Former Town Hall

This former town hall dates from circa 1812, with substantial rebuilding in 1888–1889 that preserved only the north façade. Minor alterations followed in later years.

Exterior

The building has two storeys above a basement, constructed of local stone with a slate roof concealed behind crenellated parapets on the north and south crow-stepped gables. The principal north façade features octagonal corner turrets with crenellated parapets, their tops slightly corbelled out and connected across the façade by a string-course. Between the turrets, the ground floor displays three Romanesque arcade arches with moulded soffits and cushion capitals, the central two carved with ivy leaves. The arcade is blind except for the central round-headed doorway. Two cast-iron lamps occupy the spandrels. The blind second storey above contains three panels, possibly in Coade stone, bearing heraldic devices: the Royal Arms, the arms of the Dukes of Norfolk, and the town's arms. A clock sits in the apex of the central gable with two blank panels beneath.

The east and west returns have round-arched windows with moulded imposts and hoods on the ground floor, and segmental-arched windows above, marking the two main chambers inside. On the east side, a short projecting tower contains a ground-floor camber-arched door with columns on each side, and a round-arched window above. The southern section of each elevation steps back, with dormer windows on the upper storey and segmental-arched windows below (three bays to the west, including a doorway; two to the east). The south elevation has two windows with flat stone lintels on the ground floor and a large oriel window above with stone corbelling and timber mullions and transoms.

Interior

The majority of fixtures and fittings date to the 1888–1889 phase of works, though the staircase in the eastern tower section may retain some earlier fabric. Two main chambers occupy the ground and first floors in the northern section. The lower hall has Victorian ventilation shafts but later panelling and a later vestibule. The upper hall also has later panelling, though its timber trusses and iron ties date to 1888–1889. The main stone staircase features an iron balustrade and moulded timber handrail. Well-proportioned smaller rooms contain panelled doors, architraves, skirting boards, and other Victorian joinery.

Housed in a timber structure on the north side of the roof is the clock, made by W.H. Bailey of Manchester and given to the town by the Duke of Norfolk in 1820. Three bells flank the clock house: two cast in Croydon in 1889, and one from 1820. The 1820 bell bears the inscription: "His grace the Duke of Norfolk presented the new Town Hall / clock Anno Domini 1820. R. Hurst Esq., and J. Torne, Bailiffs: / R. Steadman, gent., Town Clerk: Sir John Aubrey, Bart., and / Robert Hurst, Esq., Members of the Borough. // Whose praise and fame I'll speak and tell, / As long as I remain a bell, / And after death I hope and trust / They'll all be numbered with the just. //"

Basement Cells

In the basement are two sets of timber cells, probably Edwardian or 1920s in date, each numbered 1–6 and originally intended for men and women. They have matchboard panelled sides, doors with wire grilles, benches, fold-out tables for eating, and original light fittings, handles, and locks. In the northern part of the basement the floor level is higher; the older cells from the 1812 building may have been located here.

History

A town hall has occupied this site since at least the 17th century, with the present structure dating to the 19th century. The appearance of the original building is unknown, but in the Georgian period it took the traditional form of a first-floor chamber raised on an open arcade. By the beginning of the 19th century, the building had become unstable, and the town faced the threat of losing the quarter sessions unless accommodation for the court improved. A gift from the Duke of Norfolk in 1812 enabled rebuilding.

The 1812 reconstruction created a new north façade in the Norman style, battlemented and turreted, decorated with carved coats of arms. Three basement cells lay at its foot. A staircase was built at the south end with an ingress beneath to house the town fire engine, and the open ground floor was permanently enclosed as a lower court room. A photograph from February 1876 held by Horsham Museum shows the north front of this building, which largely matches the current structure's north façade but with a different crow-stepped gable to the second storey.

An article in the West Sussex Times in October 1888 reveals that an eastern tower containing a winding staircase giving access to the upper chamber was added in the late 1860s, when the clock was moved to the north side of the building. The current building has a short tower on its east elevation, likely the same structure. Legal records show that the town hall was mortgaged and the Duke of Norfolk granted £200 for repair of the building circa 1869, further suggesting a minor phase of works in the late 1860s.

By 1888, structural problems had re-emerged and complete rebuilding was considered. Designs by Sussex architect J. Percy Gates of Dolphin Chambers, New Shoreham were drawn up, and £3,000 was sought from the Local Government Board. Only £1,500 was forthcoming, however, due to technicalities about the provision of cells, which meant their construction could not be funded by the Local Board. Ambitions were therefore scaled down and refurbishment pursued instead.

The West Sussex Times article and other contemporary accounts describe how the stone walls of the older town hall were razed and the hall "pulled down with the exception of the north front." This may be an exaggeration—the eastern tower might also have been retained—but substantial remodelling certainly occurred in 1888–1889. Gates' plan and elevation drawings from November 1888 survive and show the proposed designs for the west and south sides of the town hall. These match the current building, suggesting both were built in 1888–1889. A photograph from 1890 shows that the upper parts of the north front's crow-stepped gable were also remodelled and the clock face replaced between 1876 and 1890, most likely in the 1888–1889 phase of works. The architect may have reused stone from the older building. Certainly the need for economy and to maintain consistency with the retained north and east elevations would have encouraged reuse of this good-quality local ashlar. Since 1889, few major changes have taken place to the fabric of the town hall.

The building is listed at Grade II for its circa 1812 north façade commissioned by the Duke of Norfolk in an antiquarian neo-Norman style, as the Duke also favoured at Arundel Castle; for the later work of 1888–1889, possibly reusing the good-quality local ashlar of the original; for its historic interest as the site of local government in Horsham since the 17th century and in this building since the 19th century; and for the two surviving sets of cells in the basement, which are virtually unaltered.