Old Town Hall, Banbridge

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Old Town Hall, Banbridge
Tourist Information Centre, Banbridge (geograph 3816624).jpg
Old Town Hall, Banbridge
LocationScarva Street, Banbridge
Coordinates 54°20′56″N6°16′13″W / 54.3489°N 6.2703°W / 54.3489; -6.2703
Built1834
ArchitectMichael McGavigan
Architectural style(s) Neoclassical style
Listed Building – Grade B1
Official nameMarket Hall
Designated25 October 1977
Reference no.HB 17/06/009
United Kingdom Northern Ireland adm location map.svg
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Shown in Northern Ireland

The Old Town Hall is a municipal structure in Scarva Street in Banbridge, County Down, Northern Ireland. The structure, which currently accommodates a Community Advice Centre on the ground floor and a room for local community groups on the first floor, is a Grade B1 listed building. [1]

History

The current building was commissioned to replace an earlier market hall which was demolished to facilitate the construction of "The Cut", an underpass on the main road between Newry and Belfast. [2] The Marquess of Downshire agreed to pay for a new building [3] and civic leaders selected a site, just to the northwest of the old building, which had been occupied by the Bunch of Grapes Inn. [4]

The new building was designed by Michael McGavigan in the neoclassical style, built in rough stone at a cost of £2,000 and was completed in 1834. [5] It was arcaded on the ground floor, so that markets could be held, with an assembly hall on the first floor. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with three bays facing onto Bridge Street; the arched openings on the ground floor containing wrought-iron grills and there were round-headed sash windows on the first floor; the central bay, which slightly projected forward, featured a sandstone parapet bearing the Downshire coat of arms and the year of completion. [1] There was a clock turret at roof level. [1]

The area was advanced to the status of an urban district with the town hall as its headquarters in 1899. [6] The town hall continued to serve as the meeting place of Banbridge Urban District Council for much of the 20th century but ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged Banbridge District Council was established at Avonmore House in Church Square shortly after it was formed in 1973. [7] [8] The town hall was subsequently converted for use as the local Electricity Board offices and then became the local offices of Citizens Advice. [4] The building was badly damaged on 15 March 1982, when a Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb was detonated on Bridge Street killing a schoolboy and injuring 36 people, [9] and was harmed a second time on 1 August 1998, when a Real Irish Republican Army bomb was detonated on Newry Street, injuring 33 civilians and two Royal Ulster Constabulary officers. [10]

A programme of refurbishment works costing £126,000, which included the installation of a modern heating and power system and the replacement of the roof, was completed in 2012. [4] The building was subsequently re-opened as the local tourist information office but with a meeting room available on the first floor for the use local community groups including the Banbridge Historical Society. [11]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Market Hall (HB 17/06/009)". Department for Communities. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  2. ↑ "Bridge and retaining walls (HB 17/06/010)". Department for Communities. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  3. ↑ McBride, Doreen (2020). Banbridge: The Star of County Down. THP Ireland. ISBN   978-0750990936.
  4. 1 2 3 "Old Town Hall is re-opened". Banbridge Leader. 20 June 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  5. ↑ Lewis, Samuel (1849). A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland. S. Lewis & Co.
  6. ↑ Clancy, John Joseph (1899). A handbook of local government in Ireland; containing an explanatory introduction to the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898 : together with the text of the act, the orders in Council, and the rules made thereunder relating to county council, rural district council, and guardian's elections : with an index. Dublin: Sealy, Bryers and Walker. p. 441.
  7. ↑ "Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972". Legislation.co.uk. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  8. ↑ "No. 3656". The Belfast Gazette . 16 March 1979. p. 235.
  9. ↑ "An IRA bomb blitz killed a schoolboy and injured..." UPI. 16 March 1982. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  10. ↑ "Arson attacks follow bombing". BBC. 2 August 1998. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  11. ↑ "Historical Society on the move". Banbridge Leader. 8 September 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
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