The Guildhall, Leicester, City of Leicester

Summary

A medieval Guildhall, built for the Corpus Christi Guild around 1390, enlarged around 1450, and further extended by the addition of ranges to the east and west around 1490, and a domestic wing around 1836; the buildings now function as a museum, gallery and entertainment venue.

Description

MATERIALS: The medieval hall and the east and west wings are timber-framed, the framing rising from deep stone plinths. The C19 house forming the south range is built of brick. Parts of the west range have painted render coatings. The roof coverings are of Swithland slate, laid to diminishing courses.

PLAN: The Guildhall and its attached ranges to the east, west and south form an evolved courtyard plan, the development beginning with the 'Great Hall', continuing with the addition of east and west wings and forming a 'U'-shaped complex, followed at an unknown date by the construction of a kitchen or service range on the south side of the site. This was later demolished to make way for the C19 domestic range which completed the enclosure of the courtyard and the evolution of the present configuration of buildings.

EXTERIOR: The arrangement of the complex of buildings on the Guildhall site around a courtyard affords each component building a visible front and real elevation. The outward-facing elevations are described first, followed by inward-facing elevations. The early 'Great Hall' is single-storied and is aligned east-west, its principal north elevation facing onto Guildhall Lane. The attached two-storey east wing faces onto St Martins West, and the south elevation of the two-storey brick south wing is now enclosed within a C21 lean-to extension. The west wing is two-storied with attics and has a stepped wing extending eastwards into the courtyard. This is comprised of three storeys and attic, with a lower two-storey bay to the east end. The Great Hall range is of five bays. The timber-framing to the north elevation framing ring is close studded, with mid-rails and sill beams, the bay divisions marked by posts. The framing sits on a deep plinth of random rubble stonework. The upper tier of framing incorporates window openings to each bay, with C20 joinery. The two western bays have full bay width openings of seven lights with timber mullions and diamond-shaped leaded glazing. The remaining three bays each have a three-light casement window with rectangular leaded glazing. At the west end is a wide doorway set below a segmental pediment. It has a four-panel door and a shallow rectangular overlight. Above the doorway is a small gablet with a three-light timber mullioned window. The five-bay east range has a jettied north gable with jowled corner posts and pairs of long curved down braces flanking a four-light timber mullioned window, and raking struts below a collar beam within the gable apex. The east elevation has a triple-gabled projection within the roof slope to the centre, each gable apex with a three-light window. Below, five-light timber-mullioned windows sit immediately above the eaves. The timber-framed first floor has long down bracing and a four-light timber mullioned window to each bay. The ground floor has four window openings and two doorways, all dating to C20 phases of restoration. The south elevation includes the attached gable of the east and west ranges .and the south wall of the C19 brick dwelling, the lower section of which is concealed by, but visible within, the C21 lean-to site restaurant. The west range has a timber-framed upper floor above a stone-faced ground floor. The first floor framing incorporates five windows with fixed casement frames, whilst the second floor has three gables each with a single window lighting the attics within.

The courtyard elevation of the Great Hall has two exposed close-studded bays, each with a three-light leaded window set above the mid-rail. There is a small single-light window below mid-rail level at the east end of the range, the remaining parts of which are obscured by other parts of the complex. The south roof slope incorporates a small triple-gabled louvered ventilator. The courtyard elevation of the west range has two wide gables, the northernmost gable partially obscured by the stepped extension into the courtyard. The south gable has continuous bands of windows to both floors, the ground floor with two wide five-light windows with transomed leaded lights, the upper floor with two six-light windows also with leaded glazing. The exposed section of the north gable has similarly detailed windows of three lights to the ground floor and four lights at first floor level. There is a clustered octagonal brick chimney at the south end of the west range roof and a domed ridge weather vane turret at its centre. The five-bay brick south range has four windows to the upper floor and three to the ground floor all with six-over-six pane sash windows. There are three doorways, the central one set below a gabled canopy. There is an ornamental clock set within a case with a shallow pitched roof. Its upper level has miniature figures set in doorways, the middle level has an illustration of the Grim Reaper, and below, the clock face set within a diagonal surround. The east range has paired, wide gables, each with transomed four-light windows to the upper floor. There are two wide C20 openings to the ground floor, to the south end of the range, an enclosed stair set within a low hipped-roofed projection in the roof slope, and with a balustrade to the first floor. The stair gives access to the upper floor of the east range.

