The Old Town Hall is a former municipal building in Knowler Hill in

Liversedge Liversedge is a town and former parish of Birstall, in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Liversedge lies between Cleckheaton and Heckmondwike. The Kirklees ward ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England. The building, which formerly operated as the offices of Liversedge Urban District Council, is now used as private residential accommodation.

History

Following significant population growth, largely associated with the woollen industry, a

local board of health Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environmenta ...

was established in the Liversedge area in 1875. The main reason for the formation of the board was to establish proper drainage in the township, but a second order priority was to commission offices for the board itself: the site they selected for the new building was open land at the top of Knowler Hill. The building was designed by William Ellis of

Heckmondwike Heckmondwike is a town in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England, south west of Leeds. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is close to Cleckheaton and Liversedge. It is mostly in the Batley and Spen pa ...

in the

Italianate style The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

, built in

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

brick and was completed in around 1880. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with three bays facing onto Knowler Hill. The central bay featured a doorway with a fanlight, an

archivolt An archivolt (or voussure) is an ornamental moulding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch. It is composed of bands of ornamental mouldings (or other architectural elements) surrounding an arched opening, corresponding to the ...

and a keystone which was flanked by

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

s supporting a cornice; the pilasters were decorated with carved floral bosses. On the first floor, the central bay was fenestrated by a pair of round headed windows and the other bays were fenestrated in a similar style. At roof level there was a heavily bracketed cornice. Internally, the principal room was the boardroom for the local board. The local board was replaced by Liversedge Urban District Council, with its headquarters in the former public offices, in 1894. The building became known as the "Town Hall" in the late 19th century and continued to serve as the headquarters of the urban district council into the early 20th century, but ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged Spenborough Urban District Council was formed in

Cleckheaton Cleckheaton is a town in the Metropolitan borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Bradford, east of Brighouse, west of Batley and south-west of Leeds. It ...

in 1915. The building, by then known as the "Old Town Hall", was subsequently used as a community centre and a clinic with visiting medical staff. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, it was converted for commercial use and served as an electrical store, known as "Padgett's Radio Stores", in the 1960s and 1970s, before being converted into private residential accommodation. The significance of the building was recognised when, in 2012, a garden known as "Sparrow Park" was constructed outside the building in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the uprising and

Luddite The Luddites were a secret oath-based organisation of English textile workers in the 19th century who formed a radical faction which destroyed textile machinery. The group is believed to have taken its name from Ned Ludd, a legendary weaver ...

attack on Rawfolds Mill, which began just up the road from the monument in the still-operational "Shears"

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

References

{{City and town halls in West Yorkshire Government buildings completed in 1880 City and town halls in West Yorkshire Buildings and structures in Kirklees