Ballymena Town Hall: Difference between revisions
Created page with "{{Infobox building |name=Ballymena Town Hall |county=Antrim |picture=Ballymena Town Hall (geograph 6611054).jpg |picture caption=Ballymena Town Hall |os grid ref=D10700316 |latitude=54.8641 |longitude=-6.2764 |address=Bridge Street |town=Ballymena |type=Town hall= |built=1928 |architect=Jones and Kelly |style=Neoclassical |website= }} '''Ballymena Town Hall''' is a municipal structure in Bridge Street in Ballymena, County Antrim. Today it is the headquarters of M..." |
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|architect=Jones and Kelly | |architect=Jones and Kelly | ||
Latest revision as of 07:50, 13 March 2025
| Ballymena Town Hall | |
|
County Antrim | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Ballymena Town Hall | |
| Type: | Town hall |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | D10700316 |
| Location: | 54°51’51"N, 6°16’35"W |
| Town: | Ballymena |
| History | |
| Address: | Bridge Street |
| Built 1928 | |
| By: | Jones and Kelly |
| Town hall | |
| Neoclassical | |
| Information | |
Ballymena Town Hall is a municipal structure in Bridge Street in Ballymena, County Antrim. Today it is the headquarters of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council
The town hall is a Grade B1 listed building.[1]
History
The first municipal building in the town was a market hall in Bridge Street which was completed in 1684,[2] and had a steeple which was 60 feet high:[3] this was later referred to by the local member of parliament, Sir Robert Adair, as one of the "Seven Towers" of Ballymena.[4] On 7 June 1798, during the 1798 rebellion, a force of about 10,000 United Irishmen led by James Dickie, stormed and burned the market hall, killing three of its defenders and forcing the surrender of the local yeomanry forces commanded by Robert Davison.[5][3] The market hall, which by then also contained the local post office as well as the council chamber, burnt down in 1919.[4]
In the early 1920s, civic leaders decided to create a new municipal building on the same site. The foundation stone for the new building was laid by the Duke of York on 24 July 1924.[6] It was designed by Jones and Kelly in the neoclassical style, built in ashlar stone by John Carson at a cost of £26,400 and was officially opened by the Duke of Abercorn on 20 November 1928.[7] The design involved a symmetrical frontage at the junction of Bridge Street and Mill Street; the corner section featured a doorway on the ground floor and a sash window on the first floor flanked by full-height Doric order columns supporting an entablature inscribed with the dates "1684–1928"; on the second floor there were three lancet windows and at roof level there was a two-stage clock tower with a canopy. Internally, the principal room was the council chamber.[8]
The town was advanced to the status of municipal borough, with the town hall as its headquarters, in 1937.[4] In the merging of councils into larger and larger entities since then, the town hall has remained the meeting place of successor councils.
As part a major programme of works costing £16.8 million, which were carried out to an architectural design by Consarc Design with museum design by Ralph Appelbaum Associates, the town hall was refurbished and extended to create an arts venue.[9] It was officially opened by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall as the Braid Arts & Museum Centre, after the local river, on 21 May 2008.[10]
References
- ↑ Town Hall, Bridge Street / Mill Street, Ballymena: Listing (HB 07/16/019)
- ↑ "1928: Town Hall, Ballymena, County Antrim". Archiseek. https://www.archiseek.com/2014/town-hall-ballymena-co-antrim/.
- ↑ Jump up to: 3.0 3.1 Lewis, Samuel (1837). "A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland". S. Lewis & Co. https://www.libraryireland.com/topog/B/Ballymena-Lower-Toome-Antrim.php.
- ↑ Jump up to: 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Ballymena : A brief history of the town". Ballymena Borough Council. http://www.ballymena.gov.uk/historyandheritage.asp.
- ↑ "Northern Ireland Battlefield Register". Mid and East Antrim Borough Council. https://www.midandeastantrim.gov.uk/downloads/ballymena-masterplan-appendices.pdf.
- ↑ Ballymena Town Hall, 1924: Contemporary Accounts of the Laying of the Foundation Stone by HRH the Duke of York on Thursday, 24 July 1924. Ballymena Borough research series. 1990.
- ↑ "County Andrim, Ballymena, Town Hall". Dictionary of Irish Architects. https://www.dia.ie/works/view/61908/building/CO.+ANTRIM,+BALLYMENA,+TOWN+HALL.
- ↑ "Refurbishment of the Council Chamber at The Braid in Ballymena". Martin and Hamilton. https://www.martinandhamilton.co.uk/listing.php?articleID=213.
- ↑ "Braid Arts Centre". MB Architectural. http://www.mbarchitectural.com/projects/restoration_and_heritage/view/restoration_Braids%20_Arts_Centre.
- ↑ "Building for the Arts in Ballymena". The Arts Council. 21 May 2008. http://artscouncil-ni.org/news/building-for-the-arts-in-ballymena.