Shirehall, Shrewsbury

Shirehall is a municipal facility in Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, Shropshire. The building, which is the headquarters of Shropshire Council, is just north of Lord Hill's Column.

Shirehall, Shrewsbury
Shirehall
Shirehall is located in Shropshire
Shirehall
Shirehall
Location within Shropshire
General information
Architectural styleModernist style
AddressAbbey Foregate, Shrewsbury
CountryUnited Kingdom
Coordinates52.7050°N 2.7315°W / 52.7050; -2.7315
Completed1966
Design and construction
Architect(s)Ralph Crowe

History

The building was commissioned to replace the Old Shirehall in Market Square.[1] After deciding in the Old Shirehall was inadequate for their needs, county leaders decided to procure a new building: the site they selected had previously been occupied by a country house known as "Nearwell".[2][lower-alpha 1]

The foundation stone for the new building was laid by Sir Offley Wakeman, a former chairman of the county council, on 25 July 1964.[8] It was designed by Ralph Crowe, the County Architect, in the Modernist style, built at a cost of £1.8 million and was completed in April 1966.[9] It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, on 17 March 1967.[10] The design for the six-storey building facing Abbey Foregate involved continuous bands of glazing with concrete panels above and below: it also included an unusual ovoid-shaped council chamber which jutted out to the south-west of the main building.[9] Pevsner described the building as "the major monument to post-war modernism in the county".[9]

A single storey extension, also designed by Crowe, was added to the Shirehall, to accommodate the assizes and the local quarter session hearings, shortly after it opened.[11][12] Following the implementation of the Courts Act 1971, the former assizes courthouse became the venue for hearings of the newly designated Shrewsbury Crown Court.[13] The magistrates' courts moved to a new courthouse in Preston Street in 1994.[14][15]

Originally established as the headquarters of Shropshire County Council, the building became the offices of the new unitary authority, Shropshire Council in April 2009.[16] A scheme to refurbish the building at a cost of £24 million was proposed in December 2018.[17] However, in September 2020, the council indicated that it would rather sell the building and move to the town centre.[18] Then in October 2020, following an application for a certificate of immunity from listing requested by the county council, English Heritage decided not to list County Hall as the building did not meet the criteria for listing post-1945 buildings.[19] In May 2021 the Twentieth Century Society placed the site on its Top 10 Buildings at Risk List.[20]

Works of art in the building include a cast iron mural by Rosalind Alexander, located in the entrance hall, depicting Shropshire industries.[21]

Notes
  1. The house was commissioned by a local solicitor, William Wybergh How, in 1868[3] and became the home of his son, Walsham How, who went on to be the first Bishop of Wakefield:[4] it subsequently remained in the How family until the mid-1940s[5][6] and then became a hostel for boys studying at Shrewsbury Technical College before being demolished in August 1963.[7]

References
  1. "New book takes colourful look at Shrewsbury past". Shropshire Star. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  2. "Ordnance Survey Map 1954". Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  3. Hinton, Nigel. "Notes on the history, landmarks and people of the Portland Nurseries area of Shrewsbury". Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  4. How, Frederick Douglas (1931). Bishop Walsham How: a memoir. Isbister and Company. p. 15. ISBN 978-1010111740.
  5. "Obituary: Thomas Maynard How". 19 January 1904. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  6. "No. 36425". The London Gazette. 14 March 1944. p. 1255.
  7. "Nearwell boys far from home". Shropshire Star. 29 February 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  8. "Clock ticking for 1960s Shirehall". Shropshire Star. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  9. Newman, John; Pevsner, Nikolaus; Watson, Gavin (1958). Shropshire. Yale University Press. p. 77. ISBN 978-0300096422.
  10. "The Queen at 90: Her Majesty in Shropshire". Shropshire Star. 21 April 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  11. "Law Courts and Courtrooms 1: The Buildings of the Criminal Law". Historic England. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  12. Mulcahy, Linda; Rowden, Emma (2019). The Democratic Courthouse: A Modern History of Design, Due Process and Dignity. Taylor and Francis. ISBN 978-0429558689.
  13. Courts Act 1971 (Commencement) Order 1971 (SI 1971/1151)
  14. "UK: Contract – Shrewsbury, Shropshire; M. A. Boswell (Contractors)". Construction News. 8 October 1992. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  15. "Proposal on the provision of court and tribunal services in the Midlands region" (PDF). Ministry of Justice. 16 July 2015. p. 34. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  16. "Shropshire (Structural Change) Order 2008". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  17. "£1 million study on future of Shirehall in Shrewsbury". Shropshire Star. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  18. "Council leader believes £10m sale of Shirehall can fund Pride Hill centre transformation". Oswestry and Border Counties Advertiser. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  19. "Case Name: The Shirehall, Shrewsbury" (PDF). Historic England. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  20. "Top 10 C20 Society Buildings at Risk List 2021". The Twentieth Century Society. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  21. "Shirehall and Law Courts" (PDF). The Architects' Journal. 29 March 1967. p. 777. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
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