Carmarthen Guildhall
Carmarthen Guildhall | |
---|---|
Native name Neuadd y Dref Caerfyrddin | |
Location | Guildhall Square, Carmarthen |
Coordinates | 51°51′22″N 4°18′26″W / 51.8561°N 4.3071°W |
Built | 1777 |
Architect | Sir Robert Taylor |
Architectural style(s) | Neoclassical style |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
Official name | The Guildhall |
Designated | 18 August 1954 |
Reference no. | 9450 |
Carmarthen Guildhall (Welsh: Neuadd y Dref Caerfyrddin) is a municipal structure in Guildhall Square, Carmarthen, Wales. The guildhall, which was the headquarters of Carmarthen Borough Council, is a Grade I listed building.[1]
History
The building was commissioned to replace a 16th-century guildhall which, by 1765, had become very dilapidated and had to be demolished in 1766.[2] Some £4,000 towards the cost of the new building was donated by the future local Member of Parliament, John Adams.[3] The foundation stone for the new building was laid on 10 April 1767:[2] it was designed by Sir Robert Taylor in the neoclassical style, built in rubble masonry and completed in 1777.[1]
The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with three bays facing onto Guildhall Square; it was originally arcaded on the ground floor, so that markets could be held, with assembly rooms on the first floor.
A double curving flight of steps to the assembly hall was added in 1811, an extension to the rear incorporating jury rooms and offices was completed in 1829 and a large
Following his decision to vote against the First Reform Bill, the local Member of Parliament, John Jones, was attacked and injured in rioting at the guildhall on 29 April 1831 during a general election; polling in the constituency had to be postponed until August 1831 when Jones was successfully re-elected.[6]
Several important trials took place in the courtroom. Two of the leaders of the Rebecca Riots, John Jones (Shoni Sguborfawr) and David Davies (Dai'r Cantwr), were convicted in the courtroom in December 1843 and sentenced to be transported to Australia.[7][8] The trial of the solicitor, Harold Greenwood, for the murder of his wife, Mabel, took place at the guildhall in November 1920: Greenwood's defence barrister, Sir Edward Marshall Hall, was able to demonstrate that arsenic may not have been the cause of death after all and Harold Greenwood was acquitted.[9]
A war memorial, designed by E. V. Collier and W. D. Jenkins and intended to commemorate the lives of service personnel who had died in the Second Boer War, was unveiled outside the guildhall by Major-General Henry Mackinnon on 27 April 1906.[10][11]
The building was the main location for undertaking public business for the borough
Works of art in the guildhall include a portrait by Martin Archer Shee of General Sir Thomas Picton.[18] Following revelations about Picton's links to slavery, Carmarthenshire County Council agreed to install an appropriate information plaque alongside the portrait.[19] There are also portraits by Thomas Brigstocke of General Sir William Nott[20] and of the local Members of Parliament, John Jones of Ystrad[21] and David Morris.[22][23]
See also
References
- ^ National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ a b "Murderers, revolutionaries and riots: The colourful history of an iconic Welsh courthouse". Wales Online. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1754-1780". HM Stationery Office. 1964. p. 11.
- ISBN 978-0300101799.
- ^ a b Lewis, Samuel (1849). "'Carmarthen - Carmarthenshire', in A Topographical Dictionary of Wales". London: British History Online. pp. 180–202. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ Jones, David J.V. (1968). "The Carmarthen Riots of 1831" (PDF). Welsh History Review. 4 (2): 129–42. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "Jones, John (fl. 1811-1858; 'Shoni Sguborfawr'), Rebecca rioter". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "Davies, David ('Dai'r Cantwr '; 1812 - 1874), Rebecca rioter". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ISBN 978-0330310659.
- National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "Carmarthen: Boer War". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "No. 38252". The London Gazette. 2 April 1948. p. 2167.
- ^ "Gwynfor Evans: 1 September 1912 – 21 April 2005". The Times. 21 April 2005. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ISBN 978-1785031021.
- ^ "Carmarthen's historic Guildhall looks to the future". BBC. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "Carmarthen's historic courthouse hits the small screen". Carmarthenshire Standard. 17 October 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "Work gets underway on historic Guildhall redevelopment". Carmarthanshire Herald. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ Brigstocke, Thomas. "Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Picton (1758–1815)". Art UK. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "Carmarthen's Thomas Picton monument to stay but with new sign referencing slavery links". ITV. 22 December 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ Brigstocke, Thomas. "General Sir William Nott (1782–1845)". Art UK. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ Brigstocke, Thomas. "John Jones, Esq. (1777–1842), MP, of Ystrad". Art UK. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ Brigstocke, Thomas. "David Morris (1800–1869), MP and Whig Politician". Art UK. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ISBN 978-0300117301.