Thornbury Town Hall, is a municipal building in the High Street,

Thornbury, Gloucestershire Thornbury is a market town and civil parish in the South Gloucestershire unitary authority area of England, about 12 miles (19 km) north of Bristol. It had a population of 12,063 at the 2011 Census. The population has risen to 14,496 in the 2 ...

, England. The building, which is the meeting place of Thornbury 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 first building on the site on the east side of the High Street between Silver Street and Soapers Lane was a public house known as the "Wine Tavern" which dated back at least to 1590. It was acquired by an apothecary, John Gayner, who converted it for his own use in 1737. The site was then acquired by an attorney, George Rolph, who decided to demolish the original building and commission the current structure. The new building was designed in the

neoclassical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the 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 prevailing sty ...

, built in brick with a stucco finish and was completed in 1785. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with three bays facing onto the High Street; the central bay featured a portico with Ionic order columns supporting an entablature. The outer bays were fenestrated by tri-partite sash windows and, at roof level, there was a modillioned cornice and a

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'). ...

. Internally, the principal room was a large drawing room at the front of the building on the first floor. Following George Rolph's death in 1815, the house passed to his son, William, who enlarged the property by incorporating two other properties at the rear. Following William Rolph's death in 1848, the building was auctioned and acquired by the local

justices of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. They commissioned a local contractor, Daniel Burchell, to convert the building into a police station and courthouse. Accommodation for the police sergeant and constables was created at the rear of the building. The drawing room was converted into a courtroom, which opened in time for the

quarter sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388 (extending also to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535). They were also established in ...

in March 1860. A large circular plaster cast recording the new use of the building and the date of the conversion was installed on the front of the building at first floor level. Thornbury Rural District Council, which was established in 1894, was not involved in the operation of the courthouse and instead established itself in council offices in Castle Street. The building in the High Street continued to operate as a police station until 1973, when a new police station opened in Rock Street, and continued to host magistrates court hearings until 1986, when the magistrates moved to a modern courthouse in

Yate Yate is a town and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England. It lies just to the southwest of the Cotswold Hills and is northeast of Bristol city centre and from the centre of Bath, with regular rail services to Bristol and Gloucester. ...

. The building then remained empty and deteriorating until it was acquired by Thornbury Town Council in April 1992. Restoration works, which involved the conversion of the courtroom into a council chamber, were completed in 1994. The old custody cells in the police station were restored for use as a visitor attraction and a tourist information centre was established on the ground floor of the building.

References

{{reflist Government buildings completed in 1785 City and town halls in Gloucestershire Grade II listed buildings in Gloucestershire Thornbury, Gloucestershire