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

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become

town halls In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

and in some cases

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and th ...

s while retaining their original names.

Guildhalls as town hall in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, a guildhall is usually a

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

: in the vast majority of cases, the guildhalls have never served as the meeting place of any specific guild. A suggested etymology is from the Anglo Saxon "''gild'', or "payment"; the guildhall being where citizens came to pay their rates. The London Guildhall was established around 1120. For the Scottish municipal equivalent see tolbooth.

List of guildhalls in the United Kingdom

* Andover Guildhall * Barnstaple Guildhall * Bath Guildhall * Beverley Guildhall * Bewdley Guildhall * Blakeney Guildhall * Boston Guildhall *

Brecon Guildhall Brecon Guildhall ( cy, Neuadd y Dref Aberhonddu), is a municipal building in the High Street, Brecon, Powys, Wales. The structure, which is the meeting place of Brecon Town Council, is a Grade II listed building. History The first municipal b ...

* Bristol Guildhall * Bury St Edmunds Guildhall * Cambridge Guildhall * Canterbury Guildhall *

Cardigan Guildhall Cardigan Guildhall ( cy, Neuadd y Dref Aberteifi), is a municipal building in Pendre, Cardigan, Ceredigion, Wales. The structure, which is now used as an art gallery and community events venue, is a Grade II* listed building. History The firs ...

* Carmarthen Guildhall * Chard Guildhall * Chester Guildhall * Chichester Guildhall * Conwy Guildhall *

Derby Guildhall Derby Guildhall is a municipal building in the Market Place, Derby, England. It is a Grade II listed building. History A moot hall was first established in the Market Place area in 1204. This was replaced by a timber and plaster guildhall in ...

Devonport Guildhall Devonport Guildhall is a municipal building that served as a municipal hall, courthouse, mortuary, and police station, located in the municipal centre of the town of Devonport, in Plymouth, Devon, England. The site fell into disrepair and ...

* Derry Guildhall *

Exeter Guildhall Exeter Guildhall on the High Street of Exeter, Devon, England has been the centre of civic government for the city for at least 600 years. Much of the fabric of the building is medieval, though the elaborate frontage was added in the 1590s ...

* Faversham Guildhall * Gloucester Guildhall * Grantham Guildhall * Guildford Guildhall * Helston Guildhall * High Wycombe Guildhall * Hull Guildhall *

King's Lynn Guildhall King's Lynn Guildhall, more fully referred to as the Guildhall of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is a municipal building in Saturday Market Place in King's Lynn, Norfolk. It is a Grade I listed building. The building was substantially extende ...

* Kingston upon Thames Guildhall * Lavenham Guildhall * Leicester Guildhall *

Lichfield Guildhall The Guildhall is a historic building in Bore Street in Lichfield, Staffordshire in the United Kingdom. The guildhall is a Grade II listed building. History The guildhall takes its name from the ancient Guild of St Mary and St John the Baptist, ...

* Lincoln Guildhall * Liskeard Guildhall * London Guildhall * Middlesex Guildhall *

Much Wenlock Guildhall The Much Wenlock Guildhall is a guildhall located on Wilmore Street in Much Wenlock, Shropshire. It is a Grade II* listed building. History In the aftermath of the dissolution of the monasteries, which saw the powers of Wenlock Priory sup ...

Newcastle-under-Lyme Guildhall The Guildhall is a municipal building in High Street, Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is a Grade II listed building. History The building was commissioned to replace an earlier guildhall located just to the north of the current building. The new guild ...

* Newcastle upon Tyne Guildhall * Merchant Adventurers' Hall, York *

Newport Guildhall, Isle of Wight Newport Guildhall is a municipal structure in the High Street in Newport, Isle of Wight, England. The guildhall, which was the headquarters of Newport Borough Council, is a Grade II* listed building. History The first municipal building in New ...

* Newport Guildhall, Shropshire * Northampton Guildhall * Norwich Guildhall * Oswestry Guildhall * Peterborough Guildhall *

Plymouth Guildhall Plymouth Guildhall is located on Guildhall Square in the city centre of Plymouth, Devon, England. It is a Grade II listed building. History The first guildhall can be dated back to the 15th century and is believed to have been located in the ...

Poole Guildhall Poole Guildhall is a municipal building in Market Street, Poole, Dorset, England. The guildhall, which is used as a register office and a venue for weddings and civil partnership ceremonies, is a Grade II* listed building. History The guildhall ...

* Portsmouth Guildhall *

Preston Guildhall Preston Guild Hall is an entertainment venue in Preston, Lancashire, England. History The Guild Hall was commissioned to replace the town's Public Hall. The new building, which was designed by Robert Matthew, Johnson Marshall, was due to be rea ...

Rochester Guildhall The Rochester Guildhall is an historic building located in the High Street in Rochester, Kent, England. It is a Grade I listed building. History The first guildhall in Rochester was located further south along the High Street on a site where ...

Salisbury Guildhall Salisbury Guildhall is an 18th-century municipal building in the Market Place, Salisbury, England. The building, which is the meeting place of the Salisbury City Council, is a Grade II* listed building. History The first guildhall, known as th ...

* Saltash Guildhall *

Southampton Guildhall Southampton Guildhall (branded the O2 Guildhall Southampton) is a multipurpose venue which forms the East Wing of the Civic Centre in Southampton, England. There are three venues in the Guildhall catering for various event formats: the Guildhall ...

* South Molton Guildhall *

St Ives Guildhall St Ives Guildhall is a municipal structure in Street An Pol, St Ives, Cornwall, England. The structure, which is the meeting place of St Ives Town Council, is a locally listed heritage asset. History The first municipal building in St Ives was ...

* St Mary's Guildhall, Coventry *

Stratford-upon-Avon Guildhall Stratford-upon-Avon Guildhall is a municipal building in Church Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building. History The guildhall was established as a meeting place for the Guild of the Holy Cross, a re ...

* Swansea Guildhall * Thaxted Guildhall *

Thetford Guildhall Thetford Guildhall is a municipal structure in the Market Place in Thetford, Norfolk, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Thetford Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building. History The first building on the site was the ...

Totnes Guildhall Totnes Guildhall is a 16th-century Tudor historic guildhall, magistrate's court, and prison, in the town of Totnes, south Devon, in southwest England. It is a Grade I listed building. History After Totnes was granted a charter by King John ...

Weymouth Guildhall Weymouth Guildhall is a former guildhall at Weymouth, Dorset, England. The building, which was constructed in the 1830s, is a Grade II* listed building. History Weymouth Guildhall was designed by Talbot Bury and constructed between 1836 and 18 ...

* Winchester Guildhall *

Windsor Guildhall The Windsor Guildhall is the town hall of Windsor, Berkshire, England. It is situated in the High Street, about from Castle Hill, which leads to the main public entrance to Windsor Castle. It is a Grade I listed building. History A deed of ...

* Worcester Guildhall * York Guildhall File:Windsorguildhall.jpg,

in Windsor, Berkshire also served as market, town hall and courtroom File:London Guildhall.jpg, Guildhall, London, in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

, is the seat of the Corporation of London, the governing body