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.
| 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 | |
History
editFollowing 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 known as the Town Hall, which retained elements of the old design, e.g. the bi-partite Italianate windows, and which was completed in 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 East Devon District Council to relocate some of its staff from Sidmouth into the town hall.[21][22]
References
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ "Ordnance 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.