Chipping Norton Town Hall
Chipping Norton Town Hall | |
---|---|
Location | Market Place, Chipping Norton |
Coordinates | 51°56′28″N 1°32′44″W / 51.9411°N 1.5456°W |
Built | 1842 |
Architect | George Stanley Repton |
Architectural style(s) | Palladian style |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
Official name | Town Hall, Market Place |
Designated | 23 April 1952 |
Reference no. | 1183188 |
Chipping Norton Town Hall is a municipal building in the Market Place, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England. The building, which is used as an events venue, is a Grade II* listed building.[1]
History
The first municipal building in the town was a guildhall which was built for the Guild of the Holy Trinity in 1520.[2] Following the dissolution of the chantries in 1548, the guildhall was acquired by the town and subsequently used by civic leaders as their meeting place.[3][a] In the early 1840s, the local member of parliament, James Langston, led a campaign to commission a more substantial structure.[6] The site he selected was occupied by an ancient market house with nine pillars and a pyramid-shaped roof which was demolished to make way for the new structure.[7]
The new building was designed by
A grand dinner was held in the town hall in August 1855 to celebrate the official opening of the Chipping Norton Railway.[9] A weather vane, designed in the form of a foxhound, was presented to the town by the Heythrop Hunt and installed at the top of the bellcote in March 1950.[8] The building was badly damaged in a fire on 3 March 1950: while the shell of the building survived, much of the interior was destroyed.[10] It continued to serve as the local seat of government until the enlarged West Oxfordshire District Council was formed at Witney in 1974,[11] and subsequently continued to be used as a venue for major events such as the local Brexit debate in June 2016.[12]
Works of art in the town hall include a portrait by Walter William Ouless of the member of parliament, Albert Brassey,[13] a portrait by Edward S. Harper of the former mayor, Alderman Henry Field Wilkins[14] and a portrait by an unknown artist of the local politician, James Langston.[15]
See also
Notes
- ^ The guildhall was subsequently auctioned and used by private owners for a variety of purposes before being acquired by the former member of parliament, Albert Brassey, in 1902.[4] Brassey presented it to the borough council and it was subsequently used as a classroom, as a library and also as the town clerk's office.[5]
References
- ^ a b c d Historic England. "Town Hall, Market Place (1183188)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ Historic England. "Guildhall (1052632)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ISBN 978-0750984867.
- ^ "The Guildhall in Chipping Norton: The News asked local historian Janice Cliffe about the background and significance of the guildhall". Chipping Norton News. 18 April 2021.
- ^ "No. 40028". The London Gazette. 27 November 1953. p. 6450.
- ^ "James Haughton Langston". Churchill Heritage. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ Cliffe and Rosen 2017, frontispiece.
- ^ a b "Chipping Norton". Cotswolds Info. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ISBN 978-1445618630.
- ^ "Chipping Norton Town Hall" (PDF). Chipping Norton Town Council. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ISBN 0-10-547072-4.
- ^ "EU debate: Chipping Norton host Question Time style event". Oxford Mail. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ Ouless, Walter William. "Albert Brassey, Esq. (1844–1914), MA, JP, MFH, MP of Heythrop Park". Art UK. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ Harper, Edward Samuel. "Alderman Henry Field Wilkins, Mayor of Chipping Norton (1836, 1853, 1861, 1868, 1874, 1876 & 1886)". Art UK. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ "James Houghton Langston of Sarsden, Esq. (1796–1863), MP". Art UK. Retrieved 27 January 2022.