Old Town Hall, Carlisle
| Old Town Hall, Carlisle | |
|
Cumberland | |
|---|---|
 Old Town Hall | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NY40085596 |
| Location: | 54°53’41"N, 2°56’9"W |
| City: | Carlisle |
| History | |
| Address: | Market Place |
| Built 1669 | |
| Information | |
The Old Town Hall is a municipal building in the Market Place, Carlisle, Cumberland. It is a Grade I listed building.[1]
History
The current building was commissioned to replace an earlier "moot hall" on the site which dated back to 1345.[2] The new building, with commercial facilities on the ground floor and assembly rooms on the first floor, was completed in 1669.[1] It was extended to the east with an extra section incorporating a clock tower in 1717[3] and to the west with an extra three-storey section in the 19th century.[1] The market cross in front of the town hall, which was designed by Thomas Machell and carved from stone by Thomas Addison, with its sundial and a lion holding a scroll with the city's coat of arms, was erected in 1682.[4]
In 1853 the first pillar box in the United Kingdom was installed nearby and a replica "Penfold" pillar box, in the style of the original post boxes designed by William Penfold with acanthus leaves, balls and the Royal coat of arms,[5] was subsequently erected outside the town hall to commemorate this.[6] The original clock in the tower of the town hall, which had been made by John Sanderson of Wigton, was replaced with a modern mechanism, made by Potts of Leeds, in 1900.[7]
The assembly rooms were used for the courts of assize until 1881 and magistrates' courts were held there until 1941.[2] Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, visited the building to mark the city's 800th anniversary and signed the visitors' book there in October 1958.[8]
The building remained the headquarters of the Borough of Carlisle until the council moved to Carlisle Civic Centre in Rickergate in March 1964.[9] After the building became vacant, a tourist information centre was established on the first floor.[10]
A major restoration of the building, involving asbestos removal, repairs to the roof and improved disabled access, was carried out at a cost of £0.5 million in 2013.[10] A 17th-century court book was discovered in the clock tower during the restoration work.[11] Further improvements, involving restoration of the original wood panelling and fireplaces, was carried out in the assembly rooms in 2017; the assembly rooms hosted the first wedding in the building's history later that year.[12]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 National Heritage List 1218104: Old Town Hall, Carlisle (Grade I listing)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Old Town Hall". Discover Carlisle. https://www.discovercarlisle.co.uk/See-Do/Tourist-Information-Centre.
- ↑ Nikolaus Pevsner: The Buildings of England: Cumberland and Westmorland, 1967 Penguin Books page 34
- ↑ National Heritage List 1297369: Market Cross, Carlise (Grade I listing)
- ↑ "Designer of rare Carlisle post box honoured". News and Star. 21 March 2018. https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/16697912.designer-of-rare-carlisle-post-box-honoured/.
- ↑ "A short introduction to the history of the British Pillar Box". Colne Valley Postal History Museum. https://www.cvphm.org.uk/history.html.
- ↑ "Town Hall Clock". Carlisle's History. http://www.carlisleshistory.co.uk/page44.htm.
- ↑ "Octo-centenary Celebrations 1158-1958; Visit of Queen Elizabeth II and HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Official Souvenir Programme". City of Carlisle. 16 October 1958. http://media.bufvc.ac.uk/newsonscreen/Pathe/108371/108371_x.pdf.
- ↑ "Carlisle civic centre: Campaigners fight for 'soulless office block'". BBC. 11 September 2014. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-29062470.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Carlisle's Old Town Hall renovation: Full report". ITV. 7 January 2013. https://www.itv.com/news/border/topic/tourist-information-centre/.
- ↑ "Carlisle town hall renovation uncovers debt book from 1669". BBC. 25 June 2013. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-23047748.
- ↑ "Carlisle's Old Town Hall hosts its first wedding in 350 year history". News and Star. 1 November 2017. https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/16748319.video-carlisles-old-town-hall-hosts-its-first-wedding-in-350-year-history/.