Gosport Town Hall on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Gosport Town Hall is a municipal structure in the High Street,
The first municipal building was an ancient market hall and courthouse in the Middle Row which, in its original form, was a gift from the 
In the early 1960s, civic leaders decided to demolish the remains of the market house and to erect a new town hall on the south side of the High Street. The new building was designed by W. H. Saunders & Son in the
Gosport
Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite ...
, Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
, England. The structure currently serves as the headquarters of Gosport Borough Council
Gosport Borough Council is the local authority for the borough of Borough of Gosport, Gosport, in the county of Hampshire, England. The council consists of 28 councillors, two or three for each of the 14 Ward (electoral subdivision), wards in the t ...
.
History
The first municipal building was an ancient market hall and courthouse in the Middle Row which, in its original form, was a gift from the Bishop of Winchester
The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat ('' cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held '' ex officio'' (except ...
, Henry of Blois
Henry of Blois ( c. 1096 8 August 1171), often known as Henry of Winchester, was Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey from 1126, and Bishop of Winchester from 1129 to his death. He was a younger son of Stephen Henry, Count of Blois by Adela of Normandy, da ...
, in the 12th century.
By the early 19th century the building in the Middle Row, which was in the centre of the High Street, was considered an obstruction of traffic and a local businessman, Robert Cruickshank, led an initiative to demolish the old building and to erect a new building at the shore end of the High Street. The new town hall and market house was designed in the neoclassical style
Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the 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 prevailing style ...
, built in brick with ashlar
Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitr ...
stone dressings at a cost £15,000 and was completed in 1812.
The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing The Hard. There were three openings on the ground floor flanked by Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of ...
columns supporting a balcony
A balcony (from it, balcone, "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor.
Types
The traditional Maltese balcony is ...
, and there were five 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 windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double glazing) of glass.
History
...
s on the first floor flanked by Ionic order
The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composi ...
pilaster
In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...
s 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 ...
with an oculus Oculus (a term from Latin ''oculus'', meaning 'eye'), may refer to the following
Architecture
* Oculus (architecture), a circular opening in the centre of a dome or in a wall
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Oculus'' (film), a 2013 American s ...
in the tympanum. The market house was hit by German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
bombing and reduced to a shell during the Portsmouth Blitz
Portsmouth is an island port city situated on Portsea Island in the county of Hampshire, England. Its history has been influenced by its association with the sea, and its proximity to London, and mainland Europe.
Roman
Portus Adurni which l ...
in August 1940. However, the Dive Café, in the basement of the market house, remained a popular venue into the 1950s.
In the early 1960s, civic leaders decided to demolish the remains of the market house and to erect a new town hall on the south side of the High Street. The new building was designed by W. H. Saunders & Son in the International Style International style may refer to:
* International Style (architecture), the early 20th century modern movement in architecture
*International style (art), the International Gothic style in medieval art
*International Style (dancing), a term used in ...
, built in concrete and glass and was completed in 1964. The design involved a rectangular five-storey main frontage with a pair of two-storey wings jutting out towards the High Street to form a courtyard. The main structure was faced with curtain walling and was supplemented by a curved formation containing the council chamber, which was cantilever
A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...
ed out to the west and allowed vehicular access at ground floor level.
Works of art in the town hall include a painting by the local artist, Martin Snape
Martin Snape (31 December 1852 – 24 November 1930) was an English painter of the Victorian and Edwardian era.
Biography
Born in Gosport in 1852, Snape worked in a variety of media (oils, watercolours, engraving, etc.). He concentrated mainly ...
, depicting Forton Creek.
References
{{reflist Government buildings completed in 1964 City and town halls in Hampshire Gosport