The Municipal Offices is a municipal building in Bowling Green Road in Kettering, Northamptonshire, England. The building is used as an area office for North Northamptonshire Council.

History

Following significant population growth, largely associated with the status of Kettering as a market town, the area became a local government district in 1872, governed by a local board. Such local government districts were reconstituted as urban districts in 1894. From 1872 until 1904 meetings were held at the Corn Exchange. In 1904 the council moved its meeting place to Stamford Road School (now the William Knibb Centre). The council's offices also outgrew the limited space at the corn exchange and were subsequently distributed to various buildings across the town. The urban district was advanced to the status of municipal borough in 1938. After

Kettering Grammar School Kettering Grammar School was a boys' grammar school (selective) that had a number of homes in Kettering, Northamptonshire throughout its history. History The school was based in a building in Gold Street which, together with the master's house, ...

relocated from its premises at Bowling Green Road to new premises at Windmill Avenue in 1965, the council took the opportunity to acquire the vacant building in Bowling Green Road to bring its offices and meeting place together in a single building. The building had been designed by

John Alfred Gotch John Alfred Gotch (28 September 1852, Kettering, Northamptonshire – 17 January 1942, Kettering, Northamptonshire) was a noted English architect and architectural historian. His brother was the Pre-Raphaelite painter and illustrator Thomas Coo ...

in the Neo-Georgian style, built in red brick with stone facings and had been completed in 1913. After conversion works the former school buildings were opened as the council's headquarters in 1966. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with thirteen bays facing onto Bowling Green Road with the end bays projected forward as pavilions; the central section of five bays, which slightly projected forward, featured a short flight of steps leading up to a doorway; there was a

casement window A casement window is a window that is attached to its frame by one or more hinges at the side. They are used singly or in pairs within a common frame, in which case they are hinged on the outside. Casement windows are often held open using a cas ...

on the first floor. The other bays in the central section featured tall casement windows flanked by Doric order columns, spanning the ground and first floors, and which supported a stone frieze, a brick

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

and a

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 ...

. The second floor was fenestrated by a row of eight windows and was surmounted by a

modillion A modillion is an ornate bracket, more horizontal in shape and less imposing than a corbel. They are often seen underneath a cornice which it helps to support. Modillions are more elaborate than dentils (literally translated as small teeth). All ...

ed frieze, a brick entablature and a modillioned cornice and, at roof level, a

lantern A lantern is an often portable source of lighting, typically featuring a protective enclosure for the light sourcehistorically usually a candle or a wick in oil, and often a battery-powered light in modern timesto make it easier to carry and h ...

was installed. The end bays were blind but featured stone arches at second floor level. The old school hall was converted into a council chamber and a porch was added when the former school was converted for municipal use in 1965. A plaque was placed on the eastern end bay to reflect the twinning agreement that the council had entered into with Lahnstein in Germany a few years previously. The municipal building continued to serve as local seat of government after the enlarged

Kettering Borough Council Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of Ket ...

was formed in 1974 and another plaque was added to the eastern end bay after Kettering became a sister city to

Kettering, Ohio Kettering is a city in Montgomery county in the U.S. state of Ohio. Almost entirely in Montgomery County, it is an inner suburb of Dayton, Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 57,862 (down slightly from 58,453 in 2010), maki ...

in the United States in 1978. The building was reduced to the status of an area office for North Northamptonshire Council after the new council was formed with its headquarters in Corby in 2021. The building also briefly served as headquarters for the new Kettering Town Council established as part of the 2021 reforms, until the town council moved to other premises in the town in 2022.

References

{{Reflist Government buildings completed in 1913 City and town halls in Northamptonshire Buildings and structures in Kettering