Rothwell Town Hall, also known as Rothwell District Council Offices, is a historic building on Marsh Street in Rothwell, a town in West Yorkshire, England. The building, which previously accommodated the offices and meeting place of Rothwell Urban District Council, has been sold to a developer to allow conversion for residential use.
| Rothwell Town Hall | |
|---|---|
 The building in 2009 | |
| Location | Marsh Street, Rothwell |
| Coordinates | 53°44′50″N 1°28′43″W / 53.7473°N 1.4785°W |
| Built | 1895 |
| Architect | T. H. and W. E. Richardson |
| Architectural style(s) | Gothic Revival style |
  Shown in West Yorkshire | |
History
editFollowing significant population growth, largely associated with the coal mining industry, the township of Rothwell became a local government district in 1872.[1] After the local board was succeeded by an urban district council in 1894, the new council immediately commissioned new offices. The site they selected, on the north side of Marsh Street, was occupied by a public house known as the Fleece Beer House.[2] The new building was designed by T. H. and W. E. Richardson in the Gothic Revival style, built in rubble masonry at a cost of £2,600 and was officially opened in June 1895.[3]
The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of five bays facing onto Marsh Street with the end bays slightly projected forward as pavilions. The central section of three bays featured a doorway with a fanlight in the right hand bay and, on the first floor, an arched stained glass window with tracery, which was surmounted by a gable and flanked by pinnacles. The outer bays were fenestrated by mullioned and transomed windows which were decorated by hood moulds on the first floor. At roof level, there was a central clock tower with a pyramid-shaped roof, louvres and a weather vane.[4]
The building was extended to the rear in 1940. It continued to serve as the headquarters of the urban district council for much of the 20th century, but ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged Leeds City Council was formed in 1974.[5] Later use of the building was limited: there were occasional meetings of the local area management committee of Leeds City Council, and, although a One Stop Centre was established in the building in the early years of the 21st century, the centre moved to Rothwell Library in 2016.[6]
Leeds City Council then declared the building surplus to requirements and, despite the efforts of a local community action group, the Friends of Rothwell Civic Enterprise,[7][8] the council sold it to a developer for £364,000 in December 2023.[9][10] The developer submitted a planning application to convert the building into flats in April 2024.[11]
References
edit- ^ "No. 23893". The London Gazette. 6 September 1872. p. 3924.
- ^ Brown, Albert (1997). Albert Brown's Story of Rothwell, Leeds. Leeds: Stephen Ward Photography & Publishing.
- ^ "Rothwell". Yorkshire Guide. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
- ^ Rothwell Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan (PDF). Leeds City Council. 2010. p. 7. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
- ^ Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN 0-10-547072-4.
- ^ "Living life, your own way: Adult Social Care in Leeds 2010/2012" (PDF). Leeds City Council. p. 34. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
- ^ "Rothwell: Yorkshire town 'betrayed' by auctioning off of 19th Century former civic building". The Yorkshire Post. 13 October 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
- ^ "Rothwell Urban District Offices: Residents of Leeds town left feeling 'betrayed' over sale of civic building". Yorkshire Evening Post. 13 October 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
- ^ "Leeds Council: Old Rothwell civic building and court chambers to go up for auction for £340,000". Yorkshire Evening Post. 7 November 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
- ^ "Former civic offices sold off despite protests". BBC News. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
- ^ "Rothwell Urban District Offices: Plans to convert former Leeds town council offices into apartments unveiled". Yorkshire Evening Post. 23 April 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024.