Newcastle-under-Lyme Guildhall
LocationHigh Street, Newcastle-under-Lyme
Coordinates53°00′39″N 2°13′37″W / 53.0108°N 2.2269°W / 53.0108; -2.2269
Built1713
Listed Building – Grade II
Designated21 October 1949
Reference no.1196523
Newcastle-under-Lyme Guildhall is located in Staffordshire
Newcastle-under-Lyme Guildhall
Location in Staffordshire

The Guildhall is a municipal building in High Street, Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is a Grade II listed building.[1]

History

The building was commissioned to replace an earlier guildhall located just to the north of the current building.[2] The new guildhall was completed in November 1713.[1] It was a two-storey rectangular red brick building which was initially open at ground level, with rounded arches on all four sides and three pillars within to support the floor above; this enabled the lower level to be used for a market. The brickwork was ornamented with stone pilasters and topped with a balustraded parapet; the hipped roof was topped by a weatherboarded turret with a gilded weathervane. The upper room was used for meetings of the borough council, for the Quarter Sessions court and for public gatherings. A clock and cupola replaced the turret in the middle of the roof in 1830.[2]

Use of the Guildhall as a market ceased after a new Covered Market was opened in 1854, further along the High Street. Not long afterwards, in 1860-62, the building was significantly altered:[3] the arches on the ground floor were bricked up, a semi-circular extension was added to the north and a new portico and clock tower were built around the entrance on the south side (the new clock being provided by James Astley Hall, a former mayor). These alterations provided space for a new courtroom and expanded civic facilities.[2]

Although facilities for council officers were established in Ironmarket in 1890,[3] the upper floor of the guildhall continued to be the meeting place of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council.[4][5][lower-alpha 1] Monthly meetings of Newcastle Trades Council took place in the guildhall and it also served as a courtroom for the Newcastle Quarter Sessions.[5] The council was accused of "selling off the family silver" when the guildhall was converted for use as a public house in 1999.[10]

The guildhall fell into a state of disrepair before being refurbished in the early years of the 21st century and re-opening as a customer service centre in December 2008.[11] However the guildhall fell vacant after the customer service staff relocated to Castle House in Barracks Road in 2018.[11][8] It then became a community hub operated by "Support Staffordshire".[12]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The municipal buildings in Ironmarket, which were designed by Sugden & Sons, J. Blood and Snape & Chapman in the Flemish style, were completed in 1890.[2] The municipal buildings were demolished, to make way for the new library,[6] after council officers moved to the Civic Offices, designed by Bradshaw Gass & Hope, in Merrial Street in 1967.[7] The council then moved again, to new facilities at Castle House in Barracks Road, in 2018.[8] Meetings of the council are now held in the Astley Room, named after the local circus owner Philip Astley, at Castle House.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 Historic England. "The Guildhall, Newcastle-under-Lyme (1196523)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Jenkins, J G (1963). "'Newcastle-under-Lyme: Buildings and castle', in A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 8". London: British History Online. pp. 8–15. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  3. 1 2 "The Guildhall, Newcastle". The Potteries. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  4. ↑ Jenkins, J. G. (1963). "'Newcastle-under-Lyme: Economic history and social life', in A History of the County of Stafford". London: British History Online. pp. 44–54. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Being a young reporter at Newcastle's Guildhall was like 'being in the lion's den'". Stoke Sentinel. 11 January 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  6. ↑ "Demolition of the Municipal Hall, Ironmarket, Newcastle-under-Lyme". Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  7. ↑ Edwards, Mervyn (2017). Secret Newcastle-Under-Lyme. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1445664903.
  8. 1 2 "Civic Centre Move Scheduled". Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council. 7 March 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  9. ↑ "Meeting of the Borough Council of Newcastle-under-Lyme to be held in the Astley Room - Castle House" (PDF). Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  10. ↑ Edwards, Mervyn (2016). Newcastle-under-Lyme Pubs. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1445658490.
  11. 1 2 "Guildhall in Newcastle-under-Lyme to become a community hub". Baba Baboon. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  12. ↑ "Here's what's happening to this iconic town centre landmark after council signs deal". Stoke Sentinel. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
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