Selby Town Hall
| Selby Town Hall | |
|---|---|
 Selby Town Hall | |
| Location | York Street, Selby |
| Coordinates | 53°46′59″N 1°04′25″W / 53.7831°N 1.0735°W |
| Built | 1862 |
| Architectural style(s) | Italianate style |
.svg)  Shown in North Yorkshire | |
Selby Town Hall is a municipal building in York Street in Selby, North Yorkshire, England. The structure, which was built as a Methodist chapel, is now the home of Selby Town Council.
History[edit]
The local board of health in Selby, which was established in 1851,[1] established its first purpose-built offices on the corner of Gowthorpe and New Lane.[2] These offices were designed in the Gothic Revival style, built in red brick with stone dressings and were completed in the late 19th century.[2] The building featured a turret with a conical roof on the corner with New Lane, arched openings on the ground floor, mullioned windows on the first floor and attic windows in the gables above.[2] The offices became the headquarters of Selby Urban District Council when it was formed in 1894[3] and were converted for use as a branch of the York County Savings Bank after the council moved to modern premises in Park Street in the 1960s.[4]
Meanwhile, the Primitive Methodist Church, which had been established by William Clowes in the early 19th century,[5] decided to establish a chapel in Selby in 1840.[6] The church initially operated from a small chapel in a yard off Gowthorpe but, in the 1850s, Lord Londesborough donated a site in York Street to create a more substantial building.[7]
The foundation stone for the new building was laid on 4 April 1862.[6] It was designed in the Italianate style, built in brown brick with stone dressings and was officially opened on 10 October 1862.[8] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with three bays facing onto the corner of Gowthorpe and Brooke Street; the central bay, which slightly projected forward, featured two round headed doorways separated by a Corinthian order column and flanked by Doric order pilasters; there was a two-light mullioned window on the first floor with an oculus in the gable above and there were finials and urns at roof level. It was renovated in 1926 but, following a reduction in religious attendances, it was decommissioned as a chapel in August 1956.[7]
The building served as a health clinic in the late 1950s and then operated as a tyre depot under the management of Moss Tyres and then ATS Group in the 1960s and 1970s.[7] It then fell vacant in the 1980s and remained derelict until it was acquired by Selby Town Council in 1990.[7] After an extensive programme of refurbishment works, which involved the creation of an events venue as well as offices for the town council, the building was reopened in 1996.[7] The building received a Good Design Award from the Selby Civic Society, for the quality of the refurbishment works, in 1998.[9] Performers at the town hall since then have included the singer songwriters Boo Hewerdine and Brooks Williams in December 2012,[10] and the singer songwriter Ralph McTell in February 2019.[11]
References[edit]
- ^ "Selby Urban District Council documents". National Archives. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ a b c Historic England. "Yorkshire County Savings Bank (1167166)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ "Selby UD". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ "No. 43211". The London Gazette. 3 January 1964. p. 107.
- ^ Tillott, P. M. (1961). "'Protestant Nonconformity', in A History of the County of York: the City of York". London: British History Online. pp. 404–418. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ a b "Selby Primitive Methodist Chapel". My Primitive Methodists. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "Selby Town Hall: chapel, clinic, car repairs and now in civic service" (PDF). Selby Civic Society. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ "Selby Town Hall marks its 150th birthday". York Press. 21 September 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ "Good Design Awards in Selby" (PDF). Selby Civic Society. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ "State of the Union, Selby Town Hall, December 15". York Press. 7 December 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ "Six of the best sell out as Selby Town Hall launches spring season". York Press. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2021.