Warrington Town Hall
Encyclopedia
Warrington Town Hall is in the town of Warrington
, Cheshire
, England. It consists of a house, originally called Bank Hall, flanked by two detached service wings at right angles to the house, one on each side. The house and the service wings have each been designated by English Heritage
as Grade I listed buildings. At the time the house was built Warrington was in the historic county
of Lancashire
. The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner
declared it to be "the finest house of its date in south Lancashire".
and it is likely that it was the last important building of his design to be completed in his lifetime. When it was built it stood in open countryside to the north of the town of Warrington. The Patten family were important merchants in the town. Thomas' father had made the lower River Mersey
navigable from Runcorn
to Bank Quay, Warrington, and had established a copper smelting
factory at Bank Quay. In 1870 John Wilson-Patten, 1st Baron Winmarleigh
, sold the hall to Warrington Borough Council for £9000 (£ as of ), and 13 acres (5.3 ha) of surrounding land for a further £15,000 (£ as of ). Almost all of the land was opened as Warrington's first public park in 1873. When the house was built, it was surrounded by a high wall. In 1895 this was replaced by iron railings and a fine set of gates.
style and has three storeys and a hipped
slate
roof. The front (south) façade has nine bays
. The ground floor is in rusticated
ashlar
, as are the central three bays while the outer three bays on each side are in brick. The central area consists of a portico
with four large ¾-attached Composite
columns with a pediment
bearing the arms
of the Patten family. An open two-arm staircase, with a wrought iron
balustrade
, leads to the main entrance on the first floor. The north side of the hall is entirely of brick and is simpler. The whole house is built on a foundation made of blocks of copper slag
from the Patten's smelting works. The detached service wings each have 13 bays and are similar to each other. Their middle three bays have three storeys and are in rusticated ashlar while the lateral bays have two storeys and are in brick.
floor. The floor replaced a wooden one in 1902 and was laid by Italian workmen. It includes the initials J. W. P. for John Wilson Patten, L. W. for Lionel Whittle, was the town clerk at the time, T. L. for Thomas Longdin, the borough engineer, and Q. V. for Queen Victoria
. The former great hall and the music room have been combined to form the council chamber. The former ladies retiring room and the dining room are now committee rooms and the reading room is used as the mayor's parlour. There are two similar staircases with wrought iron handrails. The window frames, which appear to be made of wood, are made from a combination of copper and iron, painted white.
The gates were made in cast iron
by the Coalbrookdale Company
at Ironbridge
and had been shown at the International Exhibition
in London in 1862. It is believed that they were originally commissioned as a gift to Queen Victoria, but she declined them. They were seen at Ironbridge in 1893 by Frederick Monks, a member of the council, and he offered them as a gift to Warrington Borough Council. They were formally opened on 28 June 1895. On each side of the gates is an ornate screen which contains four columns. On top of each column is a statue of Nike
, the goddess of victory. In the centre of the archway over the gate are the arms of Warrington Borough Council. The gates, piers and associated lamps are listed Grade II*.
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England. It consists of a house, originally called Bank Hall, flanked by two detached service wings at right angles to the house, one on each side. The house and the service wings have each been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as Grade I listed buildings. At the time the house was built Warrington was in the historic county
Historic counties of England
The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...
of Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
declared it to be "the finest house of its date in south Lancashire".
History
Bank Hall was built in 1750 for Thomas Patten. The architect was James GibbsJames Gibbs
James Gibbs was one of Britain's most influential architects. Born in Scotland, he trained as an architect in Rome, and practised mainly in England...
and it is likely that it was the last important building of his design to be completed in his lifetime. When it was built it stood in open countryside to the north of the town of Warrington. The Patten family were important merchants in the town. Thomas' father had made the lower River Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
navigable from Runcorn
Runcorn
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port within the borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In 2009, its population was estimated to be 61,500. The town is on the southern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form Runcorn Gap. Directly to the north...
to Bank Quay, Warrington, and had established a copper smelting
Smelting
Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy; its main use is to produce a metal from its ore. This includes iron extraction from iron ore, and copper extraction and other base metals from their ores...
factory at Bank Quay. In 1870 John Wilson-Patten, 1st Baron Winmarleigh
John Wilson-Patten, 1st Baron Winmarleigh
John Wilson-Patten, 1st Baron Winmarleigh PC was a British Conservative politician.-Background and education:...
