Borough Hall, Bedford

County building in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England

Borough Hall, Bedford

Borough Hall

Borough Hall

Location within Bedfordshire

General information
Architectural style| Brutalist style
Address| Bedford, Bedfordshire
Country| United Kingdom
Coordinates| 52°07′57″N 0°28′12″W﻿ / ﻿52.1325°N 0.4701°W﻿ / 52.1325; -0.4701
Completed| 1969
Design and construction
Architect(s)| Douglas Chalk

Borough Hall, formerly County Hall, is a municipal building in Cauldwell Street, Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. It is the headquarters of Bedford Borough Council.

## History[edit]

For much of the 20th century the Shire Hall in Bedford was the local facility for dispensing justice and the meeting place of Bedfordshire County Council.[1] After deciding the old shire hall was inadequate for their needs, county leaders chose to procure a new county headquarters: the site selected on the south bank of the River Great Ouse had previously been used as a recreation ground.[2]

Construction of the new building, which was undertaken by Arthur Sanders Limited of Rushden, started in 1965.[3] The new building was designed by the Deputy County Architect, Douglas Chalk,[4] in the brutalist style and the design work was overseen by County Architect, John Barker.[3] The design involved a reinforced concrete-framed structure with an asymmetrical main frontage facing Cauldwell Street which curved round on the left side down to the river; there was a canopied main entrance on the ground floor and there were exposed concrete beams above and below a continuous band of glazing on each of the six floors.[5] Construction challenges with the reinforced concrete[6] meant that the building was not completed until November 1969.[7][8] It was officially opened as "County Hall" by the Duchess of Kent on 12 October 1970.[9] Internally, the principal rooms were the council chamber and the committee rooms.[10]

Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, visited County Hall, before departing to open new facilities at Bedford Modern School, on 11 May 1976.[11][12] After Bedfordshire County Council was abolished in April 2009,[13] the building became known as "Borough Hall" and formed the headquarters of Bedford Borough Council.[14]

## References[edit]

1. ^ Historic England. "Shire Hall, Bedford (1114519)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
2. ^ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1960. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
3. ^ a b "Bedfordshire Historic Buildings and Monuments" (PDF). Bedford Borough Council. p. 14. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
4. ^ Bedfordshire County Council, Creative Services (2009). Bedfordshire County Council: Our County Past, Present and Future – Official Commemorative Book 120 Years 1889-2009. Bedford: Bedfordshire County Council. p. 23.
5. ^ "View of Borough Hall / County Hall, Bedford, UK. An example of 1970s Brutalist Architecture". Alamy. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
6. ^ "Bedford: Yesterdays News". Bedford Borough & Central Bedfordshire Virtual Library. 1966. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
7. ^ "Borough Hall should be historically listed, says councillor". Bedford Today. 7 April 2016. Archived from the original on 31 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
8. ^ "Bedfordshire County Council". Bedfordshire Archives. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
9. ^ Threadgill, Q.R. (1978). A Bedfordshire Bibliography (PDF). Bedfordshire Historical Record Society. p. 10\. ISBN 0-851550398.
10. ^ "Normal rules suspended as coronavirus crisis forces Bedford planning decisions to be made behind closed doors". Bedford Today. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
11. ^ "Bedford: Yesterdays News". Bedford Borough & Central Bedfordshire Virtual Library. 1976. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
12. ^ "The Royal Visit". Bedford School. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
13. ^ "News from the Archives and Records Service". Bedfordshire Archives. 22 June 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
14. ^ "County council to be abolished in shake-up". Bedford Today. 6 March 2008. Archived from the original on 31 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.