircase; one wall painting is by Daniel Maclise who had previously worked with Charles Barry on the House of Commons, and two are by J. C. Worsley. The main hall is galleried with a stained glass roof. The council chamber was built in c. 1900 in the upper half of the old magistrates' court. [14] The Victoria Hall has mosaic flooring and ornate plasterwork. [12] The hall was last decorated in 1996. [1]
This is 51 ft by 43 ft by 43 ft high. The building's mansard roof incorporates a twelve-sectioned blue and green glass ceiling, surrounded by yellow painted glass coving, for this room. [1]
The ground floor is paved with stone, encaustic tiles and marble. The old Halifax coat of arms is carved on the walls, and the new, College-of-Heralds-approved 1948 coat of arms appears in mosaic on the floor. There are plaques listing mayors, freemen, town clerks and recorders on the walls, and the room contains the Prince of Wales chair, made for the future Edward VII in 1863, carved with the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom and Halifax arms. [1]
The Calderdale coat of arms is carved above the doors, and above the doors painted ribs connect with the gallery balustrade above. The Committee Room with its decorated plaster ceiling leads off the ground floor hall. [1]
The balustrade is decorated with ironwork and the face of John the Baptist, because Halifax possibly means "holy face". There is a second gallery of doorways here, with decorative plaster panels above, and fluted pilasters between. There are repetitions of the "H" motif. Between the tops of the doors and the glass ceiling coving are cherubs supporting devices for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. One wall is mirrored to make the hall look longer, and all the arches have carvings above, representing the industry, the arts and law. There are photographs of past and present mayors of Calderdale on the wall. [1]
This leads off the gallery and was built over the high court room in 1901, taking the upper half of the room and its original stained glass ceiling. The centre of the glass ceiling has the pre-1948 coat of arms and, round the edge, are the four parts of the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom. The glass coving contains panels on the themes of justice and industry. The Calderdale arms is on the wall above the mayoral chair. [18]
The mahogany fittings date from 1901, and include carved chairs for mayor and aldermen. It was last redecorated in 1997. [1] The art nouveau stained glass door panels feature the "holy face" motif, as on the balustrade ironwork in the Victoria Hall, but in this case the face is of Viking appearance, perhaps reflecting the 19th century Viking revival and the perceived local genetic legacy. [18]
Accessed from the Victoria Hall gallery, this was originally designed as a reception room, so it has a grand, pink-painted, coffered ceiling, last painted in 1997. It is now the mayor's office and contains two oak mayoral chairs by Jackson of Coley, 1958 and 1960. The mace on the table came from Brighouse Town Hall after the council reorganisation of 1974. Some of the Calderdale official silver is displayed in this room, and it is carpeted by Sir John Crossley and Sons Ltd, because the company's namesake originally provided the land for the town hall, and financial backing. This room can sometimes be seen by appointment. [1]
This is next door to the Mayor's Parlour, and contains another pink, decorative ceiling, because it was originally designed as the council chamber. It was last decorated in 1997. [1]
The staircase is lit by daylight through the blue glass dome above, but the tower, spire and bell chamber are adjacent; the bells resonate powerfully in the stairwell. There is ornamental plasterwork including gilt lion-heads on the second landing and arches around the three paintings on the first landing. These paintings, by J. C. Horsley and Daniel Maclise, were presented by Sir Savile Crossley in 1911, the coronation year of George V. The Maclise painting has an Arthurian theme, perhaps emphasising the moral connection made at the time between gothic revivalism and chivalry of local government. The lift beside the staircase contains doors at right angles to each other, due to awkward access. [1]
This was the police station and cells until 1900, when premises in Harrison Road became the police station. Now the basement contains store rooms, strong room and staff canteen, although original Victorian cell doors are still present. The present strong room was the Air Raid Precautions control room in the Second World War. The basement is not open to the public. [1]
Alfred Waterhouse was an English architect, particularly associated with the Victorian Gothic Revival architecture, although he designed using other architectural styles as well. He is perhaps best known for his designs for Manchester Town Hall and the Natural History Museum in London, although he also built a wide variety of other buildings throughout the country. Besides his most famous public buildings he designed other town halls, the Manchester Assize buildings—bombed in World War II—and the adjacent Strangeways Prison. He also designed several hospitals, the most architecturally interesting being the Royal Infirmary Liverpool and University College Hospital London. He was particularly active in designing buildings for universities, including both Oxford and Cambridge but also what became Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds universities. He designed many country houses, the most important being Eaton Hall in Cheshire, largely demolished in 1961-63. He designed several bank buildings and offices for insurance companies, most notably the Prudential Assurance Company. Although not a major church designer he produced several notable churches and chapels. He was both a member of The Royal Institute of British Architects, of which he served a term as President, and a Royal Academician, acting as Treasurer for the Royal Academy.
Sheffield Town Hall is a municipal building on Pinstone Street in the City of Sheffield, England. The building is used by Sheffield City Council, and also contains a publicly displayed collection of silverware. It is a Grade I listed building.
Liverpool Town Hall stands in High Street at its junction with Dale Street, Castle Street, and Water Street in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and described in the list as "one of the finest surviving 18th-century town halls". The authors of the Buildings of England series refer to its "magnificent scale", and consider it to be "probably the grandest ...suite of civic rooms in the country", and "an outstanding and complete example of late Georgian decoration".
