Aberystwyth Town Hall ( cy, Neuadd y Dref Aberystwyth) is a municipal structure in Queen's Square,

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...

, Wales. The structure, which was the headquarters of Aberystwyth Borough Council, has operated since 2012 as a public library and a pensioners' day centre.

History

The first town hall in Aberystwyth, which was located at the top of Great Darkgate Street, was completed in the 18th century. It was replaced by a new building at the top of Portland Street which was designed by William Coulthart in the Neo-Georgian style, built in

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

stone and was completed in 1851. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with nine bays facing onto Queen's Square; the central section of three bays formed a full-height

tetrastyle A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

with

Ionic order The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...

columns supporting an

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

and a

modillion A modillion is an ornate bracket, more horizontal in shape and less imposing than a corbel. They are often seen underneath a cornice which it helps to support. Modillions are more elaborate than dentils (literally translated as small teeth). All ...

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

; there were single storey sections on either side with

sash window A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned window (architecture), paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double gla ...

s and a

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...

at roof level. This building was badly damaged in a fire on 10 September 1957. After the fire-damaged building had been demolished, a third town hall, designed by Sidney Colwyn Foulkes in a similar style to the second building was built on the same site by The Norwest Construction Company and officially opened by the

Lord Mayor of Cardiff This is a list of mayors of Cardiff, Wales. The first mayor recorded for Cardiff was in 1126 though the title was generally given to the Constable or military governor of Cardiff Castle.

, Edward Ewart Pearce, on 2 May 1962.Plaques of the front of the building However, there were differences: the new building incorporated a high wall behind the new portico so accentuating its profile, the new pediment featured a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

in the tympanum and the detailing on the new side sections was minimal. The building continued to serve as the headquarters of the Aberystwyth Borough Council for much of the rest of the 20th century and remained the meeting place of the enlarged

Ceredigion District Council Ceredigion District Council was one of six district-level authorities in the county of Dyfed, Wales, from 1974 until 1996. The district had an identical area to the pre-1974 administrative county of Cardiganshire. From its creation in 1974 the ...

after it was formed in 1974. However, it ceased to be the local seat of government when the new

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

Ceredigion County Council Ceredigion County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Ceredigion) is the governing body for the county of Ceredigion, since 1996 one of the unitary authorities of Wales. The council's main offices are in Aberaeron. History The current council was created ...

, was formed at

Aberaeron Aberaeron, previously anglicised as Aberayron, is a town, community, and electoral ward between Aberystwyth and Cardigan, in Ceredigion, Wales. Ceredigion County Council offices are in Aberaeron. The name of the town is Welsh for ''mouth of the ...

in 1996. Ceredigion County Council continued to use the building for the delivery of local services but moved out to new offices on Boulevard St Brieuc in 2009. An extensive programme of works to establish a new library and a new pensioners' day centre in the town hall started in September 2010. The conversion, which cost £950,000, was completed in April 2012 and the building was officially re-opened by the Minister for Housing, Regeneration & Heritage,

Huw Lewis Huw Lewis (born 17 January 1964) is a Welsh Labour Co-operative politician who served as Minister for Education and Skills from 2013 to 2016. Born in Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan, Lewis represented the Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney constituency in t ...

, on 13 September 2012. The new library was named the Alun R. Edwards centre ( cy, Canolfan Alun R. Edwards) in memory of the former county librarian, Alun R. Edwards who died in 1986. However, the move of the pensioners' day centre to the basement of the town hall was controversial and led to protests outside the old day centre in Park Avenue and a petition, which gained 6,000 signatures, to the

Senedd The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gove ...

Notes

References

{{reflist Government buildings completed in 1962 City and town halls in Wales Buildings and structures in Aberystwyth