Berkeley_Town_Hall

Berkeley Town Hall

Berkeley Town Hall

Municipal building in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England

For the building in California, see Old Berkeley City Hall.

Berkeley Town Hall is a municipal building in Salter Street, Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England. The structure, which is now used as a community events venue, is a Grade II listed building.[1]

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History

The first municipal building in Berkeley was an ancient market house on the south side of Salter Street. After it became dilapidated, the mayor and aldermen decided to finance and commission a new market house. The site they selected was on the opposite side of Salter Street.[2] They borrowed £400 for the purpose, although ownership of the property was vested in the lord of the manor, Maurice Berkeley, 1st Baron FitzHardinge, whose seat was at Berkeley Castle.[3]

The new building was designed in the neoclassical style, built in ashlar stone and was completed in 1824.[4] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of three bays facing onto Salter Street. The ground floor was rusticated and contained three segmental headed openings, which were fitted with gates and railings, while the first floor was fenestrated by sash windows with window sills. There were piers at the corners on the ground floor, which rose to paired pilasters on the first floor and supported a cornice and a parapet. Internally, the principal rooms were a market hall on the ground floor and an assembly room on the first floor.[1]

By the mid-19th century, the markets had been abandoned and the ground floor was used for the storage of carts and other items. Meanwhile, the assembly room was used by the "British School and Young Men's Society".[2] The borough council, which had met in the town hall, was abolished under the Municipal Corporations Act 1883.[5] The openings on the ground floor were infilled and the market hall fitted out as a series of rooms at the expense of the then lord of the manor, Charles Berkeley, 3rd Baron FitzHardinge, in 1905.[6][7]

Following local government reorganisation in 1974, Berkeley Town Council made the town hall its regular meeting place.[8] It also continued to serve as a venue for public meetings and other community events.[9][10][11] An extensive programme of repairs to the parapet and roof was completed in 1978.[12]

References

  1. [1]
    Historic England. "Town Hall (1222026)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  2. [2]
    Fisher, John (1856). A History of the Town of Berkeley, Its Church, Castle, etc. Lewis Povey. p. 73.
  3. [3]
    Report of the Commissioners Appointed to Inquire Into Municipal Corporations Not Subject to the Municipal Corporations Acts. G.E. Eyre and W. Spottiswoode. 1880. p. 14.
  4. [4]
    Verey, David; Brooks, Alan (2002). Gloucestershire (Buildings of England Series). Vol. 2. Yale University Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-0300097337.
  5. [5]
    Municipal Corporations Act 1883 (46 & 46 Vict. Ch. 18) (PDF). 1883. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  6. [6]
    "Town Trail" (PDF). Berkeley Town Council. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  7. [7]
    "Berkeley 1904 Alteration to Berkeley Town Hall for Rt Hon Lord Fitzhardinge". National Archives. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  8. [8]
    "Agendas and minutes". Berkeley Town Council. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  9. [9]
    "Berkeley Town Hall – Main Hall". Venue Hire. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  10. [10]
    <"Berkeley toddler group appeals for more members". The Gazette. 17 September 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  11. [11]
    "Find out why the Severn could be home to the UK's first prototype Fusion energy plant". Western Gateway. 7 February 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  12. [12]
    "Repairs to roof and parapet at Berkeley Town Hall, Berkeley. Consent". Gloucestershire Archives. 1978. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
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