Guildhall Of St George

Guildhall of St George, King's Lynn

The Guildhall of St George is a brick building with ashlar dressings and plain tile roof, now functioning as a theatre and restaurant. It was founded in 1376, granted a charter in 1406, and constructed between 1410 and 1420. Following various theatre and warehouse uses from the mid-16th century onwards, it was restored between 1948 and 1951 by Marshall Sisson and passed to The National Trust.

The building is arranged as a rectangular range running west with the gable-end facing the road. It is two storeys high. The facade features one four-centred doorway on the right and one on the left, both with hood moulds on label stops and double-chamfered arches and jambs separated by a hollow. The doors are 1949 replacements. Between them is a blocked doorway now used as a display case. Above is a six-light double-transomed window with panel tracery, arches to the upper transom lights and window head, much restored. The roof is gabled. The facade is closed on either side by polygonal corner turrets stepping up to the eaves, now encased by adjoining buildings; the southern turret has virtually disappeared. The north and south flanking walls are supported on stepped buttresses. Those to the north were repaired in the 18th and 19th centuries, while those to the south were repaired in the 20th century. Pedestrian arches cut through both sets of buttresses, with the northern ones allowing a town drain to flow alongside the hall.

On the north side, two-light mullioned brick windows lighting the warehouse undercroft remain, one positioned between each buttress. On the south side, these windows have been largely obliterated by later alterations and new building. Four three-light transomed windows with arched lights light the great hall at first floor level on the north side, one between each buttress. The eastern bay is lit through a three-light mullioned window dating to around 1950. The south side retains two similar transomed windows and has various 20th-century fire escape doors, stairs and other attachments. The western gable head has additions from 1948 at first floor level, with earlier buildings abutting the ground floor.

Interior

The internal arrangement comprises a passageway running the entire length of the building on the south side, entered from the corresponding doorway in the facade. The other doorway opens into the 20th-century foyer and leads to a flight of steps on the north side descending into the undercroft, now a restaurant. Against the east wall of the foyer is a 20th-century staircase in 17th-century style rising to the great hall. The south passage has various doorways cut through the brick wall on the north side serving the undercroft and rehearsal rooms at the west end, all of post-16th-century date. On its south side are 20th-century toilet facilities which have blocked mullioned windows that formerly lit the passage. The original function of the passage was to provide access to the rear and the river. Heavy bridging beams support very wide floorboards; some of the beams have been shaved to increase headroom. The foyer contains 20th-century detailing except for a wave-moulded bridging beam running north-south and two chamfered bridging beams running east-west, positioned higher up.

The undercroft originally had a flat timber ceiling supported on heavy bridging beams, part of which survives at the east end. This was replaced in the early 18th century with a brick elliptical vault. The guildhall on the first floor is now ramped up at the east end and fitted with seating. It features multiple-roll moulded wall plates supporting ashlar and a scissor-braced roof of 61 trusses. The external buttresses eliminated the need for tie-beams and king-posts. The building is said to be the largest complete medieval guildhall in England and is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.