The Old Courthouse is a former judicial building in St Peter's Square in

Ruthin Ruthin ( ; ) is a market town and community in Denbighshire, Wales, in the south of the Vale of Clwyd. The town, castle and St Peter's Square lie on a hill, skirted by villages such as Pwllglas and Rhewl. The name comes from the Welsh ''rhud ...

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, Flintshire to the east, Wrexham to the southeast, Powys to the south, and Gwynedd and Conwy to the west. Rhyl is the largest town, and Ruthi ...

, North

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. It is a Grade II*

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 ...

. After many years in use as commercial premises, the building was brought back into public use in 2019 and now serves as a community venue and meeting place of Ruthin Town Council.

History

The current building was built to replace an earlier structure, owned by the de Grey family, was notable for being the first building to be attacked at the outset of

Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (28 May 135420 September 1415), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr (Glyn Dŵr, , anglicised as Owen Glendower) was a Welsh people, Welsh leader, soldier and military commander in the Wales in the late Middle Ages, late Middle ...

revolt Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

on 6 September 1400. The new building was completed in 1421. Visible within are fine old roof timbers, and on the north-west outside corner is the stump of a gallows beam. It served as the courthouse until 1663 when a new town hall was built on the square. The old courthouse was also in commercial use during the 18th century: in 1741 a petition was raised by butchers of the town and given to the owner Richard Myddleton complaining their meat was exposed to all elements of weather. This resulted in the building of “the shambles” a lean-to on the north face of the building (Welsh: ''Pendist'') a two-storey construction, photos show three dormer windows set into the roof. The butchers earned extra income by offering grandstand seating on the roof for views of the

bear-baiting Bear-baiting was a historical blood sport in which a chained bear and one or more dogs were forced to fight one another. It also sometimes involved pitting a bear against another animal. Until the 19th century, it was commonly performed in Gr ...

which took place on the Square. In the 19th century it served as a grocery: "Aldrich's Grocery and Hardware Stores". Then, in 1926 it was converted into a branch of the

National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank, trading as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, it becam ...

to the design of

Frank Shayler Frank Hearn Shayler (1867–1954) was a Shrewsbury-based architect who worked in an Arts and Crafts style. He was in partnership with Thomas Ridge, and they also had offices in Oswestry and Welshpool. Career Born in Banbury, Oxfordshire, son o ...

and served in that role until its closure in 2017. The building was purchased in 2019 by Ruthin Town Council and refurbished to become a community facility and meeting place for the town council.

References

{{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in 1401 Grade II* listed buildings in Denbighshire Ruthin

History

See also

References