Helmsley Town Hall

Helmsley Town Hall
Helmsley Town Hall
Location	Market Place, Helmsley
Coordinates	54°14′46″N1°03′43″W / 54.2461°N 1.0619°W / 54.2461; -1.0619
Built	1901
Architect	Temple Moore
Architectural style(s)	Queen Anne style
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name	Town Hall
Designated	18 March 1985
Reference no.	1308328
Shown in North Yorkshire

Helmsley Town Hall is a municipal building in the Market Place in Helmsley, North Yorkshire, England. The structure, which is used as a community library and a community events centre, is a grade II listed building. ^[1]

History

The first municipal building in Helmsley was a tollbooth in the Market Place; it was primarily used as a butchers' market and dated back at least to the mid-17th century. ^[2] A school was established on the first floor in 1802 ^[3] and it was remodelled as a courthouse, with the county court on the ground floor and provision for petty session hearings on the first floor, in the mid-19th century. ^{[2] [4]} In the late 19th century, the lord of the manor, the 1st Earl of Feversham of Duncombe Park, decided to commission a more substantial town hall for Helmsley: ^[5] the site he chose, on the west side of the Market Place, was occupied by a branch of the York and East Riding Bank. ^[6]

The foundation stone for the new building was laid by the Duke of York on 20 June 1900. ^[7] It was designed by Temple Moore in the Queen Anne style, built in ashlar stone and was completed in 1901. ^[1] The design involved a nearly symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto the Market Place; the building was arcaded on the ground floor, to create a corn exchange, with an assembly room on the first floor. There were four wide openings to the corn exchange on the ground floor and, in the right-hand bay, a doorway with a rusticated archivolt which provided access to a staircase leading to the assembly room. There were four mullioned and transomed windows on the first floor and, in the right-hand bay, a French door with a wrought iron balcony. At roof level, there was a cornice and a central wooden lantern. ^[1] The architectural historian, Nikolaus Pevsner, was critical of the design and described the structure as a "serious, rather dull job". ^[8]

After the First World War, a plaque was installed on the front elevation of the building to commemorate the lives of local members of the 21st (Service) Battalion of the King's Royal Rifle Corps who had died in the war. ^[9] In 1958, the then lord of the manor, the 3rd Earl of Feversham, gave the building to the local parish council. ^[10]

The ground floor was subsequently converted for use as public library while the first floor continued to be used as a venue for community events. ^{[11] [12]} A tourist information centre was also established in the building, ^[13] but this was closed in March 2014. ^[14] The public library became a community library, managed by volunteers, in April 2017. ^{[15] [16]}

References

1. Historic England. "Town Hall (1308328)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 9 March 2022.
2. A History of Helmsley Rievaulx and District. Yorkshire Archaeological Society, Helmsley and Area Group. 1963. p. 310.
3. "History of the Feathers Hotel, Helmsley" (PDF). The Coaching Inn Group. p. 6. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
4. Houses of the North York Moors. Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England). 1987. p. 118. ISBN   978-0113000142.
5. "Helmsley". Kelly's Directory of the North and East Ridings of Yorkshire. 1913. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
6. Chrystal, Paul; Sunderland, Mark (2010). North York Moors Through Time. Amberley Publishing. ISBN   978-1445629728.
7. "1896 and 1900: The Duke of York's visits". Helmsley Archive. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
8. Pevsner, Nikolaus (1981). Yorkshire, The North Riding (Buildings of England Series). Yale University Press. p. 187. ISBN   978-0300096651.
9. "Helmsley (21st King's Royal Rifle Corps plaque)". War Memorials Online. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
10. "Welcome to Helmsley Town Hall" . Retrieved 9 March 2022.
11. "Community urged to back Helmsley Town Hall renovation project". Gazette and Herald. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
12. "Ideas call on future of Helmsley Town Hall". Scarborough News. 16 January 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
13. Uden, Tim (2005). BUG Britain and Ireland: The Backpackers' Ultimate Guide. Bug Backpackers Guide. p. 230. ISBN   978-0958179652.
14. "Malton and Helmsley Tourist Information Centres close". Gazette and Herald. 2 April 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
15. "Appeal for volunteers to help run Helmsley community library". York Press. 5 March 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
16. "Helmsley Community Library". North Yorkshire County Council. Retrieved 9 March 2022.