Saltash Guildhall

Saltash Guildhall
Saltash Guildhall
Location	Fore Street, Saltash, Cornwall, England
Coordinates	50°24′30″N4°12′33″W / 50.4084°N 4.2093°W / 50.4084; -4.2093
Built	1780
Architectural style(s)	Neoclassical style
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name	The Guildhall
Designated	17 January 1952
Reference no.	1140371
Shown in Cornwall

Saltash Guildhall is a municipal building in Fore Street, Saltash, Cornwall, England. The structure, which was the meeting place of Saltash Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building. ^[1]

History

The first municipal building in Saltash was a small medieval guildhall with a bell turret on the north west corner of Alexandra Square. ^[2] A lock up for petty criminals was established behind the first building in 1818. ^[3] After becoming dilapidated in the mid 19th century, it was ultimately demolished in 1894. ^[4]

The second municipal building was a 16th century market house located about 50 yards (46 m) to the east of the original building. ^[2] It was reconstructed in the neoclassical style in brick and masonry between 1775 and 1780. ^[2] The market house was originally arcaded on the ground floor, so that markets could be held, with an assembly hall, known as the Long Room, on the first floor. ^[2] A series of Doric order columns supported the first floor structure. ^[2] Saltash had a very small electorate and a dominant patron (the Buller family), which meant it was recognised by the UK Parliament as a rotten borough: the right of the borough to elect members of parliament was removed by the Reform Act 1832. ^[5] In 1841, borough officials decided to relocate from the original guildhall to the Long Room in the market house which then became the new headquarters of the borough. ^[2] The borough council, which continued to meet in the new guildhall, was reformed under the Municipal Corporations Act 1883. ^{[6] [7]}

The west end of the ground floor was enclosed to create a soup kitchen in 1888, the east end of the ground floor was partitioned off to create a fire station in 1903, and the central section was enclosed in 1910. ^[2] The design at that time involved an asymmetrical main frontage facing onto Fore Street; on the ground floor, there was a round headed doorway with a canopy in the third bay from the right and round headed sash windows in most of the other bays. ^[1] Meanwhile, on the first floor there were five round headed sash windows. ^[1] At the west end, on the ground floor, there was another round headed doorway with a canopy, on the first floor there were two round headed sash windows and, at roof level, there was a central panel containing the borough coat of arms surmounted by a small pediment with a carving in the tympanum. ^[1] Internally, the principal room was the council chamber. ^[8]

The doctor and suffragette, Mabel L. Ramsay, gave a speech to an audience in the guildhall in September 1910 explaining how infant mortality was significantly better in countries such as New Zealand where woman already had voting rights. ^[9] A major programme of refurbishment works, which involved the renovation of the north wall and the roof, was completed in 1925. ^[10]

The guildhall continued to serve as the headquarters of the borough council for much of the 20th century ^[11] but ceased to be the local seat of government after the enlarged Caradon District Council was formed in 1974. ^[12] The guildhall subsequently accommodated the offices and meeting place of Saltash Town Council as well as the local tourist information office. ^[13] With financial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, further restoration work was carried out in 1998. ^[14] The Duchess of Gloucester inaugurated the Saltash Blue Plaque Trail at the guildhall in September 2016. ^[15]

References

1. Historic England. "The Guildhall (1140371)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 5 August 2021.
2. "Saltash Guildhall". Saltash History and Heritage. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
3. "Saltash Town Gaol". Prison History. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
4. "Elevation of granite bell turret to old Saltash Guildhall". Kresen Kernow. 1966. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
5. "The History of Politics: The Rotten Boroughs of England". Julia Herdman Books. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
6. Municipal Corporations Act 1883 (46 & 46 Vict. Ch. 18) (PDF). 1883. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
7. "Saltash MB". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
8. "Facilities for hire". Saltash Town Council. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
9. Andrews, Maggie; Lomas, Janis (2018). Hidden Heroines: The Forgotten Suffragettes. The Crowood Press. p. 34. ISBN   978-0719827617.
10. Beacham, Peter; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2014). Cornwall (The Buildings of England). New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 610. ISBN   978-0300126686.
11. "No. 45730". The London Gazette . 20 July 1972. p. 8690.
12. Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN   0-10-547072-4.
13. "Saltash Walk Gallery". BBC. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
14. "Guildhall, Saltash - Restoration". Heritage Lottery Fund. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
15. "Kensington Palace". The Royal Family. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2021.