Town Hall, The Diamond, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry, BT52 1DE

Coleraine Town Hall is a freestanding, two-storey Italianate-style civic building in coursed ashlar sandstone, erected between 1857 and 1859 to designs by Thomas Turner, a Dublin-born architect then practising in Belfast. It stands at the centre of The Diamond in Coleraine and replaced an earlier market house completed in 1743. The building is oblong on plan, characterised by balanced and elegant proportions, and is considered among Turner's finest works. It continues to function as a Town Hall with council offices beneath a multi-purpose auditorium.

Architectural Overview

The partially hipped slate roof sits behind a stone blocking course with a modillion cornice, and is punctuated to the north and south by tall paired chimneys interconnected by a wall pierced by a keystoned oculus. The walling is smoothly finished, coursed ashlar sandstone with channelled banding to the ground floor above a continuous sill course. Moulded string and sill courses wrap around each elevation. The central bays on the short axis advance, with a pediment over the east elevation (added around 1902) and a prominent five-stage clock tower rising above the west elevation.

Clock Tower

The square-plan tower advances from the centre of the principal west elevation and is connected to the main structure at ground floor level by parapetted curved walls, each containing a rounded window in a chamfered reveal with diminutive casements to either side. The upper level of the tower has a central window with a stone balustrade; the re-entrant angles carry blind roundels to the tower cheeks, while those on the main elevation contain carved shields. The third stage is baroque in character, breaking through the eaves with segmental pediments carried on engaged pilasters, with squared openings screened by ornate cast-iron grilles — supplied by Richard Turner, Thomas Turner's father and Dublin innovator of glass conservatories. Above this is the clock stage, rising to a square stone lantern surmounted by a leaded cupola with concave, chamfered corners.

Windows and Doors

The windows are replacement timber with plain glass, with some modern decorative frosting to the ground floor panes. To the ground floor, the windows are segmental-headed timber sashes with circular piercings to the frieze above. The upper storey has rounded twin-paned windows with semi-circular heads encased within projecting moulded architraves, intermittently punctuated by raised blocks. A leaded and stained glass window is positioned right of centre on the north elevation. Door openings are segmental-headed with squared, multi-panelled replacement timber doors, generally set within plain architraves with plain glass transoms over.

Elevations in Detail

The principal west elevation is three openings wide with the five-stage tower advancing from the centre. The north elevation is eight openings wide, with the far right and second-from-left openings advancing slightly. The far right bay contains a double-leaf door flanked by narrow squared windows; the two openings to the far left have similar narrow windows to each side, though the central window in the far left bay is narrower than those of the other openings. The east elevation is three openings wide with a projecting, pedimented central bay; the doorway is encased within a stepped and moulded segmental architrave with a central keystone, carried on pairs of engaged pilasters, with console brackets and a keystone supporting the string course above, over which sits a central window. Narrow windows flank this on the ground floor, with carved blind roundels above as on the west elevation. The south elevation is similarly detailed to the north, except that the door opening is located left of centre, and the end bay to the right is the only opening flanked by narrow squared windows.

Historical Background

The site was previously occupied by a market house designed by George Dance Senior, Clerk of the City Works in London and a freeman of the Merchant Taylors' Company, who was commissioned to design it in 1742. A grant of £700 and 35 tons of timber was made available by the Irish Society, and the building was constructed by Alexander Miller, master builder and carpenter, and completed in 1743. It comprised a two-storey building and tower, with a courthouse on the upper floor and open arcades beneath. Following severe lightning damage in 1787–9, the building was reconstructed to designs by Edward Mills. In 1829, trading of goods and animals was transferred to a new market yard to the south-west of the Diamond, after which the building acquired a clock, was enlarged, and its arcades were filled in.

In the 1850s, moves were made to replace the old market house with a new Town Hall. The Irish Society's surveyor, Stewart Gordon of Londonderry, was engaged as supervising architect. The foundation stone of the new building was laid on 21st July 1857, when a public holiday was declared and all places of business closed so that the general public could attend the ceremony. Inhabitants were encouraged to subscribe towards the cost of the building and to purchase tickets for a celebratory banquet. The contractor was Henry McLaughlin of McLaughlin and Harvey, a native of Coleraine who had served his apprenticeship in the town.

The completion of the Town Hall was reported in the Dublin Builder in March 1859, the building being described as "exceedingly chaste, reflecting the greatest credit on the architect Mr Turner of Belfast, as well as on the contractors." The final cost was £4,146 19s 10½d, exceeding the estimate by over £1,000. The Town Hall was handed over to the Town Commissioners on 19th February 1859. An elaborate opening ceremony had been planned but, by that time, the 1859 religious revival was sweeping Ulster, and the ceremony was replaced with a religious service conducted by the town's clergymen. The newly completed Town Hall provided shelter for those who had been overcome during the revival. In gratitude, Presbyterian ministers subsequently presented the Revival Bible to the Town Commissioners, one of the few surviving artefacts from that event. The building's official opening, postponed since 1859, finally took place on 3rd June 2009.

Alterations and Later History

In 1902–3, the Town Hall was extended to the east by the addition of an extra bay containing a new stairway and doorway, entailing an increase of £50 in the valuation. This extension was designed by William James Given, then Coleraine's town surveyor, and completed at a cost of £3,000. The western door was permanently closed at this time. In 1914, a fine stained glass window by Campbell Brothers of Belfast was inserted to commemorate the tercentenary of the Irish Society. It illustrates the Irish Society Schools in 1869, the Salmon Leap in 1836, the Diamond in 1815, and the Parish Church as restored in 1775.

Valuer's notes from the 1930s record that the ground floor accommodation then comprised the gas collector's office, a council chamber, a room let out as a mechanics' library, a kitchen, and a strong room. On the first floor was the main hall, seating approximately 650 people and generating an annual income of £123 9s.

The building was cleaned and partly refaced in 1961. In 1992, a massive explosion at the south-east corner caused extensive structural and surface damage inside and out. Repairs provided the opportunity to update the construction and facilities. Stonework was repaired through a combination of stone replacement, dressing back, and mortar repairs; the interior was thermally insulated and renovated. A disabled lift was installed, WC facilities were modified and extended, the stage area in the main hall was enlarged, and the balcony area was reopened. New terrazzo floors were laid in circulation areas, with tiled inserts depicting the Coleraine Town Crest. The Council Chamber and Mayor's Parlour were fitted with oak strip flooring. A commemorative window for the Queen's Golden Jubilee was commissioned in 2003. Other works of art in the hall include marble busts of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra by Merret of London, presented to the Corporation of Coleraine by the Irish Society.

Setting

The Town Hall occupies an exceptionally prominent position at the centre of The Diamond, Coleraine. Its elevated site ensures that it terminates the primary urban axes approaching from the east along Church Street and from across the river to the west towards Waterside. The building dominates this commercial square and is surrounded by a number of other historic structures, most notably the War Memorial at the east entrance, the Orr Memorial to the west, the Bank of Ireland building at 1–2 The Diamond, the former Belfast Bank at 14 The Diamond, and the building at 24 The Diamond, currently occupied by Halifax Building Society. Primary public access is from the east, while the south doors lead to the council rooms, accessed via modernised steps and ramps.