History

1858-60 civic buildings, originally Guildhall, Corn Exchange, Grammar School, News-room, Corn Store and Markets, by R J Withers (1823-94) in Ruskinian Gothic style, the first of their kind in Britain.

Exterior

Coursed blue lias stone with some red brick banding and ashlar dressings, the ashlar since painted white, and banded slate roofs. Gothic of mixed Italian and North European derivation, following Ruskinian precepts in structural colour and the integrity of the wall-face maintained by minimal moulding and window tracery set flush.

Five-bay 2 storey main hall with unmoulded polychrome Gothic arcade below to former Corn Exchange, now library, and tall mullion-and-transom stone windows above with linked pointed hoodmoulds. Coved ashlar eaves cornice with carved bosses and steep hipped roof with ornamental iron cresting. Adjoining to left, recessed entrance with pointed doorway, tall stair light and top clock turret, lead-clad with pyramid spire, added 1892 (R Thomas of Cardigan). To left, crossing with single window below and 2 windows above, pointed red brick relieving arches and timber mullion-and-transom windows. Coped gable. Two-bay side elevation to College Lane with stone centre side-wall stack. Rear of Guildhall has ground floor 5-bay arcade and 2 windows above with centre side-wall stack. Behind crosswing, lower range, 2-storey to College Lane, one to rear court, slightly projected with roof hipped forward. Rear to court has hipped gable to right of former Corn Store. Early C19 Russian canon at SE corner of Guildhall.

Markets are designed to a remarkable functional Gothic design, open-well plan with glazed ridge lighting for upper floor. Polychrome external arcading to lower level to College Lane and to rear, where sloping site gives high plinth below arcade. South west angle is chamfered. From courtyard, 2-bay arcade with entry to upper level. Guildhall has stone stairs up under panelled 4-sided roof, small version of 5-bay main hall roof, which has hipped ends and pierced timber panels over wall-plate. Painted stone fireplace with commemorative plaque. Library below has cast-iron columns.

Interior

Interior has complex stone vaulted lower level, 2-bays deep each side of centre light-well. Painted circular piers with blue lias pointed arches and rubble tunnel vaulting. Light well is arcaded, 3 x 2 bays, on 2 levels and upper floor is slate flagged. Timber roof trusses masked by C20 suspended ceiling. C20 stair in light wall, original stone stair in south east angle.

Reasons for Listing

Listed as the first municipal buildings in Britain to follow Ruskin's precepts as set out in The Stones of Venice (1854), influenced possibly by the Oxford Museum (1855-8).

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Guildhall at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q13128805

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

• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Drawing up a Local Listed Building Consent Order: Historic England Advice Note 6
• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House