North Tawton Town Hall

North Tawton Town Hall
North Tawton Town Hall
Location	The Square, North Tawton
Coordinates	50°47′59″N3°53′51″W / 50.7998°N 3.8974°W / 50.7998; -3.8974 Coordinates: 50°47′59″N3°53′51″W / 50.7998°N 3.8974°W / 50.7998; -3.8974
Built	1849
Architectural style(s)	Neoclassical style
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name	Town Hall, including railings at front, The Square
Designated	8 October 1987
Reference no.	1105310
Shown in Devon

North Tawton Town Hall is a municipal building in The Square, North Tawton, Devon, England. The town hall is a Grade II listed building. ^[1]

History

Markets had been held in the town since 1270 ^[2] but were abandoned due to lack of trade in 1720: in the early 1840s civic leaders set about reviving the markets and decided to commission a new market hall financed by public subscription. ^[3]

The new building was designed in the neoclassical style, built by a local builder, J. Parish, in ashlar stone at a cost of £750 and was completed in 1849. ^{[1] [3] [4]} The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with three bays facing The Square; the central bay featured, on the ground floor, a segmental doorway with a fanlight, an architrave and a keystone, and, on the first floor, a segmental sash window. The outer bays were fenestrated by segmental sash windows on both floors and surmounted by pedimented gables. ^[1] All three bays were flanked by full-height pilasters. ^[1] Internally, there was an entrance hall with reception rooms on either side. ^[1]

The building was used as an events venue from an early stage and concerts in the 19th century included an orchestral performance with violins and piano led by the local concert pianist, George James Robertson, in February 1883. ^{[5] [6]} In the 19th century, petty session hearings alternated between Chudleigh Town Hall and North Tawton Town Hall. ^[7]

For much of the 20th century the parish of North Tawton was administered by Okehampton Rural District Council, ^[8] but, following the implementation of local government re-organisation in 1974, ^[9] North Tawton elected its own town council with public meetings held in the town hall. ^[10] In 2005, North Tawton was used as the location for the filming of Jennifer Saunders' BBC television series Jam & Jerusalem : the town represented the fictional Clatterford St Mary and the town hall featured prominently in the series. ^{[11] [12]} A local theatre group, Actors of North Tawton Society, maintained the tradition of delivering concerts, pantomimes and plays in the town hall into the 21st century. ^[13]

References

1. Historic England. "Town Hall, including railings at front, The Square (1105310)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 1 January 2022.
2. Jewitt, Llewellyn; Hope, W. H. St John (1895). "The Corporation, Plate and Insignia of the Cities and Corporate Towns of England and Wales". Bemrose and Sons. p. 158.
3. White, William (1879). History, Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Devon. Simpkin, Marshall and Company. p. 577.
4. Cherry, Bridget; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2002). Devon (Buildings of England Series). Yale University Press. p. 604. ISBN   978-0300095968.
5. "North Tawton". The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular. Vol. 24. 1 March 1883. p. 161. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
6. Register of Musical Professors: Robertson George James. Vol. 14. The Musical Standard. 23 March 1878. p. 174.
7. "North Tawton". Kelly's Directory of Devon. 1902. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
8. "Okehampton RD" . Retrieved 1 January 2022.
9. Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN   0-10-547072-4.
10. "Extraordinary General Meeting" (PDF). North Tawton Town Council. 6 January 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
11. "Not just Jam and Jerusalem..." BBC. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
12. "Women's Institute: It's not all jam and Jerusalem" . The Independent. 11 November 2005. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
13. "Actors of North Tawton Society". North Tawnton Town Council. Retrieved 1 January 2022.