Letchworth Town Hall | |
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![]() Letchworth Town Hall | |
Location | Broadway, Letchworth |
Coordinates | 51°58′38″N0°13′47″W / 51.9773°N 0.2296°W Coordinates: 51°58′38″N0°13′47″W / 51.9773°N 0.2296°W |
Built | 1935 |
Architect | Robert Bennett and Wilson Bidwell |
Architectural style(s) | Neo-Georgian style |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
Official name | Town Hall |
Designated | 16 December 2009 |
Reference no. | 1393610 |
Letchworth Town Hall is a municipal building in Broadway, Letchworth, Hertfordshire, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Letchworth Urban District Council, is a Grade II listed building. [1]
Letchworth was developed in the early 20th century based on the ideas of the social reformer, Ebenezer Howard, and the master-planners, Richard Barry Parker and Raymond Unwin, around a boulevard known as Broadway, which formed the diagonal southwest-northeast axis of the proposed garden city. [2] After significant population growth, in part associated with arrival of the Spirella Corset Company in the town, the area became an urban district in 1919. [3] In this context civic leaders decided to procure a town hall: the site they selected was open land on the east side of Broadway. [4] At the same time they established Broadway Gardens, which was initially known as the Town Square. [5]
The new building was designed by Robert Bennett and Wilson Bidwell in the Neo-Georgian style, built in red brick with stone dressings and completed in 1935. [1] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with eleven bays facing the northeast corner of the Town Square with the wing sections slightly projected forward; the central section of five bays, featured a doorway with a fanlight flanked by Corinthian order pilasters supporting an open pediment on with a cartouche in the tympanum. [1] The wing sections featured prominent round headed windows with cast iron balconies on the first floor. [1] There were sash windows on the first and second floors and, at roof level, there was a clock tower with a cupola and a weather vane. [1] Internally, the principal room was the council chamber, which was panelled, on the second floor. [1] An electro-mechanical clock was installed in the tower to commemorate the life of Councillor Charles Francis Ball, [1] who had died in June 1933, and in whose memory the Ball Memorial Gardens were also established to the east of Norton Way South in 1936. [6] The building was initially called the "Council House", but was renamed the "Town Hall" in 1960. [7]
The building continued to serve as the headquarters of Letchworth Urban District Council until 1974 when that council was abolished on the formation of North Hertfordshire District Council, which, shortly after its creation, established its headquarters in a new office building nearby on Gernon Road. [8] [9] Letchworth Town Hall continued to be used as additional office space for the new council until 2007, when it fell vacant. [10]
After an extensive programme of restoration works to a design by Scott Brownrigg, [11] the building was re-opened as an administrative centre for North Hertfordshire College in 2013. [12] The clock in the clock tower, which by then had become one of the few remaining electro-mechanical clocks not to be replaced by an electrically motorised device, was restored in summer 2017. [13] [14]
Sir Ebenezer Howard was an English urban planner and founder of the garden city movement, known for his publication To-Morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform (1898), the description of a utopian city in which people live harmoniously together with nature. The publication resulted in the founding of the garden city movement, and the building of the first garden city, Letchworth Garden City, commenced in 1903.
Hitchin is a market town in the North Hertfordshire district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 33,350.
Welwyn Garden City is a town in Hertfordshire, England, 20 miles (32 km) north of London. It was the second garden city in England and one of the first new towns. It is unique in being both a garden city and a new town and exemplifies the physical, social and cultural planning ideals of the periods in which it was built.
North Hertfordshire is a local government district in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Letchworth.
Willian is a small village in North Hertfordshire. Along with Norton and Old Letchworth, it is one of the original three villages around which the garden city of Letchworth Garden City was created. Despite this, the village retains a separate character to the rest of Letchworth Garden City.
The garden city movement was a 20th century urban planning movement promoting satellite communities surrounding the central city and separated with greenbelts. These Garden Cities would contain proportionate areas of residences, industry, and agriculture. Ebenezer Howard first posited the idea in 1898 as a way to capture the primary benefits of the countryside and the city while avoiding the disadvantages presented by both. In the early 20th century, Letchworth, Brentham Garden Suburb and Welwyn Garden City were built in or near London according to Howard's concept and many other garden cities inspired by his model have since been built all over the world.
Hitchin Rural District was a rural district in Hertfordshire, England from 1894 to 1974, covering an area in the north of the county.
Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 33,249.
Letchworth Museum and Art Gallery was a museum in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, England. It had permanent displays dedicated to the natural history of North Hertfordshire, including the famous black squirrel, as well as its archaeology from remote prehistory to the turn of the twentieth century.
The Hitchin Museum and Art Gallery was a local history museum in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England, with an extensive collection that told the story of the town’s social history and of the rural industries that contributed to its prosperity.
Ealing Town hall is a municipal building in New Broadway, Ealing, London. It is a Grade II listed building.
Ashington Town Hall is a municipal building in Station Road in Ashington, Northumberland, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Ashington Urban District Council until 1974, is now the base of Ashington Town Council.
East Barnet Town Hall is a former municipal building in Station Road, East Barnet, London, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of East Barnet Urban District Council, is a locally listed building.
Colne Town Hall is a municipal building in Albert Road, Colne, Lancashire, England. The town hall, which is the meeting place of Colne Town Council, is a grade II listed building.
Royton Town Hall is a municipal building in Rochdale Road, Royton, Greater Manchester, England. The town hall was the headquarters of Royton Urban District Council.
Hitchin Town Hall is a municipal structure in Brand Street, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Hitchin Urban District Council, is a Grade II listed building.
Beaconsfield Town Hall is a municipal building in Penn Road, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. The structure accommodates the offices and meeting place of Beaconsfield Town Council.
Baldock Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street, Baldock, Hertfordshire, England. The structure, which now operates as an arts and heritage centre, is a locally listed building.
Howard Park and Gardens is a public recreation ground in Letchworth, in Hertfordshire, England, laid out when the garden city of Letchworth was created. It is listed Grade II in Historic England's Register of Parks and Gardens.
Broadway is a road through the centre of Letchworth, in Hertfordshire, England, laid out when the garden city of Letchworth was created. It incorporates Broadway Gardens, and is listed Grade II in Historic England's Register of Parks and Gardens.