Devonport Guildhall is a municipal building that served as a

municipal hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

mortuary A morgue or mortuary (in a hospital or elsewhere) is a place used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification (ID), removal for autopsy, respectful burial, cremation or other methods of disposal. In modern times, corpses have cus ...

, and

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, ...

, located in the municipal centre of the town of Devonport, in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The site fell into disrepair and since the mid-1980s has been repurposed for community facilities. It is a

Grade I 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

Building of the guildhall

The guildhall, which was designed by

John Foulston John Foulston (1772 – 30 December 1841) was an English architect who was a pupil of Thomas Hardwick and set up a practice in London in 1796.Peter Leach, ''Foulston, John (1772–1841)'', rev., Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford ...

in the

Regency style Regency architecture encompasses classical buildings built in the United Kingdom during the Regency era in the early 19th century when George IV was Prince Regent, and also to earlier and later buildings following the same style. The period co ...

with Greek Doric features, was completed between 1821 and 1824. Foulston designed a cluster of four buildings together in the area: the Guildhall,

Column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

and Oddfellow's Hall still stand today whilst his Mount Zion Calvinist Chapel is now lost. The area of Devonport was then called Plymouth Dock and the presence of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

brought prosperity to the area. A petition was taken to

King George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

, who granted permission for the area to be called Devonport in 1824. Devonport Guildhall was home to the magistrates court and the Mayor's Parlour and also was used for social events (the courtroom had removable fixtures to hold events and balls in the evening). There were cells and a mortuary, and a police station at the rear of the building. It was also the meeting place of the county borough of Devonport established under 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 ...

Decline and refurbishment

The building fell into disrepair when the

Three Towns Three Towns is a term used to refer to several groups of towns. United Kingdom There are several groups of towns in the United Kingdom referred to as the Three Towns, many of which form contiguous settlements, or are in close proximity to each ...

of Plymouth, Devonport and Stonehouse amalgamated in 1914 and municipal functions were transferred to the expanded City of Plymouth. Still utilised for the city, the building had a variety of uses, including as a gas-mask collection point during 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 ...

. After it fell into neglect, Guildhall restorations were attempted – notably in 1986 when it reopened as a Citizen's Advice Bureau, Library, a playgroup, cafe and sports hall – but failed to survive due to the sheer size of the building. In 2009, Real Ideas Organisation was awarded a £1.75 million Community Assets Grant, with which they embarked on the careful and painstaking restoration of Devonport Guildhall to its former glory. Working closely with Plymouth City Council and the former Devonport Regeneration Community Partnership, RIO renovated Devonport Guildhall with the local community in mind. The building, which is run by a social enterprise, re-opened in 2010.

History

Building of the guildhall

Decline and refurbishment

See also

References

Further reading