Town Hall

The Town Hall, formerly used as a market house and now part of the Bampton Arts Centre, was built with the foundation stone laid on August 8th, 1838, by T. Denton, Esq., with G. Wilkinson as the architect and J. Pettyfer as the builder. In 1906, narrow extensions were added to the east end at the expense of Philip Southby J.P. The building is constructed of coursed rubble limestone with ashlar dressings and features a slate roof with overhanging bracketed eaves. It is designed in an Italianate style, characterized by semi-circular arched openings. The structure is two storeys high and consists of three bays. It has a raised ashlar plinth and impost bands, with flush quoins. The central bays on the north and south sides are slightly advanced and gabled, matching the west gable. Each of these gabled bays features two large arches on the ground floor, adorned with moulded architraves and keyblocks, and a group of three narrow arched windows on the first floor with simpler architraves and keyblocks. The flanking bays have single matching arches on the ground floor and recessed rectangular panels on the first floor, with those on the south side containing fire insurance plaques. Most of the lower arches have 20th-century glazing, while the upper windows are fitted with sashes. The slightly lower extension at the east end is designed in a matching style with a blind arcade, which continues around the north-east corner.