The Guildhall

The Guildhall is a Grade II* listed building located in St Giles' Square, constructed between 1861 and 1864 by E W Godwin. It was extended on the west side from 1889 to 1892 by A W Jeffrey and Matthew Holding. This richly decorated structure is designed in the 13th-century Gothic style, featuring brown and grey stone with a Welsh slated roof. The building has two main storeys and a 14-bay front. The ground floor is arcaded, with windows that have plate tracery and carved panels in the tympana. The upper windows are interspersed with canopied statues on pedestals. Godwin's eastern half includes a vaulted central entrance loggia with three bays and a balcony above, situated under a clock tower with a steeply pitched roof. The west addition has an equal frontage, with the first three bays reduced to two on the first floor, rising to a gable adorned with large corner pinnacles. Inside, the hall features mural paintings by Colin Gill from 1925 and a fine Council Chamber. The building also houses a statue of Spencer Perceval, Prime Minister from 1809 to 1812, sculpted by Chantrey in 1817.