Exmouth Town Hall
| Exmouth Town Hall | |
|---|---|
 The building in 2015 | |
| Location | St Andrews Road, Exmouth |
| Coordinates | 50°37′06″N 3°24′53″W / 50.6184°N 3.4146°W |
| Built | c.1935 |
| Architectural style(s) | Italianate style |
  Shown in Devon | |
Exmouth Town Hall is a municipal building in St Andrews Road in Exmouth, a town in Devon, England. The building currently serves as the meeting place of Exmouth Town Council and also accommodates some staff from East Devon District Council.
History
Following significant population growth, largely associated with its status as a seaside resort, the town appointed a local board in 1850.[1] In the early 1870s, courtyards and tenements were cleared in preparation for the construction of terrace buildings in Rolle Street,[2] and the board later established its offices in a three-storey terrace building there.[3] After the local board was succeeded by an urban district council in 1894,[4] the council looked for more substantial offices. An application was submitted for funding for the new offices in 1925[5] and it moved to a large Victorian house known as St Bernards in St Andrews Road in around 1930.[6][7][8][9]
In the late 1950s, the council redeveloped the site,[10] replacing the old house with a modern structure, to be know as the Town Hall, which retained elements of the old design, e.g. the bi-partite Italianate windows, and which was completed around 1960.[11]
The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage of eight bays facing onto St Andrews Road. The left-hand section of two bays was projected forward in relation to the right-hand section of six bays. The first bay, which was further projected forward, featured a prominent bay window with pilasters and keystones and on the ground floor, while the second bay was fenestrated with a bi-partite square-headed window in a similar style, and the first floor had bi-partite round-headed windows in both bays. The right-hand section featured a doorway with an architrave flanked by casement windows and protected by a semi-circular canopy supported by columns. The other bays in the right-hand section were fenestrated by casement windows. At roof level, there was a Châteauesque-style roof with attic windows. The building was later extended with an extra bay to the left. Internally, the principal room was the council chamber.[12]
The building ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged East Devon District Council was formed at Sidmouth in 1974.[13][14] Instead the building became the offices and meeting place of Exmouth Town Council, which rented some space in the building from its owners, East Devon District Council.[15]
A plaque commemorating the life of Sub-lieutenant Reginald Warneford, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for air-bombing a Zeppelin during the First World War, was fixed to the wall of the town hall in 1999.[16][17]
In 2009, local residents proposed that the town hall be added to the National Heritage List for England, but the bid have the building listed was unsuccessful.[18] An extensive programme of refurbishment works, undertaken by Interserve[19] to a design by LHC Design, was completed in October 2017,[20] enabling the council to relocate some of its staff from Sidmouth into the town hall.[21][22]
References
- ^ Kelly's Directory of Devon & Cornwall, 1914. [Part 1. Devon: County & Localities]. Kelly's Directories Ltd. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
- ^ Travis, John F. (1993). The Rise of the Devon Seaside Resorts, 1750–1900. University of Exeter Press. p. 111. ISBN 978-0859893923.
- ^ Long, Christopher K.; Long, Kay (2019). Exmouth History Tour. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1445693279.
- ^ "Exmouth UD". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ Exmouth Council Offices. Vol. 34. The Municipal Journal and Public Works Engineer. 1925. p. 1255. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
A Ministry of Health inquiry has been held respecting an application of the Exmouth Urban District Council for sanction to borrow £4,600 for the acquisition of property for the purpose of council offices.
- ^ "Ornance Survey Map". 1900. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ "Masonic Hall and old St.Bernards, St.Andrew's Road, Exmouth: laying the foundation stone". South West Heritage Trust. 1894. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ Delderfield, Eric R. (1948). Exmouth Milestones, a History. Raleigh Press. p. 42. ISBN 978-0900345258.
St Bernards – the current Council Offices
- ^ "No. 33940". The London Gazette. 16 May 1933. p. 3286.
- ^ "Tenders". Express and Echo. 14 July 1956.
Acting Clerk to the Council, Council Offices, St. Bernards, Exmouth.
- ^ "No. 42509". The London Gazette. 10 November 1961. p. 8119.
Exmouth Urban District Council, Town Hall, Exmouth
- ^ "News in brief: A round-up from across East Devon and Exeter, plus free cinema tickets offer and what's on events for your diary". East Devon News. 3 February 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN 0-10-547072-4.
- ^ "EDDC to bring power to Exmouth". Exmouth Journal. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ "Town Council land and buildings" (PDF). Exmouth Town Council. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ "Sub-lieutenant Reginald Warneford VC". Open Plaques. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ "Sub-lieutenant Reginald Warneford VC". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ "Listing bid fails for Exmouth's iconic buildings". Exmouth Journal. 19 June 2009. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ "Exmouth Town Hall Refurbishment". Dodd Group. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ "Refurbishment of Exmouth Town Hall completes". LHC Design. 17 October 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ Clark, Daniel (11 December 2017). "First phase of council relocation complete with Exmouth town hall refurbishment". Devon Live. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ "Council Chambers Compared". Save our Sidmouth. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2024.