Haywards Heath Town Hall is a municipal building in Boltro Road in

Haywards Heath Haywards Heath ( ) is a town in West Sussex, England, south of London, north of Brighton, south of Gatwick Airport and northeast of the county town, Chichester. Nearby towns include Burgess Hill to the southwest, Horsham to the northwest, ...

, a town in

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, in England. The building accommodates the offices and meeting place of Haywards Heath Town Council.

History

Following significant population growth, largely associated with the opening of the

London and Brighton Railway The London and Brighton Railway (L&BR) was a railway company in England which was incorporated in 1837 and survived until 1846. Its railway ran from a junction with the London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) at Norwood – which gives it access fr ...

, a

local board 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 established in Haywards Heath in 1872. After the local board was succeeded by Haywards Heath

Urban District Council In England and Wales, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected urban district council (UDC), which shared local government responsibilities with a county council. ...

in 1894, the new council decided to commission dedicated council offices. The site it selected was on South Road, just to the east of Victoria Park. The new offices were designed in the

Jacobean style The Jacobean style is the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James VI and I, with whose reign (1603–1625 in England) it is associated. At the start of James's reign, the ...

, built in brick with a

cement render Cement render or cement plaster is the application of a mortar mix of sand and cement, (optionally lime) and water to brick, concrete, stone, or mud brick. It is often textured, colored, or painted after application. It is generally used on ...

finish and were completed in the early 20th century. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of four bays: there were round headed doorways in the outer bays, a segmental headed opening for the fire engine in the second bay, a round headed

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...

ed window in the third bay, and a bi-partite window in the

stepped gable A stepped gable, crow-stepped gable, or corbie step is a stairstep type of design at the top of the triangular gable-end of a building. The top of the parapet wall projects above the roofline and the top of the brick or stone wall is stacked in ...

above. After the original offices on South Road became inadequate, the council sought larger premises. A large house, known as Oaklands on Oaklands Road, which had been built for a

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

bookseller, Harry Treacher, in 1866, became available when a subsequent owner, a businessman, Sir James Bradford, died in April 1930. Oaklands went on to become the headquarters of the enlarged Cuckfield Urban District Council in 1934, and, following local government re-organisation in 1974, it became the headquarters of Mid Sussex District Council. In the mid-1980s, Haywards Heath Town Council decided to commission its own offices and meeting place. The site they selected was on the west side of Boltro Road. The new building was designed in the Neo-Georgian style, built in red brick and was completed in 1990. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of seven bays facing onto Boltro Road. The central bay featured a

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 ...

formed by a pair of

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 ...

and a

balcony A balcony (from , "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. They are commonly found on multi-level houses, apartme ...

with iron railings; there was a French door on the first floor. The other bays were fenestrated by

casement window A casement window is a window that is attached to its frame by one or more hinges at the side. They are used singly or in pairs within a common frame, in which case they are hinged on the outside. Casement windows are often held open using a c ...

s. Internally, the principal rooms were the various offices for council officers, four meeting rooms, and the

council chamber A debate chamber is a room for conducting the business of a deliberative assembly or otherwise for debating. When used as the meeting place of a legislature, a debate chamber may also be known as a council chamber, legislative chamber, assembly ...

. The building was subsequently licensed to host weddings and civil partnership ceremonies. The football manager,

Matt Beard Matthew Beard (born 9 January 1978) is an English professional football manager, who was most recently head coach of FA Women's Super League club Liverpool F.C. Women. He has previously managed West Ham, Chelsea, Boston Breakers, Millwall an ...

, married his partner, Debbie, there in around 2010. In August 2014, a marble plaque was installed under the portico to commemorate the life of the locally-born soldier, Sergeant

Arthur George Knight Arthur George Knight VC (26 June 1886 – 3 September 1918) was an English-Canadian soldier. Knight was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth ...

of the 10th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, who was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

for his actions at the

Villers-lès-Cagnicourt Villers-lès-Cagnicourt (, literally ''Villers near Cagnicourt'') is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France about southeast of Arras. Population See also *Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department ...

during the

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 ...

. The

Princess Royal Princess Royal is a substantive title, title customarily (but not automatically) awarded by British monarchs to their eldest daughters. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal famil ...

visited the town hall and met with civic officials in October 2020.

References

{{reflist City and town halls in West Sussex Haywards Heath Government buildings completed in 1990