County Hall

County Hall, built between 1904 and 1914, is the headquarters of the North Riding of Yorkshire County Council. It was designed by W H Brierley in the Neo-Wren style.

The building is constructed of ashlar and red brick in English bond, with ashlar dressings and a graduated Westmorland slate roof. It is arranged around a square courtyard plan. The main front comprises 15 bays with 23 bay returns. At the centre of the courtyard stands a square building housing the council chamber. To the rear of the left return is a 9 bay wing. The building is two storeys throughout except for the 3 central bays of the main front, which rise to an attic storey. A continuous moulded ashlar plinth runs throughout.

The main front is symmetrically composed as 1:5:3:5:1. The central 3 bays break forward, with the centre bay constructed in ashlar and the flanking bays in red brick. Seven steps lead up to central double half-glazed doors within a round arched doorway featuring an impost band and moulded archivolt with console keystone, which supports a balcony above. The central bay is flanked by full height engaged Corinthian columns. The side bays have full height Corinthian pilasters set on ashlar strips which clasp the corners. The outer bays feature round arched windows with glazing bars, impost bands, moulded archivolts and double keystones.

On the first floor, large casement windows with glazing bars are set in moulded architraves with frieze and cornices. The outer windows have shouldered aprons with fielded panels. The central window opens on to a balcony with cast iron balustrade. Above the window cornice, set in a semi-circle, are the county arms surrounded by foliage decoration. The window and arms are set within a wide eared round arched architrave with large double keystone. A frieze with dosserets surmounts the columns and pilasters, above which runs a modillioned cornice. The central bay has an open pediment. The attic storey contains oculi in moulded architraves in the outer bays, with stepped end piers and a stepped panel over the central bay. Moulded copings run along the roofline. The hipped roof is finished with banded ashlar and brick corniced end stacks.

The flanking 5-bay brick wings have unequally hung 15-pane ground floor sash windows with segmental heads in eared architraves with double keystones and sills, each with a plain ashlar apron below. An ashlar band runs at the impost level of the windows. On the first floor are unequally hung 15-pane sashes in eared and shouldered architraves with moulded sills; stone bands run at lintel and sill level of the windows. A moulded cornice surmounts each wing, with low parapets with moulded copings. Each wing has a pair of brick ridge stacks with round arched panels to the sides.

The outer bays break forward with raised ashlar quoins and a raised ashlar central panel. In the left bay, this panel is flanked by full height panelled pilasters with a central ground floor unequally hung 15-pane sash in eared and shouldered architrave with double keystone. A continuous sill band runs across. On the first floor, a large round arched window with glazing bars is set back in an eared and shouldered architrave with double keystone. Below the sill is a central shield flanked by large festoons in Wren style. The first floor window breaks through the moulded cornice. A low parapet steps up over the window, decorated with festoons, cornice and blocking course to top. The right bay is similar, with hipped roofs and corniced ridge stacks with round arched panels. The return elevations follow a similar style, with segmental arched sashes and aprons to the ground floor and taller sashes above, all set in architraves. Every fourth bay of the right return is in ashlar; bays 4, 12 and 20 are advanced and pedimented.

The central courtyard contains a boiler-house with the council chamber above. Each first floor facade of the courtyard building has a large Diocletian window breaking through the cornice. The building has a hipped roof with arched dormers containing round windows. At the top is a square cupola with pedimented louvred openings on each side; it is crowned with a lead dome and weathervane.

The interior is richly detailed. The Council Chamber has Baroque detailing with a domed ceiling set in heavily coffered window arches supported by Corinthian columns. The pendentives have plain circle motifs, and the dome is lit by 4 round windows. The grand Committee Room contains a full height Corinthian column screen with moulded architraves, friezes and segmental pediments to the doorways. There is a fine fire surround with Ionic columns, frieze and cornice. An eared and shouldered overmantel carries a swagged coat of arms in a pediment above, with a cornice decorated with dentils and modillions.

The entrance hall is groin vaulted on Tuscan columns and leads to a grand Imperial staircase featuring large panelled newels, bulbous balusters and a polished stone handrail. A 16th-century statue of Samson killing the Philistine crowns the top of the stairs. Above the staircase is an oval drum with balustraded gallery, its ceiling supported by triple Tuscan columns and adorned with elaborate Baroque plasterwork. To the rear of the top landing are three round arches with archivolts and double keystones, the central arch supported on Tuscan columns. The corridors are groin vaulted on Tuscan pilasters with black and white marble floors.