The Old Town Hall, Whitby is a building on the Kirkgate section of Church Street, in the Old Town area of

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, England.

History

The building was commissioned and paid for by the local

lord of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

Nathaniel Cholmley Nathaniel Cholmley (15 November 1721 – 11 March 1791) was a British Member of Parliament. Life He was the son of Hugh Cholmley MP and his wife Catherine, the daughter of Sir John Wentworth, 1st Bt. He was selected High Sheriff of Yorkshire ...

, and was designed and built, 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 ...

, by the architect Jonathan Pickernell, who also constructed the two inner piers in Whitby Harbour between 1781 and 1812. It is located in the Old Town area of Whitby on the east side. The town hall was built when the market place was laid out to replace the earlier market place that was located on the west side of the River Esk at the west end of the bridge. The town hall measures in length and in width and was furnished with a clock at the expense of the town (the building being paid for privately). The clock tower also holds a bell which was tolled to start any court process. The Old Town Hall served as the location for the first meeting of the Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society in September 1823. The society was started to provide funding and space to display fossils found in the environs of Whitby town. The present day location of this museum is in Pannett Park in the town. The building has an open ground floor with the upper floor supported by Tuscan columns. This allowed the undercroft to be used for market trading. The upper floor, accessed by a spiral staircase in the centre of the lower floor, is where the

Court Leet The court leet was a historical court baron (a type of manorial court) of England and Wales and Ireland that exercised the "view of frankpledge" and its attendant police jurisdiction, which was normally restricted to the hundred courts. Etym ...

of Whitby, the Court of Pleas and the Court of Piepowder used to meet. Sometimes guilty parties would have to occupy the stocks outside the building. The arches on the upper floor are

pedimented Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pediment ...

with Venetian windows. The building was given listed status in 1954 and was renovated in 1987 but is prone to decay with some stone falling off the top of one of the columns.

References

Sources

*{{cite book, last=Young, first=George, title=A history of Whitby, and Streoneshalh Abbey; Volume 2, url=https://archive.org/details/ahistorywhitbya00youngoog, year=1817, publisher=Clark & Medd, location=Whitby, oclc=655531163

External links

Historic England image of Church Street with the clock tower of the Old Town Hall visible
Grade II* listed buildings in North Yorkshire Whitby Buildings and structures in North Yorkshire City and town halls in North Yorkshire Government buildings completed in 1788