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Guildhall is an 18th-century municipal building in central
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
, Somerset, England. It is a Grade I
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 earliest mention of a
guildhall A guildhall, also known as a guild hall or guild house, is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Europe, with many surviving today in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commo ...
here was in 1359, where it used to be the meeting place of the powerful trade guilds. The medieval guildhall (situated behind the modern building) was mentioned by Elizabeth Holland in 1602 as a timber-framed building with a tiled roof and stone floors strewn with rushes. This building was replaced by a Jacobean guildhall, on approximately the same site, in 1625. The building consisted of a council chamber and an armoury (where weapons were stored prior to the
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
) on the first floor. By the end of the 17th century, the room was used for social gatherings, concerts and plays. The building was considerably enlarged to a design by William Killigrew in 1725, and a series of specially commissioned paintings by Jan Baptist van Diest was subsequently put on display. The current
Bath stone Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate originally obtained from the Middle Jurassic aged Great Oolite Group of the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England. Its h ...
building, designed by Thomas Baldwin, was built between 1775 and 1778 and extended by John McKean Brydon in 1893. The central facade has four Ionic columns and the building is surmounted by the figure of Justice. The central dome and the north and south wings were added in 1893 and form a contiguous building with the
Victoria Art Gallery The Victoria Art Gallery is a public art museum in Bath, Somerset, England. It was opened in 1900 to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. It is a Grade II* listed building and houses over 1,500 objects of art including a collectio ...
, which was also built around the same time. The interior has a banqueting hall with engaged Corinthian columns, 18th-century chandeliers and royal portraits. The room is used on royal visits to the city:
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
had lunch in the banqueting room in May 2002. The building now houses the council chamber for
Bath and North East Somerset Council Bath and North East Somerset Council is the local authority for Bath and North East Somerset, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also pe ...
and the
register office A register office, commonly referred to unofficially as a registry office or registrar's office is an office in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and some Commonwealth countries responsible for the civil registration of births, deaths, marri ...
for
Bath and North East Somerset Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES) is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority district in Somerset, South West England. Bath and North East Somerset Council was created on 1 April 1996 following the abolition of the county of Avon. ...
; the building is also used as a wedding venue, and the record office also houses the Bath and North East Somerset Archives and Local Studies services. The Guildhall also serves as one of the venues for the Bath International Music Festival and other cultural events. It has been used for filming period dramas and miniseries such as ''
The Trial of Christine Keeler ''The Trial of Christine Keeler'' is a British television series based on the chain of events surrounding the Profumo affair in the 1960s. The six-part series premiered on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 29 December 2019. The series was adapte ...
'' (in 2019). The 19th-century archway at the rear of the building, on Orange Grove, is a Grade II listed structure. The archway connects the Guildhall to the Old Police Station.


Bath Guildhall Market

In 1552, a single-storey market house was built on the site of the medieval marketplace on High Street. This building was later demolished and combined with the Jacobean guildhall, completed in 1627. Bath Guildhall Market is behind the Guildhall, and can be accessed by its own entrance tunnel through the Guildhall. It has traded on its site for the last 800 years. About 20 stall holders trade there nowadays. The Guildhall Market suffered considerable damage in a fire on 25 April 1972.


Gallery

File:Bath Guildhall piv.jpg, The Guildhall in 1864 before the extensions were built File:High Street, Bath, England-LCCN2002696373.jpg, The Guildhall circa 1895 File:Bath Guildhall, Council chamber, toward chair.jpg, Council Chamber File:Bath Guildhall, Alkmaar Room.jpg, Alkmaar Room File:Bath Guildhall frise.JPG, Neoclassic frieze (John Brydon, architect)


References


External links


360 degree panorama

Guildhall covered market
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bath Guildhall Government buildings completed in 1775
Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a guild hall or guild house, is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Europe, with many surviving today in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commo ...
Politics of Bath and North East Somerset City and town halls in Somerset Domes in the United Kingdom Government buildings with domes