Municipal Buildings

The Municipal Buildings, built between 1847 and 1848 with a clock tower added in 1864 (when the original roof lantern was removed) and a portal in 1876, was designed by Benjamin Ferrey and constructed by Samuel Slade. Originally the Town Hall, the building is of broadmayne brick with ashlar limestone dressings—Bath stone above and Portland stone below. It has a pitched tile roof with moulded ashlar gable coping and polygonal finials, a moulded ashlar eaves cornice, and a crenellated parapet. The north side features five mullion and transom windows with iron glazing bars on the first floor, and four pointed arches with hoodmoulds on the ground floor, originally an open market but now glazed. A central gabled portal sits on colonettes with crocketed capitals and carries a relief of the Borough Arms. The southwest corner has an oriel turret with chamfered corners built on a polygonal clasping buttress and squinches with traceried panels, featuring a band of traceried panelling at eaves level. A corbelled-out bulge is present at the clock level, topped by a lead spire with sprocketed eaves, half-hipped lucarnes, and a weather vane. The west elevation includes two arches at ground floor level, with a segmental two-storey oriel above, featuring crenellated parapet, panelled centre section, and fixed windows with glazing bars. A similar-style two-storey extension is located at the rear. The neo-Tudor detailing and strong vertical emphasis, particularly on the west front, bear a resemblance to Clyffe Hall, Tincleton, rather than Ferrey’s other work in Dorset. The Municipal Buildings, together with Nos. 28 to 33 (consec), form a group.