Epsom Town Hall is a municipal building in The Parade,

Epsom Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, England. It is the headquarters of Epsom and Ewell Borough Council.

History

The first town hall in Epsom was a building designed by John Hartchard-Smith in the

Italianate style The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Ita ...

which was completed in 1883; located at the corner of Church Street and Upper High Street, it was built with

terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...

facings and featured a prominent Venetian window in the middle of a curved corner frontage. In the early 1930s, civic leaders decided to demolish the old town hall and procure a new building: the site they selected was vacant land on the north side of The Parade. The site had previously been occupied by a domestic residence which was being referred to as "Cromwell House" by the 18th century. The new building was designed by Hubert Moore Fairweather and William Alfred Pite in the Neo-Georgian style and was officially opened by the former local member of parliament, Lord Ebbisham, on 10 March 1934. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with seventeen bays facing onto The Parade with the end three bays at each end slightly projected forward; the central bay featured a doorway flanked by two pairs of pillars supporting a balcony with iron railings; there was a French door above the doorway on the first floor and

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 in all other bays on the ground floor and the first floor. Internally, the principal room in the building was the council chamber. The building served as the headquarters of Epsom Urban District Council, which was renamed Epsom and Ewell Urban District Council in July 1934, less than four months after the building's opening (

Ewell Ewell ( , ) is a town in Surrey, England, south of Centre of London, central London and northeast of Epsom. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census, it had a population of 34,872. The majority (73%) was in the NRS social grade, ABC1 ...

had been absorbed into the urban district in 1933). In 1937 the area became a

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

, since when the building has served as the headquarters of Epsom and Ewell Borough Council. In the early years of the new millennium civic leaders decided to relocate various council departments that had been accommodated around the borough into an expanded town hall facility: a new block was constructed to the east of the main building with a modern atrium and new portico which linked the two blocks: the expanded facility was brought into use in 2003. In a small ceremony at the town hall in June 2019, Station-Sergeant Thomas Green, the victim of the Epsom riot which took place at the end of

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 ...

, was commemorated when his great-grandson, David Kirkham, donated Green's service medals so they could be put on display at the local museum. Works of art in the town hall include a painting by

Hendrick Danckerts Hendrick Danckerts (c.1625 - 1680) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and engraver, mostly of houses in their landscape settings. After some years in Italy, he spent most of his career in London, working for Charles II and his brother. Biography D ...

depicting

Nonsuch Palace Nonsuch Palace was a Tudor architecture, Tudor royal family, royal palace, commissioned by Henry VIII of England, Henry VIII in Surrey, England, and on which work began in 1538. Its site lies in what is now Nonsuch Park on the boundary of the ...

and a painting by William Birch depicting

Epsom Downs Racecourse Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse in a hilly area near Epsom in Surrey, England which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course has a crowd capacity of 130,000 including ...

References

{{reflist Government buildings completed in 1934 City and town halls in Surrey Epsom Epsom and Ewell