Deal Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street in

Deal, Kent Deal is a coastal town in Kent, England, which lies where the North Sea and the English Channel meet, north-east of Dover and south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town whose history is closely linked to the anchora ...

, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Deal Borough Council, is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

Following the grant of a royal charter from

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198) * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...

giving the town the right to incorporate as an independent borough in 1699, the new council initially rented a private house in Whetstone Street (now known as King Street) for their meetings, before erecting a dedicated "Court Hall" on the east side of the High Street, between Market Street and King Street, in the early 18th century. In the early 19th century, after finding the old court hall was inadequate for their requirements, civic leaders decided to commission a new building: the site they selected on the west side of the High Street was acquired from a private individual, William Wilds. The foundation stone for the new building was laid by the mayor, Isaac Gammon, on 15 March 1803. It was designed by John Mathews in the neoclassical style, built in yellow brick with stone dressings at a cost of £2,961 and was completed in autumn 1804. The design involved a near-symmetrical main frontage with three bays facing onto the High Street with the central bay slighted projected forward; the ground floor was arcaded to allow markets to be held while the first floor was supported by

Tuscan order The Tuscan order (Latin ''Ordo Tuscanicus'' or ''Ordo Tuscanus'', with the meaning of Etruscan order) is one of the two classical orders developed by the Romans, the other being the composite order. It is influenced by the Doric order, but with u ...

columns and featured a Venetian window in the central bay with tall round headed windows in the other bays. At roof level, there was 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 ...

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

and 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 pedimen ...

with a date stone in the tympanum. Internally, the principal rooms were the council chamber on the first floor, which was accessed by a

spiral staircase Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage ...

and was oak panelled, and the mayor's parlour, which was on the ground floor. A drinking fountain, commissioned by the then

Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is a ceremonial official in the United Kingdom. The post dates from at least the 12th century, when the title was Keeper of the Coast, but may be older. The Lord Warden was originally in charge of the Cinqu ...

, Earl Granville, was installed on the corner with St George's Road in 1875. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the town hall was the venue for a meeting to organise accommodation for some 1,500 Belgian refugees seeking homes in the local area. In 1938, there was a fire in the council chamber which caused serious damage to some items on display and left a model of a Deal lugger completely destroyed. The town hall continued to serve as the headquarters of Deal Borough Council for much of the 20th century but ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged

Dover District Council Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

was formed in 1974. After court services transferred to

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

in the late 1970s, the town hall also ceased to be used for judicial purposes. The town hall subsequently became the meeting place for Deal Town Council as well as an approved venue for weddings and civil partnership ceremonies. Works of art in the town hall include a portrait of William III by Willem Wissing, a portrait of William IV by Francis Grant and a portrait of

Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

by Francis Ramsay. Other items include a portrait of the local writer, Elizabeth Carter, by Joseph Highmore and a painting entitled ''Deal in a Storm'' by

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbulen ...

References

{{reflist Government buildings completed in 1804 City and town halls in Kent Deal, Kent Grade II listed buildings in Kent