Colwyn Bay Town Hall
| Colwyn Bay Town Hall | |
|---|---|
| Native name Neuadd y Dref Bae Colwyn (Welsh) | |
 The building in February 2016 | |
| Location | Rhiw Road, Colwyn Bay |
| Coordinates | 53°17′36″N 3°43′34″W / 53.2934°N 3.7261°W |
| Built | 1907 |
| Architect | Walter Wiles |
| Architectural style(s) | Edwardian style |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | Police Station and Magistrates Court |
| Designated | 25 July 1994 |
| Reference no. | 14707 |
  Shown in Conwy | |
Colwyn Bay Town Hall (Welsh: Neuadd y Dref Bae Colwyn) is a municipal building located on Rhiw Road in Colwyn Bay in Conwy County Borough in Wales. The structure, which accommodates Colwyn Bay Town Council, is a Grade II listed building.[1]
History
[edit]In the 19th century, local court hearings took place at the police station and session room at Lancaster Road in Conwy, 6 miles (9.7 km) away.[2] Following a significant increase in population, largely associated with seaside tourism, a municipal building was erected on the west side of Station Road in Colwyn Bay, to accommodate the judicial needs of the area, in 1892. This building originally accommodated a local police station and magistrates' court.[3]
After Colwyn Bay Urban District Council was established in 1894,[4] the new council needed accommodation and it also moved into the municipal building on Station Road in 1901.[3] By this time the municipal building was quite crowded and the magistrates decided to commission a dedicated police station and magistrates' court. The site they selected was open ground opposite St Paul's Church on Rhiw Road.[5]
Construction of the building started on 1905. It was designed by Walter Wiles, the Denbighshire county architect, designed in the Edwardian style and completed in 1907. It originally housed the police station on the left, with a house for the Chief Superintendent of Police, and the magistrates' court on the right.[6] Following local government re-organisation in 1996,[7] a new community council, Bay of Colwyn Town Council, was established.[8] The magistrates' court closed on 31 December 1996,[9] and following a programme of works to adapt the courtroom for use as a council chamber, the new town council moved into the vacant building.[10]
The name plate from the LMS Rebuilt Patriot Class steam locomotive, Colwyn Bay, which was built in 1933 and withdrawn from service in 1963,[11] has since been installed on the wall inside the building.[12]
Architecture
[edit]The building is constructed of white stone, with dressings in red sandstone, and green slate roofs. The building is two storeys high, and the police station is five bays wide. There is a porch with an arched canopy, and windows with mullions and transoms. To its right is a tower, set slightly further forward, and the single-storey former magistrates' court to its right. It is three bays wide, with arched doorways in the end bays, and a mullioned window below a pediment with a coat of arms supported by pilasters. To its right is a flat-roofed anteroom with lancet windows.[1] It was grade II listed since 1994.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Cadw. "Police Station and Magistrates Court (14707)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ Worrall's Directory of North Wales. William Worrall. 1874. p. 222.
- ^ a b "Former Municipal Building". Colwyn Bay Heritage. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ "Colwyn Bay MB/UD". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1900. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ Roberts, Graham (2016). Secret Colwyn Bay. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1445664323.
- ^ "Local Government (Wales) Act 1994". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ "The Bay of Colwyn Town Council". The Bay of Colwyn Town Council. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ "Magistrates' courts". Hansard. 29 January 2003. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ "Council meetings". Bay of Colwyn Town Council. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ "LMS Route: Trent Valley Line". Warwickshire Railways. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ "Old court house, Rhiw Road, Colwyn Bay". History Points. Retrieved 22 December 2024.