Stoke-on-Trent Town Hall

Last updated

Stoke-on-Trent Town Hall
Stoke-on-Trent Town Hall (geograph 4569782).jpg
Stoke-on-Trent Town Hall
LocationGlebe Street, Stoke-on-Trent
Coordinates 53°00′17″N2°10′55″W / 53.0047°N 2.1820°W / 53.0047; -2.1820 Coordinates: 53°00′17″N2°10′55″W / 53.0047°N 2.1820°W / 53.0047; -2.1820
Built1834
ArchitectHenry Ward
Architectural style(s) Neoclassical style
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameJubilee Hall Kings Hall Town Hall
Designated19 April 1972
Reference no.1297959
Staffordshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Shown in Staffordshire

Stoke-on-Trent Town Hall is a municipal building in Glebe Street, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The town hall, which is the meeting place of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, is a Grade II listed building. [1]

Contents

History

The first town hall in Stoke-on-Trent was erected in the Market Place between Market Street (now known as Hill Street) and Hide Street in 1794: it had arcading on the ground floor to allow markets to be held and an assembly room was established on the first floor. [2] [3] After significant industrial growth in the early 19th century, particularly associated with the potteries industry, civic leaders decided to procure a larger structure: the site selected was north east of the original structure in the heart of the potteries manufacturing area. [4] [lower-alpha 1]

The new building was designed by Henry Ward in the neoclassical style, built in rusticated stone on the ground floor and ashlar stone above and was completed in 1834. [1] The design originally involved a symmetrical main frontage with just three bays facing onto the Glebe Street; it featured a large portico with three archways on the ground floor beneath four Ionic order columns supporting an entablature and a pediment. [1] It was extended with a north wing for use by the police in 1842 and a south wing for use by the courts in around 1850. [1] The outer bays in each of the two wings were slightly projected forward, enhanced with Ionic order pilasters on the first floor and pedimented as pavilions. [1] Internally, the principal room was a market hall in the centre of the building, [7] but the ground floor was remodelled in 1888 to convert the market hall into a public hall and to create a council chamber, a mayor's parlour and some municipal offices. [8]

Assembly rooms known as the King's Hall and the Jubilee Hall were constructed to a design by Thomas Wallis and James Albert Bowden behind the main structure in 1911. [1] [9] The town hall became the headquarters of the new county borough of Stoke-on-Trent in 1910 and King George V and Queen Mary visited the town hall and announced the town's advancement to city status on 5 June 1925. [10] The rock band, the Beatles, performed at a concert in the King's Hall on 26 January 1963. [11] The building remained the local seat of government after the formation of the enlarged Stoke-on-Trent City Council in 1974. [12]

The new city council inherited additional facilities at Unity House in Hanley which had been completed in 1973, but as part of an initiative to co-locate its staff, the city council vacated Unity House and constructed a civic centre to the immediate north of the town hall in 1992. [13] In 2012 the city council announced its intention to relocate some of its staff back to Hanley but into a newly built facility there. [14] [15] After a programme of refurbishment works costing £1.5 million was completed in 2018, the register office moved from Hanley Town Hall into the newly-refurbished building in October 2020. [16]

Notes

  1. The first town hall was subsequently used as a fire station and then as a drill hall before being demolished just before the Second World War; the site is now occupied by a car park. [5] [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staffordshire</span> County of England

Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands County and Worcestershire to the south and Shropshire to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stoke-upon-Trent</span> Human settlement in England

Stoke-upon-Trent, commonly called Stoke is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Burslem, Fenton, Longton and Tunstall form the city of Stoke-on-Trent, in Staffordshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stoke-on-Trent</span> City and unitary authority in England

Stoke-on-Trent is a city and unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of 36 square miles (93 km2). In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement in Staffordshire and is surrounded by the towns of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Alsager, Kidsgrove, Biddulph and Stone, which form a conurbation around the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newcastle-under-Lyme</span> Market town in Staffordshire, England

Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. The 2011 census population of the town was 75,082, whilst the wider borough had a population of 128,264 in 2016, up from 123,800 in the 2011 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kidsgrove</span> Human settlement in England

Kidsgrove is a town in the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England, on the Cheshire border. It is part of the Potteries Urban Area, along with Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. It has a population of 26,276. Most of the town is in the Kidsgrove ward, whilst the western part is in Ravenscliffe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanley</span> Human settlement in England

Hanley is one of the six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Fenton, Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the City of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staffordshire Potteries</span> Historic ceramic-producing region within the present Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England

The Staffordshire Potteries is the industrial area encompassing the six towns Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke and Tunstall, which is now the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. North Staffordshire became a centre of ceramic production in the early 17th century, due to the local availability of clay, salt, lead and coal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burslem</span> Human settlement in England

