Accrington Town Hall

Municipal building in Accrington, Lancashire, England

Accrington Town Hall

Accrington Town Hall

Location| Blackburn Road, Accrington
Coordinates| 53°45′12″N 2°21′55″W﻿ / ﻿53.7532°N 2.3653°W﻿ / 53.7532; -2.3653
Built| 1858
Architect| James F. Green and T. Birtwhistle
Architectural style(s)| Neoclassical style

Listed Building – Grade II*

Official name| Town Hall
Designated| 9 March 1984
Reference no.| 1362011

Shown in Lancashire

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Location in Borough of Hyndburn

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Accrington Town Hall is a municipal building in Blackburn Road, Accrington, Lancashire, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Accrington Borough Council, is a grade II* listed building.[1]

## History

[edit]

The building was originally commissioned as an assembly hall to commemorate the life of the former Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel.[2][3] The cost of construction was funded by a campaign of public subscription led by a local businessman, Benjamin Hargreaves of Arden Hall.[4][5][6]

The new building was designed by James F. Green and T. Birtwhistle in the neoclassical style, built in ashlar stone and opened as the "Peel Institute" in 1858.[7][8] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with seven bays facing onto Blackburn Road; the central section, which projected forward, featured a porte-cochère supporting a balustrade and a hexastyle portico with Corinthian order columns on the first floor with a pediment above.[1] Internally, the principal room was the assembly hall on the first floor.[1] The assembly hall also accommodated meetings of the local mechanics institute.[9]

The building was acquired by the local board of health in 1864[10] and the area became a municipal borough with the town hall as its headquarters in 1878.[10] The Accrington Pals Battalion of the East Lancashire Regiment was formally raised by the mayor, Councillor John Harwood, inside the town hall in September 1914; the battalion subsequently marched past the building before preparing to deploy, initially to Egypt and then to the Western Front, during the First World War.[11][12][13]

The town hall continued to serve as the headquarters of the borough council for much of the 20th century and remained a meeting place for the enlarged Hyndburn Borough Council which was formed in 1974.[14] Many of the council officers and their departments were based at Eagle House before moving to Scaitcliffe House, the former canteen for textile machinery manufacturers, Howard & Bullough, in June 2002.[15] Whilst Scaitcliffe House is used for Hyndburn's committee meetings, full council meetings are still held at the town hall.[16]

A new town square was created in front of the town hall and market hall, to commemorate the lives of the Accrington Pals, in 2017.[17] The scheme involved the removal of a series of trees, which had been planted outside the town hall and market hall in 1962,[18] and the installation of new paving, seating and signage recording the history of the Accrington Pals, Accrington Stanley F.C. and the impact of the Industrial Revolution on the town.[19]

## See also

[edit]

* Grade II* listed buildings in Lancashire
* Listed buildings in Accrington

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Historic England. "Town Hall (1362011)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
2. ^ "The Peel Family". My Learning. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
3. ^ "Tourist guide to Accrington". Lancashire Telegraph. 29 March 2010. Archived from the original on 4 May 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
4. ^ "History of town's most famous road". Lancs Live. 29 April 2011. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
5. ^ "Arden Hall ruins, Accrington". Lancashire Past. 21 June 2019. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
6. ^ "Discovering Accrington" (PDF). Urbed. p. 33\. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
7. ^ "Façade: Accrington Town Hall". Art and Architecture. Archived from the original on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
8. ^ "Burnley Mechanics Conservation Statement". Purcell. 1 July 2017. p. 50\. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
9. ^ "Discovering Accrington" (PDF). Urbed. p. 29\. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
10. ^ a b Farrer, William; Brownbill, J. (1911). "'Townships: Old and New Accrington', in A History of the County of Lancaster". London: British History Online. pp. 423–427\. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
11. ^ "From the Beginning to the Present Day". East Lancashire Concert Band. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
12. ^ "Plaque to commemorate the 11th (Service) Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment". Imperial War Museum. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
13. ^ Turner, William Bennett (2008). Accrington Pals: The 11th (Service) Battalion (Accrington) East Lancashire Regiment A History of the Battalion Raised from Accrington, Blackburn, Burnley and Chorley in World War One. Pen and Sword Books. ISBN 978-1473811621. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
14. ^ Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN 0-10-547072-4.
15. ^ "Council seeks title for new HQ". Lancashire Telegraph. 15 March 2002. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
16. ^ "Council agenda, 30 June 2022". Hyndburn Borough Council. 30 June 2022. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
17. ^ "NMS awarded prestigious £2m Accrington Town Square Redevelopment contract". Accrington Observer. 2 August 2017. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
18. ^ "Controversial plans to remove trees outside Accrington town hall met with concern". Lancashire Telegraph. 23 December 2016. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
19. ^ "Artscape takes Accrington's Rich History off the Bench and under the Spotlight". Hardscape. 7 October 2018. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2021.

* v
* t
* e

Buildings and structures in the Borough of Hyndburn

Grade I|

* Martholme

Grade II*|

* Accrington Town Hall
* Martholme Gatehouse

Places of worship|

* Great Harwood: St Bartholomew
* Altham: St James
* Church Kirk: St James

Grade II|

* Dunkenhalgh
* Great Harwood Town Hall
* Martholme Viaduct
* The Victoria

Places of worship|

* Oswaldtwistle: Immanuel

Unlisted|

* Globe Works
* Haworth Art Gallery
* Oswaldtwistle Town Hall

Places of worship|

* Great Harwood: St John

Listed in|

* Accrington
* Altham
* Church
* Clayton-le-Moors
* Great Harwood
* Oswaldtwistle
* Rishton

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