Gloucester Shire Hall is a municipal building in Westgate Street, Gloucester. The shire hall, which is the main office and the meeting place of

Gloucestershire County Council Gloucestershire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Gloucestershire, in England. The council was created in 1889. The council's principal functions are county roads and rights of way, social servi ...

, is a

grade II 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 ...

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

The building was designed by

Sir Robert Smirke Sir Robert Smirke (1 October 1780 – 18 April 1867) was an English architect, one of the leaders of Greek Revival architecture, though he also used other architectural styles (such as Gothic and Tudor). As an attached (i.e. official) arch ...

for Gloucestershire magistrates in the

Greek Revival style Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

, built in

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

stone and was opened in 1816. The design for the building involved a symmetrical main frontage facing Westgate Street; the central section of three bays featured a large

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 ...

with four

Ionic order The Ionic order is one of the three canonic classical order, orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric order, Doric and the Corinthian order, Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan order, Tuscan (a plainer Doric) ...

columns supporting an

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

; there were single bay flanking wings. The design was inspired by the temple on the River Ilisos in Greece, which was designed by

Callicrates Callicrates or Kallikrates (; ) was an ancient Greek architect active in the middle of the fifth century BC. He and Ictinus were architects of the Parthenon (Plutarch, ''Pericles'', 13). An inscription identifies him as the architect of "the Te ...

and completed in c.430BC. A

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, ...

, also designed by Smirke, was built at the rear of the shire hall, and was completed around the same time. Following the implementation of 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 ...

, which established county councils in every county, the shire hall also became the meeting place of

. It was internally remodelled in 1896 to accommodate a council chamber and offices for the county council. Substantial three-storey wings with canted corners, which were designed by the county surveyor, Matthew Henry Medland, were erected on either side of the existing frontage in 1911. The eastern wing extended along Berkeley Street.

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, accompanied by

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh, is a substantive title that has been created four times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not pr ...

, paid a visit to the shire hall, before departing for the

guildhall A guildhall, also known as a guild hall or guild house, is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Europe, with many surviving today in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commo ...

, during a visit to the city on 3 May 1955. In the 1960s the building was largely demolished and rebuilt, retaining only the 1816 portico and the 1911 flanking wings. Substantial extensions were added to the rear at the same time, including additional blocks on the west side along Upper Quay Street, across Bearland and to the south west of Bearland. The internal alterations included the creation of a new council chamber, which was opened by

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...

on 14 November 1963. An extensive programme of refurbishment works to the 1960s buildings, intended to create an open plan environment, together with re-cladding works, intended to make the facilities more energy efficient, was carried out by

Kier Group Kier Group plc is a British construction, services and property group active in building and civil engineering, support services, and the Private Finance Initiative. Founded in 1928 in Stoke-on-Trent it initially specialised in concrete enginee ...

, based on a design by Quattro Design Architects, and completed in late 2018. Works of art in the shire hall include a portrait of the former Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire, Henry Reynolds-Moreton, 3rd Earl of Ducie, by Alexander Glasgow (1840–1894).

References

External links

{{Buildings and structures in Gloucester Grade II listed buildings in Gloucestershire Robert Smirke (architect) buildings Westgate, Gloucester County halls in England Government buildings completed in 1816