, sold the hall to Warrington Borough Council for £9000 (£ as of ), and 13 acres (5.3 ha) of surrounding land for a further £15,000 (£ as of ). Almost all of the land was opened as Warrington's first public park in 1873. When the house was built, it was surrounded by a high wall. In 1895 this was replaced by iron railings and a fine set of gates.
Exterior
The hall is built in PalladianPalladian architecture
Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...
style and has three storeys and a hipped
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
roof. The front (south) façade has nine bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
. The ground floor is in rusticated
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
, as are the central three bays while the outer three bays on each side are in brick. The central area consists of a portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
with four large ¾-attached Composite
Composite order
The composite order is a mixed order, combining the volutes of the Ionic order capital with the acanthus leaves of the Corinthian order. The composite order volutes are larger, however, and the composite order also has echinus molding with egg-and-dart ornamentation between the volutes...
columns with a pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
bearing the arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
of the Patten family. An open two-arm staircase, with a wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
balustrade
Baluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
, leads to the main entrance on the first floor. The north side of the hall is entirely of brick and is simpler. The whole house is built on a foundation made of blocks of copper slag
Slag
Slag is a partially vitreous by-product of smelting ore to separate the metal fraction from the unwanted fraction. It can usually be considered to be a mixture of metal oxides and silicon dioxide. However, slags can contain metal sulfides and metal atoms in the elemental form...
from the Patten's smelting works. The detached service wings each have 13 bays and are similar to each other. Their middle three bays have three storeys and are in rusticated ashlar while the lateral bays have two storeys and are in brick.
Interior
The entrance hall is spacious and contains coats of arms of the Patten family, a stone chimney piece and a mosaicMosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
floor. The floor replaced a wooden one in 1902 and was laid by Italian workmen. It includes the initials J. W. P. for John Wilson Patten, L. W. for Lionel Whittle, was the town clerk at the time, T. L. for Thomas Longdin, the borough engineer, and Q. V. for Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
. The former great hall and the music room have been combined to form the council chamber. The former ladies retiring room and the dining room are now committee rooms and the reading room is used as the mayor's parlour. There are two similar staircases with wrought iron handrails. The window frames, which appear to be made of wood, are made from a combination of copper and iron, painted white.
Park gates
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
by the Coalbrookdale Company
Coalbrookdale
Coalbrookdale is a village in the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. This is where iron ore was first smelted by Abraham Darby using easily mined "coking coal". The coal was drawn from drift mines in the sides...
at Ironbridge
Ironbridge
Ironbridge is a settlement on the River Severn, at the heart of the Ironbridge Gorge, in Shropshire, England. It lies in the civil parish of The Gorge, in the borough of Telford and Wrekin...
and had been shown at the International Exhibition
1862 International Exhibition
The International of 1862, or Great London Exposition, was a world's fair. It was held from 1 May to 1 November 1862, beside the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, South Kensington, London, England, on a site that now houses museums including the Natural History Museum and the Science...
in London in 1862. It is believed that they were originally commissioned as a gift to Queen Victoria, but she declined them. They were seen at Ironbridge in 1893 by Frederick Monks, a member of the council, and he offered them as a gift to Warrington Borough Council. They were formally opened on 28 June 1895. On each side of the gates is an ornate screen which contains four columns. On top of each column is a statue of Nike
Nike (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Nike was a goddess who personified victory, also known as the Winged Goddess of Victory. The Roman equivalent was Victoria. Depending upon the time of various myths, she was described as the daughter of Pallas and Styx and the sister of Kratos , Bia , and Zelus...
, the goddess of victory. In the centre of the archway over the gate are the arms of Warrington Borough Council. The gates, piers and associated lamps are listed Grade II*.