Longton Town Hall and Market, Stoke-on-Trent, City of Stoke-on-Trent

Summary

Town hall, 1844, extended in 1863 and a market hall added to the rear; alterations in 1913, and in the late C20 and C21.

Description

Town hall, 1844, extended in 1863 and a market hall added to the rear; alterations in 1913, and in the late C20 and C21.

MATERIALS: the town hall is constructed from Hollington stone and has a slate roof. The market is in polychromatic brick with stone dressings; the shop units along the west elevation have glazed timber frontages.

PLAN: an irregular island site. The town hall is at the north of the building complex; it has a rectangular footprint with its long principal elevation facing north onto Times Square. The market hall adjoins the rear of the town hall, projecting obliquely towards the south-west. It has an irregular footprint defined by the surrounding streets, with its principal elevation, occupied by a series of shopfronts, facing west.

EXTERIOR: the principal elevation of the town hall is a symmetrical Italianate composition of two storeys and 13 bays; there is an enriched bay at either end, a three-bay central pedimented projection, and a porte cochere. The ground floor is faced mainly in vermiculated rusticated masonry on a deep plinth, and ashlar is used above. On the ground floor renaissance-arched window openings have projecting keystones, and on the first-floor, windows have flat arches and eared architraves over a sill band with panelled aprons; in bay four the remains of a pediment can be seen above the window, possibly indicating the central axis of the 1844 building. Windows were replaced in the late C20 in their C19 form; on the ground floor they are eight-over-eight sashes with radiating glazing bars within the arch; those on the first floor are six-over-nine sashes. The outer bays project slightly and have paired rusticated Tuscan pilasters on pedestals, framing an arched opening with a scroll keystone and entablature above. On the first floor, paired Ionic pilasters on pedestals frame a pedimented window, with an entablature and pediment above. The outer two bays are blind, with recessed infilled arches containing bas-relief panels of 1912-1914. The central feature of the elevation is the porte cochere, which has an arcade of three arched openings of deeply rusticated ashlar with alternate vermiculated blocks and voussoirs, with a single arch to the returns. Raised keystones have mouldings with animal and human forms, fish, fruit, and flowers by F Gladwin of Stoke. On the balcony above are squat square pedestals topped with urns; the balustrade between them has been lost. To the rear of the balcony the three bays are articulated by Ionic pilasters on pedestals; these frame arched window openings with rusticated architraves, with eared labels above. The entablature has discs and a dentil cornice to the pediment. Low parapet walls, rebuilt in the manner of the original design, top each wing.

The return elevation on the east is similarly detailed, though without the architraves on the first floor. The west elevation, rebuilt in the mid-C20, is clad in tile.

The market is a lofty single-storey building, constructed beneath three parallel pitched roofs. The west elevation faces onto the principal thoroughfare of the Strand; it is an arcade of 18 shop units and a central main entrance. The units are separated by red brick pilasters with stone dressings. Shop-fronts have low stall risers and full-height glazing in timber frames with moulded transoms and slender columnar mullions. There are two types of shop front: one, flush with the building line; the other, with glazing which curves into the deeply recessed doorways. The opposite side of the doorway recess often has a display cabinet, with fielded panelling above and to the soffit. Some retain mosaic tiled floors. Slender glazing bars divide the plate glass at impost level. Some refurbishment and replacement of shop fronts is recognisable by slightly heavier, plainer timbers. There is a deep fascia above each unit, and above that, a lunette, lighting the mezzanine level, lined with banded buff and black brick, and with a keystone that rises to form of corbel within the dentil cornice. The spandrels are banded buff and red brick. The imposing central entrance is a French Renaissance-style composition with a pair of square towers framing a recessed doorway. The towers are heavily rusticated at the lower level, with alternating vermiculated blocks, fluted mouldings on the plinth, and with a deep, moulded cornice. Each has a narrow, full-height window with round-arched head, with a projecting keystone adjoining the cornice. The doorway is recessed, and is a C20 timber arrangement. Above, a stone fielded panel spans the doorway, and a semi-circular panel of encaustic tiles is inscribed ‘THIS MARKET HALL WAS ERECTED AD 1862’, along with illustrations of cornucopia, a glazed pot and a lion, wheel and shield. It has a deep cove moulding with a keystone with a lion’s head and shield, which meets the cornice of the main elevation. The upper sections of the towers have vermiculated stone forming a border to recessed brick panels, and have entablatures with machicolations, dentil course and cornice. The roofs are steep, bell-cast mansards with scallop- and straight-edged slate.

The east elevation is articulated by paired pilasters in black brick, with narrow windows in between. The round-arched openings are lined in red and black brick, and there is a black impost and corbel band, with red brick below and buff brick above. There are dressed stone keystones, and a red brick parapet with black tile detailing. The red brick elevation above is recessed form the building line, and has a series of blind lunettes, with a dentil cornice above. Alterations to door and window openings are identifiable by more recent brickwork. The south-east elevation consists of three wide gables, resulting from the three pitches of the roof. Each gable has a wide central window lined with red and black brick, originally with iron windows with decorative glazing bars. There are various other narrow openings, along with vehicle and pedestrian entrances, some of which have been reconfigured. Polychromatic pilasters, quoins, and impost bands enrich the elevation.

