Moot Hall, Mansfield

Moot Hall, Mansfield
Moot Hall, Mansfield
Location	Market Place, Mansfield
Coordinates	53°08′41″N1°11′48″W / 53.1446°N 1.1966°W / 53.1446; -1.1966
Built	1752
Architectural style(s)	Neoclassical style
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name	Former Moot Hall at north corner of Market Place
Designated	19 December 1955
Reference no.	1207177
Shown in Nottinghamshire

The Moot Hall is a former municipal building situated on one corner of the Market Place in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The Grade II listed building now operates as shops at ground floor level. ^[1]

History

Ornate pediment above the building

The first moot hall in Mansfield was a medieval structure which was rebuilt in the 16th century. ^[2] It was demolished, after it again became dilapidated. The current building was commissioned by the Countess of Oxford, whose seat was at Welbeck Abbey, in the mid-18th century. ^[3]

The building was designed in the neoclassical style, built in ashlar stone and was completed in 1752. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of seven bays facing onto the Market Place. Originally it was open on the ground floor, so markets could be held, with large columns to support the structure on the upper floors. It was fenestrated by tall sash windows on the first floor and square sash windows on the second floor. The central section of three bays, which was slightly projected forward, was surmounted by a entablature carved with the letters "HCHOM" (Henrietta Cavendish Holles [of] Oxford & Mortimer) and the year (1752), ^[4] and by a pediment with a gilded coat of arms of the Oxford family in the tympanum. The architectural historian, Nikolaus Pevsner, commented favourably on the "graceful pediment decorated in the Rococo taste". ^[5] Internally, the principal room was the main assembly room which measured 48 feet (15 m) long by 17 feet (5.2 m) wide. ^[3]

In February 1782, the moot hall was the venue for a lively debate, presided over by Lord George Manners-Sutton, on the proposals advocated by William Pitt for parliamentary reform including, specifically, the abolition of rotten and pocket boroughs. ^{[6] [7]} A further debate took place in the moot hall in February 1790 on the proposed repeal of the Test Acts, ^[8] and another debate took place in June 1794 on the increasing threat from France and the need to defend the county of Nottinghamshire. ^[9] A sum of £8,549 was pledged at the debate and the Nottinghamshire (South Nottinghamshire) Yeomanry Cavalry was formed in response. ^[10]

After civic leaders found the moot hall was inadequate for their needs, a group of local businessmen decided to form "The Town Hall Company" to develop a new Town Hall on the southwest side of the Market Place in 1835. ^[11] The moot hall was then converted for retail use and, in 1921, it was occupied by the local branch of Yorkshire Bank. By the early 21st century it was home of the local branch of Nationwide Building Society, ^{[12] [13]} and, after the building society also closed its branch, the ground floor was occupied by a local sweet shop known as "Carousel Candy", ^[14] and offices. ^{[15] [16] [17]}

See also

• Listed buildings in Mansfield (inner area)

References

1. Historic England. "Former Moot Hall at north corner of Market Place (1207177)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 10 April 2023.
2. "Mansfield Conservation Area Character Appraisal and Management Plan: Bridge Street and Market Place Conservation Areas". Mansfield District Council. p. 28. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
3. Groves, William Horner (1894). "The History of Mansfield". F. Murray. p. 347.
4. "24 Market Place". Mansfield Townscape. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
5. Pevsner, Nikolaus; Williamson, Elizabeth (1979). Nottinghamshire (Buildings of England Series). Yale University Press. p. 171. ISBN   978-0300096361.
6. Bailey, Thomas (1852). The Annals of Nottinghamshire. Vol. 15. Simkin, Marshall and Co. p. 97.
7. Cartwright, John (1826). The Life and Correspondence of Major Cartwright. Vol. 1. H. Colburn. p. 144.
8. Sutton, John Frost (1852). The Date Book of Remarkable and Memorable Events Connected with Nottingham and Its Neighbourhood. 1750–1850. Simkin, Marshall and Co. p. 183.
9. Bailey, Thomas (1852). The Annals of Nottinghamshire. Vol. 15. Simkin, Marshall and Co. p. 155.
10. "The South Nottingham Hussars Yeomanry". British Empire. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
11. "Annals of Mansfield from 1086 to 1999". Our Mansfield and Area. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
12. "The "Moot Hall" (formerly the Yorkshire Bank) on the Market Place, Mansfield. With floor plans". National Archives. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
13. van Tonder, Gerry (2016). Mansfield Through Time. Amberley Publishing. ISBN   978-1445659589.
14. "The history behind the buildings in Mansfield's Market Place". Nottingham Post. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
15. "The Moot Hall's Continuous Growth". Walton & Allen. 18 November 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
16. "Loans company opens branch". News Journal. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
17. "Coveted award for Everyday Loans company". Chad. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2024.