The County Hall, Including The Former Town Hall, The Former County Constabulary Headquarters And The Judge'S Lodgings

The County Hall complex in Aylesbury comprises four interconnected civic buildings: the County Hall itself (begun 1722, completed 1740, designed by Thomas Harris and a Mr Brandon), the Judge's Lodgings (1850, by David Brandon), the former County Constabulary Headquarters (1865, also by David Brandon), and the former town hall (1865, by EB Lamb). Together they form Buckinghamshire's principal group of 18th- and 19th-century civic buildings, occupying a prominent position on Market Square.

County Hall

The County Hall faces Market Square and is the centrepiece of the group. Its rainwater head is dated 1723, though construction was suspended for lack of funds between 1724 and 1737, with internal fitting completed by 1740. The building is an early provincial example of the Palladian style.

The exterior is seven bays wide and two storeys high over a basement, built in red brick with Ketton-type ashlar stone extending up to the springing of the ground-floor window arches. Chamfered stone quoins emphasise the corners, and a moulded stone string course runs at the level of the springing of the ground-floor window and door arches. A moulded stone cornice and parapet crown the building. The three central bays break forward slightly and are topped with a bracketed cornice and pediment adorned with three stone urns. Two elaborate cast-lead rainwater hoppers feed downspouts that run down the centre of the flanking bays.

The ground floor has five windows and two doorways. The central doorway, originally leading to the magistrates' chamber, is approached by a flight of moulded stone steps that curve outwards on plan, with a heavy wrought-iron balustrade. This doorway is flanked by two semi-circular headed windows. Early 18th-century wrought-iron grilles fill the tympanum of the doorway and all ground-floor windows. To the right is the courtroom doorway with iron-studded doors and a flight of moulded steps. Originally, a matching door on the left provided access to the gaol, but this has been converted to a window. Barred rectangular windows light the basement below.

The first floor has seven windows. The central window is semi-circular headed, framed by Doric pilasters supporting a broken entablature, with the cornice aligned with the springing of the arch, which has a moulded architrave. The remaining six windows have moulded architraves, cornices, and pediments.

Inside, the right-hand door opens onto an early 18th-century staircase with turned bulbous balusters and a broad handrail leading to the courtroom. The staircase arrives at a broad hall, at the back of which are two large bays of panelling with giant Doric pilasters and an entablature framing the entrance to the courtroom. The early 18th-century courtroom suffered severe fire damage on 9 February 1970 and was subsequently recreated with woodwork mouldings and carvings in facsimile, incorporating some original work saved from the fire. It features 'box pews', a gallery, and a raised judge's seat with Corinthian columns and a broken pediment bearing the Royal Arms. The upper hall was remodelled by David Brandon in 1852. The ground floor was divided into offices in the 1950s, but much original fabric appears to survive behind partitions and boxing. The basement contains vaulted cells.

Former County Constabulary Headquarters

Built in 1865 to blend with the County Hall, which it adjoins to the right, the former Constabulary Headquarters uses similar materials and detailing but rises to three storeys rather than two. The ground floor has round-headed openings, while the first and second floors feature pedimented windows.

Former Town Hall

To the left of the County Hall stands the former town hall, built in 1865 in a decorative Jacobean style. It is constructed of red brick with stone detailing including window surrounds, quoins, broad bands defining the floor divisions, and applied pairs of columns to the ground and first floors. The building is two tall storeys high, surmounted at the centre by a gabled parapet. The first floor contains offices above a ground floor that is largely an open, arcaded thoroughfare.

Facing Market Square, the front is slightly asymmetrical, with a main double-width arch flanked on either side by narrower and lower arches for pedestrian access. The first floor has mullion and transom windows, with a large bay window over the main arch. A low balustrade surmounts the front elevation. The left-most bay is tower-like, returning around the corner. The rear façade of the wing, rebuilt in brick above the arches after a fire in 1962, is severely simple, with three windows lighting the first floor. Inside, the arcaded ground floor is supported on stone piers with elaborately carved heads. To the left, an elaborate neo-classical stone doorcase has a carved tympanum with putti supporting a cartouche inscribed 'Thou openest thine hand and satisfyest the desire of every living thing'—presumably this led to the corn exchange. The first floor is occupied by offices.

Judge's Lodgings

Built in 1850 to the rear of the County Hall, the Judge's Lodgings is a three- and four-storey brick building, roughly T-plan, with a low, hipped slate roof. It is broadly in a late Georgian style with some Italianate detailing, particularly evident on its five-bay front façade facing the rear of the County Hall. This is shown in the large brick porch with recessed round-headed brick arches and oversized stone keystones, and in the run of five round-arched windows.

From the double doors, a short passage runs to the large staircase hall at the centre of the building, which retains its wide wooden staircase with low balustrade, newel posts, and ball finials. Running back from the front range is a three-bay range with a large, full-height angular bay projecting to the rear. This bay lights one of the two main reception rooms—a lounge and dining room—which occupy the first floor of the rear of the building and are the principal spaces of interest. There are a number of classical marble fireplaces and deep-beamed ceilings with gilded brackets in the dining room. Otherwise, surviving woodwork and fittings such as fireplaces are very modest.

A three-storey link block connects the Judge's Lodgings to the County Hall. This is pierced by a broad, double-height archway providing vehicular access, with an internal corridor above.

To the north-east side of the Judge's Lodgings, the civic property is bounded by a two-metre-high brick wall, included in the listing for group value.

Historical Context

Aylesbury replaced Buckingham as the county town in the 18th century. The County Hall was designed by Thomas Harris and a Mr Brandon, with Sir John Vanbrugh arbitrating on rival designs submitted. Construction began in 1722, with the rainwater goods dated 1723, but work was suspended for lack of funds from 1724 to 1737. Internal fitting was completed in 1740.

In 1865, David Brandon (whether related to the earlier architect is unclear) added the brick, Jacobean-style town hall and corn exchange to the left of the County Hall, with a high, arched, undercroft-like ground storey allowing access beneath. At the same time, he added the County Constabulary Headquarters to the right in a matching style. The corn exchange and most of the town hall burned down in 1962, but the arched range off the County Hall survives.

Until 1845, when it was replaced by a new building elsewhere in town, a gaol stood to the rear of the County Hall. In 1850, a new Judge's Lodgings designed by Lamb was built on the site, joined to the rear of the County Hall by a narrow link block pierced by a tall arch.

The County Hall and the Bell Hotel form a group with Number 3 Walton Street and the White Swan Inn.