Epsom Town Hall
| Epsom Town Hall | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Epsom Town Hall | |
| Location | The Parade, Epsom |
| Coordinates | 51°19′58″N 0°15′54″W / 51.3329°N 0.2650°W |
| Built | 1934 |
| Architect | Hubert Moore Fairweather and William Alfred Pite |
| Architectural style(s) | Neo-Georgian style |
  Shown in Surrey | |
Epsom Town Hall is a municipal building in The Parade, Epsom, Surrey, England. It is the headquarters of Epsom and Ewell Borough Council.
History
The first town hall in Epsom was a building designed by John Hartchard-Smith in the Italianate style which was completed in 1883; located at the corner of Church Street and Upper High Street, it was built with terracotta facings and featured a prominent Venetian window in the middle of a curved corner frontage.[1][2] In the early 1930s, civic leaders decided to demolish the old town hall and procure a new building: the site they selected was vacant land on the north side of The Parade.[3] The site had previously been occupied by a domestic residence which was being referred to as "Cromwell House" by the 18th century.[4]
The new building was designed by Hubert Moore Fairweather and William Alfred Pite in the Neo-Georgian style and was officially opened by the former local member of parliament, Lord Ebbisham, in 1934.[5][6] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with seventeen bays facing onto The Parade with the end three bays at each end slightly projected forward; the central bay featured a doorway flanked by two pairs of pillars supporting a balcony with iron railings; there was a French door above the doorway on the first floor and sash windows in all other bays on the ground floor and the first floor.[6] Internally, the principal room in the building was the council chamber.[7][8]
The building served as the headquarters of Epsom Urban District Council, and from 1937, when the area became a municipal borough, it served as the headquarters of Epsom Borough Council.[9] It remained the local seat of government when the enlarged Epsom and Ewell Borough Council was formed in 1974.[10]
In the early years of the new millennium civic leaders decided to relocate various council departments that had been accommodated around the borough into an expanded town hall facility: a new block was constructed to the east of the main building with a modern atrium and new portico which linked the two blocks: the expanded facility was brought into use in 2003.[11] In a small ceremony at the town hall in June 2019, Station-Sergeant Thomas Green, the victim of the Epsom riot which took place at the end of First World War, was commemorated when his great-grandson, David Kirkham, donated Green's service medals so they could be put on display at the local museum.[12]
Works of art in the town hall include a painting by Hendrick Danckerts depicting Nonsuch Palace[13] and a painting by William Birch depicting Epsom Downs Racecourse.[14]
References
- ^ Chatterton, Frederick (1923). Who's Who in Architecture. The Architectural Press. p. 118. Archived from the original on 30 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
- ^ Malden, H. E. (1911). "'Parishes: Epsom', in A History of the County of Surrey". London: British History Online. pp. 271–278. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1913. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ "Epsom Town Hall, Epsom". Surrey Archaeological Society. 1999. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ "George Rowland Blades". Epsom and Ewell History Explorer. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ a b "Epsom Town Hall, Surrey: the main front". Royal Institute of British Architects. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ "Location Details: Council Chamber, Epsom Town Hall". Epsom and Ewell Borough Council. Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ "Epsom Town Hall, Surrey: the council chamber". Royal Institute of British Architects. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ "Epsom and Ewell MB/UD". Vision of Britain. Archived from the original on 13 March 2007. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN 0-10-547072-4.
- ^ "Unison Epsom and Ewell Takes Flight". Unison. 19 December 2017. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ "A 'stain on the fair name of our soldiers': Remembering a Canadian riot that turned deadly in England in 1919". CBC. 17 June 2019. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
- ^ Danckerts, Hendrick. "Nonsuch Palace from the North East". Art UK. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ Birch, William. "Epsom and Ewell from the Grandstand". Art UK. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2020.