The Council Offices () is a municipal facility at Shirehall Street in
Caernarfon
Caernarfon (; ) is a List of place names with royal patronage in the United Kingdom, royal town, Community (Wales), community and port in Gwynedd, Wales. It has a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the easter ...
, Wales. The structure, which is the headquarters of
Gwynedd Council
Gwynedd Council, which calls itself by its Welsh name , is the governing body for the county of Gwynedd, one of the principal areas of Wales. The council administrates internally using the Welsh language.
History
The county of Gwynedd was c ...
, is a Grade II
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
.
History
The current structure was commissioned as the county prison to replace an earlier
gaol
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cri ...
on the site which had been designed by Joseph Turner and completed in 1793.
The new building, which was designed in the
Gothic style
Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...
, was completed in 1869. The design for the entrance block involved a short frontage of just three bays facing Shirehall Street; the central bay, which was slightly recessed, featured a doorway flanked by lancet windows with a tympanum containing a
quatrefoil
A quatrefoil (anciently caterfoil) is a decorative element consisting of a symmetrical shape which forms the overall outline of four partially overlapping circles of the same diameter. It is found in art, architecture, heraldry and traditional ...
above the doorway; there was a triple
mullion
A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...
ed window on the first floor and a double window on the second floor; to rear of the entrance block was a short prison block which ran east-west and stretched back to meet a much longer prison block which ran north-south. Located to the north of the prison buildings was a 19th century residential property known as Gwylfa.
The site incorporated a
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
tower (known as the Hanging Tower) that once formed part of the
town walls
A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or Earthworks (military), earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as ...
. The last execution in the prison, the hanging of the labourer, William Murphy, for the murder of his girlfriend, Gwen Ellen Jones, was carried out by
Henry Pierrepoint
Henry Albert Pierrepoint (30 November 1877 – 14 December 1922) was an English executioner from 1901 until 1910. He was the father of Albert Pierrepoint and brother of Thomas William Pierrepoint.Caernarvonshire County Council which was based immediately to the south in the old County Hall.
After the implementation of the
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
, the offices, by then known as the "County Offices", became the headquarters of
Gwynedd County Council
Gwynedd Council, which calls itself by its Welsh name , is the governing body for the county of Gwynedd, one of the principal areas of Wales. The council administrates internally using the Welsh language.
History
The county of Gwynedd was c ...
in 1974. A tower with an archway for vehicles, displaying the brightly painted new
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
of Gwynedd County Council and topped with a
mansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...
, was subsequently erected at the north end of the long north-south prison block; this created a link, at first floor level, with the office facilities in Gwylfa.
A modern office block providing additional facilities was built between Castle Street and Shirehall Street in the 1980s. A sculpture of an eagle by Glen Hellman and Jonah Jones, which was commissioned by the county council in 1982 to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the death of
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd ( – 11 December 1282), also known as Llywelyn II and Llywelyn the Last (), was List of rulers of Gwynedd, Prince of Gwynedd, and later was recognised as the Prince of Wales (; ) from 1258 until his death at Cilmeri in 128 ...
, the last
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...
before the conquest of Wales by
King Edward I
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...
, was unveiled in a small courtyard on the east side of Castle Street in 1987.
On 1 April 1996, following implementation of the
Local Government (Wales) Act 1994
The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c. 19) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which amended the Local Government Act 1972 to create the current local government structure in Wales of 22 unitary authority areas, referred to as ...
, the complex became the local seat of government for the new local authority in the area,
Gwynedd Council
Gwynedd Council, which calls itself by its Welsh name , is the governing body for the county of Gwynedd, one of the principal areas of Wales. The council administrates internally using the Welsh language.
History
The county of Gwynedd was c ...