Shire Hall, Hertford

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Not to be confused with County Hall, Hertford
Shire Hall

Hertfordshire

The Shire Hall, Hertford - geograph.org.uk - 142920.jpg
The Shire Hall, Hertford
Type: Shire hall
Location
Grid reference: TL32671260
Location: 51°47’47"N, 0°4’39"W
Town: Hertford
History
Built 1768-1769
For: The Justices of Hertfordshire
by James Adam
Shire hall
Georgian
Information

The Shire Hall in Hertford was designed to provide assembly rooms, courts and the chamber for the Hertfordshire justices' meetings.[1] It also housed the town's corn exchange until the mid-nineteenth century.[2]

The building was proposed as a joint project by Robert Adam and James Adam, but James took charge of the commission and the design is credited to him.[3] Adam built the new Shire Hall in 1768–9. Since then, the building was expanded several times.

In 1935-1939, Hertfordshire County Council had a new 'County Hall' built for itself elsewhere in the town; a larger and more modern and commodious complex outside the town centre.[4]

Conservation and current use

The Shire Hall is a Grade-I listed building.[3][5]

The interior was refurbished in 1988-90.

Today, Shire Hall is currently used as a family magistrates' court.[6]

Outside links

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References

  1. R. Lydekker (13 December 2012). Hertfordshire. Cambridge University Press. pp. 139–140. ISBN 978-1-107-66950-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=aja2lQ2_qhwC&pg=PA139. 
  2. Anne Rowe; Tom Williamson (1 June 2013). Hertfordshire: A Landscape History. Univ of Hertfordshire Press. pp. 407–8. ISBN 978-1-909291-02-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=rBleCUlsT_oC&pg=PT407. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 Shire Hall, Hertford - British Listed Buildings
  4. County Hall, Hertford - British Listed Buildings
  5. Nikolaus Pevsner: The Buildings of England: Hertfordshire, 1953; 1977 Penguin Books ISBN 978-0-300-09611-8
  6. "What now for Shire Hall in Hertford?". http://wardtimes.info/hertfordshire/east-herts/hertford/news/what-now-shire-hall-hertford. Retrieved 3 November 2016.