Portsmouth Guildhall
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Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
city of Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The building, completed in 1890, was designed in the neo-classical style by architect William Hill, who had earlier been responsible for the design of the town hall in Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
. Local Architect Charles Bevis in partnership with Hill directed the construction, Hill died before the completion of the building with Bevis adding to the design. The building was originally called the Town Hall, but on 21 April 1926 it was announced that Portsmouth would be raised to the status of a city and the town hall was renamed the Guildhall. The Guildhall has a capacity of up to 2000. It is located in the city centre of Portsmouth, very close to the Portsmouth and Southsea railway station
Portsmouth and Southsea railway station
Portsmouth and Southsea railway station is the main railway station in central Portsmouth in Hampshire, England. It is close to the Commercial Road shopping centre....
.
On 10th January, 1941, during the Second World War, the building was hit by incendiary bombs and was gutted. The interior and roof were totally destroyed, with just the outer walls and tower remaining, albeit fire-damaged. The building was rebuilt after the war for £1.5 million, using war compensation funds, and on 8 June 1959 Her Majesty the Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
performed the re-opening ceremony. However, the interior was changed from the original and the external style is missing much of its original ornateness, especially the dome above the clock and the finials atop the balustrades around the roof.