Chipping Norton Town Hall is a municipal building in the Market Place,

Chipping Norton Chipping Norton is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cotswolds in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Banbury and north-west of Oxford. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 201 ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, England. The building, which is used as an events venue, 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 first municipal building in the town was a guildhall which was built for the Guild of the Holy Trinity in 1520. Following the dissolution of the chantries in 1548, the guildhall was acquired by the town and subsequently used by civic leaders as their meeting place. In the early 1840s, the local member of parliament,

James Langston James Haughton Langston (25 May 1796 – 19 October 1863) was a British landowner and Member of Parliament. Life He was the son of John Langston of Sarsden House, Oxfordshire, and his wife, Sarah. He was educated at Eton College (1811). He m ...

, led a campaign to commission a more substantial structure. The site he selected was occupied by an ancient market house with nine pillars and a

pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...

-shaped roof which was demolished to make way for the new structure. The new building was designed by

George Stanley Repton George Stanley Repton (30 January 1786 – 29 June 1858https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/140186689/elizabeth-repton) was an English architect. George Stanley, the fourth son of Humphry Repton, was a pupil of the Anglo-French architect Augustus ...

in the

Palladian style Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

, built in

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 was completed in 1842. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with nine bays facing onto the east side of the High Street. It featured a flight of seven steps leading up to a

tetrastyle A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cultu ...

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

with

Doric order The Doric order is one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of t ...

columns supporting 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 ...

and a

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 ...

; there were

niche Niche may refer to: Science *Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development and growth *Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species *Niche differentiation, in ec ...

s in the outer bays on the front elevation. The western elevation was arcaded on the ground floor and was fenestrated by seven tall

sash window A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double glazing) of glass. History ...

s flanked by

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

; there were again niches in the end bays, which slightly projected forward. The end elevations were arcaded on the ground floor and were fenestrated by rows of three sash windows flanked by pilasters supporting entablatures and pediments. The northern pediment was surmounted by a

bellcote A bellcote, bell-cote or bell-cot is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells. Bellcotes are most common in church architecture but are also seen on institutions such as schools. The bellcote may be carried on brackets projecting from ...

; some years later a clock (manufactured by local clockmaker Samuel Simms, ) was placed in the tympanum below. Internally, the principal rooms on the ground floor were the four cells for the incarceration of pretty criminals, the weighbridge for measuring the weight of goods being traded and the space for the horse-drawn fire engine, while the principal room on the first floor was the council chamber which was also used as a court room. A grand dinner was held in the town hall in August 1855 to celebrate the official opening of the Chipping Norton Railway. A

weather vane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

, designed in the form of a

foxhound A foxhound is a type of large hunting hound bred for strong hunting instincts, a keen sense of smell, and their barking, energy, drive, and speed. In fox hunting, the foxhound's namesake, packs of foxhounds track quarry, followed—usually on ho ...

, was presented to the town by the Heythrop Hunt and installed at the top of the bellcote in March 1950. The building was badly damaged in a fire on 3 March 1950: while the shell of the building survived, much of the interior was destroyed. It continued to serve as the local seat of government until the enlarged

West Oxfordshire District Council West Oxfordshire is a local government district in northwest Oxfordshire, England, including towns such as Woodstock, Burford, Chipping Norton, Charlbury, Carterton and Witney, where the council is based. Area The area is mainly rural downland ...

was formed at

Witney Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is west of Oxford. History The Toponymy, place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island". The earliest kno ...

in 1974, and subsequently continued to be used as a venue for major events such as the local

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

debate in June 2016. Works of art in the town hall include a portrait by

Walter William Ouless Walter William Ouless (21 September 1848 – 25 December 1933) was a British portrait painter from Jersey. He became an Associate of the Royal Academy (ARA) in 1877 and a full member (RA) in 1881. Life and career He was born in 1848 at 53 Para ...

of the member of parliament,

Albert Brassey Colonel Albert Brassey (22 February 1844 – 7 January 1918) was a British rowing (sport), rower, soldier and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member of parliament for Banbury (UK Parliament constituen ...

, a portrait by Edward S. Harper of the former mayor, Alderman Henry Field Wilkins and a portrait by an unknown artist of the local politician, James Langston.

Notes

References

{{reflist Government buildings completed in 1842 City and town halls in Oxfordshire Grade II* listed buildings in Oxfordshire Chipping Norton Grade II* listed government buildings Burned buildings and structures in the United Kingdom

History

See also

Notes

References