Buxton Town Hall: Difference between revisions
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A competition was held in 1886 for the design of the new town hall. William Pollard's design won the £50 prize and James Salt's local firm was selected to build it at a tender of £8,900 (Salt also built the Entertainment Stage theatre, which is now the Pavilion Arts Centre). The chairman of the governing Local Board, Edward Milligan, laid the foundation stone in June 1887 (Queen Victoria's Jubilee year). The Marquess of Hartington conducted the official opening of the town hall in June 1889.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Langham|first=Mike|title=Buxton: A People's History|publisher=Carnegie Publishing|year=2001|isbn=1-85936-086-6|pages=89-93}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Morten|first=David|title=Buxton in 50 Buildings|publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited|year=2018|isbn=9781445678948}}</ref> | A competition was held in 1886 for the design of the new town hall. William Pollard's design won the £50 prize and James Salt's local firm was selected to build it at a tender of £8,900 (Salt also built the Entertainment Stage theatre, which is now the Pavilion Arts Centre). The chairman of the governing Local Board, Edward Milligan, laid the foundation stone in June 1887 (Queen Victoria's Jubilee year). The Marquess of Hartington conducted the official opening of the town hall in June 1889.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Langham|first=Mike|title=Buxton: A People's History|publisher=Carnegie Publishing|year=2001|isbn=1-85936-086-6|pages=89-93}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Morten|first=David|title=Buxton in 50 Buildings|publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited|year=2018|isbn=9781445678948}}</ref> | ||
The clock on the clock tower was a gift from the Duke of Devonshire's tenants in 1889, in honour of Lord Frederick Cavendish, who was stabbed to death aged 45 in the Phoenix Park Murders in [[Dublin]] in May 1882 (shortly after arriving to take up his new post as Chief Secretary for Ireland).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/52ff9490-dc84-3f35-8e7d-4be04efddff9|title=Papers of Lord Frederick Cavendish (1836-1882)|publisher=Archives Hub|access-date=15 August 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rct.uk/collection/2907247/lord-frederick-cavendish-1836-82-assassinated-in-the-phoenix-park-dublin-may-6th|title=Lord Frederick Cavendish (1836-82); Assassinated in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, May 6th 1882|publisher=Royal Collection Trust|access-date=15 August 2020}}</ref> There is a bust of Lord Cavendish (son of the 7th Duke of Devonshire) on display inside the town hall.<ref>[https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/education/educational-images/town-hall-market-place-buxton-6905 Town Hall, Market Place, Buxton, Derbyshire]: English Heritage, Educational Images/ref> | The clock on the clock tower was a gift from the Duke of Devonshire's tenants in 1889, in honour of Lord Frederick Cavendish, who was stabbed to death aged 45 in the Phoenix Park Murders in [[Dublin]] in May 1882 (shortly after arriving to take up his new post as Chief Secretary for Ireland).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/52ff9490-dc84-3f35-8e7d-4be04efddff9|title=Papers of Lord Frederick Cavendish (1836-1882)|publisher=Archives Hub|access-date=15 August 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rct.uk/collection/2907247/lord-frederick-cavendish-1836-82-assassinated-in-the-phoenix-park-dublin-may-6th|title=Lord Frederick Cavendish (1836-82); Assassinated in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, May 6th 1882|publisher=Royal Collection Trust|access-date=15 August 2020}}</ref> There is a bust of Lord Cavendish (son of the 7th Duke of Devonshire) on display inside the town hall.<ref>[https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/education/educational-images/town-hall-market-place-buxton-6905 Town Hall, Market Place, Buxton, Derbyshire]: English Heritage, Educational Images</ref> | ||
The previous town hall (known as Central Hall) was located in Eagle Parade on the Market Place in Higher Buxton. The old town hall had been a meeting place for the people of the town, while the Local Board of Buxton met at the Old Courthouse to run the town's affairs. In 1894 the Local Board evolved into the Buxton Urban District Council, which eventully moved to the town hall.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Roberts|first=Alan|title=Buxton Through Time|publisher=Amberley Publishing|year=2012|isbn=978 1 4456 0817 4|pages=50-51}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Leach|first=John|title=The Book of Buxton|publisher=Baracuda Books Limited|year=1987|isbn=0 86023 286 7|pages=65, 66, 69, 101, 105}}</ref> | The previous town hall (known as Central Hall) was located in Eagle Parade on the Market Place in Higher Buxton. The old town hall had been a meeting place for the people of the town, while the Local Board of Buxton met at the Old Courthouse to run the town's affairs. In 1894 the Local Board evolved into the Buxton Urban District Council, which eventully moved to the town hall.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Roberts|first=Alan|title=Buxton Through Time|publisher=Amberley Publishing|year=2012|isbn=978 1 4456 0817 4|pages=50-51}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Leach|first=John|title=The Book of Buxton|publisher=Baracuda Books Limited|year=1987|isbn=0 86023 286 7|pages=65, 66, 69, 101, 105}}</ref> | ||
Revision as of 12:56, 17 June 2021
| Town Hall | |
|
Derbyshire | |
|---|---|
 King's Head Inn, Town Hall and Market Cross | |
| Type: | Town hall |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SK05837333 |
| Location: | 53°15’25"N, 1°54’51"W |
| Town: | Buxton |
| History | |
| Built 1887-1889 | |
| By: | William Pollard |
| Town hall | |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | High Peak Borough Council |
Buxton Town Hall stands on the Market Place in Buxton, the 'Capital' of the Peak District, in Derbyshire. It is in the town's central Conservation Area, overlooking The Slopes. The Town hall was completed in 1889, built by William Pollard for Buxton in its days as a prospering, upmarket spa resort town. It is a Grade-II listed building.[1]
History
The building was designed in the style of a French château (with a Mansard roof crested with iron railings, Venetian windows and a clocktower with a cupola) by the Manchester architect William Pollard (who also designed Buxton College's Gothic-style 'new building' in 1880).
