The Town Hall

The Town Hall was begun in the late 1850s by James Wilson of Bath and was extended and enlarged in 1897 by Hans Price, with the north front added in 1927. It is constructed of ashlar stone with a slate roof. The elevation facing Walliscote Road, dating from 1897 (except for the end three windows which are part of the Oxford Street elevation), features an asymmetrical design. It includes a tall, set-back square clock tower made of rubble with bands of ashlar, topped with an elaborate two-stage roof. The main entrance block has an advanced central section with an arcaded porte-cochere and a gabled upper section that features corner pilasters and carved finials. The central part has a group of four round-arched windows flanked by columns, with three round-headed windows on either side and a balustraded parapet. The south wing projects forward and has two storeys plus an attic, with eight round-headed windows and a gabled central dormer that has a pediment and oculus. The doorway is framed by an aedicule with an open segmental pediment. The Oxford Street elevation, added in 1927, is a symmetrical classical block with nine windows featuring glazing bar sashes set in deep reveals. The end pavilions are advanced and have rusticated pilaster strips, with ground floor windows in aedicules topped with pediments. The central window is recessed and flanked by Ionic columns, with a balcony above. The design is completed with a cornice and parapet.