Huddersfield Town Hall Including Wall And Railings To Area

RAMSDEN STREET 1. 5113 (South Side) Huddersfield Town Hall, including wall and railings to area SE 1416 SW 3/1133 II 2. Built in 2 parts, the lower part (to Ramsden Street) 1875-6, the higher part (to Princess Street) 1878-81. Architect of the latter: J H Abbey. Ashlar. 2 storeys, and basement. Earlier part. Moulded eaves cornice, taken on stone brackets along facade. Parapet along facade, with panelled dies, the 2 central ones taller and crowned with urns: they flank the Borough Arms. Ground floor horizontally rusticated and surmounted by entablature. Continuous moulded impost band on 1st floor. 7 window ranges, those on 1st floor round-arched, with keystones and moulded voussoirs, those on ground floor segment-headed and set in recessed panels, with fielded panels in aprons. Steps up to door. Porch in antis, flanked by paired columns taking full entablature with parapet. Area has cast iron railings with ornamental finials at either end, but low wall in front, and piers with fielded panels, moulded cornices and urns on top. Later part. Full entablatures to ground and 1st floors, both modillioned, eaves cornice dentilled as well. Panelled parapet with moulded coping. Ground floor has horizontally rusticated angle piers. 1st floor has a giant Corinthian order. 3 ranges of windows, round-arched with sculpted masks on keystones, moulded voussoirs and impost bands. Ground floor windows and central 1st floor window are sub-divided by a slender colonnette taking 2 round arches with oculus in spandrels. Sculpted panels above flanking 1st floor windows. Central bay breaks forward and is crowned with segmental pediment. Round-arched porch in antis, flanked by paired pilasters taking consoles to cornice. 9 ranges of sashes in side elevations, end bays breaking forward and crowned by segmental pediments. Interior. Concert Hall (in later part) decorated in monumental style, viz, giant pilasters, coved ceiling with moulded stress beams, apsed organ recess, gallery on iron columns, 2 upper galleries, windows with large keystones with masks. Extremely lavish stucco ornament on front of balconies, spandrels of windows, in frieze and on soffits of ceiling beams. Lavish stucco ornament to ceilings and arches elsewhere in building, and elaborate wooden door surrounds. Staircase with elaborately twisted iron balusters. The Town Hall opened in 1881 with a 3 day festival in which Sir Charles Halle said that the Huddersfield Choral Society was the best he had ever conducted.

Listing NGR: SE1446416391