The Town Hall

The Town Hall is an Italianate style building dating from the late 19th century. It has a basement, two main storeys, and a prominent central clock tower with a cupola. The building is constructed of brown squared rubble stone with Bath stone dressings, and has hipped slate roofs hidden behind balustraded parapets. The plan is roughly square, but features recessed sections on its east and west faces, with side wings stepped out. A taller central section houses the council chamber and rises above the main roofline.

The exterior is characterised by a high rubble plinth running around the building, a cornice above the ground floor, and a larger cornice above the first floor, with balustrades above that. Channelled angle pilasters and ashlar walling are present below the window sills, along with balustrade panels beneath the windows, or plain panels on less prominent elevations. The windows are plate glass sashes with rusticated surrounds on the ground floor and ashlar recessed pilaster jambs on the first floor, where the intermediate walling is treated as piers beneath the main entablature.

The east front is arranged with two to three bays. The lower wings project forward, while the central section features a tall first floor with three tripartite windows topped with lunette heads, pilasters between them, and a cornice that projects forward over the centre. The ground floor has a window on either side of a large, projecting arched porch, which is arched on three sides with fluted angle piers, an enriched entablature, a front pediment, and side balustrades. Above the pediment is a statue of Justice flanked by lions, with a lion mask in the tympanum.

The clock tower is square with channelled angle piers, clock faces, and the date 1895 in a cartouche below the east-facing clock face. It features a cornice, balustrades, and corner urns. The cupola above is arcaded and octagonal, with angle pilasters, a cornice, and pediments to the cardinal faces. It has a short upper ashlar stage leading to a minor cornice under a leaded, octagonal, bell-cast dome topped with a finial.

The side elevations are stepped out twice from the front angle—first a one-window bay, then a bay with paired windows on each floor, followed by a three-bay centrepiece, then a single, two-bay set-back with matching paired and single windows. The south side’s centrepiece is more ornate, incorporating the former mayor’s entrance and proclamation balcony above. The balcony is supported by heavy, curved ashlar brackets and sits above an arched, now blocked, doorway. The first floor centre is pilastered with an arched centre, a French window, and a pediment above. The outer bays have a single window on the ground floor and a Venetian window on the first floor.

The north front’s centrepiece has three paired windows below and three tripartite windows above, mirroring the design elsewhere.

The rear of the building has a more utilitarian recessed centrepiece with large ashlar mullion and transom windows to the council chamber. A plaque records the opening date of 31 March 1896.

The interior features tiled floors and lateral entrance halls leading to staircases on the north and south sides. The council chamber underwent alterations around 1970, resulting in the loss of furnishings and galleries. Some wall piers and a coved, panelled ceiling remain.