In September 1885, the town's Market Hall (designed by Henry Currey) was destroyed by a fire: the fire brigade with the town's new fire engine was unable to control the fire started by a paraffin lamp in one of the shops in the Market Hall. The site of the lost Market Hall the site was selected for the new town hall.
A competition was held in 1886 for the design of the new town hall. William Pollard's design won the £50 prize and James Salt's local firm was selected to build it at a tender of £8,900 (Salt also built the Entertainment Stage theatre, which is now the Pavilion Arts Centre). The chairman of the governing Local Board, Edward Milligan, laid the foundation stone in June 1887 (Queen Victoria's Jubilee year). The Marquess of Hartington conducted the official opening of the town hall in June 1889.[2][3]
The clock on the clock tower was a gift from the Duke of Devonshire's tenants in 1889, in honour of Lord Frederick Cavendish, who was stabbed to death aged 45 in the Phoenix Park Murders in Dublin in May 1882 (shortly after arriving to take up his new post as Chief Secretary for Ireland).[4][5] There is a bust of Lord Cavendish (son of the 7th Duke of Devonshire) on display inside the town hall.[6]
The previous town hall (known as Central Hall) was located in Eagle Parade on the Market Place in Higher Buxton. The old town hall had been a meeting place for the people of the town, while the Local Board of Buxton met at the Old Courthouse to run the town's affairs. In 1894 the Local Board evolved into the Buxton Urban District Council, which eventully moved to the town hall.[7][8]
The town hall was built from high quality millstone grit from the local Nithen Quarry at Corbar Hill. The arches at either side were initially open arcades but were subsequently converted into internal rooms. The town hall contained first free public library in the town. There was originally a ballroom on the first floor, which is now offices.
In front of the town hall is the 15th century market cross. During the 20th century the cross was moved from the centre of the market place to sit next to the 1840 drinking fountain (at the top of Fountain Street) and later to its current position. Before 1813 (when the town was granted a market charter) it had stood on Cockerd Hill (now Palace Fields). The market cross is a Grade II listed monument.[9]
Current use
The Town Hall is still used by the local council, a vast entity these days, which alternates its meetngs between Buxton Town Hall and Chapel-en-le-Frith Town Hall.
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Buxton Town Hall) |
References
- ↑ National Heritage List 1259171: Town Hall (Grade II listing)
- ↑ Langham, Mike (2001). Buxton: A People's History. Carnegie Publishing. pp. 89-93. ISBN 1-85936-086-6.
- ↑ Morten, David (2018). Buxton in 50 Buildings. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781445678948.
- ↑ "Papers of Lord Frederick Cavendish (1836-1882)". Archives Hub. https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/52ff9490-dc84-3f35-8e7d-4be04efddff9.
- ↑ "Lord Frederick Cavendish (1836-82); Assassinated in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, May 6th 1882". Royal Collection Trust. https://www.rct.uk/collection/2907247/lord-frederick-cavendish-1836-82-assassinated-in-the-phoenix-park-dublin-may-6th.
- ↑ Town Hall, Market Place, Buxton, Derbyshire: English Heritage, Educational Images
- ↑ Roberts, Alan (2012). Buxton Through Time. Amberley Publishing. pp. 50-51. ISBN 978 1 4456 0817 4.
- ↑ Leach, John (1987). The Book of Buxton. Baracuda Books Limited. pp. 65, 66, 69, 101, 105. ISBN 0 86023 286 7.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1258033: Market Cross, Market Place (Grade II listing)