The Town Hall is a municipal building in Highgate, Kendal,

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...

. It 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 ...

. It serves as the headquarters of Kendal Town Council and also forms part of the complex of buildings which served as the headquarters of the former South Lakeland District Council.

History

The first town hall, known as the "moot hall" was built at the corner of the Market Place and Stricklandgate in 1591. It was a plain white building embellished over the centuries with a

Venetian window A Venetian window (also known as a Serlian window) is a large tripartite window which is a key element in Palladian architecture. Although Sebastiano Serlio (1475–1554) did not invent it, the window features largely in the work of the Italian ar ...

, a

turret clock A turret clock or tower clock is a clock designed to be mounted high in the wall of a building, usually in a clock tower, in public buildings such as churches, university buildings, and town halls. As a public amenity to enable the community to ...

, a bell cote and a

flagpole A flagpole, flagmast, flagstaff, or staff is a pole designed to support a flag. If it is taller than can be easily reached to raise the flag, a cord is used, looping around a pulley at the top of the pole with the ends tied at the bottom. The fla ...

. In 1859, after the moot hall was deemed inadequate, the civic authorities acquired the current building at the corner of Highgate and Lowther Street. At the time the building was known as the "White Hall". This was a building which had been designed by Francis Webster and completed in 1827. It was so-called because the site had previously been occupied by an earlier White Hall, a building at which cloth was bought and sold, some of it for export to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and other parts of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The building was designed with a large Ionic order

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...

on the first floor with a pediment above on its western i.e. front elevation. The building was converted for use as a town hall by George Webster, the original architect's son, after which it was used as the local facility for dispensing justice as well as a meeting place for the

municipal borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

of Kendal. The conversion involved the construction of a courtroom to the rear of the building and police cells in the basement in 1859. A large clock tower, financed by a donation from John Wakefield of Sedgwick House, was added in 1861, containing a clock and carillon (manufactured by Smith & Sons of Derby); the carillon plays seven different tunes (one for each day of the week) on ten bells (the largest of which weighs 46 cwt). Following the implementation of the

Local Government Act 1888 Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

, which established county councils in every county, the building also became the meeting place for Westmorland County Council. The building was extended to the north, to the designs of Stephen Shaw and financed by a donation from Alderman William Bindloss, in 1893. The County Council moved out to their own facilities at County Hall in Stricklandgate in 1939. The town hall ceased to be the local seat of government when the South Lakeland District Council was formed in 1974. From 1974 to 1991, South Lakeland District Council was based at Stricklandgate House, the former offices of

South Westmorland Rural District South Westmorland was a rural district in Westmorland, England from 1894 to 1974. It saw various boundary changes during its existence, particularly in 1935, when it absorbed Kirkby Lonsdale urban district, whilst parts merged with Ambleside ...

Council. In 1991 the council moved to a new building called South Lakeland House, immediately behind Kendal Town Hall, on a site formerly occupied by a police station. The main public entrance to South Lakeland House was down an alleyway beside the town hall. In February 2019 South Lakeland District Council announced works costing £4.9 million to convert the town hall into a reception centre for both the Town Council and the District Council, using part of the ground floor as a reception area for the offices in South Lakeland House behind the town hall, and bringing council meetings back into the town hall itself. Space was also provided to be a hub for small businesses. The refurbished building reopened in May 2021. Works of art held in the town hall include Queen Catherine Parr's

prayer book A prayer book is a book containing prayers and perhaps devotional readings, for private or communal use, or in some cases, outlining the liturgy of religious services. Books containing mainly orders of religious services, or readings for them are ...

, a

ceremonial sword A ceremonial weapon is an object used for ceremonial purposes to display power or authority. They are often used in parades and as part of dress uniforms. Although they are descended from weapons used in actual combat, they are not normally use ...

presented to the town by King Charles I and a painting by George Romney depicting "King Lear in the Tempest Tearing off his Robes". Outside the building is a lump of stone known as the "Calling Stone", formerly part of Stricklandgate Market Cross, at which the accessions of new monarchs have historically been announced to the local people.

Notes

References

{{reflist Grade II listed buildings in Cumbria City and town halls in Cumbria Government buildings completed in 1827