County Hall, Chelmsford
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Essex County Hall is a municipal building in Market Road,
Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...
,
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
: it is the headquarters of
Essex County Council Essex County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Essex in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the non-metropolitan county excludes Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock which ...
. Blocks C and D are 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 ...
s.


History

Following the implementation of the
Local Government Act 1888 The Local Government Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 41) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales. It came into effect ...
, which established county councils in every county, it became necessary to find facilities for
Essex County Council Essex County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Essex in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the non-metropolitan county excludes Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock which ...
. Given the difficulty of travelling by rail to Chelmsford from many parts of the county, the council decided to hold only its quarterly meetings at the Shire Hall there, with other committees and meetings being held in London, which was more accessible to the majority of councillors. The council subsequently established two small offices on the north side of King Edward's Street. In due course more substantial facilities became necessary and a red brick building on Duke Street (later known as Block D), designed by Frank Whitmore in the
classical style Classical architecture typically refers to architecture consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or more specifically, from ''De architectura'' (c. 10 AD) by the Roman architect Vitruvius. Va ...
, was completed in 1909. The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage with four bays facing Duke Street; the left bay featured an arched recess containing a doorway with a
fanlight A fanlight is a form of lunette window (transom window), often semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing (window), glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open Hand fan, fan. It is placed over another window or a doorway, ...
above flanked by
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 and full height stone
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 bearing the county
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
; there was a double window on the first floor and a triple window on the second floor with an open
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 ...
above. The Duke Street block was designed with a view to it being later extended to incorporate a council chamber, but in 1913 the council decided not to pursue the extension on grounds of cost, preferring to continue to meet at both Shire Hall and in London. By the late 1920s it was clear that further expansion was needed. The properties in King Edward's Street were demolished and the most imposing part of the new county hall complex, a building clad in Portland Stone on the corner of Duke Street and Threadneedle Street known as Block C, designed by J. Stuart, was built between 1929 and 1939. The design featured a main entrance at the south east corner of the building facing Market Road; there was a doorway on the ground floor flanked by Doric order 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 ...
with a pediment above; there was a round headed window on the first floor flanked by
Corinthian order The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric or ...
columns and there were smaller windows on the floors above. A geometric pattern was carved into the stonework above the doorway; this subsequently led to controversy as the carving was capable of being interpreted as a line of
swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍, ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, as well as a few Indigenous peoples of Africa, African and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American cultures. In the Western world, it is widely rec ...
s. Internally, the principal rooms were the council chamber, the committee room and the council chairman's room which were all fitted out at the expense of the businessman and
philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
, Sir William Courtauld. The council chamber in the new building was formally opened on 23 September 1938. A modern 3-storey building in the heart of the complex, known as Block B, followed after the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and a modern 9-storey building on Victoria Road South, known as Block A, which was designed by H. Connolly, was built between 1959 and 1965. Works of art in the building include a bust of the politician, Thomas Gardiner Bramston, by the sculptor, John Ternouth and a bust of the politician,
John Perry-Watlington John Watlington Perry-Watlington (7 December 1823 – 24 February 1882), known as John Watlington Perry until 1848, was a British Conservative politician. Born in London in 1823 as John Watlington Perry, he was the only son of Thomas Perry an ...
, by the sculptor,
William Theed William Theed (1804 – 9 September 1891), also known as William Theed the younger, was a British sculptor, the son of the sculptor and painter William Theed the elder (1764–1817). He specialised in portraiture, and his services were extensi ...
.


References

{{reflist Essex County Council Chelmsford Grade II listed buildings in Essex County halls in England Government buildings completed in 1909