Old Town Hall Chambers

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The Old Town Hall Chambers is a historic building in the High Street in Newport Pagnell, a town in Buckinghamshire, in England. The building, which served as a public events venue, is a grade II listed building. [1]

Contents

History

The building was commissioned by the British and Foreign School Society as a British School. The site they selected, on the southeast side of the High Street, was made available by the lord of the manor, Charles Marius Hardy, under a conveyance dated 11 October 1810. [2] Hardy had only just become lord of the manor earlier that year. [3] The new school was completed in 1811. [2] [4]

A new facade, designed by Richard Sheppard in the neoclassical style, was built in yellow brick and completed in 1845. It accommodated the county court in a room on the first floor. After a new school in Bury Street was completed in 1896, the building became vacant and, in 1899, it was leased to the Newport Pagnell Town Hall Company, for 99 years, at a rent of £10 a year, for use as an events venue. [5] Around this time, a new wing was added, in the Art Nouveau style, containing a stage and offices. In 1937, the building was acquired by the Church of England which renamed it Church House, although it continued in use as the town's main meeting place, hosting concerts, theatrical performances and dances. [4] [6] The building was not used for municipal purposes: at that time the offices of the local urban district council were at No. 60 High Street. [7]

By the early 1980s, the parish church council was in urgent need of funds for repairs to the Church of St Peter and St Paul and decided to sell Church House. [8] It sold the building to the Baptist church and the first Baptist prayer meeting there took place in July 1983. However, the Baptist church were in need of larger premises and relocated to the Lovat Hall in spring 1997. [9] [10] In 1998, the building was acquired by a developer and converted into apartments. [11]

Architecture

The two-storey neoclassical building is constructed of yellow brick, and has a slate roof. The design involves a symmetrical main frontage of three bays facing northeast along the High Street. The central bay is fenestrated by a recessed round headed window on the ground floor and by a small square window on the first floor flanked by giant Doric order pilasters on pedestals, supporting an entablature with triglyphs. The central bay is surmounted by a pediment, with a louvred oculus in the tympanum. The outer bays are fenestrated by segmental headed sash windows on the ground floor and by square headed sash windows on the first floor and there are additional giant Doric order pilasters at the corners. [1]

The Art Nouveau wing is to the southwest, and is built of red brick with stone dressings. The design involves a symmetrical main frontage of three bays facing southwest along the High Street. The central bay features a round headed doorway with long voussoirs which is flanked by brackets supporting a canopy. The canopy is surmounted by a row of seven segmental headed window openings. Above that there is a pebble-dashed panel and then another row of seven segmental headed window openings, all surmounted by pediment with an oculus in the tympanum. The central bay is flanked by triangular full-height pilasters. The building was grade II listed in 1972. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Historic England. "Old Town Hall Chambers (1309947)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  2. 1 2 "List of deeds for Newport Pagnell Properties". Newport Pagnell Historical Society. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  3. ↑ "'Parishes : Newport Pagnell', A History of the County of Buckingham". London: British History Online. 1927. pp. 409–422. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  4. 1 2 "Newport Pagnell Historic Town Assessment Report" (PDF). English Heritage. 14 September 2010. p. 68. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  5. ↑ Bull, Frederick William (1900). A History of Newport Pagnell. W. E. & J. Goss. p. 206.
  6. ↑ "Walk 53: Newport Pagnell Town Walk: It's as keen as mustard". Northamptonshire Walks. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  7. ↑ "No. 40818". The London Gazette . 29 June 1956. p. 3822.
  8. ↑ "Educational Trust". The Benefice of Newport Pagnell with Lathbury and Moulsoe. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  9. ↑ "Our story". Newport Pagnell Baptist Church. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  10. ↑ "Sale of land at the rear of Lovat Hall, Newport Pagnell" (PDF). Milton Keynes City Council. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  11. ↑ "Town trail". Milton Keynes Heritage Association. Retrieved 14 June 2024.

52°05′09″N0°43′34″W / 52.0857°N 0.7260°W / 52.0857; -0.7260

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