The Moot Hall
The Moot Hall
LocationChapel Lane, Daventry
Coordinates52°15′32″N 1°09′38″W / 52.2588°N 1.1605°W / 52.2588; -1.1605
Built1769
Architectural style(s)Neoclassical style
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameMoot Hall
Designated4 December 1953
Reference no.1067667
Moot Hall, Daventry is located in Northamptonshire
Moot Hall, Daventry
Shown in Northamptonshire

The Moot Hall is a municipal building in Chapel Lane in Daventry, Northamptonshire, England. The building, which was the headquarters of Daventry Borough Council, is a Grade II* listed building.[1]

History

The first moot hall in the town was a medieval structure erected on the east side of New Street in around 1150.[2] In the early 19th century civic leaders decided to demolish the old moot hall and, as a replacement, to make appropriate alterations to an existing house in Chapel Lane, which had been designed in the neoclassical style and built in ironstone in 1769.[2] The design of the house involved a symmetrical main frontage with three bays facing onto Abbey Street; the ground floor featured three round headed windows with archivolts and keystones flanked by niches created with short Doric order pilasters and entablatures.[1] At the corners of the ground floor there were larger Doric order pilasters supporting a wider entablature and a cornice.[1] The first and second floors featured sash windows with archivolts and keystones and at roof level there was a modillioned pediment.[1] A cupola and a weather vane were erected at roof level.[1]

In 1806, following its acquisition by the town authorities, the Chapel Lane building was remodelled to create a new moot hall with the Chapel Lane elevation and much of the internal structure being rebuilt in red brick.[3] A new porch was erected on that elevation and the pediment on the Abbey Street side was augmented by the installation of a 17th century clock, which had been recovered from the old moot hall, in the tympanum.[2] The original staircase from the building was transferred to the Manor House in Welton.[4] The moot hall became the meeting place of the local borough council as well as the venue for the weekly hearings of the local magistrates' courts.[5] The original mechanically operated clock was replaced with an electrically operated one during the mid-20th century.[2]

The moot hall continued to serve as the headquarters of the borough council for much of the 20th century[6] but ceased to be the local seat of government after the enlarged Daventry District Council was formed with its offices in Church Walk in 1974.[7][8] A local history museum was established in the moot hall in the early 1980s: items on display included the original mechanically operated clock as well as a set of imperial measures, typically held by local authorities to ensure tradesmen comply with the Weights and Measures Act 1824.[9] The building also accommodated the local tourist information office at that time.[10]

After the museum and tourist information office moved to New Street in 2004, the moot hall operated as an Indian restaurant from May 2006[11] and then saw a variety of commercial uses before being converted to become a children's nursery in January 2020.[12]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Historic England. "Moot Hall (1067667)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Daventry Self-Guided Walk" (PDF). Daventry Town Council. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  3. ↑ Lewis, Samuel (1831). A Topographical Dictionary of England. S. Lewis & Co. p. 11.
  4. ↑ Pevsner, Nikolaus; Bailey, Bruce; Isham, Sir Gyles; Cherry, Brigid. The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire. Penguin Books. p. 173. ISBN 978-0-14-071022-9.
  5. ↑ "Kellys Directory". 1906. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  6. ↑ "No. 46159". The London Gazette. 21 December 1973. p. 15252.
  7. ↑ Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN 0-10-547072-4.
  8. ↑ "No. 47434". The London Gazette. 12 January 1978. p. 419.
  9. ↑ "Made to measure". Daventry Express. 11 March 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  10. ↑ Evans, Martin Marix; Burton, Peter; Westaway, Michael (2002). Battleground Britain: Naseby June 1645. Leo Cooper. p. 154. ISBN 978-0850528718.
  11. ↑ Insley, Charles (2007). The Victoria History of The County of Northampton. University of London. p. 197. ISBN 978-1904356059.
  12. ↑ "Cherry Blossom Day Nursery". Northampton County Council. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.