Old Town Hall, Torquay

Old Town Hall, Torquay
Old Town Hall, Torquay
Location	Union Street, Torquay
Coordinates	50°27′55″N3°31′39″W / 50.4652°N 3.5274°W / 50.4652; -3.5274
Built	1852
Architect	Mr Dixon
Architectural style(s)	Italianate style
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name	Old Town Hall, Union Street
Designated	10 January 1975
Reference no.	1291593
Shown in Devon

The Old Town Hall is a former municipal building in Union Street, Torquay, Devon, England. The building, which was the headquarters of Torquay Borough Council until 1911, is a Grade II listed building. ^[1]

History

The new local board of health for Tormoham, as the area was then known, treated the commissioning of a town hall as a key priority after it was formed in 1850. ^{[2] [3]} The building was designed by a Mr Dixon in the Italianate style, built in limestone and was completed in June 1852. ^{[4] [5]}

The design featured a three-stage bell tower on the corner of Abbey Road and Union Street; there was a round headed window in the first stage, twin lancet windows in the second stage and, originally, a triple-lancet arrangement of bell louvres in the third stage, ^[6] with a modillioned cornice and a shallow hipped roof above. On the Union Street elevation, the central section of three bays, which projected forward, featured a wide opening on the ground floor, a pedimented Venetian window with a balustrade on the first floor and a sash window with a cornice supported by brackets on the second floor. The outer bays featured round headed openings on the ground floor, pedimented sash windows with balustrades and cornices supported by brackets on the first floor and unpedimented sash windows with cornices supported by brackets on the second floor. At roof level, there was a modillioned pediment above the central section and a modillioned cornice above the outer bays. ^[1] Internally, the upper floors were used for the civic rooms while the basement and the ground floor were used as a lock-up for petty criminals. ^[7]

Following significant population growth, largely associated with the status of Torquay as a seaside resort, the area became a municipal borough with the town hall as its headquarters in 1892. ^[8] A manual clock mechanism and a series of clock faces were added to the tower in the late 19th century; ^[9] there is also a bell by Warner & Sons. ^[10] However, in the early 20th century, with the increasing responsibilities of local authorities, civic leaders found the building too small for their needs, and the council relocated to the new town hall further to the northwest along Union Street in 1911. ^[11]

The old town hall was subsequently used as office space until the mid-1950s when the first floor of the building was converted for use as a synagogue by the Torquay United Hebrew Congregation. The congregation dissolved and the synagogue closed in 2000. ^[12] Meanwhile, the ground floor of the building had been re-purposed for use as ladies' and gentlemen's public toilets. ^[13] In the 21st century, the first floor was converted for use as a bar, initially branded as Fat Catz and latterly branded as Bar Envy. ^[14] However, after the bar closed, the building was sold at auction in December 2021. ^[10]

References

1. Historic England. "Old Town Hall, Union Street (1291593)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 4 January 2022.
2. Kelly's Directory of Devon & Cornwall, 1914. [Part 1. Devon: County & Localities]. Kelly's Directories Ltd. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
3. Retallick, Leslie (2009). Torquay Through Time. Amberley Publishing. ISBN   978-1848686496.
4. "Torquay's Historic Buildings". Balmoral Hotel. 25 November 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
5. Cherry, Bridget; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2002). Devon (Buildings of England Series). Yale University Press. p. 858. ISBN   978-0300095968.
6. "Torquay in pictures". Facebook . Retrieved 15 April 2023.
7. "Torquay Lock-up". Prison History. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
8. "Torquay MB". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
9. Poulton-Smith, Anthony (2012). The English Riviera: Paignton, Brixham & Torquay Through Time. Amberley Publishing. ISBN   978-1445609478.
10. "Inside Torquay's abandoned old Town Hall and clock tower up for auction". Devon Live. 13 November 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
11. Historic England. "The Town Hall (1208247)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 4 January 2022.
12. "The former Torquay United Hebrew Congregation". Jewish Communities and Records UK. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
13. "This is when new pay-to-use public toilets will open in Torquay town centre". Devon Live. 26 January 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
14. "Pavement Café Permit Applications" (PDF). Torbay Council. 23 March 2006. p. 6. Retrieved 4 January 2022.