Chorley Town Hall is a municipal building in Market Street in
Chorley,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
, England.
History
The first town hall, which was commissioned by a local
mercer
Mercer may refer to:
Business
* Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925)
* Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City
* Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader, ...
and
philanthropist, John Hollinshead of
Hollinshead Hall, was built on the east side of Market Street and completed in 1802.
It accommodated the local public offices as well as the local
lock-up.
[ After the first town hall became too cramped, civic leaders decided to procure a new town hall: the site they selected on the west side of Market Street had been occupied by the Gillibrand Arms Public House.
The new building, which was designed in the ]Italianate style
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...
by John Ladds and William Henry Powell
William Henry Powell (February 14, 1823 – October 6, 1879), was an American artist who was born and died in New York City.
Powell is known for a painting of the Battle of Lake Erie, of which one copy hangs in the Ohio state capitol building ...
, was completed in 1879. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto Market Street with the end bays slightly projected forward; the central section, which also slightly projected forward, featured a doorway on the ground floor with brackets supporting a 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 pedim ...
containing a carved tympanum with a tall clock tower above; there were sash windows on the first and second floors. The principal rooms were a large assembly hall, which later became known as the Lancastrian Room, the council chamber and town clerk's office.
The town hall became the headquarters of the new Municipal Borough of Chorley in 1881.[ In the early years the basement was used for a butter market and, in the early 20th century, the assembly room was used as a cinema. Meanwhile the old town hall was demolished in the 1930s.]Borough of Chorley
The Borough of Chorley is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. The population of the Borough at the 2011 census was 107,155. It is named after its largest settlement, the town of Chorley.
History
The non-me ...
was formed in 1974. In the 1980s, a control centre was established in the basement for the protection of civic leaders in the event of a nuclear attack.[ Although most council officers and their departments relocated to the Civic Offices in Union Street in the late 20th century, council meetings continued to be held in the town hall.
An extensive programme of refurbishment works at the town hall was completed in 2005. The works, which were designed by Seed Architects, involved re-instatement of the main entrance under the clock tower and the creation of a glass-roofed atrium with glass passenger lifts to facilitate easy movement of customers within the building. After several incidents involving damage to facilities and abuse of staff, the Lancastrian Room, ceased to be available for private hire in 2009.]
References
{{Borough of Chorley buildings
Government buildings completed in 1879
City and town halls in Lancashire
Buildings and structures in Chorley