Derby Guildhall is a municipal building in the Market Place,

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

, England. It 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

A moot hall was first established in the Market Place area in 1204. This was replaced by a timber and plaster guildhall in 1500 which, in turn, made way for a stone guildhall which was designed by Richard Jackson in the Classical style and completed in 1730. A

turret clock A turret clock or tower clock is a clock designed to be mounted high in the wall of a building, usually in a clock tower, in public buildings such as Church (building), churches, university buildings, and town halls. As a public amenity to enab ...

designed by John Whitehurst was installed within the pediment above the main entrance in 1737. The next structure, which was designed by Matthew Habershon also in the Classical style, was built slightly to the south of the previous structures and was completed in 1828. It featured a large central

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 ...

incorporating a rusticated basement storey (with three large archways providing pedestrian and carriage access to the market hall beyond), above which were four Ionic columns supporting a pediment. (Whitehurst's clock, retained from the old guildhall, was installed within the pediment of the new building). At first-floor level, the principal room behind the colonnade was the 'Grand Room or Court of Sessions', which measured by and occupied most of the frontage. On 21 October 1841, Habershon's guildhall was severely damaged by a fire, which left only the centre and outer walls standing. It was rebuilt to a design by Henry Duesbury in 1842. The surviving walls were retained, with the exception of the portico, which (at the request of the design committee) was to be replaced with a

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure that house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another building ...

. This contained three bells and a new quarter-chiming clock (by James Harrison of Hull) and was topped by a

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

and a weather vane. Two large stones panels, one representing a court room and the other representing a council chamber, designed by the sculptor John Bell, were added to the face of the building either side of the tower. The principal room on the first floor (the 'Hall or Court') was of similar dimensions to its predecessor; there was also on the same level a Grand Jury Room, a public waiting room and (adjoining the Court) the Recorder's room. At ground floor level rooms were provided for the police, the

magistrates The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a ''magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

and the Town Clerk. During the 19th century, a series of tunnels were built to allow prisoners to be escorted from the police station in Lock Up Yard to the

assizes The assizes (), or courts of assize, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...

taking place in the guildhall.

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

visited the Guildhall on 21 May 1891 and received a formal address from the mayor, Alfred Haslam, before departing for the site of the proposed Derbyshire Royal Infirmary, to lay a foundation stone and to knight the mayor. The guildhall was the scene of the initial stages of the trial of the anti-war campaigner, Alice Wheeldon, in 1917. She was committed for trial at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

in London where she was convicted of conspiracy to murder Prime Minister

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

and his cabinet colleague

Arthur Henderson Arthur Henderson (13 September 1863 – 20 October 1935) was a British iron moulder and Labour Party (UK), Labour politician. He was the first Labour Cabinet of the United Kingdom, cabinet minister, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1934 and, uniqu ...

. A

Blue Plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

to commemorate her life was subsequently erected at her home, 12 Pear Tree Road, in Normanton. The guildhall ceased to function as the local of seat of government when the town council moved to the

Council House A council house, corporation house or council flat is a form of British Public housing in the United Kingdom, public housing built by Local government in the United Kingdom, local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing ...

in 1949, and the vacated guildhall was converted for use as a theatre in 1975. A main feature of theatre's programme has been the annual Christmas

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

which has been presented by theatre companies such as the "Babbling Vagabonds" since 2000. The viability of such theatre companies was questioned after the theatre closed in January 2019 so that long-term essential building maintenance works could be carried out.

References

{{reflist Government buildings completed in 1828 City and town halls in Derbyshire Domes in the United Kingdom Grade II listed buildings in Derby Government buildings with domes