Cricklade Town Hall
Cricklade Town Hall is an events venue in the High Street in Cricklade, a town in Wiltshire in England. It currently hosts a variety of community events, including a weekly cinema and annual school assemblies.
History
[edit]The town hall was commissioned to replace the old town hall in the High Street.[1] The site that civic leaders selected was open land about 100 yards (91 m) along the High Street to the southwest of the old town hall.[2] Construction on the new building started in 1932. It was designed by Eric Cole of Cirencester[3] in the Arts and Crafts movement style, reminiscent of the work of Charles Voysey.[4] It was built by Baldwin Brothers of Fairford in brick with a cement render and was completed in 1933.[5][6]
The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of three bays facing onto the High Street. The central bay formed a porch, which was projected forward and contained a doorway with a fanlight, an archivolt, and a gable above. The outer bays formed pavilions, which were fenestrated by casement windows and surmounted by pitched roofs. The main hall, which was laid out behind the central bay, was lit by a large Diocletian window facing towards the High Street, and surmounted by a steep pitched roof. It incorporated a main hall, with a stage and a sprung dance floor, and a committee room.[7]
In October 1945, a painting was donated to the hall by a local doctor, Frank Lewarne. It was identified, in 1993, as "Les Cinq Sens" (Allegory of the Five Senses), by Pietro Paolini, an Old Master from the school of Caravaggio, and was sold at auction for £68,000.[8][9][10]
The venue hosts a variety of community events, including since 2013 a weekly cinema.[11] After it was extensively refurbished in 2015,[12] the comedian, Julian Clary, visited the town hall in July 2017 to host the end of year assembly for a local school.[13][14] Works of art in the town hall include three paintings by Edward James Battar depicting local landscape scenes.[15]
References
[edit]- ^ "The history of the council offices". Cricklade Town Council. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1900. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ Orbach, Julian. "Wiltshire Architects". Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ "Key landmarks of Cricklade". Cricklade Town Council. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ Telegraphic Journal and Monthly Illustrated Review of Electrical Science. Vol. 112. 1933. p. 404.
- ^ "'Cricklade - Cricklade Borough', in A History of the County of Wiltshire". Woodbridge: British History Online. 2011. pp. 20–70. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
- ^ "Cricklade Town Hall". Wiltshire Village Hall Finder. Wiltshire Village Halls Association. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ Shaw, John (21 October 1993). "Discarded painting revealed as Old Master". The Times. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ "Our Howard is Mr Cricklade". Gazette and Herald. 20 July 2005. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ "Allegory of the Five Senses". The Walters Gallery. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ "Cricklade Cinema". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ "Volunteers needed for huge Cricklade Town Hall transformation". Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ "TV personality Julian Clary visits Cricklade to host Meadowpark School end of year assembly". Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard. 12 July 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ "Comedian Clary hosts celebration assembly at Meadowpark School". Swindon Advertiser. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ "Cricklade Town Hall". Art UK. Retrieved 12 May 2024.