Town Hall
Few small towns can sport a Palladian Town Hall like that of Garstang. The brick classical style frontage makes an interesting comparison with Harrison's work at Lancaster and, more significantly, with that of Kirkland Hall but the architect of Garstang Town Hall has not, thus far, been identified. Many feel that Robert Gillow, of Lancaster, was behind the design. It is certainly to Garstang’s credit and it represents one of the most important Civic buildings of this particular vintage to be found in the North of Lancashire. Its history is both complex and interesting.
In the period before Garstang Corporation was formed in 1679 very little is known about the town’s administration building but is thought a Moot Hall may have stood on the original main street which is now called Park Hill Road. That building appears to have been abandoned upon the formation of the Corporation, when a new building in the centre of the ‘New Town' was erected on the site of the present Town Hall. This new building is visible on the 1680 Corporation Map of the town which would likely have been a two-storey building, erected in stone, with a slated gabled roof. A small belltower of sorts appears to have been drawn upon the roof line, probably supporting a weather-vane. The ground floor would have been open to a large degree to accommodate the corn exchange whilst the formal affairs of the Corporation were conducted on the first floor. It should be added here that the 1680 Garstang Town Hall was somewhat smaller than the present building and that the street in this area was also rather wider than today.
A Much Grander Town Hall
The 1680 Town Hall was destined to have a short life; in or around the year 1750 the building is known to have suffered a very destructive fire. It is certain that a number of thatched buildings to the south of the Town Hall, and on the East side of the street, were also destroyed in the blaze.
The reconstruction work of Garstang Town Hall was undertaken around the period 1755-1756, and the opportunity was taken to create a new building in the most fashionable taste; certain points of resemblance with Kirkland Hall (1760 by Carr of York) and Lytham Hall (1764) have been noted over the years.
With regard to the 1680 Town Hall, it is now known that the rearmost wing of the building actually survived the fire and was saved from demolition by the decision to incorporate it into the new building; consequently money was saved, and a good deal of work avoided, by building the new Town Hall around the remains of the original 1680 wing. This part of the Hall is quite distinct from the newer part and forms the Market Superintendent's Office and a small kitchen. It can be seen that the floor level here is slightly higher than the rest of the ground floor rooms around it. The rear wing's survival was in fact integral to the Town Hall's use in that this part of the building was the location of the High Constable's offices and lock up cell. In fact, after the rebuilding process, a number of first floor accommodation rooms were added and these are still in situ today.
In order to create a larger Town Hall than its predecessor, it was decided to erect the new Hall deeper than before; by this means, a traders lobby was formed by enclosing the foremost portion of the pathway in front of the building. The real entrance footstep is therefore let back inside, and is noticeably more worn than its outside counterpart. The result of this decision is that for many years the outside pathway in front of the Town Hall was more narrow than on either side.
The building materials were a mixture of handmade brick and sandstone, the latter used for the lower half of the building, window casings, bevelled quoins and other dressings. The finished Hall had a hipped roof and a small wooden cote containing the Market Bell, which in turn was surmounted by a weather vane. The ground floor comprised of one large room which was used as the corn exchange. In the south-east corner was a framed newel staircase and half landing (complete with a tall stair window), which led up to the Corporation Chambers on the first floor where all official business of the town was conducted. This room was also used for various meetings, Magistrates hearings and corporate banquets from time to time.
Various alterations and additions were effected to the building over the years. The first in 1847 when, by public subscription, a clock tower was affixed to the roof overlooking the street. The main corn-exchange, which had latterly fallen out of use, was remodeled into various rooms which were latterly used by Garstang Rural District Council from 1897 to 1913.
When the Garstang Corporation ended the possession of the Town Hall was permanently placed in the hands of the newly formed Garstang Town Trust. This took effect on 11th January 1889.
For a brief period in 1914 the Town Hall was empty following the Rural District Council's move to their newly built offices at the bottom end of the High Street but, with the onset of war in August 1914 the first floor of the premises was adopted for use by the Government as a Recruiting Office.
In 1921 these very same rooms became the headquarters of the fledgling 'Comrades of the Great War, which later became the Royal British Legion. Four years later, in December 1925, the Trust paid for new illuminated faces on the clock tower. They were first lit over the Christmas period.