Burslem is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Tunstall, Fenton, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent form part of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It is often referred to as the "mother town" of Stoke on Trent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tunstall, Staffordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Tunstall is one of the six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Fenton, Hanley and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the City of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It was one of the original six towns that federated to form the city. Tunstall is the most northern, and fourth largest town of the Potteries. It is situated in the very northwest of the city borough, with its north and west boundaries being the city limit. It stands on a ridge of land between Fowlea Brook to the west and Scotia Brook to the east, surrounded by old tile making and brick making sites, some of which date back to the Middle Ages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stoke-on-Trent railway station</span> Railway station in Staffordshire, England

Stoke-on-Trent railway station is a mainline railway station serving the city of Stoke-on-Trent, on the Stafford to Manchester branch of the West Coast Main Line. It also provides an interchange between local services running through Cheshire, Staffordshire and Derbyshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longton, Staffordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Longton is one of the six towns which amalgamated to form the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent in 1910, along with Hanley, Tunstall, Fenton, Burslem and Stoke-upon-Trent. It is in the ceremonial county of Staffordshire, England

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potteries Museum & Art Gallery</span> Art museum & local museum in Stoke-on-Trent,UK

The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery is in Bethesda Street, Hanley, one of the six towns of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. Admission is free.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penkhull</span> Human settlement in England

Penkhull is a district of the city of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, part of Penkhull and Stoke electoral ward, and Stoke Central parliamentary constituency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potteries Shopping Centre</span> Shopping mall in Stoke-on-Trent, England

Potteries Shopping Centre is an indoor shopping centre in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, in the Staffordshire Potteries.

The federation of Stoke-on-Trent was the 1910 amalgamation of the six Staffordshire Potteries towns of Burslem, Tunstall, Stoke-upon-Trent, Hanley, Fenton and Longton into the single county borough of Stoke-on-Trent. An anomaly in the history of English local government, this was the first union of its type and the only such event to take place until the 1960s. The 1910 federation was the culmination of a process of urban growth and municipal change that started in the early 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Town Hall, Burslem</span> Municipal building in Burslem, Staffordshire, England

The Old Town Hall is a former town hall in Burslem, in Staffordshire, England. It is in the Market Place, in the centre of the town. It is a Grade II* listed building, listed on 2 October 1951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longton Town Hall</span> Municipal building in Longton, Staffordshire, England

Longton Town Hall is a municipal building in Times Square, Longton, Staffordshire, England. The town hall, which was the meeting place of Longton Corporation, is a grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tunstall Town Hall</span> Municipal building in Tunstall, Staffordshire, England

Tunstall Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street in Tunstall, Staffordshire, England. The structure, which was the meeting place of Tunstall Urban District Council, is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fenton Town Hall</span> Municipal building in Fenton, Staffordshire, England

Fenton Town Hall is a municipal building in Albert Square in Fenton, Staffordshire, England. It is now occupied by local businesses, a café and an art gallery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanley Town Hall</span> Municipal building in Hanley, Staffordshire, England

Hanley Town Hall is a municipal building in Albion Square in Hanley, Staffordshire, England. The building, which is used as the local register office, is a Grade II listed building.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Historic England. "Jubilee Hall Kings Hall Town Hall (1297959)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  2. "First Town Hall, Stoke". Potteries Heritage Society. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  3. Jenkins, J. G. (1963). "'Stoke-upon-Trent: Local government, economic history and social life', in A History of the County of Stafford". London: British History Online. pp. 194–205. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  4. "Ordnance Survey Map". 1882. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  5. "Work starts on site of Stoke-on-Trent's first town hall". BBC. 5 December 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  6. "New 74-space pay-and-display car park to open in this Stoke-on-Trent town centre". BBC. 5 December 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  7. "Stoke Town Hall, Glebe Street, Stoke". Staffordshire County Council. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  8. "Stoke Town Hall". Potteries Heritage Society. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  9. Skinner, Joan (1997). Form and Fancy: Factories and Factory Buildings by Wallis, Gilbert and Partners, 1916-39. Liverpool University Press. p. 10. ISBN   978-0853236221.
  10. "King George V and Queen Mary visit Stoke-on-Trent". Mace Archive. 5 June 1925. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  11. "The top 18 most haunted places in North Staffordshire including Trentham Gardens, Alton Towers and Burslem". Stoke Sentinel. 7 October 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  12. Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN   0-10-547072-4.
  13. "Freedom of Information Request: Cost of Civic Centre Stoke". Stoke-on-Trent City Council. 21 June 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  14. "Stoke-on-Trent City Council scraps Civic Centre sale". BBC. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  15. "New £45m Stoke-on-Trent council house not 'satisfactory'". BBC. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  16. "Registrars service to move to Stoke Town Hall". North Staffs TV. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2022.