Market House, Martock

The Market House
The Market House
Location	Church Street, Martock
Coordinates	50°58′14″N2°45′59″W / 50.9706°N 2.7664°W / 50.9706; -2.7664 Coordinates: 50°58′14″N2°45′59″W / 50.9706°N 2.7664°W / 50.9706; -2.7664
Built	1785
Architectural style(s)	Neoclassical style
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name	The Market House
Designated	19 April 1961
Reference no.	1225758
Shown in Somerset

The Market House, also known as Martock Town Hall, ^[1] is a municipal building in Church Street in Martock, Somerset, England. The building, which is the meeting place of Martock Parish Council, is a Grade II listed building. ^[2]

History

A Tuscan order column, with a ball finial and a wrought iron weather vane, which had been modelled on a monument commemorating the Emperor Trajan at Wilton House, was installed in the market place in 1741. ^{[3] [4] [5]} However, until the mid-18th century, the only protection from the weather that market traders in the town enjoyed was an ancient oak tree. ^[6] In around 1753, the vestry started discussions about erecting a dedicated market house, although it was not until the Slade family acquired the local manor in 1759, that plans progressed: the then lord of the manor, George Slade, commissioned the building in the early 1780s. ^[7] The market hall was designed in the neoclassical style, built in ashlar hamstone and was completed in around 1785. ^[8]

The design involved a symmetrical main frontage facing south down Church Street; the ground floor was arcaded, so that butchers' markets could be held, with an assembly room on the first floor. There was a round headed opening with voussoirs and keystones on the ground floor, a Venetian window supported by brackets on the first floor and a semi-circular vent in the gable above. ^[2] The side elevations extended back four bays with sash windows on the first floor while the north elevation, which was also fenestrated by a sash window on the first floor, was surmounted by a turret containing a small bell. ^[2]

The manorial estate, including the market house, was purchased by Robert Goodden of Compton House in the early 19th century. The ground floor was used to accommodate the local fire cart from around that time and was then used to accommodate the local horse-drawn fire engine from the mid-19th century. ^[7] Following implementation of the Local Government Act 1894, which established parish councils, the assembly room became the meeting place of the local parish council. ^[9]

A plaque commemorating the exploits of the early aviator, Douglas Graham Gilmour, who had flown in a Bristol Biplane from Larkhill in Wiltshire to Hinton St George in Somerset in April 1911, was transferred from his hangar at Bower Hinton farm to the market house in June 1941. ^[7] The building remained in the ownership of the Goodden family until it was acquired by the parish council in 1954. ^[7] The building was restored in the early 1960s, at which time the rear two bays were infilled for use as public toilets. ^[7] A grant of £190,000 was obtained from the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore the building and establish a community office on the ground floor in 2008. ^[10] Following completion of the works, the parish council re-occupied the assembly room on the first floor. ^{[11] [12]}

References

1. Hey, David (1981). Buildings of Britain, 1550-1750. Vol. 6. Moorland. p. 106. ISBN   978-0861900213.
2. Historic England. "The Market Hall (1225758)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 10 April 2022.
3. Historic England. "The Market Cross Also Known As the Pinnacle (1266188)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 10 April 2022.
4. Collinson, John (1791). The History and antiquities of the county of Somerset With a map and engravings. Vol. 3. C. Dilly, G. G. J. Robinson and T. Longman.
5. Clarke, Benjamin (1852). The British Gazetteer, Political, Commercial, Ecclesiastical, and Historical. H. G. Collins. p. 187.
6. Robinson, W.J. (1915). West Country Churches. Bristol: Bristol Times and Mirror Ltd. pp. 6–10.
7. Baggs, A. P.; Bush, R. J. E. (1978). "'Parishes: Martock', in A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 4, ed. R W Dunning". London: British History Online. pp. 78–109. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
8. "Martock Information Centre". Martock Community Website. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
9. "Market House". Open Plaques. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
10. "Martock Community Office". Somerset Rural Renaissance. Archived from the original on 23 November 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
11. "Martock Information Cenntre". Martock Community Website. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
12. Gosling, Gerald; Huddy, Frank (1993). Crewkerne and the Ham Stone Villages in Old Photographs. A. Sutton Publishing. ISBN   978-0750903608. The Market House, Martock, seen here in 1923, has led a varied life since its erection in Georgian times. The building has been used as a fire station, and as a meeting place for the local council and other bodies.