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

Garstang Garstang is an ancient market town and civil parish within the Wyre borough of Lancashire, England. It is north of the city of Preston and the same distance south of Lancaster. In 2011, the parish had a total resident population of 4,268 ...

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 Lancashi ...

, England. The structure, which currently accommodates two shops and a

Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, as well as all others in ne ...

Club, 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

After King Charles II granted the town a charter of incorporation in 1679, the newly elected freemen decided to commission a market hall: the new building was completed in 1680 but was burnt down in a major fire in 1750. The current building, which was erected on the site of the original structure, was designed in the

neoclassical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The pr ...

, built in red brick with stone dressings and was built between 1755 and 1764. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with three bays facing onto the High Street. It was arcaded on the ground floor, so that markets could be held, with an assembly room, for the use of the borough council, on the first floor. There was a wide central opening, with a stone surround and a keystone, flanked by two smaller openings in the same style. On the first floor, there was a central

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 ...

with an

architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can ...

, a

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

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 ...

, while the outer bays were fenestrated by sash windows with architraves, friezes and

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 ...

s. There was also a main cornice across the top of the main frontage. Internally, although the principal room was the assembly room on the first floor, there was also a lock-up for petty criminals in the basement. A timber

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

with clock faces and a

weather vane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

was installed in 1847. On account of the relatively small population of the town, the borough council, which had met in the town hall, was abolished under the

Municipal Corporations Act 1883 A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

. The Charity Commissioners agreed that the town hall and other civic assets be transferred to the newly established Garstang Town Trust in 1886 and a plaque was installed on the front of the building to commemorate the

Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria The Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria was celebrated on 20 and 21 June 1887 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. It was celebrated with a Thanksgiving Service at Westminster Abbey, and a banquet to which ...

in 1887. The area was designated a

rural district Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the Ad ...

in 1894, and although the new Garstang Rural District Council initially used the town hall as its meeting place, it moved to larger offices further north along the High Street in 1913. The town hall was subsequently converted for commercial use and, although it was badly damaged in a fire in 1939 and had to be rebuilt, much of the external stonework was saved and restored. The ground floor of the town hall continued to accommodate two shops, while the first floor subsequently became the home of a Royal British Legion Club. An additional plaque was installed on the front of the building to commemorate the

Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only diamond jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for the 60th an ...

in 2012.

References

{{Borough of Wyre buildings Government buildings completed in 1764 Grade II listed buildings in Lancashire Buildings and structures in Garstang City and town halls in Lancashire

History

See also

References