INTERIOR: the ground floor of the town hall was remodelled in 2019, though the hourglass plan form of the central entrance, hall and stair remains intact. The porte cochere opens into a lobby with curved side walls narrowing to a pair of modern double doors. The hallway has simple dado rails, skirtings and cornices. The imperial stair has heavy square newels and bottle balusters, and is lined with green glazed tiles and has terrazzo on the central landing. Square columns support the landing above and have grotesque relief panels. Moulded arched brackets span the upper section of the stair, connecting the first floor landing balustrade and rear wall. A lantern lights the stair from above. Some of the decorative panels removed from the first floor windows during the late-C20 renovation have been repositioned within the lobby and stair hall. Also on the stair landing are plaques commemorating the success of the Longton Town Hall Action Group in saving the building from demolition in 1986, and its re-opening in 1992, and further memorial panels on the first-floor landing. The tiling continues along the dado of the first-floor landing, and the wall above has fielded panelling and a dentil cornice. Doorways have panelled linings, eared architraves and segmental pediments. The great proportion of the first floor is occupied by the assembly room, with ancillary rooms at either end. The curved ends shown on earlier plans have been reconfigured to form a rectangular room; there is a stage at the west end, above which, a shield with swags bears Stoke-on-Trent's motto, ‘VIS UNITA FORTIOR’.

The market is an open-plan hall, with late-C20 stalls lining the east and south-east elevations, and with islands of stalls on the main floor. The west elevation has a series of two-storey shop units. The market hall is open to the roof, which consists of three pitched parallel spans running roughly north-south; the central span is supported on two rows of cast iron columns with geometric mouldings. The roof is supported on wrought iron Howe trusses. The central span is wider with a clerestorey with round-arched openings and dentil detailing. The row of shops on the west side are dual aspect, with shopfronts facing into the market hall, as well as outwards on to the street. Like their external counterparts, shopfronts have low stall risers, sheet glazing, and moulded timber frames. Their upper floors have four fixed casements with three smaller panes above. The shops are separated by brick pilasters, and there is a moulded timber cornice above. There is a ceramic clock on the north wall with a plaque beneath recording its presentation by the mayor, George Copestake, in 1877, and a bell.

Access between the town hall and market is through utilitarian passages with storage areas and ancillary spaces.

History

A town hall was built in Longton in 1844, to the designs of architect Henry Ward of Stafford. The plot chosen for the building was initially occupied by the lower market hall; this was demolished to make way for the new town hall, prominently positioned to face onto Times Square, first laid out as the Market Square in 1789. Ward, 1806-1884, was the Borough Architect.

The building was substantially enlarged in 1863, to the designs of John Burrell of Longton. Ward’s original seven-bay building was doubled in size; the scar in the masonry above the first-floor window of the fourth bay may indicate its original central axis. The interior was completely remodelled at the same time, and a large covered market built upon the rear. Expense dictated the materials used; the monumental Italianate façade of the town hall is entirely Hollington stone, whereas cheaper brick was chosen for the market, enlivened by its polychromatic composition. Stone mouldings with fish, meat, vegetables and flowers adorn the town hall’s porte cochere, executed by F Gladwin of Stoke. The cost of the town hall extension was £4,250, and the new market, £10,250.

The town hall and market were opened on 2 May 1863, with a public dinner and ball. Newspaper articles record the event, praising the ‘noble pile’, which is indicative of the town’s progress, and with a façade that ‘gratifies the sense of propriety and beauty by the absence of pretence and by the symmetry of its proportions’. A speech delivered in the opening event claimed the building as the finest market hall in the country, and a town hall second to none in the Potteries.

The building has undergone a number of phases of alteration. A newspaper reports its reopening in 1913 after major renovations, though the details of the ‘improvements’ were not recorded. Photographic records suggest it was at this stage that the parapet wall of the town hall was substantially heightened, and the first floor windows infilled with decorative panels. The imperial stair may also date from this period. The west return of the town hall was entirely rebuilt in brick in the mid-C20.

The interior of the market was originally laid out with moveable stalls. The shop units along the west elevation were initially single-storeyed, with the mezzanine level above used as a gallery for bazaars and auctions, and with office accommodation for the Market Inspector, the position commanding a view of the entire market. This arrangement was altered in order to provide each of the shops with an upper floor, and internal stairs were inserted.

The town hall was threatened by demolition in the 1980s, and was saved by the Longton Town Hall Action Group, whose success, and the subsequent refurbishment of the building, are recorded on plaques on the stair. The refurbishment involved returning the building to a state closer to its 1863 form. Most of the first-floor window openings were reinstated, and the decorative stone panels which were introduced to block them in the early C20 were installed in the lobby and stair, and were used to block the outer two bays of the ground floor, formerly containing doorways and windows. All windows have been replaced. The high parapet was taken down. In 2019, the ground floor of the town hall was reconfigured to form a suite of rooms for use as a community centre. The market entrance at the western junction of the town hall and market has been modernised, and the return elevation reclad. Many original shop fronts to the primary elevation of the market survive; replacement elements of the joinery are identifiable by their heavier proportions, and the lunette windows above the shop units have been renewed. Historic photographs show that the market’s large windows on the service end were originally iron-framed with decorative glazing bars.

Reasons for Listing

Longton Town Hall, constructed by Henry Ward in 1844 and subsequently altered by John Burrell with an attached covered market added in 1863, is listed for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* the building is a good composition with Burrell skilfully incorporating a number of architectural references to produce a successful remodelling of the earlier building, reflecting the prosperity of a town in its heyday in the mid-C19;
* Burrell’s monumental Italianate façade is a confident articulation of a classical theme and dominates Times Square with particularly good attention to detail including skilled work by the sculptor F Gladwin;
* the market building features good quality brick polychromy and features a stylish French Renaissance- style entrance on its west elevation;
* the row of shop fronts survives well, despite some later replacement, and forms an elegant arcade along The Strand.

Historic interest:

* constructed in the mid-C19, the building is a symbolic expression of an enhanced civic identity, made possible by Longton’s prospering local industries of pottery, coal and iron.

External Links

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