Jedburgh Public Hall known as Jedburgh Town Hall is a listed building in the centre of Jedburgh opposite the ruins of

Jedburgh Abbey Jedburgh Abbey, a ruined Augustinian abbey which was founded in the 12th century, is situated in the town of Jedburgh, in the Scottish Borders north of the border with England at Carter Bar. History Towards the middle of the 9th century, when ...

. It was opened in 1900 as the town's principal public building. An information centre is attached and it overlooks a large car park which is beside the A68.

History

The current building dates from 1900 and it was designed by James Pearson Alison. This was the same year as

Jedburgh Library Jedburgh Library is now housed in the second building built for Andrew Carnegie in Jedburgh at a cost of £1,700. It was List of Carnegie libraries in Europe, one of the many libraries built by Carnegie. There have been subscription libraries in t ...

was opened. It was built on the foundations of a previous building and basement rooms are from that former use as a malt barn. These rooms had been used as the town armoury. The town needed a public building as the Corn Exchange, which had stood in the market place, burnt down in 1898. left, Fizzy Coffee playing at the annual Birl'n'Beer in 2022 The new public building was used as a

drill hall A drill hall is a place such as a building or a hangar where soldiers practise and perform military drills. Description In the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, the term was used for the whole headquarters building of a military reserve unit, ...

during the first world war. The hall was used by "C" Squadron of the

Lothians and Border Horse The Lothians and Border Horse was a Yeomanry regiment, part of the British Territorial Army. It was ranked 36th in the Yeomanry order of precedence and was based in the Scottish Lowland area, recruiting in the Lothians – East Lothian ( Ha ...

and for "A" Company of the 4th battalion of the

King's Own Scottish Borderers The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's O ...

. In 1918 it was a scene of celebration when war hero

John Daykins John Brunton Daykins Victoria Cross, VC Military Medal, MM (Ormiston Farm, Hawick, 26 March 1883 – 24 January 1933, Edinburgh) was a Scotland, Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in ...

VC was honoured at the hall. John Daykins VC welcomed at Jedburgh Town Hall

The novelist, playwright and creator of

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succ ...

, visited the town hall when he became a freeman of the town on 15 October 1928. It was at the town hall that, in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

in March 1965, the future leader of the Liberal Democrats,

David Steel David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, (born 31 March 1938) is a British politician. Elected as Member of Parliament for Roxburgh, Selkirk, and Peebles, followed by Tweeddale, Ettrick, and Lauderdale, he served as the final leade ...

, was declared elected, aged just 25, as the youngest

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 o ...

in the UK

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

. In 1975 an

information centre A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to visitors. Types of visitor center A visit ...

was attached and the hall became a class B listed building on 23 March 1993. The hall was run and owned by the local council but in 2015 the costs of ownership became onerous and it and the management of many other public buildings in the borders were transferred to a trust. The building was available to let and it is the location for the local flower show, birl'n'beer and music evenings. In early 2020 it was proposed that the hall might be sold, but a petition caused the council to pause the proposed closures. Then, in September 2020, the council reported that it was considering proposals, submitted by a community group known as "Jedburgh Legacy Group", to take over the management of some of Jedburgh's historic buildings.

Facilities

The hall has four different levels. In the basement there is a smaller hall, stores and a kitchen, while on the ground floor there is the main hall, foyer, stage and a changing room. The first floor has a meeting room and access to the balcony and on the second floor there are three more rooms. All the levels have toilets.Scottish Borders Council fact sheet, undated but "fit for 2024"
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References

{{Authority control Category B listed buildings in the Scottish Borders Jedburgh City chambers and town halls in Scotland Government buildings completed in 1901 Listed government buildings in Scotland

History

Facilities

See also

References