Old Town Hall, Haltwhistle

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Old Town Hall
The (former) Town Hall, Main Street - geograph.org.uk - 2872603.jpg
The building in 2012
LocationMain Street, Haltwhistle
Coordinates 54°58′16″N2°27′25″W / 54.9712°N 2.4569°W / 54.9712; -2.4569
Built1861
Architectural style(s) Neoclassical style
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameGeorgie Girl Hair Salon (formerly the town hall)
Designated26 July 1987
Reference no.1370315
Northumberland UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Shown in Northumberland

The Old Town Hall, also known as The Old Courthouse, [1] is a former municipal building in Main Street, Haltwhistle, a town in Northumberland, England. The building, which is currently in use in part as a hair salon, and in part as commercial offices, is a Grade II listed building. [2]

Contents

History

Following significant population growth, largely associated with its status as a market town, parish leaders in Haltwhistle decided to commission a town hall. The site they selected was at the east end of the town on the north side of Main Street. [3] [4] The building was designed in the neoclassical style, built in ashlar stone and was completed in 1861. [5] Internally, the principal rooms were a police station and a mechanics' institute on the ground floor, and an assembly room, capable of accommodating 350 people, on the first floor. There was also a library with approximately 1,000 books. The assembly room was used for concerts and theatrical performances, [6] and was regularly used as the venue for the local petty sessions. [7] [8]

The architectural historian, Nikolaus Pevsner, was impressed with the design and described it as having "echoes of Vanbrugh", referring to the prominent architect, Sir John Vanbrugh. [9]

By the mid-19th century, the building was no longer in municipal use but it continued to be used by the Northumberland County Constabulary. [10] After the police relocated to new premises in Aesica Road in Haltwhistle, [11] the old town hall was made available for commercial use and later served in part as a hair salon, and in part as commercial offices. [1] It was grade II listed in 1987. [2]

Architecture

The two-storey building is constructed of sandstone, and has a slate roof. It is seven bays wide, and has a rusticated ground floor, with three four-panel doors with voussoirs, and three segmental headed sash windows also with voussoirs. The first floor is fenestrated by sash windows with architraves and window sills, above which there are heavy cornices. At roof level, there is a cornice supported by moulded stone brackets and a central segmentally-pedimented gablet, which formerly contained a clock. [2]

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References

  1. 1 2 "AEG Water Solutions Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 Historic England. "Georgie Girl Hair Salon (formerly the town hall) (1370315)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  3. ↑ "Walk 6: Bastles and Burn, Railways and Reivers". Haltwhistle Walking Festival. 1 April 2021. p. 4. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  4. ↑ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1914. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  5. ↑ Platten, Stephen (2022). Northumberland A Guide. Sacristy Press. p. 113. ISBN   978-1789592313.
  6. ↑ "Kelly's Directory of Northumberland". 1894.
  7. ↑ Greenwood, Henry C.; Martin, Temple C. (1874). A Magisterial and Police Guide: Being the Statute Law, with Notes and References to the Most Recently Decided Cases, Relating to the Procedure, Jurisdiction, and Duties of Magistrates and Police Authorities. Stevens and Haynes. p. 854.
  8. ↑ Knight, Charles (1867). Geography Or, First Division of "The English Encyclopædia". Vol. 3. Bradbury, Evans & Company. p. 127.
  9. ↑ Pevsner, Nikolaus; Grundy, John; McCombie, Grace; Ryder, Peter; Welfare, Humphrey (1992). Buildings of England: Northumberland. Yale University Press. p. 301. ISBN   978-0300096385.
  10. ↑ "Haltwhistle". RSearch UK. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  11. ↑ "Eight former Northumbria Police stations are put up for sale". Chronicle Live. 14 October 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
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