Kendal Town Hall
| Kendal Town Hall | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Location | Kendal, Cumbria |
| Coordinates | 54°19′37″N 2°44′50″W / 54.3269°N 2.7471°WCoordinates: 54°19′37″N 2°44′50″W / 54.3269°N 2.7471°W |
| Built | 1827 |
| Architect | Francis Webster |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Designated | 24 April 1951 |
| Reference no. | 1318980 |
  Location of Kendal Town Hall in Cumbria | |
The Town Hall is a municipal building in Lowther Street, Kendal, Cumbria. It is a Grade II listed building.[1]
History[edit]
The first town hall, known as the "moot hall" was built at the corner of the Market Place and Stricklandgate in 1591.[2] It was a plain white building embellished over the centuries with a Venetian window, a turret clock, a bell cote and a flagpole.[2][a]
After the moot hall was deemed inadequate, the civic authorities acquired the current building, then known as the "White Hall", in 1859.[1] This was a building which had been designed by Francis Webster and completed in 1827.[1] It was so-called because the site had previously been occupied by an earlier White Hall, a building at which cloth was bought and sold, some of it for export to Virginia and other parts of the United States.[4] The building was designed with a large Ionic order loggia on the first floor with a pediment above on its western i.e. front elevation.[1]
The building was converted for use as a town hall by George Webster, the original architect's son, after which it was used as the local facility for dispensing justice as well as a meeting place for the municipal borough of Kendal.[1] The conversion involved the construction of a courtroom to the rear of the building and police cells in the basement in 1859; a large clock tower, financed by a donation from John Wakefield of Sedgwick House, was added in 1861.[4]
Following the implementation of the Local Government Act 1888, which established county councils in every county, the building also became the meeting place for Westmorland County Council.[5][6] The building was extended to the north, to the designs of Stephen Shaw and financed by a donation from Alderman William Bindloss, in 1893.[4]
The County Council moved out to their own facilities at County Hall in Stricklandgate in 1939.[7] The town hall ceased to be the local seat of government when the South Lakeland District Council was formed in 1974.[8] In February 2019 South Lakeland District Council announced works costing £4.9 million to convert the town hall into a reception centre for both the Town Council and the District Council as well as a hub for small businesses.[9]
Works of art held in the town hall include Queen Catherine Parr's prayer book,[10][b] a ceremonial sword presented to the town by King Charles I[12] and a painting by George Romney depicting "King Lear in the Tempest Tearing off his Robes".[13] Outside the building is a lump of stone known as the "Calling Stone", formerly part of Stricklandgate Market Cross, at which the accessions of new monarchs have historically been announced to the local people.[4]
Notes[edit]
- ^ After the civic authorities moved out, the moot hall served as a drapers store until 1969, when it was destroyed in a fire; it was rebuilt in the same style, with the Venetian window surviving, and has since been used for a variety of retail uses.[3]
- ^ Katherine Parr was the daughter of Sir Thomas Parr, the local lord of the manor.[11]
References[edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kendal Town Hall. |
- ^ a b c d e Historic England. "Call Stone Magistrates Court Town Hall (1318980)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
- ^ a b "Memories of the fire that destroyed the Moot Hall". Westmorland Gazette. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
- ^ "Kendal jewellery shop to close". Westmorland Gazette. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Kendal Town Hall". Matthew Pemmott. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
- ^ "Local Government Act 1888". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- ^ "Kendal Birth & Baptism Records". Retrieved 1 September 2019.
- ^ Historic England. "County Offices, Kendal (1410338)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
- ^ Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN 0-10-547072-4.
- ^ "Multi million pound revamp for Kendal Town Hall". The Westmorland Gazette. 4 February 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
- ^ "Prayer book of a Queen in Kendal". BBC. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
- ^ James, Susan (1 January 2009). Catherine Parr: Henry VIII's Last Love. The History Press.
- ^ "Society's summer visits take in a castle, a hall and a mayor's parlour". Cumberland and Westmorland Herald. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
- ^ Romney, George. "King Lear in the Tempest Tearing off his Robes". Art.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2020.