Old Town Hall, Falmouth

Last updated

Old Town Hall
The Old Town Hall, Falmouth.jpg
The building in 2017
LocationHigh Street, Falmouth, Cornwall
Coordinates 50°09′27″N5°04′22″W / 50.1574°N 5.0728°W / 50.1574; -5.0728
Built1710
Architectural style(s) Queen Anne style
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameThe Old Town Hall
Designated9 September 1968
Reference no. 1270068
Cornwall UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Shown in Cornwall

The Old Town Hall is a historic building in the High Street in Falmouth, Cornwall, a town in England. The structure, which accommodates a small art gallery, is a Grade II* listed building. [1]

Contents

History

The building was commissioned as a Congregational chapel probably around 1700. [2] It was designed in the Queen Anne style, built in brick, and was completed in around 1710. It is one of the oldest surviving non-conformist chapels in Cornwall, with only the Marazion Quaker Meeting House being older, and the one in Kea being of similar date. [1]

In 1715, a new, larger chapel was constructed, and the old building was acquired by the lord of the manor, Martin Lister Killigrew of Arwenack Manor. [1] He presented it to the people of Falmouth, together with two ceremonial maces, in 1725, [3] and the local corporation then used it as a town hall. It was also used as a courthouse, accommodating both the assizes and the County Court. Following the implementation of the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, [4] the mayor, aldermen and burgesses of Falmouth were replaced by an elected council which met in the town hall to discuss issues such as the response to the cholera pandemic of September 1849. [2] [5] The responses included whitewashing the town hall and altering the diet of patients being treated there. [6]

In 1866 the corporation moved to larger premises on The Moor, now the Palacio Lounge, [7] and the old town hall was sold to the Odd Fellows. However, it continued to be used for judicial purposes: in 1884, it was the venue for the initial hearing, before magistrates, of the case of R v Dudley and Stephens , the trial of two sailors accused of cannibalism, having eaten the cabin boy when marooned at sea on the yacht, the Mignonette. The magistrates at Falmouth referred the matter to the assizes at Exeter and the sailors were eventually sentenced to 6 months in prison. [8] [9] [10]

In 1948, the Odd Fellows sold the hall, which was converted into an antiques shop in 1986, [11] and which, since June 2015, has served as an art gallery. [12] [13] Significant works of art in the gallery include a painting by the local artist, John Opie, depicting a beggar boy. [14] [15]

Architecture

The building is constructed of painted brick, with the quoins and the Gibbs surrounds finished in a rusticated stucco style. The design involves a symmetrical main frontage of three bays facing the High Street. The central bay features a short flight of steps leading up to a doorway with a fanlight and a Gibbs surround. The outer bays are fenestrated by round headed windows, also with Gibbs surrounds. At roof level, there is a cornice and a parapet. Internally, the building is two rooms deep. Inside, there is a decorative plaster ceiling, 18th-century dado panelling, and a staircase with reused 18th century elements. The building was grade II* listed in 1968. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falmouth, Cornwall</span> Town in Cornwall, England

Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Opie</span> English historical and portrait painter (1761–1807)

John Opie was an English historical and portrait painter. He painted many great men and women of his day, including members of the British Royal Family, and others who were notable in the artistic and literary professions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marazion</span> Town in southwest Cornwall, England

Marazion is a civil parish and town, on the shore of Mount's Bay in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Penzance and the tidal island of St Michael's Mount is half-a-mile offshore. At low water a causeway links it to the town and at high water passenger boats carry visitors between Marazion and St Michael's Mount. Marazion is a tourist resort with an active community of artists who produce and sell paintings and pottery in the town's art galleries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penzance</span> Town in Cornwall, England

Penzance is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about 64 miles (103 km) west-southwest of Plymouth and 255 miles (410 km) west-southwest of London. Situated in the shelter of Mount's Bay, the town faces south-east onto the English Channel, is bordered to the west by the fishing port of Newlyn, to the north by the civil parish of Madron and to the east by the civil parish of Ludgvan. The civil parish includes the town of Newlyn and the villages of Mousehole, Paul, Gulval, and Heamoor. Granted various royal charters from 1512 onwards and incorporated on 9 May 1614, it has a population of 21,200.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redruth</span> Town and civil parish in Cornwall, England

Redruth is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The population of Redruth was 14,018 at the 2011 census. In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, which also includes Carn Brea, Illogan and several satellite villages, stood at 55,400 making it the largest conurbation in Cornwall. Redruth lies approximately at the junction of the A393 and A3047 roads, on the route of the old London to Land's End trunk road, and is approximately 9 miles (14 km) west of Truro, 12 miles (19 km) east of St Ives, 18 miles (29 km) north east of Penzance and 11 miles (18 km) north west of Falmouth. Camborne and Redruth together form the largest urban area in Cornwall and before local government reorganisation were an urban district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Scott Tuke</span> English painter and photographer

Henry Scott Tuke, was an English artist. His most notable work was in the Impressionist style and he is best known for his paintings of nude boys and young men.

