St John's Hall, Penzance | |
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![]() St John's Hall | |
Location | Alverton Street, Penzance |
Coordinates | 50°07′08″N5°32′25″W / 50.1188°N 5.5403°W Coordinates: 50°07′08″N5°32′25″W / 50.1188°N 5.5403°W |
Built | 1867 |
Architect | John Matthews |
Architectural style(s) | Neoclassical style |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
Official name | Public Buildings |
Designated | 29 July 1950 |
Reference no. | 1143145 |
St John's Hall, formerly known as the Public Buildings, Penzance, is a municipal building in Alverton Street, Penzance, Cornwall, England. The structure, which was the headquarters of Penzance Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building. [1]
The first municipal building in Penzance was a market building in the Market Place which was built in the early 17th century. [2] This was replaced by a new market building on the same site which was designed by William Harris and completed in 1838. [2]
In the early 1860s, civic leaders decided that the town needed a dedicated municipal building: the site chosen was glebe land in Alverton Road some 200 metres (660 ft) to the west of the old market building. [3] The plan was for the west wing to contain a geological museum managed by the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, the east wing was to contain the municipal offices, the courtrooms and a police station while the central section was to contain the main assembly hall known as St John's Hall, a name which was eventually adopted locally for the whole complex. [4]
Foundation stones for each of west, east and central wings of the new building were laid by Charles Fox, President of the Geological Society, the mayor of Penzance and the High Sheriff of Cornwall respectively on 27 April 1864. [5] [6] The complex was designed by John Matthews in the neoclassical style, built in ashlar stone from Lamorna Quarry by Olver & Sons of Falmouth and was officially opened on 10 September 1867. [5] [7] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with eleven bays facing onto the Alverton Street with the end three bays on either side projected forward to form the wings; the central wing of five bays featured a flight of steps leading up to a round headed doorway with a fanlight flanked by pairs of Doric order columns supporting an entablature. [1] The top step, which was 18 feet (5.5 m) across, was formed by a single piece of granite. [8] There was a central Venetian window on the first floor and round headed sash windows in the other bays all flanked by pilasters with brackets above supporting a cornice. [1] A concert organ, designed and manufactured by Henry Bryceson, was installed in the main assembly hall, [9] and the suffragette, Helen Beedy, give a speech in front of an audience of 600 people there in December 1874. [10]
The building 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 when the enlarged Penwith District Council was formed at St Clare in 1974. [12] [13] The west wing included the Geological Society's museum which was open from 1815 to 1985 when the ceiling collapsed, [14] but after major funding for repairs and redisplay the new Cornwall Geology Museum was open until 2001 when further roof problems caused its closure, with the majority of the collection being moved to the British Geological Survey at Keyworth for curation and storage. [15]
However, with the resurgence of the St Piran's Day celebrations since the 1950s and the revival of the annual Golowan Festival in 1991, the hall became the traditional starting point for the annual parades to celebrate these events in March and June each year respectively. [16]
Following the completion of an extensive programme of refurbishment works, which included the conversion of the west wing into a public library and the conversion of the east wing into modern offices for the use of Cornwall Council staff delivering local services, [17] the building was re-opened by the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall in July 2016. [16]
Marazion is a civil parish and town, on the shore of Mount's Bay in Cornwall, UK. 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.
Penzance is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly 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.
Newlyn is a seaside town and fishing port in south-west Cornwall, UK.
Penwith is an area of Cornwall, United Kingdom, located on the peninsula of the same name. It is also the name of a former local government district, whose council was based in Penzance. The area is named after one of the ancient administrative hundreds of Cornwall which derives from two Cornish words, penn meaning 'headland' and wydh meaning 'at the end'.
Mousehole is a village and fishing port in Cornwall, England, UK. It is approximately 2.5 miles (4 km) south of Penzance on the shore of Mount's Bay. The village is in the civil parish of Penzance. An islet called St Clement's Isle lies about 350 metres (380 yd) offshore from the harbour entrance.
Madron is a civil parish and village in west Cornwall, Great Britain. Madron is named after Saint Madern's Church. Its annual Trafalgar Service commemorating the death of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson was started on 27 October 1946, following a local tradition that his death was first announced on British soil in the Union Hotel, Penzance.
The Morrab Library is an independent library based in Penzance, Cornwall in the UK.
The Manor of Alverton was a former manorial estate located in the hundred of Penwith, west Cornwall UK.
Castle Horneck is a Grade II* listed building, and refurbished Georgian mansion to the west of the Cornish town of Penzance. It is currently owned by the Youth Hostels Association (YHA) and has been used as a youth hostel since 1950.
The Royal Geological Society of Cornwall is a geological society originally based in Penzance, Cornwall in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1814 to promote the study of the geology of Cornwall, and is the second oldest geological society in the world, after the Geological Society of London which was founded in 1807.
Truro and Penwith College is a tertiary college and further education college in Cornwall, United Kingdom.
Penlee House is a museum and art gallery located in the town of Penzance in Cornwall, and is home to a great many paintings by members of the Newlyn School, including many by Stanhope Forbes, Norman Garstin, Walter Langley and Lamorna Birch. Penlee House is currently operated by Penzance Town Council in association with Cornwall Council. Well-known works from the renowned Newlyn School include The Rain It Raineth Every Day by Norman Garstin, School is Out by Elizabeth Forbes, Among the Missing by Walter Langley and On Paul Hill by Stanhope Forbes.
A civil parish is a country subdivision, forming the lowest unit of local government in England. There are 218 civil parishes in the ceremonial county of Cornwall, which includes the Isles of Scilly. The county is effectively parished in its entirety; only the unpopulated Wolf Rock is unparished. At the 2001 census, there were 501,267 people living in the current parishes, accounting for the whole of the county's population. The final unparished areas of mainland Cornwall, around St Austell, were parished on 1 April 2009 to coincide with the structural changes to local government in England.
The Market Building in Penzance is a Grade I listed building situated at the top of Market Jew Street, Penzance.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Cornwall: Cornwall – ceremonial county and unitary authority area of England within the United Kingdom. Cornwall is a peninsula bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall is also a royal duchy of the United Kingdom. It has an estimated population of half a million and it has its own distinctive history and culture.
Presented below is an alphabetical index of articles related to Cornwall:
Helston Guildhall, also known as Helston Town Hall, is a municipal building in Church Street, Helston, Cornwall, England. The structure, which is the meeting place of Helston Town Council, is a Grade II* listed building.
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.
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.
Jubilee Pool is an Art Deco lido in Penzance, Cornwall. It is Grade II listed, being recognised as the finest surviving example of its type with the exception of Saltdean Lido. With a capacity of 5 million litres and 600 swimmers and measuring 300 feet long and 160 feet wide, it is the UK's largest seawater pool.