Redcar and Cleveland Town Hall, formerly Eston Town Hall, was a municipal building in the

Teesville Teesville is an area in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England. It is part of Greater Eston, which includes the area and the settlements of Eston, Normanby, South Bank, Teesville and part of Ormesby. Demographics A ...

area of

Eston Eston is a former industrial town in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary area of North Yorkshire, England. It is part of Greater Eston, which includes the outlying settlements of Grangetown, North Yorkshire, Grangetown, Normanby, Redcar and Clevel ...

, in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, England. The building, which was the headquarters of Redcar and Cleveland District Council, was demolished in 2012.

History

Following significant population growth, largely associated with the mining industry, a

local board of health A local board of health (or simply a ''local board'') was a local authority in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulat ...

was appointed in Eston in 1884. The local board established offices on Whitworth Road in 1886. The board was succeeded by Eston Urban District Council in 1895 and the new council continued to use the offices on Whitworth Road. After amalgamation with Normanby Urban District Council in 1915, the enlarged Eston Urban District Council moved to Cleveland House on Eston Road in 1920. 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 ...

, the council decided to commission a dedicated town hall. The new building was designed in the modern style by

John Poulson John Garlick Llewellyn Poulson (14 April 1910 – 31 January 1993) was a British architectural designer and businessman who caused a major political scandal when his use of bribery was disclosed in 1972. The highest-ranking figure to be forced ...

, who was also the architect for many other buildings in the town, something later linked to corruption. It was built in red brick and was officially opened by Councillor Bill Herlingshaw on 15 May 1961. The design involved a main rectangular block, with an

hexagon In geometry, a hexagon (from Greek , , meaning "six", and , , meaning "corner, angle") is a six-sided polygon. The total of the internal angles of any simple (non-self-intersecting) hexagon is 720°. Regular hexagon A regular hexagon is de ...

al structure to accommodate the council chamber at the southeast corner of the main block. The town hall continued to serve as the headquarters of the council for the next decade and remained the meeting place for the enlarged Langbaurgh Borough Council, which was formed in 1974. The council became known as

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council is the Local government in England, local authority for Redcar and Cleveland, a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial ...

in 1996. By 2004, the building was in poor condition, with an estimated repair bill of £850,000. The council proposed moving its headquarters to new civic offices, while retaining some staff at the building, and using it for mayoral functions until 2007. The plan was opposed by the local Labour Party, and was dropped when it won control of the council. However, by 2012, repair costs had grown to £2.4 million. Council staff were moved to other locations, including new offices at Redcar and Cleveland Civic Centre in Ridley Street in

Redcar Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority. It is in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England, and is located east of Middlesbrough. The Teesside built-up area's Redcar subdiv ...

, and the building was demolished.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Redcar and Cleveland City and town halls in North Yorkshire Demolished buildings and structures in North Yorkshire Government buildings completed in 1961 Buildings and structures demolished in 2012 John Poulson buildings