Chipping_Sodbury_Town_Hall

Chipping Sodbury Town Hall

Chipping Sodbury Town Hall

Municipal building in Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire, England

Chipping Sodbury Town Hall is a municipal building in Broad Street, Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire, England. The building, which is used as an events venue and also as the meeting place of Chipping Sodbury Town Council, is a Grade II listed building.[1]

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History

The original building on the site was a guildhall which dated back to the 15th century.[2][3] Following the dissolution of the chantries in 1547 and a brief subsequent period of private ownership, the site was acquired by the town and restored.[4] It was then re-fronted in 1738[5] and re-modelled with a new façade, designed in the Perpendicular Gothic style and built in rubble masonry with ashlar stone dressings, in 1858.[4]

The design of the new façade involved a symmetrical main frontage with three bays facing onto Broad Street; it featured an arched doorway with a hood mould flanked by two-light mullioned windows on the ground floor, a six-light mullioned window on the first floor and a gable above. The gable contained an ogee-shaped panel with a crest and was surmounted by a pinnacle.[1] Internally, the principal room was the main hall which was the meeting place of the bailiff and the burgesses.[6] The building contained a large chest, made of oak with iron straps, which was known as the parish coffer and was used for storage of valuable documents: it also dated back to the 15th century.[7][8]

The borough council, which had not met for many years, was formally abolished under the Municipal Corporations Act 1883.[9] In 1894, on the formation of Chipping Sodbury Rural District Council,[10] the bailiff and burgesses resisted transfer of the town hall to the new council and it passed instead, on the instructions of the Charity Commissioners, to the Town Lands Charity.[11] Following local government re-organisation in 1974, the building became the meeting place of the newly formed Sodbury Town Council.[12] After an extensive programme of refurbishment works, which included a new stage in the main hall and new catering facilities, the building re-opened in 1981.[4]

The building continued to be used as an events venue and performers in the 21st century included the singer, Jacqui Dankworth, who gave a concert in the town hall in October 2016,[13] the Chipping Sodbury Music Society who performed a 70th anniversary concert in December 2017[14] and the boxer, Frank Bruno, who gave a talk there in January 2018.[15]

References

  1. [1]
    Historic England. "Town Hall (1129244)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  2. [2]
    "Chipping Sodbury". The Gazette. 2 May 2006. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  3. [3]
    La Trobe-Bateman, E. "Avon Extensive Urban Survey: Archaeological Assessment Report" (PDF). South Gloucestershire Council. p. 11. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  4. [4]
    "Brief History". Chipping Sodbury Town Hall. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  5. [5]
    Craven, Alex; Hartland, Beth. "Chipping Sodbury: Landscape, Settlement and Buildings" (PDF). Victoria County History. p. 13.
  6. [6]
    The Law Times Reports. Vol. 20. Law Times Office. 1869. p. 395.
  7. [7]
    Grundy, C. Reginald (1926). "The connoisseur: an illustrated magazine for collectors". p. 241.
  8. [8]
    "Chipping Sodbury: Circular Walk and Treasure Hunt" (PDF). My Sodbury. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  9. [9]
    Municipal Corporations Act 1883 (46 & 46 Vict. Ch. 18) (PDF). 1883. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  10. [10]
    "Chipping Sodbury RD". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  11. [11]
    "History". Sodbury Town Council. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  12. [12]
    "Council Meeting" (PDF). Sodbury Town Council. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  13. [13]
    "Review: Jacqui Dankworth and friends at Chipping Sodbury Town Hall". The Gazette. 5 October 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  14. [14]
    "Chipping Sodbury Music Society celebrates 70th anniversary with town hall concert". The Gazette. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  15. [15]
    "Bruno to be frank at live interview in Chipping Sodbury". Yate and Sodbury Voice. 30 October 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
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