The Old Town Hall, also known as 1 High Street, is a former municipal building and historic building in the High Street,

Tadcaster Tadcaster is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, north-east of Leeds and south-west of York. Its historical importance from Roman times onward was largely as the lowest road crossing-point o ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, England. The structure, which now forms part of the headquarters of Samuel Smith's Brewery, 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

After acquiring the Manor of Tadcaster from

George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont George O'Brien Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont Royal Society#Fellows, FRS (18 December 1751 – 11 November 1837) of Petworth House in Sussex and Orchard Wyndham in Somerset, was a British Peerage of Great Britain, peer, a major landowner and a ...

in 1855,

Albert Denison, 1st Baron Londesborough Albert Denison Denison, 1st Baron Londesborough, Royal Guelphic Order, KCH, Royal Society, FRS, Society of Antiquaries of London, FSA (''né'' Conyngham; 21 October 1805 – 15 January 1860), was a British Whigs (British political party), Whig Pa ...

, who was a politician and horse racing enthusiast, set about making various improvements to his estate for the benefit of the local people. One of these improvements was a proposed

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

. The site he selected was immediately to the southwest to an old public house, The White Horse, which as part of his improvements, he converted into a hotel for his horse racing guests. The new building was designed in the

neoclassical style Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...

, built in red brick with stone dressings and was completed in 1860. His successor,

William Denison, 1st Earl of Londesborough William Henry Forester Denison, 1st Earl of Londesborough (''né'' Conyngham; 19 June 1834 – 19 April 1900), known as The Lord Londesborough from 1860–87, was a British peer and Liberal politician. He was also one of the main founders of S ...

got into financial difficulties and sold the Tadcaster estate, including the town hall, in 1873. The building remained an important venue for community events and the balcony was the place where the parliamentary election results for

Barkston Ash Barkston Ash is a small village and civil parish close to Selby in North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of C ...

were announced. Petty session hearings were also held in the building on a fortnightly basis, and county court hearings were held there on a bi-monthly basis. In the early 20th century, the first floor of the building became the Cosy Picture House cinema, which operated until 1938. After the Londesborough Arms hotel closed in the early 1970s, both the hotel and the town hall were acquired in 1976 for use as the head office of

Samuel Smith Old Brewery Samuel Smith Old Brewery, commonly known as Samuel Smith's or Sam Smith's, is an independent brewery and pub operator based in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England, established in 1758. It claims to be Yorkshire's oldest brewery. It is known fo ...

. The building was

grade II listed 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, H ...

in 1985.

Architecture

The three-storey building is built of brick, with stone dressings. Its roof is slate, and it has a first-floor balcony constructed of wrought iron. The ground floor has been replaced, and it now has a carriage entrance with wooden doors at the left-hand side, and then a 20th-century bay window to the right. The first floor has tall round-headed windows, which extend up to the second floor, above which there is a

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

, with a plaque depicting a shield. Inside, the original 19th century staircase survives.

References

{{Reflist City and town halls in North Yorkshire Government buildings completed in 1860 Grade II listed buildings in North Yorkshire Tadcaster