Jump to content

Neuadd Dwyfor

Coordinates: 52°53′21″N 4°25′02″W / 52.8892°N 4.4171°W / 52.8892; -4.4171
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pwllheli Town Hall
Native name
Neuadd Dwyfor (Welsh)
Pwllheli Town Hall
LocationPenlan Street, Pwllheli
Coordinates52°53′21″N 4°25′02″W / 52.8892°N 4.4171°W / 52.8892; -4.4171
Built1902
ArchitectArthur James Dickinson
Architectural style(s)Baroque style
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameTown Hall
Designated28 July 1989
Reference no.4566
Neuadd Dwyfor is located in Gwynedd
Neuadd Dwyfor
Shown in Gwynedd

Pwllheli Town Hall (Welsh: Neuadd Dwyfor) is a municipal building in Penlan Street, Pwllheli, Gwynedd, Wales. The structure, which now operates as an arts centre, is a Grade II listed building.[1]

History

[edit]

The first municipal building in the town was the Old Town Hall in the Market Square which was completed in 1731.[2][3] However, by the turn of the century it was deemed too small and civic officials decided to commission a new structure on the north side of Penlan Street.[4][5]

The new building was designed by the borough surveyor, Arthur James Dickinson, in the Baroque style, built in terracotta Ruabon brick at a cost of £5,800 and was officially opened in May 1902.[1][4][6] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto Penlan Street. The central bay featured a large round headed opening with a wrought iron grill in the tympanum flanked by pilasters supporting finials; there was an oriel window surmounted by volutes on the first floor and a tri-partite window on the second floor. The flanking bays were fenestrated by cross-windows on the ground and first floors and by bi-partite windows on the second floor. The outer bays featured round headed openings flanked by pilasters on the ground floor, tri-partite windows surmounted by ovolo mouldings on the first floor and bi-partite windows on the second floor. At roof level, there was a parapet, which was decorated by panels bearing carved cartouches, and, above the parapet, there was a wrought iron railing which was broken by a central pediment.[1] Internally, the principal room was the main auditorium, which featured a proscenium arch.[7]

The town hall served as events venue from an early stage offering theatre and concert performances and, from March 1911, showings of silent films.[8] Margaret Lloyd George, the wife of the future Prime Minister, spoke at a British Army recruiting event in the building in September 1914 at the start of the First World War and the mezzo-soprano opera singer, Leila Megàne, performed there in October 1919.[9]

The building continued to serve as the offices of the borough council for much of the 20th century,[10] but ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged Dwyfor District Council was formed in 1974.[11] After an extensive programme of refurbishment works had been completed, the building re-opened as Neuadd Dwyfor in 1995. A new public library area in the building was opened by the playwright, W. S. Jones, in 1996 and a further programme of refurbishment works costing £900,000 was completed in March 2022.[9][12][13]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Cadw. "Town Hall (4566)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  2. ^ Cadw. "Old Town Hall (4562)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Old Town Hall, Pwllheli". History Points. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Neuadd Dwyfor, Pwllheli". History Points. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  5. ^ Tenders. Vol. 79. The Building News and Engineering Journal. 28 September 1900. Pwllheli – Town and Market Hall, Penlan Street, Town Council Evan R. Davies, Town Clerk, 6 Church Place, Pwllheli
  6. ^ Journal. Royal Society of Health. 1900. p. 533. 1900. July. Dickinson, Arthur James, Borough Engineer, Pwllheli, Sandilands, Pwllheli
  7. ^ "Neuadd Dwyfor". Theatres Trust. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  8. ^ "Pwllheli arts centre celebrates centenary as a cinema". BBC. 22 November 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Iconic building had best views of Pwllheli". Cambrian News. 13 March 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  10. ^ "No. 45077". The London Gazette. 10 April 1970. p. 4101.
  11. ^ Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN 0-10-547072-4.
  12. ^ "Neuadd Dwyfor Arts Centre has £900,000 cash injection as it undergoes upgrade". North Wales Chronicle. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  13. ^ "Neuadd Dwyfor theatre and cinema in Pwllheli re-opening". The National. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.