Peterborough Town Hall
| Peterborough Town Hall | |
|
Northamptonshire | |
|---|---|
 Peterborough Town Hall | |
| Type: | Town hall |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TL19249851 |
| Location: | 52°34’17"N, 0°14’31"W |
| City: | Peterborough |
| History | |
| Address: | Bridge Street |
| Built 1933 | |
| By: | Ernest Berry Webber |
| Town hall | |
| Neo-Georgian | |
| Information | |
Peterborough Town Hall is a municipal building on Bridge Street in Peterborough, Northamptonshire. It was built in 1933 as a new town hall to replacing the town's Restoration-age Guildhall, and is still the headquarters of the City Council.
History
The current Town Hall was commissioned to replace the 17th-century Peterborough Guildhall in Cathedral Square.[1] The whole of the eastern side of Narrow Bridge Street had to be demolished, doubling the width of the street, before the foundation stone for the new building could be laid by Prince George in June 1929.[2][3] The new building was designed by Ernest Berry Webber in the Neo-Georgian style and built by John Thompson and Sons.[4] The design included colonnades built out over the pavement in order to reduce the visual impact of a very long west facade.[5] Four plaques were erected on the west side of the building representing jurisprudence, education, biology and industry & reward. The builder fell into financial difficulties during the construction and the official opening was delayed until October 1933.[2]
The Princess Royal met American servicewomen during a function held in the reception room of the town hall in 1944 during the Second World War.[6]
The building, which had served as the meeting place of both the Peterborough Municipal Borough Council and of the Soke of Peterborough County Council, became the municipal headquarters of the City of Peterborough in 1974.
In 2005, a 19th-century turret clock, which had originally been installed on the face of a jewellers' shop at No. 8 Narrow Bridge Street, was mounted on the west side of the town hall, very close to its original position.
In September 2018 the council moved most of its officials to modern facilities at Sand Martin House, a refurbished Victorian railway building at Fletton Quays on the south side of the River Nene in Huntingdonshire.[7] The council chamber in the town hall continues to be used as the main venue for meetings of the council.[8]
In March 2020 work began on refurbishment works at the town hall, expected to cost £5.1 million, so that the local NHS Foundation Trust could move into the vacant areas of the building in 2021.[9]
References
- ↑ "Find out why Peterborough’s Guildhall has got a blue plaque". Peterborough Today. 11 July 2020. https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/retro/find-out-why-peterboroughs-guildhall-has-got-blue-plaque-2910385. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Blue plaque stories: Peterborough Town Hall". Peterborough Evening Telegraph. 6 July 2017. https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-peterborough-evening-telegraph/20170706/282888025716379. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
- ↑ "Historic footage shows Royal visit to lay foundation stone of Peterborough Town Hall". Peterborough Telegraph. 1 August 2021. https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/retro/historic-footage-shows-royal-visit-to-lay-foundation-stone-of-peterborough-town-hall-3330086.
- ↑ "Peterborough Town Hall: the rear elevation". Royal Institute of British Architects. https://www.architecture.com/image-library/RIBApix/image-information/poster/peterborough-town-hall-the-rear-elevation/posterid/RIBA73750.html. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
- ↑ "Town Hall". Blue Plaques. https://www.peterboroughcivicsociety.org.uk/plaques_blue3.php#TownHall. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
- ↑ "American servicewomen meet Princess Royal: luncheon at Peterborough Town Hall". Imperial War Museum. https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205200986. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
- ↑ "New era for Peterborough City Council with move to Fletton Quays". Peterborough Today. 18 September 2018. https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/politics/new-era-peterborough-city-council-move-fletton-quays-579322. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
- ↑ "'Chaos at the council' over budget vote". Peterborough Matters. 5 March 2020. https://www.peterboroughmatters.co.uk/local-news/chaos-at-the-council-over-budget-vote-1752. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
- ↑ "Peterborough City Council set to agree £4m spend to refurbish Town Hall ahead of health trust move". Peterborough Today. 31 March 2020. https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/politics/peterborough-city-council-set-agree-ps4m-spend-refurbish-town-hall-ahead-health-trust-move-2524181. Retrieved 17 July 2020.