Town Hall

The Town Hall, located on Henley Street in Alcester, was originally constructed around 1618, with the upper storey completed and dated 1641. The ground floor was built by Simon White of Chipping Camden. The building is of group value.

The ground floor is constructed of regular coursed lias stone with yellow limestone columns and arches, a moulded string course, and dressings. The arcades were filled in with regular coursed stone in 1873. The upper floor is timber framed, now rendered. The roof is tiled, with recent repairs, and has two brick ridge chimneys. The building is two storeys and comprises six bays wide by two bays deep.

The ground floor features an arcade of six round arches with keystones, supported by short, baseless Tuscan columns with pronounced entasis. Identical entrances are located in the first and last bays, featuring 19th-century four-panelled doors with fanlights containing glazing bars, set within Gibbs surrounds and an arch with a keystone. Round arched windows with glazing bars are also found in similar surrounds. The first floor has horizontal sliding sash windows above the first, third, and fifth arches. The right return side mirrors the ground floor windows. The left return side has a single arch and window to the right, and a largely renewed, blind three-light stone mullioned window to the left. The rear elevation is similar to the front, with five arches; a broad plank door is positioned where the sixth arch would be, set within a 19th-century four-centred arch. Above this door is a three-light stone mullion window.

The ground floor interior is a single room with moulded ceiling beams and cast iron pillars. A former lock-up is situated in the south-west bay. The building contains a 17th-century and a 20th-century staircase. The first floor is a five-bay hall open to the roof, featuring octagonal moulded wall posts. The roof is a hammer beam structure, formerly with queen post trusses, with the central section of moulded tie beams having been cut away, and includes curved braces, additional collars with queen struts, and a longitudinal rib between collars. Late 17th/early 18th-century double-leaf eight-panelled doors and a 20th-century fireplace are also present. An external plaque commemorates the Town Hall’s purchase from the Marquess of Hertford by public subscription in 1919 as a War Memorial. The building was formerly a Scheduled Monument, Warwickshire No.45.