The Centre Block is the main building of the Canadian parliamentary complex on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario, containing the House of Commons and Senate chambers, as well as the offices of a number of members of parliament, senators, and senior administration for both legislative houses. It is also the location of several ceremonial spaces, such as the Hall of Honour, the Memorial Chamber, and Confederation Hall.
Capesthorne Hall is a country house near the village of Siddington, Cheshire, England. The house and its private chapel were built in the early 18th century, replacing an earlier hall and chapel nearby. They were built to Neoclassical designs by William Smith and (probably) his son Francis. Later in the 18th century, the house was extended by the addition of an orangery and a drawing room. In the 1830s the house was remodelled by Edward Blore; the work included the addition of an extension and a frontage in Jacobean style, and joining the central block to the service wings. In about 1837 the orangery was replaced by a large conservatory designed by Joseph Paxton. In 1861 the main part of the house was virtually destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt by Anthony Salvin, who generally followed Blore's designs but made modifications to the front, rebuilt the back of the house in Jacobean style, and altered the interior. There were further alterations later in the 19th century, including remodelling of the Saloon. During the Second World War the hall was used by the Red Cross, but subsequent deterioration prompted a restoration.
Halifax is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It is near the east Pennine foothills. In the 15th century, the town became an economic hub of the old West Riding of Yorkshire, primarily in woollen manufacture with the large Piece Hall square later built for trading wool in the town centre. The town was a thriving mill town during the Industrial Revolution with the Dean Clough Mill buildings a surviving landmark. In 2011, it had a population of 88,134. It is also the administrative centre of the wider Calderdale Metropolitan Borough.
Bankfield Museum is a grade II listed historic house museum, incorporating a regimental museum and textiles gallery in Boothtown, Halifax, England. It is notable for its past ownership and development by Colonel Edward Akroyd, MP, and its grand interior.
The Waterbury Municipal Center Complex, also known as the Cass Gilbert National Register District, is a group of five buildings, including City Hall, on Field and Grand streets in Waterbury, Connecticut, United States. They are large stone and brick structures, all designed by Cass Gilbert in the Georgian Revival and Second Renaissance Revival architectural styles, built during the 1910s. In 1978 they were designated as a historic district and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They are now contributing properties to the Downtown Waterbury Historic District.
The Church of Atalaia is a church in the civil parish of Atalaia, municipality of Vila Nova da Barquinha, in the Centro region of Portugal. The Renaissance-era religious building, has been molded by successive layers of Mannerist and Baroque decorative and structural elements, that include the portico, but whose origin dates to the Gothic architecture of the early 16th century. The unique central tower, Baroque azulejo tile-work and 16th century pulpit are important characteristics of this parish church.
William Swinden Barber FRIBA, also W. S. Barber or W. Swinden Barber, was an English Gothic Revival and Arts and Crafts architect, specialising in modest but finely furnished Anglican churches, often with crenellated bell-towers. He was based in Brighouse and Halifax in the West Riding of Yorkshire. At least 15 surviving examples of his work are Grade II listed buildings, including his 1875 design for the Victoria Cross at Akroydon, Halifax. An 1864 portrait by David Wilkie Wynfield depicts him in Romantic garb, holding a flower. He served in the Artists Rifles regiment in the 1860s alongside Wynfield and other contemporary artists.
Spring Hall, also known as Spring Hall Mansions, is a mansion situated off the Huddersfield Road, Halifax, West Yorkshire. A house had been built on the site by 1614, but it was demolished in 1870 leaving only the cellars. It was rebuilt in Gothic Revival style and completed in 1871 to a larger ground plan by architects James Mallinson and William Swinden Barber for Tom Holdsworth.
Victoria Hall, Saltaire is a Grade II* listed building in the village of Saltaire, near Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, built by architects Lockwood and Mawson.
General Register House is an Adam style neoclassical building on Princes Street, Edinburgh, purpose built by Robert Adam between 1774 and 1788 as the headquarters of the National Archives of Scotland. It is a Category A listed building.
Our Lady of Assumption Convent is a heritage-listed former Roman Catholic convent at 8 Locke Street, Warwick, Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Simkin & Ibler and built from 1891 to 1914. It is also known as Assumption College, Cloisters, and Sophia College. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
Warwick Town Hall is a heritage-listed town hall at 72 Palmerin Street, Warwick, Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1887 to 1917. It is also known as Footballers Memorial. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
Corn exchanges are distinct buildings which were originally created as a venue for corn merchants to meet and arrange pricing with farmers for the sale of wheat, barley, and other corn crops. The word "corn" in British English denotes all cereal grains, such as wheat and barley. With the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846, a large number of corn exchanges were built in England, particularly in the corn-growing areas of Eastern England.
Stanthorpe Post Office is a heritage-listed post office at 14 Maryland Street, Stanthorpe, Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by John Smith Murdoch of the Queensland Government Architect's office and was built by D. Stewart and Co in 1901. It was added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.
Brighouse Town Hall is a former municipal building in Thornton Square, Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Brighouse Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.
Elland Town Hall is a municipal building in Southgate, Elland, West Yorkshire, England. The structure, which was primarily used as an events venue, is a Grade II listed building.
Sowerby Bridge Town Hall is a former municipal building in Town Hall Street in Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire, England. The building, which was initially used as the offices of the local board of health and as a public events venue, then as the home of the local Liberal Club and later as a bank branch, is a Grade II listed building.