The Old Town Hall ( cy, Hen Neuadd y Dref Llandrindod) is a municipal building in Temple Street,

Llandrindod Wells Llandrindod Wells (, ; cy, Llandrindod, /ɬanˈdɾindɔd/ "Trinity Parish"), sometimes known colloquially as Llandod, is a town and community in Powys, within the historic boundaries of Radnorshire, Wales. It serves as the seat of Powy ...

Powys Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. Geog ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. The structure, which accommodates the offices of Llandrindod Wells Town Council, 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 by the first resident medical doctor in the town, William Bowen-Davies, for use as his private house, which he named "Brynarlais". Bowen-Davies went on to become an expert on the benefits of the mineral waters which were naturally available from the springs in the town. The house was designed in the Victorian style, built in a combination of yellow brick and

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 i ...

and was completed in around 1872. The design of the original building involved a symmetrical main frontage with three bays facing south; the ground floor, which was built in yellow brick, featured a central arched porch with

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 flanked by

bay window A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room. Types Bay window is a generic term for all protruding window constructions, regardless of whether they are curved or angular, or ...

s, while the first floor, which was built in rubble masonry, was fenestrated with a tall central sash window with an architrave flanked by standard-sized sash windows, also with architraves. The building was extended at the back, along Temple Street, in around 1890 to create additional accommodation for Bowen-Davies' surgery. The extension included a prominent two-storey canted bay which projected forward towards Temple Street and was surmounted by a

castellated A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...

; there was also an additional porch with columns supporting a modillioned

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an ...

, proving access direct to the surgery. Following significant population growth, largely associated with the large number of visitors to the local mineral water spas, the area became an urban district in 1894. In its early years the new urban district council rented various offices around the town for its staff. However, after the death of Bowen-Davies in April 1908, Brynarlais was marketed for sale and acquired by the urban district council in 1910. A council chamber and civic rooms were established in the extension at the back of the building. A war memorial designed by Benjamin Lloyd, in the form of a soldier with his head bowed standing on a plinth, which was intended to commemorate the lives of local service personnel who had died in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, was erected in a newly landscaped memorial garden in front of the original entrance to the town hall and unveiled by

Lord Lieutenant of Radnorshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Radnorshire. After 1715, all Lord Lieutenants were also Custos Rotulorum of Radnorshire. The office was abolished on 31 March 1974, being replaced by the Lord Lieutenant of Powys, wit ...

, Lord Ormathwaite, in July 1922. The building continued to serve as the offices of the urban district council for much of the 20th century, but ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged Radnorshire District Council was formed in 1974. Instead, it accommodated the offices of several local businesses as well as the offices of Llandrindod Wells Town Council. A

tourist information centre A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to visitors. Types of visitor center A visi ...

was also established in the building.

References

{{reflist Llandrindod Wells Grade II listed buildings in Powys Government buildings completed in 1872 L