Old Town Hall, Brading

The Old Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street, Brading, Isle of Wight, England. The structure, which is now used to store and exhibition a collection of artefacts and records, is a Grade II listed building.[1]

Old Town Hall, Brading
Old Town Hall, Brading
LocationHigh Street, Brading
Coordinates50°40′56″N 1°08′35″W / 50.6822°N 1.1430°W / 50.6822; -1.1430
Built1730
Architectural style(s)Neoclassical style
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameThe Old Town Hall including lock up, stocks and whipping post, High Street
Designated18 January 1967
Reference no.1219522
Old Town Hall, Brading is located in Isle of Wight
Old Town Hall, Brading
Shown on the Isle of Wight

History

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The building was designed in the neoclassical style, built in red brick and was completed in around 1730.[2] The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage of three bays facing onto the High Street. The ground floor was arcaded so that markets could be held: the first bay on the left was infilled with rubble masonry to create a lock-up for the incarceration of petty criminals, while the other two bays contained round headed openings with voussoirs and iron gates.[1] The first floor, which was used as an assembly room, was originally timber framed with diagonal tension braces to support the structure.[1]

In 1819, a new chest was acquired to store the important civic documents which included royal charter signed by Edward VI.[3] By the 1840s, the assembly room was being used as a school room,[4] but, by the early 1860s, the building had become very dilapidated and was disused.[5][6][7] The building was remodelled in 1876, with the timber framing on the first floor being replaced by a red brick structure and a prominent four-part, slightly projecting, Tudor Revival style window being installed at the south end. The main frontage was fenestrated by two bi-partite casement windows.[1]

The borough council, which had met in the town hall,[8] was abolished under the Municipal Corporations Act 1883.[9] The assets of the borough council, including the old town hall, were transferred to the newly created Brading Town Trust in 1898.[10] The building was subsequently converted for use as a free library.[3]

A new town hall at the south end of the High Street was opened in February 1903.[11][12] Meanwhile, the old town hall continued to be used to store the town stocks and whipping post as well as a collection of artefacts and records, together with the original weights and measures. Following the completion of an extensive programme of refurbishment works, the old town hall was re-opened on 8 April 2022.[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Historic England. "The Old Town Hall including lock up, stocks and whipping post, High Street (1219522)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  2. ^ "Brading Old Town Hall and Jail. Built in 1730. Photograph prior to 1876 when it was restored". Brading Community Archive. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  3. ^ a b Turner, Wendy (2023). A-Z of the Isle of Wight Places-People-History. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1398109339.
  4. ^ Brettell, Thomas (1844). Handbook to the Isle of Wight. John Mitchell. p. 49.
  5. ^ Adams, William Henry Davenport (1862). Nelsons' hand-book to the Isle of Wight. T. Nelson and Sons. p. 118.
  6. ^ Ware, James Redding (1871). The Isle of Wight. Provost and Company. p. 82.
  7. ^ Bradshaw, George (1873). Bradshaw's Pocket Handbook to the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway. W. J. Adams. p. 54.
  8. ^ Report of the Commissioners Appointed to Inquire Into Municipal Corporations Not Subject to the Municipal Corporations Acts. G.E. Eyre and W. Spottiswoode. 1880. p. 19.
  9. ^ Municipal Corporations Act 1883 (46 & 46 Vict. Ch. 18) (PDF). 1883. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Brading Town Trust". Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  11. ^ "Programme of Entertainment for opening of the New Town Hall". Brading Community Archive. 11 February 1903. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  12. ^ Page, William (1912). "'Parishes: Brading', in A History of the County of Hampshire". London: British History Online. pp. 156–170. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  13. ^ "Brading Old Town Hall". YouTube. Retrieved 31 August 2023.