Penrith Town Hall is a municipal building in Corney Square, Penrith, Cumbria, England. The structure, which is the headquarters of Eden District Council, is a Grade II listed building.

History

The current building has its origins in a pair of identical, late 18th century, neoclassical style houses; the left hand building was once occupied by a local clinician, Dr Livingstone, and the right hand house was once occupied by the former

East Indiaman East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...

commander, John Wordsworth, who was a cousin of the poet, William Wordsworth. Following significant population growth, largely associated with the status of Penrith as a market town, the area became an urban district in 1895. The new civic leaders decided to acquire the two buildings and to combine them into a single municipal structure. The Scottish-American

industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, Andrew Carnegie, made a contribution of £1,200 towards the cost of the construction to support the inclusion of a public library. Progress was temporarily delayed when it was thought, incorrectly, that the houses had been designed by Robert Adam: nevertheless, following the intervention of Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley, much of the interiors of the two houses was retained. The new structure was designed by the district surveyor, J. J. Knewstub, in the

Renaissance Revival style Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range ...

, built in red sandstone from Lazonby with buff sandstone dressings from Stanton Moor and was completed in 1906. The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage with six bays facing onto Corney Square. The second bay on the left, which slightly projected forward, featured a pair of round headed windows on the ground floor flanked by

Corinthian order The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...

pilasters supporting an

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

and a

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...

; there were two round headed windows on the first floor separated by a Corinthian order column and flanked by Corinthian order pilasters 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, at roof level, there was a blind

dormer A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the usable space ...

containing a panel bearing the coat of arms of the town. The fourth bay on the left, which was also elaborate and also slightly projected forward, featured a short flight of steps leading up to a doorway with a

fanlight A fanlight is a form of lunette window, often semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan. It is placed over another window or a doorway, and is sometimes hinged to a transom. Th ...

flanked by pairs of Corinthian order columns and, beyond that, Corinthian order pilasters supporting an entablature inscribed with the words "Town Hall" and a balustrade; there were two round headed windows on the first floor flanked by columns and pilasters supporting a modillioned cornice and, at roof level, there was a dormer window with a broken pediment and a pair of urns. The other bays contained three-light windows on both floors. Internally, the principal room was the council chamber on the first floor. The new public library was established in a wing on the northwest side of the town hall at the same time that the main building opened, and the Penrith Museum, which had been founded in 1894, also moved into the town hall at that time. On 8 June 1920, the town hall was the venue for the coroner's inquiry into the death of the soldier, Percy Toplis, who was alleged to have taken part in the Étaples mutiny and who later became known as ''

the Monocled Mutineer ''The Monocled Mutineer'' is a 1986 BBC television drama series starring Paul McGann about the Étaples mutiny in 1917 during the First World War. The four-part serial, which was the first historical screenplay written by Alan Bleasdale, dramati ...

''; the verdict of the jury was that his death in a gunfight with police was justifiable homicide. During the Second World War staff in the town hall administered the accommodation arrangements for the many thousands of people evacuated from the south east to

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

and

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

and a civil defence reporting centre was also established in the basement. The town hall continued to serve as the headquarters of the urban district council for much of the 20th century and remained the local seat of government after the enlarged Eden District Council which was formed in 1974. The museum moved out of the town hall to the Robinson's School Building in Middlegate in July 1985 and the public library moved out of the town hall to facilities previously occupied by the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in St Andrew's Churchyard in 1992. The registrar's office also moved out of the town hall to the library, which then became an approved venue for weddings and civil partnership ceremonies, in 2015. After considering, in January 2018, a plan to erect a modern extension on a car park at the rear of the site, the council decided instead, in March 2021, to appoint consultants to develop an alternative proposal involving the redevelopment of the town hall as a creative asset. However, in May 2021 the council also decided to grant the building community asset status, so giving the community the right to acquire the building if it ever came to be offered for sale.

References

{{reflist Government buildings completed in 1906 City and town halls in Cumbria Penrith, Cumbria Grade II listed buildings in Cumbria

History

See also

References