Guisborough Town Hall

Guisborough Town Hall
Guisborough Town Hall in 2017
LocationWestgate, Guisborough
Coordinates54°32′09″N 1°03′05″W / 54.5357°N 1.0514°W / 54.5357; -1.0514
Built1821
Restored2021
Architectural style(s)Neoclassical style
WebsiteTown Hall Gateway
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameTown Hall
Designated25 April 1984
Reference no.1329572
Guisborough Town Hall is located in North Yorkshire
Guisborough Town Hall
Shown in North Yorkshire

Guisborough Town Hall is a municipal building on Westgate in Guisborough, North Yorkshire, England. The structure, which has mainly been used as a venue for magistrates' court hearings, is a Grade II listed building.[1]

History

The first building on the site was a medieval tollbooth which enabled Sir Thomas Chaloner and his descendants, who were the lords of the manor, to collect tolls from pilgrims travelling to Gisborough Priory.[2] The tollbooth was demolished in the early 19th century to make way for the current building.[2]

The current building was designed in the neoclassical style, built in sandstone and was completed in 1821.[3] The stone was recovered from a 16th-century manor house known as Tocketts Hall, which had been the home of General John Hale: Hale had married into the Chaloner family and the house subsequently came into the ownership of the politician, Robert Chaloner, shortly before it was demolished in the early 19th century.[2][3] The town hall was initially arcaded with a shambles on the ground floor and an assembly room on the first floor;[4] a second floor was added in 1870.[1] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto Westgate; there were three segmental windows on the ground floor, five sash windows on the first floor and five rounded headed windows on the second floor. The central section of three bays was flanked by full-height pilasters supporting a pediment containing a cartouche with the coat of arms of the Chaloner family in the tympanum.[1]

In the 19th century the magistrates held petty sessions in the building once a fortnight and the lord of the manor held his hearings in the building once a year.[5] Although the area became an urban district in 1894,[6] rather than using the town hall, the new council established itself in council offices in Fountain Street.[7] Instead the town hall continued to be used for magistrates' court hearings and also accommodated the offices of several firms of solicitors.[8] Ownership of the town hall subsequently passed to a pub company which got into financial difficulties: after becoming vacant in 2013, the building was acquired by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council at auction in September 2015.[9]

Renovations

Following the award of grants of £1.1 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and £300,000 from the Tees Valley Combined Authority,[10] work started on the refurbishment of the building in January 2021.[11] The building was renovated by the Durham based firm, Hall Construction,[12] and the local Guisborough firm, Sollet Bros: works include the conversion of the ground floor for use as a heritage and information centre and as a retail unit, and the conversion of the upper floors for use as visitor accommodation and as commercial space.[11][13] The building has 479.6 square metres (5,162 sq ft) of available floor area for tenants, of which the council plans the upper floors to become accommodation to support Guisborough's tourism industry.[14]

The building officially re-opened on 9 April 2022 – featuring a gin distillery, accommodation, and a community information and heritage centre.[15]

  • Photo of Guisborough Town Hall c. 1880.
    Photo of Guisborough Town Hall c. 1880.
  • Photo of Guisborough Town Hall during renovations, 1 October 2021
    Photo of Guisborough Town Hall during renovations, 1 October 2021

References

  1. ^ a b c Historic England. "Town Hall (1329572)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Our town hall lives again". Guisborough Town Hall Gateway Project. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b "'Parishes: Guisborough', in A History of the County of York North Riding: Volume 2, ed. William Page". London: British History Online. 1923. pp. 352–365. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  4. ^ Lewis, Samuel (1848). "'Groton - Gunnerton', in A Topographical Dictionary of England". London: British History Online. pp. 348–360. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Guisborough". Bulmer's History and Directory of North Yorkshire. 1890. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Guisborough UD". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  7. ^ "No. 44853". The London Gazette. 22 May 1969. p. 5414.
  8. ^ "No. 45361". The London Gazette. 6 May 1971. p. 4730.
  9. ^ "Guisborough Town Hall bought by Redcar and Cleveland Council for £70,000". Teesside Live. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  10. ^ "Multi-million pound project to transform derelict building into 'gateway to the North York Moors'". Gazette Live. 12 January 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Work to transform historic town hall has started". Northern Echo. 7 January 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Construction work starts to transform Guisborough Town Hall". Darlington and Stockton Times. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  13. ^ Walker, Martin (2 January 2020). "Guisborough Town Hall secures £1.1m of National Lottery support". Tees Business. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  14. ^ "To Let In Whole or Part By Informal Tender Guisborough Town Hall Westgate Guisborough 2 Ground Floor Commercial Units Upper Floors Suitable for Tourist Led Accommodation" (PDF). Redcar and Cleveland Council. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  15. ^ "Take a look inside revamped Guisborough Town Hall - with new bedrooms and a gin distillery". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 23 April 2022.