Knutsford Town Hall
Knutsford Town Hall
LocationPrincess Street, Knutsford
Coordinates53°18′12″N 2°22′26″W / 53.3032°N 2.3740°W / 53.3032; -2.3740
Built1871
ArchitectAlfred Waterhouse
Architectural style(s)Gothic Revival style
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameFormer Town Hall
Designated15 January 1974
Reference no.1378496
Knutsford Town Hall is located in Cheshire
Knutsford Town Hall
Shown in Cheshire

Knutsford Town Hall is a former municipal building in Princess Street, Knutsford, Cheshire, England. The structure, which for a long time was used as an events venue, is a Grade II listed building.[1]

History

The town hall was a gift to the town from the lord of the manor, the 1st Lord Egerton who lived at Tatton Hall.[2] It was designed by Alfred Waterhouse in the Gothic Revival style, built by J. Parnell & Sons in red brick with blue brick dressings and was completed in 1871.[1][3] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with seven bays facing Princess Street; it was arcaded on the ground floor, so that markets could be held, with a large assembly room on the first floor.[1] The second bay on the left featured a prominent porch with a gable.[1] The arcade of five bays to the right incorporated arched openings supported by blue brick columns, while the first floor featured a row of three-light gothic windows flanked by panels containing coats of arms.[1] The attic floor featured three dormer windows with quatrefoil glazing and, at roof level, there was a central spirelet.[1]

The town hall was latterly mainly used as an events venue. Knutsford Urban District Council, formed in 1895,[4] was initially based at offices in King Street but after Knutsford Prison closed in 1913,[5] moved its main departments to the former Governor's House, just 200 yards (180 m) to the south of the town hall on Toft Road.[6] While the ground floor of the town hall continued to be used for markets, the first floor was converted for use as a boys' club and an education centre: exhibits in the education centre included the 4th Lord Egerton's collection of military weapons and natural history items.[7][8][9]

Shortly before the Normandy landings in June 1944, General George S. Patton, delivered a speech in Knutsford which was perceived to be critical of the Soviet Union, and to have "slap(ped) the face of every one of the United Nations except Great Britain";[10] these events were depicted in the film Patton: Lust for Glory, with George C. Scott in the title role, scenes from which were filmed in front of the town hall in 1969.[11][12] The town hall was subsequently acquired by the conservationist, Randle Brooks.[2][13] Brookes in turn leased it to a local furniture shop owner, Derek Panagakis, for use as a furniture showroom in 1973.[2] The building fell empty in 2011 but was converted for public house use at a cost of £2 million by The Revere Pub Company in 2016; it now operates as a public house known as "Lost and Found".[14][15]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Historic England. "Former Town Hall (1378496)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Plea to save history". Warrington Guardian. 11 January 2005. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  3. ↑ Pevsner, Nikolaus; Hubbard, Edward (1978). Cheshire (Buildings of England Series). Penguin. p. 40. ISBN 978-0140710427.
  4. ↑ "Knutsford UD". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  5. ↑ "Knutsford County House of Correction". Prison History. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  6. ↑ "No. 33952". The London Gazette. 23 June 1933. p. 4207.
  7. ↑ Mangan, J. A.; McKenzie, Callum (2013). Militarism, Hunting, Imperialism: 'Blooding' The Martial Male. Routledge. p. 182. ISBN 978-1138880412.
  8. ↑ Mangan, J. A. (2002). Reformers, Sport, Modernisers: Middle-class Revolutionaries. Routledge. p. 199. ISBN 978-0714682280.
  9. ↑ "The magnificent Baron and his flying machines". Warrington Guardian. 9 April 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  10. ↑ Lovelace, Alexander G. (Summer 2014), "The Image of a General: The Wartime Relationship between General George S. Patton Jr. and the American Media", Journalism History, vol. 40, pp. 108–120
  11. ↑ "General George Patton made his rousing speech which led to the D-day landings and the liberation of Europe". Warrington Guardian. 29 September 1999. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  12. ↑ Forty, George (2015). Patton's Third Army at War. Casemate. p. 37. ISBN 978-1612002958.
  13. ↑ "Popular Cheshire conservationist Randle Brooks has died". Knutsford Guardian. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  14. ↑ "Lost and Found: Waterhouse's Knutsford Town Hall is transformed". About Manchester. 26 October 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  15. ↑ "Revere signs for old town hall". Place North West. 4 September 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
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