INTERIOR: The interior of the Great Hall illustrates the two main phases of construction of the earliest building on the site. The three eastern bays which date to around 1390 incorporate two base cruck trusses, with arch braces rising to support collars, and with diminished principals continuing upwards to concealed apexes. Each cruck truss has longitudinal curved braces supporting slender side purlins. Short spur ties link the trusses to the building's close-studded wall framing. The truss collars support short crown posts with four-way bracing supporting a collar purlin. The two western trusses have cambered tie beam trusses with curved longitudinal braces supporting side purlins. Queen struts rise from the tie beam to support cambered collars, and short curved angle braces link the tie beams to principal rafters extending from the wall plates. The close-studded wall framing is visible throughout the interior, the west gable detailed as previously described. The east end of the Great Hall is closed by a framed partition long down braces and jowled posts supporting a collar beam. To the south side of the partition, a later stair gives access to the upper floor of the east range, and to a C20 gallery with turned balusters. In the third bay, an inserted hearth and chimney which blocked the window opening above now carries a commemorative plaque installed during the 1922-6 restoration. The restored painted murals in the fourth bay date originally to the C17, and are representations of the Arms of the Borough of Leicester, and those of the then-influential Hastings family. Above the entrance doorway in the south wall is a painted panel honouring Sir Thomas White (1492-1567), incorporating the Arms of the Stuarts and of the Merchant Taylors Company. At the west end are the Arms of Queen Anne. The doorway in the south wall of the west bay gives access to the ground floor of the west wing, which, in 1563 became the Mayor’s Parlour. The present interior dates largely to the remodelling of the room in 1637, with square oak panelling to the south, west and north walls, and a range of windows forming the east wall, below which is a continuous bench running the full length of the room. The bench faces a raised ceremonial seat built against the west wall, with raised arm rests, flanking attached columns and elaborate decorative cresting incorporating tall carved figures. The south end wall incorporates a fine hearth with flanking columns, set within surrounding square panelling and above, a complex carved and painted overmantel formed of three panels with carved strapwork decoration separated by miniature columns and framed at either end by smaller paired columns. Above the panels is a frieze enlivened by depictions of mythical creatures and masks. The panelled room above, and the attic room above that, are more plainly detailed and are used for meetings and storage. The ground floor of the East wing was used as a prison in the C19, and the present interior incorporates museum displays which include the former cells. The upper floor, thought originally to have been used as accommodation for the Chantry priests of the Corpus Christi Guild, was remodelled to create facilities for the Town Library in 1632, and that collection of volumes is still housed there. The interior at this level has exposed wall framing and a series of cambered and straight arch-braced tie beam trusses some with braced king posts. On the west side of the central bay there is a small furnished room, identified as 'the Recorder's bedroom', although the exact location of the room created for the official who presided over the Borough Court of Quarter Sessions has not been verified. The narrow south bay gives access to the stair leading to the courtyard below. The interior of the south range is given over to interpretative museum displays concerning the history of the site, and the wider context of this part of Leicester. Attached at its east end is the C21 entrance foyer to the museum.

History

Leicester is one of the oldest settlements in England and its origins can be traced back at least to the Iron Age. There is significant remaining evidence of the Roman settlement particularly on the east bank of the River Soar where the bath house and palaestra at Jewry wall represent the only standing remains of Ratae Corieltauvorum and one of the largest standing pieces of Roman civilian building in the country. However, there is little known of the settlement between the Roman departure and the medieval period.

In the Middle Ages, Leicester became an increasingly important urban centre. William the Conqueror ordered the construction of the first motte and bailey castle in the late C11. This was later rebuilt in stone and the great hall survives containing one of the finest medieval interiors in the country. The city became closely associated with Simon De Montfort who became the Lord of the Town in 1281, and one of the city’s two universities is named after him. The town also became closely linked to the royal family through the earldoms of Leicester and Lancaster, which were joined under one person, Robert Beaumont, in the late C14. This led to further expansion and prosperity in the late-middle and early-modern periods.

The town also became a focus for religious devotion, with an area next to the Castle known as the Newarke, being the location for a collegiate church as well as other religious centres. After his death at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, the body of King Richard III was brought to the town and buried in the church of the Greyfriars, a Franciscan abbey which tradition has it had been founded by De Montfort in the late C13. Cardinal Thomas Wolsey died at Leicester Abbey in 1530 on his way to face trial in London and was buried there. Other major individuals to be associated with the city include Robert Dudley, who was made Earl of Leicester by Elizabeth I.

The church of Greyfriars was destroyed in 1538, after the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The site was sold and a manor house built with an associated estate. Both the monastic buildings and the location of Richard’s tomb were lost by the late C17. The manor belonged to Alderman Robert Herrick and remained in the family until the early C18 when it was sold to Thomas Pares. The former Greyfriars precinct was then divided with a new thoroughfare, called New Street laid north-south across it. The present street plan more generally continues to resemble that of the medieval borough, although street names have changed, with the boundaries of the precinct on the whole respected.

Throughout the early C18 the two parts of the estate were gradually parcelled and sold for development. It was in the Georgian period that the wider Greyfriars estate was developed, primarily as residences for the professional and polite classes. Many of the remaining buildings date to that period and are domestic in both scale and character. Industry did encroach at the fringes and commercial activities and industry such as hosiery appear on the 1888 map of the area. Latterly the area became the legal centre for Leicester and many of the buildings were converted into offices. The manor house was demolished in 1872 although its garden remained unencumbered of development, as did that of 17 Friar Lane. Both became car parks in the C20.

