Northumberland Hall (Assembly Rooms)

Northumberland Hall, also known as the Assembly Rooms, was built in 1826 with an octagonal extension added in 1830 by the Duke of Northumberland. The building is three storeys high and features ten windows, constructed from ashlar stone. An arcade of depressed arches wraps around the octagonal east end, which has a band above it. The façade is accentuated by giant order pilasters that support a moulded cornice, with a band below the second floor and a parapet atop the hipped slate roof. There are two ridge chimneys, one on the west and another on the east end wall. Most of the second-floor windows are blind, while the first-floor windows have a glazing bar and casement arrangement for the upper windows. Inside the arcade, the ceiling is made of long slabs, with the first bay from the west blocked and an upright cast iron pump outside that is no longer in use. The old arrangement of market booths is still largely intact, with a small window situated between the doors. The east end of the building is only two storeys high due to the octagonal extension, and the gable end of the main part features a pediment flanked by two giant order pilasters and topped with antefixae. At the west end, there is a blind central ground floor arch that has a tablet commemorating the gift of the Hall by the Duke to the town in 1919.