Leyburn Town Hall is a municipal building in the Market Place, Leyburn, North Yorkshire, England. The structure, which is used for retail purposes and as an events venue, is a grade II listed building.[1]
| Leyburn Town Hall | |
|---|---|
 Leyburn Town Hall | |
| Location | Market Place, Leyburn |
| Coordinates | 54°18′36″N 1°49′49″W / 54.3101°N 1.8302°W |
| Built | 1857 |
| Architectural style(s) | Neoclassical style |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | Town Hall |
| Designated | 24 January 1986 |
| Reference no. | 1178994 |
.svg)  Shown in North Yorkshire | |
History edit
The first municipal building in Leyburn was a tollbooth in the Market Place; it was primarily used for the collection of market rents and dated back to the grant of a charter for a fortnightly fair by King Charles II to the lord of the manor, the 6th Marquess of Winchester, in 1684.[2] By the mid-19th century the tollbooth had become somewhat antiquated,[3] and the then lord of the manor, the 3rd Lord Bolton of Bolton Castle, decided to rebuild the structure.[4]
Construction work on the new building started in 1856.[5] It was designed in the neoclassical style, built in ashlar stone at a cost of £2,000 and was completed in 1857.[6] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto the Market Place; the central bay featured a doorway flanked by brackets supporting a cornice. The other bays on the ground floor and all the bays on the first floor were fenestrated by sash windows and, at roof level, there was a deep parapet.[7] Internally, the principal rooms were the assembly room on the first floor, which was used for petty session hearings, and the magistrates' office; there were also two flats, each with a living room and a bedroom.[8]
In the late 19th century, large social events were regularly held in the assembly hall; such events included a series of annual balls organised by the local company of the 1st Volunteer Battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment in the late 1880s.[9] A memorial in the form of a celtic cross, commissioned to commemorate the lives of local service personnel who had died in the First World War, was erected outside the town hall in 1920[10][11] and, during the Second World War, the 11th Battalion of the North Riding Home Guard established a shooting range inside the building.[12]
Although the ground floor was converted to retail use and was occupied by a local homewares business, Wray & Co., in the 1970s,[13] the assembly room continued to be made available for community events: the Wensleydale School held a debate, which was attended by the future Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, there in September 2018.[14]
References edit
- ^ Historic England. "Town Hall (1178994)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ Palmer, Marilyn; Barnwell, P. S. (2007). Post-Medieval Landscapes. Windgather Press. pp. 102, 104. ISBN 978-1905119196.
- ^ Hardcastle, George (1887). Wanderings in Wensleydale, Yorkshire. W. Harrison. p. 3.
- ^ History and Topography of the City of York And the North Riding of Yorkshire: Embracing a General Review of the Early History of Great Britain, and a General History and Description of the County of York. Vol. 2. T. Whellan & Co. 1859. p. 136.
- ^ "The undisputed capital of Wensleydale". Darlington and Stockton Times. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ Page, William (1914). "'Parishes: Wensley', in A History of the County of York North Riding". London: British History Online. pp. 268–280. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ "Leyburn Conservation area appraisal and management plan" (PDF). Richmondshire District Council. 23 February 2010. p. 21. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ "Leyburn". Kelly's Directory of the North and East Ridings of Yorkshire. 1913. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ "Third Annual Ball". The Richmond and Ripon Chronicle. 5 October 1887. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ "Lyburn". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ Historic England. "War Memorial (1390605)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ "The lads who went to war...and didn't return". The Northern Echo. 8 November 2004. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ "About us". For House and Home. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ "Debate Team Impress". Wensleydale School. Retrieved 11 March 2022.