Walls, Gate Piers And Gates To Town Hall Gardens

The walls, gate piers, and gates to the Town Hall Gardens were built in 1908 by Edward Mountford for Lord Ashton as part of the Town Hall scheme on Dalton Square. Constructed from sandstone ashlar and ironwork, the walls run along Nelson Street from the south-east corner of Dalton Square and down Robert Street to the corner of the Computer Block on George Street. They feature a deep plinth that supports a balustrade made of heavy vase balusters between panelled dies.

The gateways, located on Dalton Square and George Street just east of the Town Hall, are similar in design. Each gateway has three square piers that separate the footway from the carriageway, which follows the original alignment of Robert Street. Above a chamfered plinth, each pier has two plain bands that interrupt moulded vertical panels, topped with a cornice and blocking course. Between the piers hang pairs of heavy ornamental gates made of cast and wrought iron. The central panels of the gates are decorated with turned balusters and feature a panel at the top that contains a wreathed shield with the arms of both the Borough of Lancaster and Lord Ashton, flanked by red roses. Similar gates also secure the entrances to the footway and the Town Hall basement.