Haywards Heath Town Hall

Municipal building in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, England

Haywards Heath Town Hall

The building in 2009

Location| Boltro Road, Haywards Heath
Coordinates| 51°00′04″N 0°06′30″W﻿ / ﻿51.0011°N 0.1083°W﻿ / 51.0011; -0.1083
Built| 1990
Architectural style(s)| Neoclassical style

Shown in West Sussex

Haywards Heath Town Hall is a municipal building in Boltro Road in Haywards Heath, a town in West Sussex, in England. The building accommodates the offices and meeting place of Haywards Heath Town Council.

## History

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Following significant population growth, largely associated with the opening of the London and Brighton Railway, a local board was established in Haywards Heath in 1872.[1] After the local board was succeeded by Haywards Heath Urban District Council in 1894,[2] the new council decided to commission dedicated council offices. The site it selected was on South Road, just to the east of Victoria Park. The new offices were designed in the Jacobean style, built in brick with a cement render finish and were completed in the early 20th century. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of four bays: there were round headed doorways in the outer bays, a segmental headed opening for the fire engine in the second bay, a round headed mullioned window in the third bay, and a bi-partite window in the stepped gable above.[3]

After the original offices on South Road became inadequate, the council sought larger premises. A large house, known as Oaklands on Oaklands Road, which had been built for a Brighton bookseller, Harry Treacher, in 1866,[4] became available when a subsequent owner, a businessman, Sir James Bradford, died in April 1930.[5][6] Oaklands went on to become the headquarters of the enlarged Cuckfield Urban District Council in 1934, and, following local government re-organisation in 1974,[7] it became the headquarters of Mid Sussex District Council.[8]

In the mid-1980s, Haywards Heath Town Council decided to commission its own offices and meeting place. The site they selected was on the west side of Boltro Road. The new building was designed in the Neo-Georgian style, built in red brick and was completed in 1990.[9] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of seven bays facing onto Boltro Road. The central bay featured a portico formed by a pair of Ionic order columns supporting an entablature and a balcony with iron railings; there was a French door on the first floor. The other bays were fenestrated by casement windows. Internally, the principal rooms were the various offices for council officers, four meeting rooms, and the council chamber.[10]

The building was subsequently licensed to host weddings and civil partnership ceremonies.[11] The football manager, Matt Beard, married his partner, Debbie, there in around 2010.[12] In August 2014, a marble plaque was installed under the portico to commemorate the life of the locally-born soldier, Sergeant Arthur George Knight of the 10th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Villers-lès-Cagnicourt during the First World War.[13][14][15] The Princess Royal visited the town hall and met with civic officials in October 2020.[16]

## References

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1. ^ "Kelly's Directory of Sussex". 1890. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
2. ^ "Haywards Heath UD". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
3. ^ Manton, Colin (2013). Haywards Heath Through Time. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1445628677.
4. ^ "Harry Pointer – Brighton Photographer". Photo History Sussex. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
5. ^ Boyden, George (1988). "Sir James Bradford and the Almshouses" (PDF). Helpston Chronicle. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
6. ^ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1900. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
7. ^ Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN 0-10-547072-4.
8. ^ "Contact us". Mid Sussex District Council. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
9. ^ "Wedding Brochure" (PDF). Haywards Heath Town Council. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
10. ^ "Meeting room charges" (PDF). Haywards Heath Town Council. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
11. ^ "Haywards Heath Town Hall". Haywards Heath Town Council. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
12. ^ "Matt's footie journey" (PDF). Lindfield Life, Issue 126. 1 July 2019. p. 21. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
13. ^ Oldfield, Paul (2021). Victoria Crosses on the Western Front – Battles of the Scarpe 1918 and Drocourt-Queant Line. Pen & Sword Books. ISBN 978-1526788047.
14. ^ Hollands, Dean (2020). Sussex's Military Heritage. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1445695181.
15. ^ "Brave first world war soldier remembered 100 years on". The Argus. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
16. ^ "West Sussex welcomes royal visitor". Hello Rayo. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2024.