South Shields Town Hall

Municipal building in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, England

South Shields Town Hall

South Shields Town Hall on 15 December 2022

Location| South Shields
Coordinates| 54°59′42″N 1°25′44″W﻿ / ﻿54.9951°N 1.4289°W﻿ / 54.9951; -1.4289
Built| 1910
Architect| Ernest Fatch
Architectural style(s)| Edwardian Baroque style

Listed Building – Grade II

Official name| Municipal Buildings
Designated| 1 February 1983
Reference no.| 1232325

Shown in Tyne and Wear

South Shields Town Hall is a Grade II listed building on Westoe Road in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, England. It serves as the headquarters of South Tyneside Council.[1]

## The old town hall

[edit]

The old town hall

The first town hall in South Shields was commissioned as a manorial courthouse by the Dean and Chapter of Durham in the Market Place in 1768.[2] The design included arcading on the ground floor to allow markets to be held, steps leading to a door on the first floor on the north side and Venetian windows on the first floor on the other sides.[2] At roof level there is a square timber turret with a cupola.[2] Following incorporation as a municipal borough in September 1850,[3] the new civil leaders at South Shields Corporation acquired the building for use as a town hall in 1855.[2][a]

## The new town hall

[edit]

It quickly became clear that the Old Town Hall, as it is known today, was unfit for purpose, and in 1869 a competition was held to create a new building on the site.[6] Despite some designs being considered, this came to nothing amidst widespread local objections about the cost of the project and its use of the existing Marketplace location, which was deemed unsuitable for a larger building.[7] The contractor appointed to the project, a Mr. Suffards, was paid the sum of £75 in compensation following its subsequent cancellation.[8]

The idea of a new town hall then fell into abeyance until the 1880s, when the Old Town Hall was again deemed inadequate. The South Shields Corporation began considering potential locations as early as 1884,[9] but it was not until the 1890s that civic leaders decided to procure new premises.[10] The site selected was a piece of open land at the corner of Bent House Lane (later known as Beach Road) and Westoe Road.[11] The foundation stone for the new building was laid in 1905.[1] It was designed by Ernest Fatch in the Edwardian Baroque style, was built at a cost of £78,000 and was officially opened by the Mayor, George Thomas Grey, on 19 October 1910.[12][13][14]

The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with thirteen bays facing onto Westoe Road with the end bays projected forward as pavilions; the central section of three bays, which also projected forward, featured a doorway with a stone surround on the ground floor, a round headed window on the first floor flanked by paired Ionic order columns with a broken pediment above.[1] Above the pediment was a seated figure supported by two reclining figures.[1] The architect installed a 46.6 meters (153 ft) high clock tower,[15] with a belfry (with figures representing the four seasons of the year at the corners) and a copper galleon on top, which rose above the north pavilion.[1] A main bell and four quarter bells were installed in the clock tower by Taylor of Loughborough,[16] to play the Westminster Quarters;[12] the clock, by Potts & Sons, was set going by a Mrs Gladys Willie at noon on 21 October 1908.[17] A statue by Albert Toft depicting Queen Victoria was erected outside the town hall on 7 May 1913.[18][b]

Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, visited the town hall on 29 October 1954.[19] In order to provide additional office space, a modern extension along Beach Road was opened by the mayor, Alderman Jack Richardson, on 19 October 1960.[20]

The building continued to serve as the headquarters of South Shields Borough Council and remained the local seat of government after the enlarged South Tyneside Council was formed in 1974.[21] Statues by the sculptor, Roger Andrews, depicting Private Thomas Young VC and Lieutenant Richard Annand VC, who served with the Durham Light Infantry in the First World War and the Second World War respectively, were unveiled inside the town hall in May 2007.[22][23]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ The old town hall incorporated a lock-up which was used for holding prisoners in the 19th century:[4] it was the only building in the Market Place to survive the Blitz during the Second World War and it was fully refurbished in 1977.[5]
2. ^ The statue was relocated in Chichester in 1949 but returned to South Shields in 1981.[12]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e Historic England. "Municipal Buildings (1232325)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
2. ^ a b c d Historic England. "Old Town Hall (1232158)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
3. ^ "The Old Town Hall and Market Place". The Handbook. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
4. ^ "South Shields Lock-Up House". Prison History. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
5. ^ "Blue Plaque: Old Town Hall". South Tyneside Council. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
6. ^ "Competition for South Shields Town Hall". Building News. 10 September 1869. p. 17.
7. ^ "South Shields Town Hall". Shields Daily Gazette. 27 September 1869. p. 2.
8. ^ "South Shields Town Hall". Shields Daily Gazette. 7 July 1870. p. 2.
9. ^ "The New Town Hall at South Shields". Shields Daily Gazette. 12 June 1884. p. 3.
10. ^ "Proposed New Town Hall for South Shields". Shields Daily Gazette. 4 March 1893. p. 4.
11. ^ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1987. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
12. ^ a b c "Eleven things you may not know about South Shields Town Hall". 26 February 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
13. ^ "South Shields Town Hall Celebrates Centenary". South Tyneside Council. 4 October 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
14. ^ "Councillor George Thomas Grey, Mayor in 1909/10". South Tyneside Council. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
15. ^ "South Shields Town Hall". Skyscraper News. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
16. ^ "Clock Chimes". Bells of the North-East of England. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
17. ^ Potts, Michael S. (2006). Potts of Leeds: Five Generations of Clockmakers. Ashbourne, Derbyshire: Mayfield Books. p. 194.
18. ^ Historic England. "Statue of Queen Victoria (1232222)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
19. ^ "Royal Visit of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip". South Tyneside Council. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
20. ^ "Urban History: South Shields Walks" (PDF). South Tyneside Council. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
21. ^ Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN 0-10-547072-4.
22. ^ "Unveiling of Statues of Lt Annand VC and Pte Thomas Young VC". Durham Light Infantry Association. 6 May 2007. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
23. ^ "Statues Annand VC and Young VC". North East War Memorials Project. Retrieved 19 November 2020.