Description

STAFFORD

SJ9223SW MARKET SQUARE
590-1/10/68 (East side)
16/01/51 Shire Hall and attached railings,
gates and lamp standards
(Formerly Listed as:
MARKET SQUARE
Shire Hall)
(Formerly Listed as:
MARKET SQUARE
Railings, gates and lamp standards
of Shire Hall)

GV II*

County court house. 1795-8, extended 1854. By John Harvey, a
pupil of Samuel Wyatt, who may have contributed to the design.
Neo-classical style.
MATERIALS: ashlar with hipped slate roof; brick rear wings.
PLAN: double-depth.
EXTERIOR: 2 storeys; symmetrical 9-window range; ground floor
breaks forward under 3-window centre with applied tetrastyle
Doric portico with Ionic entablature. Ground floor is
rusticated; 1st floor sill band; top frieze, cornice and
blocking course. Round-headed entrance in recess with similar
flanking recesses has C20 paired doors. 1st floor has windows
with 6/9-pane sashes, those flanking centre with wrought-iron
window box supports, and alternately rectangular and round
panels above. Pediment has clock with flanking relief figures.
Right return has similar details; a 3-window range; ground
floor has 3 round-headed blind windows, 2 with fanlights, one
to right end with inserted entrance with studded paired doors;
1st floor has blind window with panel over flanked by
tripartite windows in round-headed recesses with 12:24:12-pane
sashes, cornices and round panels to tympana.
Left return similar, 4-window range; with 3rd tripartite sash
to left end; 2 windows have 2:4:2-pane horned tripartite
sashes. Rear wing to left has ashlar dressings; windows have
wedge lintels over varied sashes; short elliptical arcade and
left end carriage entrance.
INTERIOR: double-height Shire Hall is full width of facade;
top entablature with bucrania and festoons, and segmental
barrel vault; side has segmental-headed entrance with similar
flanking recesses with cast-iron railings and central gate.
Canted recess above has Ionic colonnade with 2 pairs of
columns and single columns to ends and balustrade, paired
doors with large fanlight to rear; similar end recesses with
tetrastyle colonnades. Ceiling has guilloche bands and 3
rosettes, formerly with chandeliers. Stair to rear is probably
C19, with turned balusters and C19 screen with stained glass
panels.
Court No.1 to left has canted ends and entablature with swags
and coved ceiling with large rose; contemporary panelling and
fittings including jury box, public gallery, and prisoner's
box with spiked railings; end wall has hipped canopy with
central bowed projection over judge's chair, with Royal arms
above; right wall has memorial to Sir TN Talfourd, d 1854
while addressing grand jury, in form of pedimented panel with
bust in niche. Court No.2 has mostly C18 fittings with flush
panels; C20 suspended ceiling; fluted elliptical canopy above
judge's seat. Some original cells remain to basement.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: centre of building has cast-iron
railings, with spear finials and 4 wreathed panels with lamp
standards, and gates; railings originally extended along the
whole facade.
One of the finest public buildings in Stafford.
The railings, gates and lamp standards were listed on
17.12.71.
(Buildings of England: Pevsner N and Nairn J: Staffordshire:
London: 1974-: 243; Victoria County History of Staffordshire:
Greenslade MW: A History of Stafford: London: 1979-: 202).

Listing NGR: SJ9223123306

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Shire Hall, Stafford at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q7498359

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)