Deal Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street in

Deal, Kent Deal is a coastal town in Kent, England, which lies where the North Sea and the English Channel meet, north-east of Dover, England, Dover and south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town whose history is closely linked t ...

, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Deal Borough 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

Following the grant of a royal charter from

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily () * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg (1817–1890) N ...

giving the town the right to incorporate as an independent borough in 1699, the new council initially rented a private house in Whetstone Street (now known as King Street) for their meetings, before erecting a dedicated "Court Hall" on the east side of the High Street, between Market Street and King Street, in the early 18th century. In the early 19th century, after finding the old court hall was inadequate for their requirements, civic leaders decided to commission a new building: the site they selected on the west side of the High Street was acquired from a private individual, William Wilds. The foundation stone for the new building was laid by the mayor, Isaac Gammon, on 15 March 1803. It was designed by John Mathews in the

neoclassical style Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...

, built in yellow brick with stone dressings at a cost of £2,961 and was completed in autumn 1804. The design involved a near-symmetrical main frontage with three bays facing onto the High Street with the central bay slighted projected forward; the ground floor was arcaded to allow markets to be held while the first floor was supported by

Tuscan order The Tuscan order (Latin ''Ordo Tuscanicus'' or ''Ordo Tuscanus'', with the meaning of Etruscan order) is one of the two classical orders developed by the Romans, the other being the composite order. It is influenced by the Doric order, but wit ...

columns and featured a Venetian window in the central bay with tall round headed windows in the other bays. At roof level, there was a

modillion A modillion is an ornate bracket, more horizontal in shape and less imposing than a corbel. They are often seen underneath a Cornice (architecture), cornice which helps to support them. Modillions are more elaborate than dentils (literally transl ...

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

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 ...

with a date stone in the tympanum. Internally, the principal rooms were the council chamber on the first floor, which was accessed by a

spiral staircase Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical direction, vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps wh ...

and was oak panelled, and the mayor's parlour, which was on the ground floor. A drinking fountain, commissioned by the then

Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is the name of a ceremonial post in the United Kingdom. The post dates from at least the 12th century, when the title was Keeper of the Coast, but it may be older. The Lord Warden was originally in charge of the ...

Earl Granville Earl Granville is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It is now held by members of the Leveson-Gower family. First creation The first creation came in the Pee ...

, was installed on the corner with St George's Road in 1875. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the town hall was the venue for a meeting to organise accommodation for some 1,500 Belgian refugees seeking homes in the local area. In 1938, there was a fire in the council chamber which caused serious damage to some items on display and left a model of a Deal lugger completely destroyed. The town hall continued to serve as the headquarters of Deal Borough Council for much of the 20th century but ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged

Dover District Council Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

was formed in 1974. After court services transferred to

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

in the late 1970s, the town hall also ceased to be used for judicial purposes. The town hall subsequently became the meeting place for Deal Town Council as well as an approved venue for weddings and civil partnership ceremonies. Works of art in the town hall include a portrait of William III by

Willem Wissing Willem Wissing, known in England as William Wissing (1656 – 10 September 1687), was a Dutch portrait artist who worked in England. Biography He was born in either Amsterdam or The Hague, and studied at The Hague under Willem Doudijns (1630� ...

, a portrait of

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

by Francis Grant and a portrait of

Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

by Francis Ramsay. Other items include a portrait of the local writer,

Elizabeth Carter Elizabeth Carter (pen name Eliza; 16 December 1717 – 19 February 1806) was an English poet, classicist, writer, translator, and linguist. As one of the Bluestocking Circle that surrounded Elizabeth Montagu,Encyclopaedia BritannicRetrieved 1 ...

, by

Joseph Highmore Joseph Highmore (13 June 16923 March 1780) was an English painter of Portrait painting, portraits, conversation pieces and History painting, history subjects, illustrator and author. After retiring from his career as a painter at the age of 70, h ...

and a painting entitled ''Deal in a Storm'' by

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...

References

{{reflist Government buildings completed in 1804 City and town halls in Kent Deal, Kent Grade II listed buildings in Kent