Town Hall Engulfed by Fire
Little change of note occurred until the night of 29th January 1939 when another catastrophic fire took hold of the building. Half the town turned up to see the Fire Brigade deal with the raging inferno. It was later deduced that a hot coal had somehow fallen off the grate during the night and had set light to the carpet, curtains and, eventually, the ceiling. The old, dry roof timbers needed little persuasion to join the blaze.
Incredibly, the main fabric of the building had survived, but the first floor was completely gutted. Now the Town Trust met in session to work out a rebuilding plan. After a period of deliberation, a decision was made to give the Hall a new flat-top roof, complete with stone chimney stacks, balustrade, clock-tower and flagpole. The work was completed in January 1940 amid the blizzard conditions gripping the country at large.
In the decade that followed the Trust was continually having to deal with spate of minor leaks of rainwater that had appeared in the ceiling especially in the area of the clock tower. Despite some remedial work over the years the problem slowly got worse.
The bricks on the front elevation, after many years of rain water seeping down through the joints in the cornice mouldings and then freezing in the winter months, had begun to crack causing irreparable damage. The problem was discussed at length by the Trust in the period 1961-62 but it was felt that acquiring bricks of 'similar colour and texture was going to prove difficult'. An option discussed by the Trust was to cement render the whole of the front elevation but this idea was never sanctioned and replacement bricks were eventually secured.
Town Hall - a Summary
1680 - First Corporation Town Hall is built
c1750 - Fire destroys most of the building
c1755/56 - New Town Hall is erected around the remains of the old
1847 - Clock tower is added by public subscription
c1860 - Corn Exchange falls out of use
Sep 1877 - Town Hall is leased to County Magistrates
1887 - Jubilee Commemoration Plaque is installed below the clock
1897 - Town Hall is leased to Garstang Rural District Council
1913 - Garstang Rural District Council vacate the building
1914-1918 - Recruiting office is opened
1916 - Public conveniences are added
1921 - Royal British Legion lease the first floor
1923 - Employment exchange is opened on ground floor
Dec 1925 - New electric clock faces are fitted
Jan 1939 - Fire destroys the building during the night
Jan 1940 - Garstang Town Trust completes the restoration
late 1946 - Clock tower is repainted a chocolate brown colour
Dec 1952 - Town Hall becomes a Grade II listed building
Apl 1958 - Clock tower is repainted a coffee colour
May 1963 - Complete exterior renovation of Town Hall. Clock tower reverts to white
Feb 1970 - Plans are drawn up for a replacement roof but not implemented
Summer 1980 - New roof is completed
A Befitting New Roof
Matters came to a head in January 1979. The roof joists were now beginning to rot. However, a plan was drawn up which entailed the complete removal of the roof area and its replacement with a hipped, slated roof and clock-tower. It was felt more appropriate to restore the profile and design of the original roof, which was consumed by the fire of 1939.
It was very fortunate that many important possessions of the Trust were safely removed from the burning Town Hall in 1939. These included the Town Charter of 1680 which is now safely stored at Lancashire's Archives.
The fire caused the Trust to think about the safety of its records and a large fire-proof metal box, complete with a lock, was acquired about 1940 for such a purpose.
Town Hall Black Box Story
As Told by Local Historian Paul Smith
Paul takes up his story in August 2002, when he met up with the late Sam Lang, the Chair of Garstang Town Trust at the time.
“Interested in all local history matters I asked Sam if I could have a closer look at Garstang Town Hall, in particular, the attic area, which might reveal clues about the fire of 1939.”
“Sam and I made into the Town Hall, ascended the flight of steps and came upon a small wooden hatch in the ceiling. A thick layer of dust covered the roof joists and just about everything else. There, in two places, were the charred marks of the 1939 fire. Sam then shouted “Paul, just come here .. have a look at this thing..”.
“As I joined him my eyes settled upon a large, black metal box, with the words Garstang Town Trust painted on it.
“As I peered inside the box, I was amazed to see a collection of smaller boxes, tins, notebooks and other intriguing odds and ends. Among the objects in view was a chain, about three feet long, which had been carved out of a single piece of wood. There were boxes containing medals and ancient coins, Minute Books of various sizes, bound in half leather cases, loose paperwork and a folder containing a large collection of old letters and assorted Trust correspondence. Some of them were dated to the 1880s. Sam invited Bill Singleton and myself to catalogue the items into an inventory which would be given out to the Trust at the next meeting.”
“It was, indeed, an honour, because so much of this material was of great interest”.