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Banbury Town Hall is a municipal facility in the High Street in Banbury,
The first town hall in the town was built in Cornhill in around 1590. It was replaced by a second town hall, constructed in timber, in the Market Place in around 1633 and followed by a third, more substantial structure, on the same site as the second building, in around 1790. The building was designed with arcading on the ground floor to allow markets to be held; an assembly room was established on the first floor.
After the anti-reformist, Heneage Legge was elected member of parliament for Banbury in November 1819 by the members of Banbury Corporation, who were the only people allowed to vote, there was rioting in the town centre: the windows in the town hall were broken and attempts were made to tear down the pillars supporting the first floor of the building. Following the passing of the Reform Act in 1832, a public procession and a
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Banbury Borough Council from its completion in 1854 until 1930, is a Grade II listed building.
History
The first town hall in the town was built in Cornhill in around 1590. It was replaced by a second town hall, constructed in timber, in the Market Place in around 1633 and followed by a third, more substantial structure, on the same site as the second building, in around 1790. The building was designed with arcading on the ground floor to allow markets to be held; an assembly room was established on the first floor.
After the anti-reformist, Heneage Legge was elected member of parliament for Banbury in November 1819 by the members of Banbury Corporation, who were the only people allowed to vote, there was rioting in the town centre: the windows in the town hall were broken and attempts were made to tear down the pillars supporting the first floor of the building. Following the passing of the Reform Act in 1832, a public procession and a fête
In Britain and some of its former colonies, fêtes are traditional public festivals, held outdoors and organised to raise funds for a charity. They typically include entertainment and the sale of goods and refreshments.
Village fêtes
Village fà ...
were held on the town. After deciding, in the mid-19th century, that the Bridge Street area was in need of regeneration, civic leaders decided to procure a new town hall at the east end of the High Street.
The new building, which was designed by Edward George Bruton in the Gothic Revival style
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
and built by Chesterman Brothers of Abingdon, was completed in October 1854. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with three bays facing the junction of the High Street and Market Place; the central section, which projected forward, featured an arched doorway on the ground floor and a balcony with an ogee headed window on the first floor. A clock tower
Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...
and spire were added in 1860. The principal room was an assembly hall on the first floor. The building was extended to the south west to create a council chamber in 1891. The town hall was the headquarters of Banbury Borough Council until the council moved its administration to the mechanics' institute in Marlborough Road in 1930.
On 27 November 2008, Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh
Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not produc ...
, visited the town hall and unveiled a plaque commemorating the 400th anniversary of the granting of the town's charter.
Works of art in the town hall include a painting depicting Ancient Rome by Giovanni Paolo Panini, a painting depicting columns in an Italianate landscape by Claude Lorrain
Claude Lorrain (; born Claude Gellée , called ''le Lorrain'' in French; traditionally just Claude in English; c. 1600 – 23 November 1682) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher of the Baroque era. He spent most of his life in It ...
and a painting depicting the judgement of Midas by Luca Giordano. There are also portraits of Prince Rupert of the Rhine
Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...
by Johannes Mytens and of the parliamentarian, John Hampden, by Godfrey Kneller
Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 – 19 October 1723), was the leading portrait painter in England during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and was court painter to Kingdom of England, English and Br ...
.
Notes
References
{{reflist Government buildings completed in 1854 City and town halls in Oxfordshire Grade II listed buildings in Oxfordshire Banbury