County Hall is a municipal building on Leicester Road (the A50) in Glenfield, Leicestershire. It is the headquarters of Leicestershire County Council.
| County Hall, Glenfield | |
|---|---|
 County Hall | |
  County Hall Location within Leicestershire | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Brutalist style |
| Address | Leicester Road |
| Town or city | Glenfield, Leicestershire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 52°39′19″N 1°11′21″W / 52.6552°N 1.1892°W |
| Completed | November 1967 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | In-house architectural team |
History
editIn the first half of the 20th century, meetings of Leicestershire County Council were held at the Assembly Rooms in Hotel Street, Leicester,[1] while County Offices were established at No.1 Grey Friars in Leicester in 1936.[2] After deciding that this arrangement was inadequate for their needs, county leaders chose to procure a new county headquarters: the site they selected at Glenfield had previously been open land which they considered was a more economical solution than a city centre site.[3]
Construction on the new building began in spring 1965.[4][5] It was designed by the in-house architectural team in the Brutalist style, was built at a cost of £1.4 million and was completed in November 1967.[4] The design for the five-storey building involved continuous bands of glazing with concrete panelling above and below: a concrete mural depicting the River Soar by Tony Hollaway was unveiled at that time.[4] An extension to accommodate a computer suite opened in 1970, and the Rutland Building extension was completed in 1974.[4] The principal room was the council chamber which was panelled with Japanese teak and Bombay rosewood.[4]
Queen Elizabeth II made an official visit to County Hall during a tour of Leicestershire, on 17 November 1989.[6][7] A memorial to commemorate local people from the county who had died since the Second World War was unveiled on 9 November 2012: the memorial, entitled "Stand Easy", was designed by Kenny Hunter from Glasgow and comprised four bronze statues which were modelled on soldiers from Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College.[8][9][10]
Works of art in the building include a painting by John Ferneley depicting the Melton Mowbray Horse Fair.[11] The building also contains a large collection of modern art collected by a former director of education, Stewart C. Mason.[12]
The Lord-Lieutenant's Young Person of the Year Awards are held annually at County Hall.[13]
References
edit- ^ "Leicester Birth & Baptism Records". Forebears. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
- ^ "Greyfriars Conservation Area Character Appraisal" (PDF). Leicester City Council. 1 November 2014. p. 30-31. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
- ^ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1962. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Go behind the scenes at County Hall as bosses give the Mercury access to off-limits areas". Leicester Mercury. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
- ^ "Vintage documents reveal original County Hall plans". Loughborough Echo. 30 November 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
- ^ "Queen's Visit To Leicester and Loughborough November 1989". Leicester University. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
- ^ "Postcard of the Queen at County Hall". 1989. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
- ^ "Design for Leicestershire armed forces memorial". BBC. 22 February 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- ^ "Leicestershire war memorial bronze statues installed". BBC. 17 October 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- ^ Hunter, Kenny. "Stand Easy". Art UK. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
- ^ Ferneley, John. "Melton Mowbray Horse Fair". Art UK. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
- ^ "Leicestershire County Council Artworks Collection". Art UK. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
- ^ "The Lord Lieutenant's Young Person of the Year Awards". Leicestershire County Council. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
