Bargoed Town Hall () is a municipal building located on Hanbury Road,

Bargoed Bargoed () is a town and community (Wales), community in the Rhymney Valley, Wales, one of the South Wales Valleys. It lies on the Rhymney River in the county borough of Caerphilly (county borough), Caerphilly. It straddles the Historic counties o ...

in the

Rhymney Valley The Rhymney Valley () is one of the South Wales valleys, with the Rhymney River forming the border between the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire. Between 1974 and 1996 a Rhymney Valley local government district also existed (on ...

in Wales. The town hall, which is the meeting place of Bargoed Town Council, is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

The older part of the complex is a

police station A police station is a facility operated by police or a similar law enforcement agency that serves to accommodate police officers and other law enforcement personnel. The role served by a police station varies by agency, type, and jurisdiction, ...

constructed in 1904. A police court (later referred to as a magistrates' court) was subsequently erected to its left, the two joined by a cell block. The police court was designed by George Kenshole in the Beaux-Arts style and completed in 1911. One of the most shocking cases before the court was a trial in 1965 when a group of 11 young people went on trial on a total of 41 charges of assault and related activity at Bargoed railway station. One of the victims had suffered a broken leg. The crime was described as "an extreme example of gangsterism in the locality". The complex was

grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

in 1992. The courthouse closed in 1997, and it was then occasionally used as an annexe to the police station. In 2012, the

Gwent Police and Crime Commissioner The Gwent Police and Crime Commissioner is the police and crime commissioner for the Gwent Police area, comprising Newport, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent, Torfaen and Monmouthshire. The current commissioner is Jane Mudd, who represents the Labour ...

, Ian Johnston, sought other organisations who were prepared to rent the former courthouse (but not the police station) from

Gwent Police Gwent Police () is a territorial police force in Wales, responsible for policing the local authority areas of Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen. The force was formed in 1967 by the amalgamation of Monmouthshire ...

. Meanwhile, Bargoed Town Council, which had been established in 1985 and had been based in a residential property known as ''The Settlement'' on Cardiff Road in Bargoed, had been seeking premises which would be more accessible for its residents. After a rental agreement had been entered into by the two parties, a programme of works was initiated to create a council chamber and an open plan office for the council within the former courthouse. The former courthouse was officially re-opened by the mayor of Bargoed, Howard Llewellyn, and the mayor of Caerphilly County Borough, David Carter, with Johnston also in attendance, on 28 June 2014. In 2018, a painting by the artist, Olwen Hughes, depicting the Bargoed Emporium, was presented to the Gelligaer Historical Society and hung in the town hall. The emporium was a distinctive shop in the town, which had been completed in 1906.

Architecture

The courthouse is single storey, and is in the Beaux-Arts style. It is built of

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

stone, and has a slate roof. The design involves a symmetrical main frontage of three bays facing onto Hanbury Road. The central bay contains an opening with double doors, a moulded surround and a keystone, while the outer bays contain blind panels. The bays are flanked by

Ionic order The Ionic order is one of the three canonic classical order, orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric order, Doric and the Corinthian order, Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan order, Tuscan (a plainer Doric) ...

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s supporting an

architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; , also called an epistyle; ) is the lintel or beam, typically made of wood or stone, that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can also apply to all sides, including the vertical members, ...

and an

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

, inscribed "POLICE COURT", as well as a

dentil A dentil (from Lat. ''dens'', a tooth) is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice. Dentils are found in ancient Greek and Roman architecture, and also in later styles such as Neoclassical, Federal, Georgian Rev ...

led

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

containing a wreath with

festoon A festoon (from French ''feston'', Italian ''festone'', from a Late Latin ''festo'', originally a festal garland, Latin ''festum'', feast) is a wreath or garland hanging from two points, and in architecture typically a carved ornament depicti ...

s. The police station, which is not part of the town hall, has two storeys and an attic, and is of three symmetrical bays, a lower bay to the left, and then a cell block. It is built of stone, with some chimneys of brick.

References

{{Government buildings in Wales Bargoed City and town halls in Wales Grade II listed buildings in Caerphilly County Borough Government buildings completed in 1911