County Hall is a former municipal building on Castle Drive in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county tow ...

, England. It was the headquarters of

Cheshire County Council Cheshire County Council was the county council of Cheshire. Founded on 1 April 1889, it was officially dissolved on 31 March 2009, when it and its districts were superseded by two unitary authorities; Cheshire West and Chester and Cheshire East. ...

and is now the Wheeler building campus of the

University of Chester , mottoeng = "He that teacheth, on teaching" , former_names = , established = (gained university status in 2005) , type = Public , endowment = £395,000 (2018) , budget = £118.3 million , chancellor = Gyles Brandreth , vice_chancello ...

History

Originally

held its meetings at the Crewe Arms Hotel, conveniently located near to

Crewe station Crewe railway station is a railway station in Crewe, Cheshire, England. It opened in 1837 and is one of the most historically significant railway stations in the world.Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston, ...

. After deciding that this arrangement was inadequate for their needs in the context of the increasing responsibilities of county councils, county leaders chose to procure a new county headquarters. The site selected – immediately to the south east of the old shire hall on the north bank of the River Dee – had previously been occupied by a late 18th century prison designed by Thomas Harrison, which had been demolished in 1902. The new building was designed by E. Mainwaring Parkes, the County Architect, in the Neo-Georgian style. Construction started in 1938 but the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

caused delays, and the new county hall was only officially opened by

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 her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

on 11 July 1957. The principal room was the council chamber. Following the abolition of the County Council in March 2009, 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 governme ...

Cheshire West and Chester Council Cheshire West and Chester Council is the local authority of Cheshire West and Chester. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government services ...

chose to occupy a modern building on the site of a former police headquarters and overlooking the

Chester Racecourse Chester Racecourse, also known as the Roodee, is a racecourse located in Chester, England. The horse racing venue is officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the "oldest racecourse still in operation". Horse racing in Chester date ...

. County Hall became surplus to requirements and was sold to the

for £10.3 million. It was then converted for educational use as the university's Wheeler Building, named after the university's first vice-chancellor, Tim Wheeler, so that it could accommodate the university's Faculties of Health and Social Care and Education and Children's Services. The council chamber was converted into a large lecture theatre.

Description

The design has a symmetrical main frontage with seventeen bays facing onto Castle Drive with the end bays projecting forwards. The central section features a portico on the ground floor containing a doorway flanked by columns; there is a window on the first floor and another on the second floor again flanked by columns which support 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, a ...

with two

finial A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the apex of a dome, spire, to ...

s above. Pevsner's verdict was that the building was "not an ornament to the riverside view".

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Chester County halls in England Government buildings completed in 1957