Newtownstewart Town Hall
| Newtownstewart Town Hall | |
|
Tyrone | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Newtownstewart Town Hall | |
| Type: | Town hall |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | H40188580 |
| Location: | 54°43’8"N, 7°22’38"W |
| Village: | Newtownstewart |
| History | |
| Address: | Townhall Street |
| Built 1880 | |
| For: | Bernard Gillespie |
| Town hall | |
| Italianate | |
| Information | |
| Condition: | Converted for other uses |
Newtownstewart Town Hall is a municipal building standing in Townhall Street in Newtownstewart, County Tyrone. The town hall a Grade B2 listed building. Built as the town hall for Newtownstewart, it has since been converted for use by the local amateur boxing club.
History
The first building on the site was the home of Major Jones Crawford who saw action with the |12th (East Suffolk) Regiment of Foot at the Siege of Seringapatam in Mysore in 1799 during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War.[1] In 1879, the house was demolished and the site redeveloped by a local ironmonger, Bernard Gillespie, who saw an opportunity to establish a municipal building in the town.[2]
The new building was designed in the Italianate style, built in brick with a stucco finish and was completed in 1880.[3] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with three bays facing onto Townhall Street; the ground floor was fenestrated by a central square-headed casement window which was flanked by openings containing recessed doorways with rectangular fanlights on either side. The first floor featured a prominent Venetian window incorporating pilasters and hood moulds. Below the window was a panel inscribed with the words "Town Hall" in raised lettering, whilst in the open gable above there was an oculus inscribed with the works "Erected by B. Gillespie 1880". At that time, Gillespie's name also appeared on a plate above one of the doors.[4]
The building became the venue for the regular petty session hearings: cases heard by the magistrates during these hearings included a trial in 1919, when several individuals were charged with attacking two British soldiers in the village of Ardstraw.[5] After the First World War, the building was acquired by the Gallagher family: it was used for concerts, dances and theatrical performances for much of the 20th century although the judicial use of the building ended in 1964 when petty session hearings in Newtownstewart were abolished.[6]
Modern use
After the building became the home of the Two Castles Amateur Boxing Club in 2012,[7][8] extensive refurbishment works were carried out to update the building: these works included the installation of new toilets, changing rooms and kitchen facilities.[9]
References
- ↑ "Provincial Directory". Pigot and Co.. 1824. p. 414. http://www.ulsterancestry.com/free/ShowFreePage-468.html#gsc.tab=0.
- ↑ "Belfast and Ulster Towns Directory". 2010. https://www.libraryireland.com/UlsterDirectory1910/Newtownstewart.php.
- ↑ Rowan, Alistair (1979). North West Ulster: The Counties of London Derry, Donegal, Fermanagh and Tyrone (Buildings of Ireland Series). Yale University Press. p. 443. ISBN 978-0300096675. https://www.google.com/books/edition/North_West_Ulster/IqDHhSIue1IC?hl=en&gbpv=0.
- ↑ Dunbar, Billy (1987). Newtownstewart Remembered. Strule Press. p. 122. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Newtownstewart_Remembered/M9bLoAEACAAJ?hl=en.
- ↑ "Soldiers and Civilians Assault near Ardstraw: case at petty sessions". Strabane Chronicle: p. 404. 25 January 1919. http://strabanehistorysociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Strabane_in_WWI.pdf.
- ↑ "Summary Jurisdiction: Petty Sessions Districts and Times". UK Government. p. 630. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisro/1964/141/pdfs/nisro_19640141_en.pdf.
- ↑ "Ulster high performance stars make the most of Russia trip". The Irish News. 10 May 2016. https://www.irishnews.com/sport/2016/05/10/news/ulster-high-performance-stars-jet-off-for-further-international-experience-514933/. "Bishop Kelly in Eskra, and followed his coach to Newtownstewart when Two Castles opened its doors in the old town hall four years ago."
- ↑ "Jude crowned Flyweight Elite champion". Strabane Weekly News. 29 November 2019. https://www.strabaneweekly.co.uk/other/2019/11/29/gallery/jude-crowned-flyweight-elite-champion-7116/.
- ↑ "Derg Local Growth Plan". Derry City & Strabane District Council. 1 September 2019. p. 14. https://growderrystrabane.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/30776-Local-Growth-Plan-Derg-Amended-LOW-RES.pdf.