Flushing is a coastal village in the civil parish of Mylor, west Cornwall, UK. It is 3 miles (5 km) east of Penryn and 10 miles (16 km) south of Truro. It faces Falmouth across the Penryn River, an arm of the Carrick Roads. The village is known for its yearly Regatta week in July.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penryn, Cornwall</span> Town in Cornwall, England

Penryn is a civil parish and town in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is on the Penryn River about 1 mile (1.6 km) northwest of Falmouth. The population was 7,166 in the 2001 census and had been reduced to 6,812 in the 2011 census, a drop of more than 300 people across the ten-year time gap. There are two electoral wards covering Penryn: 'Penryn East and Mylor' and 'Penryn West'. The total population of both wards in the 2011 census was 9,790.

A custom of the sea is a custom said to be practiced by the officers and crew of ships and boats in the open sea, as distinguished from maritime law, which is a distinct and coherent body of law governing maritime questions and offenses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Truro railway station</span> Railway station in Cornwall, England

Truro railway station serves the city of Truro, Cornwall, England. The station is on the Cornish Main Line and is the junction for the Maritime Line to Falmouth Docks. It is situated at milepost 300.75 miles (484.01 km) from London Paddington, which is measured via Bristol Temple Meads, although most trains use the shorter route via Newbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society</span> Educational and scientific centre in Falmouth, England

The Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society is an educational, cultural and scientific charity, as well as a local arts and cinema venue, based in Falmouth, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The Society exists to promote innovation in the arts and sciences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Maritime Museum Cornwall</span> Museum in Cornwall, England

The National Maritime Museum, Cornwall is located in a harbourside building at Falmouth in Cornwall, England. The building was designed by architect M. J. Long, following an architectural design competition managed by RIBA Competitions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of King Charles the Martyr, Falmouth</span> Church in Cornwall, England

The Church of King Charles the Martyr is a parish church in the Church of England situated in the centre of Falmouth, Cornwall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falmouth Art Gallery</span> Publicly funded art museum in Falmouth, Cornwall

Falmouth Art Gallery is a publicly funded art gallery in Cornwall, with one of the leading art collections in Cornwall and southwest England, which features work by old masters, major Victorian artists, British and French Impressionists, leading surrealists and maritime artists, children's book illustrators, automata, contemporary painters and printmakers. It is located on The Moor, on the upper floor of the Municipal Buildings above the Library in Falmouth, Cornwall.

<i>R v Dudley and Stephens</i> Leading English criminal case of 1884

R v Dudley and Stephens (1884) 14 QBD 273, DC is a leading English criminal case which established a precedent throughout the common law world that necessity is not a defence to a charge of murder. The case concerned survival cannibalism following a shipwreck, and its purported justification on the basis of a custom of the sea.

Ebenezer Baptist Chapel is a Reformed Baptist and Evangelical church, located at the southern end of Broad Street at Chapel Hill, overlooking the western arm of Manor Road in Newquay, Cornwall. It is one of the oldest religious building in Newquay, and was founded in 1822 as Ebenezer Baptist Chapel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penryn Town Hall</span> Municipal building in Penryn, Cornwall, England

Penryn Town Hall is a municipal building in Higher Market Street, Penryn, Cornwall, England. The structure, which is used as an events venue and also incorporates a local history museum, is a Grade II* listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Municipal Buildings, Falmouth</span> Municipal building in Falmouth, Cornwall, England

The Municipal Buildings are based on The Moor in Falmouth, Cornwall, England. The structure, which currently accommodates both Falmouth Art Gallery and Falmouth Library, is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palacio Lounge</span> Municipal building in Falmouth, Cornwall, England

The Palacio Lounge is a former municipal building on The Moor in Falmouth, Cornwall, a town in England. The structure, which currently operates as a restaurant and bar, is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isles of Scilly Town Hall</span> Municipal building in Hugh Town, Isles of Scilly, England

The Isles of Scilly Town Hall is a municipal building in Hugh Town, on the Isles of Scilly, in England. The building, which serves as the offices of Council of the Isles of Scilly, is a Grade II listed building.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Historic England. "The Old Town Hall (1270068)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Blue plaque is to go up on Falmouth's Old Town Hall". Falmouth Packet. 15 April 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  3. ↑ Gay, Susan E. (1903). Old Falmouth. Headley Brothers. p. 57. ISBN   978-1-4710-4716-9.
  4. ↑ "Municipal Corporations Act 1835". UK Parliament. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  5. ↑ "The Cholera" (PDF). Royal Cornwall Gazette. 7 September 1849.
  6. ↑ "Minutes of the Board of Guardians held at Falmouth". pp. 96–98. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  7. ↑ Historic England. "Former town hall and attached former fire station (1269980)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  8. ↑ "The Story of the Mignonette". National Maritime Museum, Cornwall. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  9. ↑ "When a ship's crew admitted in Cornwall to eating their cabin boy". Cornwall Live. 13 September 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  10. ↑ "Cannibalism at sea: the starving Victorian sailors who ate a cabin boy". History Extra. 24 May 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  11. ↑ "Old Town Hall Antiques". Antique Dealers. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  12. ↑ "Falmouth's First Town Hall, 1725 -1866". The Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  13. ↑ "The Old Town Hall Gallery has Opened its Doors". The Packet. 29 June 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  14. ↑ "Old Town Hall Gallery". Falmouth.co.uk. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  15. ↑ "John Opie". Cornwall Artists. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.