County Hall, Trowbridge
| County Hall | |
|
Wiltshire | |
|---|---|
.jpg) County Hall, Trowbridge | |
| Type: | County hall |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | ST85435754 |
| Location: | 51°19’0"N, 2°12’37"W |
| Town: | Trowbridge |
| History | |
| Built 1938-1940 | |
| By: | Philip Dalton Hepworth |
| County hall | |
| Civic neo-classical | |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | Wiltshire Council |
County Hall stands in Trowbridge in Wiltshire and serves as the chief office of the council named after the county.
When the first 'Wiltshire County Council' was created it established its home in Trowbrdge rather than in the county town, as Salisbury was excluded from its jurisdiction. The first meeting place of the new council was the Parade House in Trowbridge. Later an office was built in Hill Street, but in time this proved inadequate.
History
In 1930, the members of the council decided by 45 votes to 27 to build a new county hall in Devizes, which is near the geographical centre of Wiltshire instead of Trowbridge, which very near its western edge. However, construction was delayed, and in 1933 the decision was reversed in favour of Trowbridge, on the grounds that it was better served by rail services.[1] A site of several acres was bought in Bythesea Road, Trowbridge, not far from the railway station, for £1,650, and a new building designed by Philip Dalton Hepworth, perhaps inspired by a building in Amsterdam, was begun in 1938 and finished in 1940 at a cost of £150,000.
In 1939, midway through construction, the Second World War began, but in spite of the resultant labour shortages, work was able to be completed the next year. Between 1940 and 1943, the new county hall, built in a pale stone, was seen as a potential landmark for German aircraft, so was disguised by covering it with camouflage nets.[2][3]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about County Hall, Trowbridge) |
References
- ↑ Russell Lincoln Ackoff: Systems and Management Annual (1974), p. 380
- ↑ When was County Hall in Trowbridge built please?: wiltshire.gov.uk
- ↑ A History of the County of Wiltshire - Volume 7 : {{{2}}} (Victoria County History): Trowbridge
- Rogers, Ken: 'Wiltshire County Council: the first hundred years 1889-1989' (WCC, 1989) ISBN 0 86080 187 X