Leicester itself became an industrial centre following the construction of the Grand Union Canal, which linked the town to London and Birmingham at the end of the C18. By 1800 the population had reached over 17,000 and continued to grow throughout the C19. The first railway arrived in the 1830s and Leicester was linked to the mainline network by the 1840s. Significant industrial expansion followed, including textiles, hosiery and footwear, and this period of expansion saw many surviving buildings from earlier periods in the Greyfriars area either replaced or refaced in brick. The C19 also saw the construction of several large schools in the area.

Although the city faced significant economic and social challenges in the C20 it remains a vibrant urban centre and is now known as one of the most culturally diverse cities in Britain. The Greyfriars area has been the focus of international attention and economic investment since the remarkable discovery of the remains of King Richard III under a council car park in 2012 and his re-burial in the Cathedral in 2015. Extensive research and archaeological investigation following these events has led to the scheduling of the former monastic site in December 2017 (see National Heritage List entry 1442955) and the renaming of the Guildhall / Cathedral Conservation Area to Greyfriars Conservation Area.

The first building to be built in what has become the complex of buildings on the Leicester Guildhall site was the 'Great Hall', erected by the Guild of Corpus Christi around 1390, adjacent St Martin’s Church, which housed the guild’s chapel. This was enlarged by a further two bays at its west end around 1450, and around 1490, wings to the east and west of the Great Hall were added. Ordinances of 1477 gave the masters of the Guild precedence over the Mayor and Council. From around 1495, the Corporation of Leicester met at the Guild’s Hall, and following the dissolution of the monasteries and religious guilds in the 1530s, the Corporation purchased the building. The ground floor of the west wing became the Mayor's Parlour in 1563, which was extensively and expensively remodelled in 1637, the parlour being described as 'new built'. In the same year, the room above the Mayor's Parlour became a Jury Room, and the Hall was used for the Borough Quarter Sessions. A bedroom for the use of the Recorder, a local judicial officer who was the head of the Quarter Sessions, was created in a part of the upper floor of the east wing. The Guildhall also became the town library in 1632 necessitating the remodelling of the upper floor of the east wing to accommodate the library collection.

On the south side of the courtyard enclosed by the hall and attached wings, a kitchen block had been built, which, in 1836, was demolished to make way for a house built for the first Chief Constable of Leicester's newly formed police force. The Guildhall became the city's first police station, with three cells and a charge room formed in the ground floor of the east wing. The Guildhall continued in use as the meeting place for the Corporation until 1876, when a new town hall, designed by the local architect Francis Holmes was opened. By this time, the building had undergone alterations and minor extensions, and had reached such a poor state of repair that requests were made to demolish what some considered had become an eyesore.

However, in 1922, the Town Council commissioned a major scheme of renovation in response to representations by the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society. The restoration was directed by the Leicester architect T H Fosbrooke, and involved not only structural repairs but also the removal of the various accretions which had obscured the architectural character of the Guildhall complex. The restoration was completed in 1926, and the building opened as a public museum following a celebratory meeting in the Great Hall attended by the Mayor and Corporation. The Guildhall was subsequently listed at Grade I in 1950. Between 1991 and 1993 a further programme of repair and restoration was undertaken to the Great Hall, Mayor's Parlour, Library and Jury Room as a prelude to a new phase of the building's use as a community facility, housing museum, entertainment venue and meeting rooms. The enhancement of the surroundings to the Guildhall and the Cathedral in the wake of the discovery of the remains of King Richard III have re-emphasised the Guildhall's significance as one of Leicester's most important historic assets.

Reasons for Listing

The Guildhall in Leicester, an evolved complex of historic buildings dating from the C14 to C19, which played a central role in the evolution of Leicester's civic administration until the late C19, is listed at Grade I for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:
* as an evolved complex of historic buildings including late-C14 and C15 high-status timber-framed buildings, which retains evidence of adaptation, decoration and changes of use over four centuries, each phase enhancing the special architectural interest of a site of outstanding cultural value in a national context.

Historic interest:
* as an outstanding and well-preserved multi-period complex of buildings which formed the central feature of Leicester's civic life from the late-medieval period to the late C19;
* it is located within a significant historic townscape, developed within and around the precinct of the C13 Franciscan friary known as Greyfriars, and makes a notable contribution to its rich architectural character and historic evolution.

Group value:
* it is surrounded by many designated assets with which it has strong group value, especially the scheduled Greyfriars to the south-east, St Martin’s Cathedral to the east (listed at Grade II*), the attached St Martin’s House to the south-west (listed at Grade II), and Wyggeston House to the west (listed at Grade II*).

External Links

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