Beaumaris Town Hall (Welsh: Neuadd y Dref Biwmares) is a municipal building on Castle Street, in Beaumaris, Anglesey, Wales. The structure, which is the meeting place of Beaumaris Town Council, is a Grade II listed building.[1]
| Beaumaris Town Hall | |
|---|---|
| Native name Neuadd y Dref Biwmares (Welsh) | |
 Beaumaris Town Hall | |
| Location | Castle Street, Beaumaris |
| Coordinates | 53°15′47″N 4°05′32″W / 53.2631°N 4.0921°W |
| Built | c.1785 |
| Architectural style(s) | Neoclassical style |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | Town Hall |
| Designated | 23 September 1950 |
| Reference no. | 5589 |
  Shown in Anglesey | |
History
editThe first municipal building in the town was an Elizabethan structure in Castle Street which was completed in 1563.[2][3][4] By the late 18th century, it had become dilapidated and the local member of parliament and Irish Peer, Thomas Bulkeley, 7th Viscount Bulkeley, offered to pay for the construction of a new structure on the same site.[5]
The new building was designed in the neoclassical style, built in gritstones and was completed in around 1785.[1][6] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto Castle Street; the ground floor, which was finished in rubble masonry, featured five round headed openings with voussoirs, while the first floor, which was finished in painted roughcast, was fenestrated by five sash windows with rusticated architraves and triple keystones. At roof level, there was a modillioned cornice. Internally, the principal rooms were the market hall on the ground floor and the ballroom on the first floor.[1] The latter room was described by the publisher of topographical dictionaries, Samuel Lewis, as "the most splendid ballroom in North Wales".[7]
A touring cinema company briefly offered silent film performances on a once weekly basis in the ballroom during the early part of the First World War.[8] In January 1940, during the Second World War, after the cargo ship, SS Gleneden, was hit by a German torpedo off Bardsey Island and then beached off Puffin Island,[9] all 60 crew were rescued and given food and drink in the building.[10]
The town hall continued to serve as the meeting place of the borough council for much of the 20th century, but ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged Ynys Môn-Isle of Anglesey Borough Council was formed at Llangefni in 1974.[11][12] Instead, it became the meeting place of Beaumaris Town Council.[13] Shop fronts were installed in the central three openings to a design by Colwyn Foulkes and Partners of Colwyn Bay in 1975.[14]
References
edit- ^ a b c Cadw. "Beaumaris Town Hall (5589)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
- ^ Llwyd, Richard (1832). Beaumaris bay: the shores of the Menai, and the interior of Snowdonia. J. Parry. p. 8.
- ^ "Beaumaris". All about Anglesey. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
- ^ Catherall, Thomas (1860). Catherall's Hand Book. The Stranger's best guide to Llandudno and the Great Orme's Head. T. Catherall. p. 49.
- ^ Pinnock, William (1822). "The History and Topography of North Wales, with Biographical Sketches". G. and W. B. Whittaker. p. 11.
- ^ Siddall, Ruth (2021). Natural Stone and World Heritage The Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd. CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-000-48122-8.
- ^ Lewis, Samuel (1845). A topographical dictionary of Wales. Vol. 1. S. Lewis & Co. p. 77.
- ^ "Town Hall in Beaumaris". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
- ^ "SS Gleneden (+1940)". Wrecksite. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
- ^ Jones, Geraint (2012). Anglesey at War. History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-9023-6.
- ^ Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN 0-10-547072-4.
- ^ Pretty, David A. (2005). Anglesey: The Concise History. University of Wales Press. p. 147. ISBN 978-0-7083-1943-7.
- ^ "Meetings of the Council". Beaumaris Town Council. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
- ^ "Town Hall, Castle Street (23151)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 14 May 2022.