Watford Town Hall

Watford Town Hall

Town Hall designed in 1935 and built between 1937 and 1939 by Charles Cowles-Voysey, assisted by John Brandon-Jones and Robert Ashton. Cowles-Voysey served as master planner, whilst John Brandon-Jones undertook much of the detailed design work. The building has a reinforced concrete frame clad in hand-made bricks with tiled roofs.

The structure occupies a corner site and features a radial plan. The main entrance is set in a central concave facade, originally fronting a roundabout. From this facade, wings extend to either side: the longer wing stretches towards Rickmansworth Road and contains an assembly hall accessed via a separate entrance, whilst the council chamber is positioned in the angle to the rear. The building rises three storeys, with first-floor committee rooms, principal offices and a mayoral suite positioned above the entrance.

The principal concave elevation comprises seven bays with central double doors reached by steps under a lantern clocktower. All windows are casements; those on the first floor are full-height and open on to a balcony. A recessed side return facing the pedestrian precinct extends for seventeen bays. A thirteen-bay range fronts Rickmansworth Road, culminating in a projecting three-bay assembly room with its own entrance of three pairs of glazed double doors beneath a canopy. Cut-brick panels in moulded brick surrounds sit above first-floor full-length casements.

The principal interior rooms are highly decorative and inventive, surviving in remarkable completeness. The staircase hall is panelled in stone with an Imperial stair rising between a square column and a bronze balustrade incorporating stylised female figures. At the top, a curved corridor echoes the facade's form, leading to double doors that open to three curved committee rooms. Folding screens allow these rooms to be combined. All are fully panelled in contrasting veneers with Soaniac plaster cornices, original light fittings and clocks. The members room and mayor's parlour flank this suite, finished similarly with raised and fielded panelling over curved wooden fireplaces and simpler cornices.

Behind this suite lies the double-height council chamber, remarkable for its original fixed seating arranged on steps in three main circles. Its most striking feature is the survival of original woven acoustic panels set between bands of hardwood veneer, with a deeply trabeated ceiling also serving as an acoustic aid. Behind the raised mayoral bench hangs a tapestry panel bearing the borough arms, designed by Anne Brandon-Jones. The chamber retains original light fittings and eight panelled doors.

The assembly hall has its own foyer with a coved ceiling. The hall itself adopts a more streamlined style and includes a full working stage behind a proscenium arch, a flat sprung floor and a balcony with a curved front beneath which original light fittings remain. A coved ceiling surmounts the space. To the left is a buffet featuring columns and more traditional mouldings.

The building represents an unusually rich and complete surviving town hall of the late 1930s, demonstrating that classical style could remain inventive in service of civic dignity. It compares well with other town halls designed by this distinguished practice, who specialised in the genre.