The Old Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street in Town Lane, Newtown, Isle of Wight, England. The structure, which is used as a tourist attraction, is a Grade II* listed building. Newtown is now a small village, and its town hall is owned by the National Trust.

History

Newtown developed as a commercial centre and a borough in the 14th century. However, it failed to recover after a French raid in 1377 and Queen Elizabeth I awarded the town two parliamentary seats to try to stimulate economic development in 1584. In the late 17th century, the mayor and burgesses decided to commission a town hall in order to be able to exercise the privileges afforded to them of holding dinners at which they would confirm the names of the candidates for the two seats. The new building was designed in the Tudor style, built in red brick and was completed in around 1699. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with two bays facing north along Town Lane; there was a doorway on the ground floor and two rounded headed windows on the first floor. The south-facing frontage featured a doorway on the first floor accessed by an external stone staircase, while the east front featured four

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 ...

s on the ground floor and four round headed windows on the first floor; the west front was completely plain. Internally, the principal rooms were the council chamber and the mayor's parlour. Members of parliament who were chosen in the town hall included the future prime minister,

George Canning George Canning (11 April 17708 August 1827) was a British Tory statesman. He held various senior cabinet positions under numerous prime ministers, including two important terms as Foreign Secretary, finally becoming Prime Minister of the Unit ...

, in 1806. A

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

with four Tuscan order columns supporting 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 ...

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 ...

and a canopy was added in 1813. Newtown had a very small electorate which was dominated by three families (the Barrington, Holmes and Anderson-Pelham families), which meant it was recognised by the UK Parliament as a rotten borough. Its right to elect members of parliament was removed by the

Reform Act 1832 The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament, Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major chan ...

, and its borough council, which had effectively be extinct from 1835, was formally abolished 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 ...

. After many years of decline and neglect the building was repaired in 1933 under the supervision of

John Eric Miers Macgregor John Eric Miers Macgregor FRIBA FSA OBE (4 October 1890 – 31 January 1984), was a conservation architect with the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. He was appointed an OBE in 1964 and the Esher Award in 1974 for his contribution t ...

OBE, a specialist conservation architect who managed to save the derelict structure. The repair was funded by Ferguson's Gang, a mysterious group of young, anonymous, women benefactors who endowed Newtown Old Town Hall to the National Trust and agreed for it to be run as a Youth Hostel for fifteen years. An exhibition of the exploits of the Gang was put on display in the building, which became a local tourist attraction, open to the public during the summer months.

References

{{reflist Government buildings completed in 1699 National Trust properties on the Isle of Wight Tourist attractions on the Isle of Wight Museums on the Isle of Wight History museums on the Isle of Wight Grade II* listed buildings on the Isle of Wight Newtown, Isle of Wight City and town halls on the Isle of Wight