Narberth Town Hall ( cy, Neuadd y Dref Arberth) is a municipal building in the High Street,

Narberth, Pembrokeshire Narberth ( cy, Arberth) is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was founded around a Welsh court and later became a Norman stronghold on the Landsker Line. It became the headquarters of the hundred of Narberth. It was once ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. The structure, which is currently used as a shop, 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 ...

History

The building was commissioned as a combined lock-up and courthouse. The site that the civic officials selected was occupied by a water tank from where the local people collected their water. It was designed in the

neoclassical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, 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 pr ...

, built in

rubble masonry Rubble stone is rough, uneven building stone not laid in regular courses. It may fill the core of a wall which is faced with unit masonry such as brick or ashlar. Analogously, some medieval cathedral walls are outer shells of ashlar with an inn ...

using stone from a quarry at

Robeston Wathen Robeston Wathen is a rural village and parish in Pembrokeshire, Wales, west of Narberth, on the former Narberth to Haverfordwest turnpike subsequently designated the A40 which bypassed the village in 2011. Robeston Wathen is in the communi ...

and was completed in around 1833. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with three bays facing north up the High Street; it featured two flights of steps, on either side of the central bay, providing access to a round-headed doorway on the first floor. The building was remodelled to a design by the county surveyor, William Owen, with slightly projecting

voussoir A voussoir () is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault. Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The ...

s, in 1845. Internally, the principal rooms were the lock-up on the ground floor and the courtroom on the first floor. During the

Rebecca Riots The Rebecca Riots (Welsh: ''Terfysgoedd Beca'') took place between 1839 and 1843 in West and Mid Wales. They were a series of protests undertaken by local farmers and agricultural workers in response to levels of taxation. The rioters, often me ...

, in which rioting farmers and agricultural workers, often dressed as women, undertook

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

s, an attack on a new workhouse in the town took place and the rioters were subsequently incarcerated in the lock-up in 1839. By the mid-19th century the building had become dilapidated and the magistrates vacated the courtroom on the first floor. The room was instead used as a mechanics' institute with a library and a reading room. A tower, with a clock designed and manufactured by J. W. Benson of

Ludgate Hill Ludgate Hill is a street and surrounding area, on a small hill in the City of London. The street passes through the former site of Ludgate, a city gate that was demolished – along with a gaol attached to it – in 1760. The area include ...

and a

pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

-shaped roof surmounted by a

bellcote A bellcote, bell-cote or bell-cot is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells. Bellcotes are most common in church architecture but are also seen on institutions such as schools. The bellcote may be carried on brackets projecting from ...

, was added in 1881. Following significant population growth, largely associated with the status of Narberth as a market town, the area became an

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...

in 1902. The new council adopted the mechanics' institute as its regular meeting place. Visiting speakers at the mechanics institute included the

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

Emmeline Pankhurst Emmeline Pankhurst ('' née'' Goulden; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was an English political activist who organised the UK suffragette movement and helped women win the right to vote. In 1999, ''Time'' named her as one of the 100 Most Impo ...

, who addressed a crowd from the steps of the building in 1908. A second floor was added to the building to a design by George Thomas of Templeton in memory of a former president of the mechanics institute, Robert Ward, in 1912. As the responsibilities of the urban district council increased, it became necessary to establish offices for the council officers and their departments at Bank House in St James Street. The building continued to serve as a meeting place and town hall for Narberth Urban District Council for much of the 20th century but ceased to be local seat of government when the enlarged

South Pembrokeshire District Council South Pembrokeshire ( cy, De Sir Benfro) was one of six local government districts of Dyfed, Wales from 1974 to 1996. Creation The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, from the following parts of the administra ...

was formed in 1974. Following an extensive programme of refurbishment works, carried out to a design by Wyn Jones of

Haverfordwest Haverfordwest (, ; cy, Hwlffordd ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a community, being the second most populous community in the county, ...

, the building was re-opened in summer 1992, initially as a tourist information centre and later as a clothing shop.

References

{{reflist Narberth, Pembrokeshire City and town halls in Wales Grade II listed buildings in Pembrokeshire Government buildings completed in 1833