Newmarket Town Hall

For the building in Canada, see Old Newmarket Town Hall and Courthouse.

Newmarket Town Hall
The building in 2015
LocationHigh Street, Newmarket
Coordinates52°14′41″N 0°24′30″E / 52.2448°N 0.4083°E / 52.2448; 0.4083
Built1830
Architectural style(s)Neoclassical style
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name29 High Street
Designated25 June 1984
Reference no.1351290
Newmarket Town Hall is located in Suffolk
Newmarket Town Hall
Shown in Suffolk

Newmarket Town Hall is a former municipal building in Newmarket, Suffolk, a town in England. The structure, which currently serves as an Italian restaurant, is a Grade II listed building.[1]

History

The building was commissioned by the actor and theatre manager, David Fisher, as part of a project to establish a chain of theatres across East Anglia.[2] The site he selected had previously been used as a cock pit and Fisher acquired the site from the land-owner, John Manners, 5th Duke of Rutland, in 1825.[3] The new building was designed in the neoclassical style, built in brick with a stucco finish and was completed about 1830.[1]

The building was converted for municipal use as the local town hall in 1849.[1] Internally, the principal room created was a public hall, on the first floor, which was used for a variety of events.[4] Following significant population growth, largely associated with the horse racing and stabling industries, a local board of health was established in the town in 1851.[5][6] After the local board of health was succeeded by Newmarket Urban District Council,[7] the new council held its first meeting in the town hall on 31 December 1894.[8]

In September 1907, the building was being used as a cinema, when the projector was knocked over, causing a fire. In the resulting panic, there were about 300 injuries, some serious,[9][10][11] and one woman was crushed to death in the ensuing panic.[12] One of those who was involved was the jockey, Henri Jelliss, who was a 15-year-old boy at the time.[4][13]

The council was based at the town hall until July 1922, when it moved to Godolphin House at 2 The Avenue: it then disposed of the town hall for commercial use.[14] The building was subsequently converted into the offices of the "Newmarket Gas Company", which maintained a gas appliance showroom on the ground floor. This was replaced by the "Jane of Newmarket" women's fashion shop in 1978, and then by the "Anne Furbank" women's fashion shop in 2008. In 2012, the building became a branch of the "Wildwood" chain of Italian restaurants.[4]

Architecture

The two-storey building is at 29 High Street. It has a canted facade, with one round-headed first-floor window with an architrave and a keystone on each of the three faces. The ground floor has a mid-20th century shopfront. The former public hall, which has a moulded ceiling, is on the first floor. The building has been grade II listed since 1984.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Historic England. "29, High Street (1351290)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  2. ^ Field, Moira (2004). "Fisher, David (1788–1858), actor and musician". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/9491. Retrieved 20 January 2021. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ "Jane's Shop". Suffolk Heritage Explorer. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "No.29 High Street". Newmarket Shops. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  5. ^ The Public Health Supplemental Act 1851 No. 2 (14 & 15 Vict. c. 98). 7 August 1851. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Newmarket: Local Board of Health". Cambridge Chronicle and University Journal. 6 September 1851. p. 4. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  7. ^ "Newmarket UD". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  8. ^ "Newmarket Local Board: The last meeting". Newmarket Journal. 22 December 1894. p. 8. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  9. ^ "Cinema in Newmarket". Newmarket History. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  10. ^ "Local fire tragedies". Newmarket History. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  11. ^ "Inquest into deaths caused by burns sustained at an entertainment at Newmarket Town Hall". The Guardian. 19 September 1907. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  12. ^ Wallace, Richard; Burrows, Jon (2022). Reel Change A History of British Cinema from the Projection Box. John Libbey Publishing. ISBN 978-0861969838.
  13. ^ "The Newmarket society wedding which united two racing dynasties". Suffolk News. 13 June 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  14. ^ "Newmarket Urban Council". Bury Free Press. Bury St Edmunds. 15 July 1922. p. 5. Retrieved 13 March 2022.