Godmanchester Town Hall
Godmanchester Town Hall with the original building on the left and the later extension on the right
LocationThe Causeway, Godmanchester
Coordinates52°19′09″N 0°10′32″W / 52.3192°N 0.1755°W / 52.3192; -0.1755
Built1844
Architectural style(s)Jacobean style
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameGodmanchester Senior Citizens Club
Designated29 May 1969
Reference no.1161502
Godmanchester Town Hall is located in Cambridgeshire
Godmanchester Town Hall
Shown in Cambridgeshire

Godmanchester Town Hall is a municipal building in The Causeway, Godmanchester, Cambridgeshire, England. The town hall, which was the meeting place of Godmanchester Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.[1]

History

Although the town was incorporated under a royal charter from King James I in 1604,[2] it was not until the implementation of the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, which saw the town's two bailiffs replaced by an elected council, that the new borough leaders decided to commission a town hall.[3] The site they selected was on the east bank of the mill lade, a backwater to the River Great Ouse: the necessary preliminary works involved raising The Causeway by 2 feet (0.61 m).[3]

The foundation stone for the original building was laid by the mayor, Edward Martin, in 1844. It was designed in the Jacobean style and built in gault brick with stone dressings.[1] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of one bay facing north, with a three-light mullioned and transomed window surmounted by a Dutch gable and a finial.[1] Following an increase in the responsibilities of the council in the late 19th century, council leaders decided to commission an extension on a site to the west of the original building. The foundation stone for the extension was laid by the mayor, William Gadsby, in 1899. It again involved just one bay, this time facing east, with a doorway on the ground floor and a two-light mullioned and transomed window on the first floor, again surmounted by a Dutch gable and a finial.[1] Internally, the principal room was the main hall: a wooden board listing the names of all past mayors was installed there in 1911.[4]

The building continued to serve as the headquarters of the borough council,[5] but ceased to be the local seat of government after the enlarged Huntingdon and Godmanchester Borough Council was formed at Huntingdon Town Hall in 1961.[6] The building subsequently became the home of the Godmanchester Senior Citizens Club: functions organised by the club included whist drives, bingo games and formal dinners for senior citizens living in the area.[7][8]

In 1998, the building also became the offices of the Godmanchester Town Council, which took over a room, previously used for storage, on the first floor of the extension.[9] In December 2020, a display of lights was projected on the town hall as the culmination of activities associated the local Festival of Lights that year.[10] Remembrance Day marches, held in November each year, have traditionally started from the town hall and moved north up Post Street before arriving at the Godmanchester War Memorial in time for the memorial service.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Historic England. "Godmanchester Senior Citizens Club (1161502)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  2. ↑ Sneath, Pam; Sneath, Ken (2011). Godmanchester A Celebration of 800 Years. EAH Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-9560384-4-9.
  3. 1 2 Page, William; Proby, Granville; Ladds, Sidney Inskip (1932). "'Parishes: Godmanchester', in A History of the County of Huntingdon". London: British History Online. pp. 286–296. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  4. ↑ "2013 - Godmanchesters Mayoral Chain 115 years on". Godmanchester Museum. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  5. ↑ "No. 40417". The London Gazette. 25 February 1955. p. 1178.
  6. ↑ "Godmanchester MB". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  7. ↑ "Godmanchester Senior Citizens Club". Godmanchester and Huntingdon Senior Citizens Club. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  8. ↑ "Cambridgeshire: What's on". Villager Magazine. 1 July 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  9. ↑ "Carol Godley". Godmanchester Community Association. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  10. ↑ "Hunts Post Reader photos show Christmas lights and winter scenes". Hunts Post. 21 December 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  11. ↑ "Godmanchester remembrance day memorial service". Gatehouse Estates. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
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