Holborn Town Hall And Library

Holborn Town Hall and Library, now municipal offices, was constructed in two phases. The eastern wing, originally St Giles's Library, was built in 1894 by W Rushworth, while the central and western wings, forming the town hall, were added between 1906 and 1908 by Hall and Warwick. The building is faced with Ancaster and Portland stone and has a steeply pitched slated roof with dormers and pilastered Dutch gables. The architectural style of the library incorporates early French Renaissance details, while the town hall section is similar but with Baroque features.

The building’s symmetrical facade presents nine windows. The eastern wing has an elliptical arch entrance flanked by Corinthian pilasters supporting an entablature, leading to the former library, with enriched double doors. A wrought-iron gate, made by the Bromsgrove Guild of Applied Art, stands to the left of the entrance. A three-light oriel window spans the first and second floors. At first-floor level, a band of Renaissance enrichment covers the oriel apron, flanked by oculi. The pilastered upper floors feature banded decoration on the first and second floors, and diaper patterns on the third. The western wing showcases a round-arched entrance to the former town hall, with a moulded head, keystone, and a carved coat of arms in a segmental pediment. The oriel window on this wing mirrors that of the eastern wing. Decorative enrichment is also present at first-floor level. The third-floor windows are round-arched with moulded heads and keystones. The central ground-floor bays initially had round-arched windows. A wrought-iron balcony by the Bromsgrove Guild is positioned on the first floor. The third floor has three linked oculi separated by festoons. Most of the windows are transom and mullion.

The interior of the town hall includes a large circular hall ascending through all floors and connecting to the main stair and lift. The ground-floor hall features a marble floor with a compass design, an arcade of Doric half columns supporting an entablature, and a shallow dome. Original double doors with Baroque frames, coat-of-arms plaques, and three stained glass First and Second World War memorial windows are also present. The open-well main stair has artificial stone and granolithic paving with a marble dado and an original wrought-iron lift enclosure made by the Bromsgrove Guild. Corridors are vaulted with granolithic paving and oak doors. The prominent rear Council Chamber, located on the first floor, is square in plan and topped by a central dome with a cupola light. The walls are panelled in Austrian oak, with Ionic pilasters and columns supporting an enriched cornice. Windows have small, patterned, leaded panes and an original brass pendant light. Below, the former Court Room is panelled and decorated in Baroque style.