Town Hall

The Town Hall, located on Chapel Street in Stratford-upon-Avon, was constructed in 1767 with later additions in 1863 and subsequent alterations. Designed by Robert Newman of Whittington, it is built of Cotswold stone with a hipped slate roof and is executed in the Palladian style. The building is two storeys and symmetrical, with a three-bay central section projecting slightly and topped by a pediment. A plat band runs above the ground floor, and a sill band and top modillioned cornice define the upper levels. The ground floor features blocked round arches, now containing windows with 24-pane horns. The first floor has windows with friezes and cornices; the central window has an eared and shouldered architrave, a pulvinated frieze, and a segmental-headed pediment. Remnants of the painted inscription "GOD SAVE THE KING" are visible below the sill band. The pediment displays a relief of the borough arms with husk drops and the date 1767. The Sheep Street elevation, with three bays, mirrors these details; the ground-floor windows have 8/12-pane sashes, and a first-floor niche contains a consoled open pediment sheltering a lead statue of Shakespeare, created in 1769 by John Cheere. This statue is a copy of the famous 1740 statue by Scheemakers located in Westminster Abbey. A panel below the sill band commemorates the Silver Jubilee of 1977. A rear wing includes a porch with a round-arched opening and a sashed window within a round-headed recess, and is topped by a balustraded balcony and a recessed arched porch.

The interior ground-floor room is notable for its rich 19th-century coffered ceiling, panelled pilasters, and inscribed panels listing former bailiffs. A rear room, originally the kitchen, features a high ceiling, tall 4- and 2-light ovolo-mullioned windows, and a large fireplace with a moulded arch and herringbone brickwork. The staircase was likely rebuilt in the 20th century. The first-floor Tuscan ballroom has a cornice and stucco panelling with renewed Rococo relief work and candle sconces, following a fire in 1946, and incorporates two 19th-century fireplaces. The building was inaugurated by David Garrick in 1769 during the Shakespeare Jubilee, an event marked by his presentation of the Shakespeare statue. From 1843, it served as a venue for Corporation meetings and is now used by Stratford Town Council. It is a dignified building situated in a prominent location.