Cambridge Guildhall
| Cambridge Guildhall | |
|
Cambridgeshire | |
|---|---|
 Cambridge Guildhall | |
| Type: | Town hall |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TL44925840 |
| Location: | 52°12’18"N, -0°7’9"E |
| City: | Cambridge |
| History | |
| Address: | Market Hill |
| Built 1939 | |
| By: | Charles Cowles-Voysey |
| Town hall | |
| Neo-Georgian | |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | Cambridge City Council |
Cambridge Guildhall is ab impressive, square-faced 1930s neo-Georgian town hall which stands on the south side of Market Hill, the market square in Cambridge, between Peas Hill to the west and Guildhall Street to the east. It is the headquarters of the city council and also a venue for a variety of events: civic functions, University of Cambridge examinations, weddings, comedy acts, conferences, craft fairs, live music and talks amongst others.
This is the largest town hall in Cambridgeshire, belonging as it does to the county's only large town. It includes two halls, The Large Hall and The Small Hall. Built in 1939, it is a Grade II listed building.[1]
History
The earliest known property on the site was a house, previously owned by a Jew known as Benjamin, which house King Henry III granted to the town for use as a prison in 1224.[2][3] An adjoining synagogue was leased to the Franciscans who later moved to a convent on a site where Sidney Sussex College now stands.[2] In 1270 the premises became the "tolbooth" as it was known then since its main function concerned tolls for entry to the town and trading at the market.[2]
The tollbooth was also used for plays and the troupe of actors, Queen Elizabeth's Men, performed regularly between 1561 and 1562 and again between 1596 and 1597.[4]
In 1747, a shire house, designed by Sharman and Barratt in the Classical style, was built, on arches with stalls beneath, on the open area at the front of the Market Square, just to the north of the old tollbooth.[5]
Meanwhile, the old tollbooth was rebuilt to a design by James Essex at a cost of £2,500 in 1782.[2] The shire house and the tollbooth were connected by a wooden bridge over Butter Row, a narrow market street with stalls selling dairy products.[6] The two buildings operated collectively as "the guildhall" from the late 1840s.[7]
The old guildhall in time became inadequate for the council's needs, and so the current guildhall was built on the site of the two original buildings at a cost of £150,000 and completed in 1939. It was designed by Charles Cowles-Voysey in the Neo-Georgian style as interpreted by the 1930s aesthetic.[5][8]
A sculpture created by Michael Ayrton in 1950, entitled "Talos", was erected Guildhall Street in 1973.[9] The guildhall served as the headquarters of the Borough of Cambridge, and later the City of Cambridge, in which capacity it continues.
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View of the 18th century shire house (left) in 1841 -
The Guildhall -
View of Cambridge Guildhall in Guildhall Street, with Talos
See also
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Cambridge Guildhall) |
References
- ↑ National Heritage List 1268372: Guildhallgrade=II
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Jew's House / synagogue / gaol / tollboth / guildhall / town hall". Capturing Cambridge. https://capturingcambridge.org/centre/market/guildhall/. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- ↑ "Cambridge Mayoralty". Cambridge Past, Present and Future. https://www.cambridgeppf.org/FAQs/cambridge-mayoralty. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- ↑ Nelson, Alan H. (1994). Early Cambridge Theatres: College, University, and Town Stages, 1464–1720. Cambridge University Press. p. 90. ISBN 978-0521431774.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 A History of the County of Cambridgeshire - Volume 3 pp 116-122: The city of Cambridge: Public buildings (Victoria County History)
- ↑ Keynes, Florence Ada (1947). By-ways of Cambridge History. Cambridge University Press. p. 16.
- ↑ Hadley, C.. "The Guildhall". Cambridge University. https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~ckh11/cam.html. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- ↑ "About the Guildhall". Cambridge Live. https://www.cambridgelive.org.uk/guildhall/about-guildhall. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- ↑ "Sculpture of Talos". Capturing Cambridge. https://capturingcambridge.org/centre/guildhall-street/statue-of-talos/. Retrieved 27 July 2020.