The High Wycombe Guildhall is a public building located on the High Street of

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, south-southeast of Ayl ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, England. It is a

Grade I 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 ...

. It was designed by Henry Keene and completed in 1757.

History

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

guildhall once stood in the High Street and was retained until at least the mid 17th century after a more modern structure was built in a slightly different location in 1604. After the 17th century guildhall was burnt down in a fire in the mid-18th century, a new guildhall, which was designed by Henry Keene in the

neo-classical 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 ...

, was built at the expense of the

Earl of Shelburne Earl of Shelburne is a title that has been created two times while the title of Baron Shelburne has been created three times. The Shelburne title was created for the first time in the Peerage of Ireland in 1688 when Elizabeth, Lady Petty, was m ...

, a local

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

, in 1757. The external design involved five bays with arcading on the ground floor; windows were inserted in each of the bays on the east, west and north elevations on the first floor. At roof level, the builder erected an octagonal

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

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 col ...

columns and a

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it 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 ...

above. The building was renovated at the expense of Sir George Henry Dashwood, a local member of parliament, in 1859 and a stone plaque was subsequently erected at first floor level in the middle of the north elevation to commemorate his contribution. Internally, the principal room on the first floor was the council chamber with capacity to seat 100 people and a smaller room, now known as the Shelburne Room. In 1830, during a debate on the Swing Riots, a scene of public disorder broke out when the councillors started fighting with each other. The council was incorporated under the

Municipal Corporations Act 1835 The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will 4 c 76), sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales. The legisl ...

, and council meetings of the municipal borough of High Wycombe were still held in the guildhall into the late 1920s and it was not until the early 1930s that council meetings moved to the council chamber in the municipal offices in Queen Victoria Road. A portrait of the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

was presented by to the town by the local land owner,

Lord Carrington Peter Alexander Rupert Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, Baron Carington of Upton, (6 June 1919 – 9July 2018), was a British Conservative Party politician and hereditary peer who served as Defence Secretary from 1970 to 1974, Foreign Secret ...

, in 1876; it was subsequently hung on the wall of the council chamber, which is now known as the Carrington Room. The guildhall continues to be the scene of the annual weighing-in ceremony at which the elected mayor is weighed to ensure they have not been indulging excessively at the rate payers' expense.

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline High Wycombe Grade I listed buildings in Buckinghamshire Guildhalls in the United Kingdom Government buildings completed in 1757 City and town halls in Buckinghamshire

History

See also

References

External links