Blocks C And D, County Hall

Blocks C and D of County Hall

Block C was built between 1929 and 1939 by J. Stuart and incorporates the former Council offices of Block D, constructed in 1909, probably by F. Whitmore.

Block D is three storeys tall, built in red brick with stone dressings.

Block C has a U-shaped plan and rises to five storeys. It sits on a granite plinth with artificial Portland stone ashlar cladding to the fourth floor, while the fifth floor is faced in red brick beneath the parapet. The fourth and fifth storeys are recessed. The building features rectangular Crittall windows, some with projecting sills on moulded stone brackets. Entrances are located on the northeast and southeast corners, fitted with decorative stone door cases. The north, east and south facades display Greek-key and Corinthian columns with swag decorations on windows above the entrances. Access to the Council Chamber is provided via a third entrance on the north side.

Interior

Block D comprises a central stairwell with rooms leading off it. Block C is planned around a corridor that services rooms to the front. Both blocks have wooden panelling throughout all floors, and the corridor on the ground floor features a vaulted ceiling. The northeast corner staircase has stone steps, a timber handrail and metal balustrade, with square metal columns topped by glass lanterns at each stair-turn. The north entrance provides access to a double-width stone staircase leading to a lobby with a brass handrail.

The lobby and Council Chamber were designed by Vincent Harris and were gifted by W.J. Courtauld. The lobby contains rectangular stained glass windows by Kruger Gray, stagliola columns, metal up-lighters and two murals by Lawrence and Lewis. The Council Chamber is furnished with timber and brass fittings, leather studded doors, and murals by Rushbury, Lyon, Gill, Fleetwood-Walker and Thomson.

Some later 20th-century alterations and additions to office accommodation on all floors have been made to both blocks.

History and Significance

The decorations and fittings of the Council Chamber and lobby were commissioned and gifted by Councillor J.W. Courtauld, who engaged Vincent Harris, a significant designer of civic buildings. The Courtauld family were noted patrons of the arts in the 1930s, both in their home county of Essex and nationally. W.J. Courtauld also gifted Braintree and Bocking Town Hall (Grade II), designed by Vincent Harris with murals by Greiffenhagen. Harris was architect for several successful public and government buildings in the 1920s and 1930s, including Sheffield City Hall (1920-34, Grade II), Manchester Town Hall Extension (1934-38, Grade II), Manchester Central Reference Library (1930-34, Grade II), and government offices between Whitehall and the Embankment in London.

The murals were painted by noted early 20th-century artists influenced by the British School at Rome, many of whom contributed to murals in St Stephen's Hall in the Palace of Westminster. The works were exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1938 before being incorporated as murals into the Chamber and lobby.

Blocks A, B and E of County Hall to the south and west are of no apparent historic interest.