Swindon Town Hall is a former municipal building in

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

, England which was built in 1891 to be a centrepiece of New Swindon. It is currently used by Swindon Dance, a national dance agency. 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 ...

History

The building was commissioned to replace the old town hall in the High Street in the Old Town area of Swindon. By 1890, the New Swindon

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 ...

had plans to build their new public offices in what is now Regent Circus. This location, halfway between the new Railway Village and the Old Town, was thought by some to be "both psychologically and strategically an excellent position for the new town to establish a landmark building". The site was acquired from Colonel William Vilett Rolleston, owner of the Old Manor House in the Market Square. Following a design competition for which there were 20 entries, the building was designed by Brightwen Binyon of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

in a Victorian style. The design included a main entrance with a round-headed archway flanked by paired fluted brackets with a

balustrade A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...

and a 90 ft high

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure that house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another building ...

above, containing a clock by Thwaites & Reed. The building was officially opened by the

Marquess of Bath Marquess#United Kingdom, Marquess of Bath is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath, Thomas Thynne, 3rd Viscount Weymouth. The Marquess holds the subsidiary titles Baron#Britain an ...

on 21 October 1891. In the later 19th century the prospect of combining the New Town and the Old Town into a single Swindon had become a burning issue. Commentators of the time such as the

Swindon Advertiser The ''Swindon Advertiser'' is a daily tabloid newspaper, published in Swindon. The newspaper was founded in 1854, and had an audited average daily circulation at the end of 2017 of 8,828. It claims to have been the UK's first provincial 'penn ...

's editor William Morris were heavily in favour. The New Swindon Urban District Council was the more powerful of the two at this time, containing within it all of Swindon's industrial companies and the majority of the population. The two towns remained separate until 1901 when they combined and

Swindon Borough Council Swindon Borough Council is the local authority of the Borough of Swindon in the ceremonial county of Wiltshire, England. It was founded in 1974 as Thamesdown Borough Council, and was a lower-tier district council until 1997. In 1997 it was re ...

became the last to be incorporated during Queen Victoria's reign. The town hall in Regent Circus became the council offices of the new borough and remained so until the Civic Offices were opened in Euclid Street in July 1938. The building was also the venue for magistrates' court hearings. This lack of dedicated judicial facilities was temporarily resolved when the new Courts of Justice (now referred to as Swindon Magistrates' Court) were opened in Princes Street on 21 April 1965. The ground floor of the town hall housed the Swindon

Reference Library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

until 2006 when it moved into temporary accommodation pending new purpose-built premises in Regent Circus becoming available in October 2008. Meanwhile, the remainder of the building has been used as dance studios and a media hub.

References

{{Commons category Buildings and structures in Swindon City and town halls in Wiltshire Grade II listed buildings in Wiltshire Grade II listed government buildings Government buildings completed in 1891