Lydd Guildhall, also known as Lydd Town Hall and the Lydd Common House, is a municipal building in the High Street, Lydd, Kent, England. The structure, which accommodates the offices and meeting place of Lydd Town Council, is a Grade II listed building.

History

The building was designed in the neoclassical style, built in red brick and was completed in around 1792. Re-faced in the early 19th century, it featured six openings on the ground floor, all flanked by pilasters supporting brick voussoirs. The first floor was fenestrated by 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 window (architecture), paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double gla ...

s and surmounted by 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 ...

with a tiled roof above. Internally, the principal rooms were a market hall on the ground floor, an assembly room on the first floor and a series of prison cells in the basement. From 1830, the prison cells were only used as a temporary lock-up for petty criminals. The building was a regular venue for coroners' court hearings: these hearings included the inquest into the deaths of 293 people who drowned, when the full-rigged ship, ''

Northfleet Northfleet is a town in the borough of Gravesham in Kent, England. It is located immediately west of Gravesend, and on the border with the Borough of Dartford. Northfleet has its own railway station on the North Kent Line, just east of Ebbsfl ...

'', sank in the English Channel in January 1873. The borough council, which had met in the council chamber, was reformed under the

Municipal Corporations Act 1883 A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

. Fund raising events held in the guildhall included a function in support of

Salute the Soldier Week Salute the Soldier Weeks were British National savings campaigns during the Second World War, with the aim of British Army equipment being sponsored by a civil community. The Royal Air Force equivalent was Wings for Victory Week and the Royal Navy ...

in March 1944 during the Second World War. A colourful piece of

calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

Irene Wellington Irene Bass Sutton Wellington (1904–1984) was an influential British calligrapher and teacher of calligraphy. Early life Born in Lydd, Kent, in 1904, Irene Bass attended Ashford County School, and later Maidstone School of Art, where she be ...

, listing all the

bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...

s of the borough since ancient times, was installed in the guildhall in 1973. The building continued to serve as the meeting place of the borough council for much of the 20th century, but ceased to be local seat of government when the enlarged Folkestone and Hythe District Council was formed in 1974. However, it subsequently became the meeting place of Lydd Town Council.

References

{{reflist Government buildings completed in 1792 Lydd Grade II listed buildings in Kent City and town halls in Kent