Birkenhead Town Hall

Birkenhead Town Hall is a civic building and former town hall in Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. The building was the former administrative headquarters of the County Borough of Birkenhead, and more recently, council offices for the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Birkenhead Town Hall remains the location of the town's register office. However, since the closure of the Wirral Museum in 2010, there is uncertainty over the future purpose of the Grade II* listed building.[5]

Birkenhead Town Hall
General information
Architectural styleClassical[1][2]
Classification
Listed Building – Grade II*
Designated29 July 1950
Reference no.1201582
AddressHamilton Street, Birkenhead,
Merseyside, CH41 5BR
Coordinates53°23′36″N 3°00′52″W
Construction started1883[2]
Completed1887[2]
Renovated2001
Height200 ft (clock tower)[3]
Design and construction
ArchitectChristopher Obee Ellison[4][5]
Architecture firmC O Ellison & Son[1][2]

History

When Hamilton Square was designed in the early 19th century, a plot of land was made available for the siting of a town hall between Hamilton Street and Chester Street. However, it wasn't until 1887 that the current building was completed. Designed by local architect Christopher Ellison[5] in 1882, the building was constructed using Scottish granite and sandstone from the now filled-in local quarry at Storeton.[2][3]

The building consisted of a council chamber, offices, with a concert hall and function rooms known as the Assembly Rooms. Birkenhead's magistrates' court chambers are located in a separate building of the same design to the rear. The clock tower is 200 feet in height and consists of four faces. After a fire in 1901, the upper part of the clock tower was rebuilt to a design by Henry Hartley. The rebuilding included a stained glass window by Gilbert P. Gamon representing Edward I's visit to Birkenhead Priory in 1277.[2]

Despite the abolition of the County Borough of Birkenhead on 1 April 1974, the building continued to be used as council offices until the early 1990s, when work was undertaken to restore the external stonework and many interior decorations and features, including the former council chamber.[3]

The Wirral Archives Service was based in the building until 2008, when it transferred to the council's Cheshire Lines Building nearby.[6] The service collects and stores all types of historical documents relating to the Wirral area, its people, businesses and institutions. Amongst the records in the collection are documents and photographs from Birkenhead's Cammell Laird shipyard, when the original company closed in 1993.[7]

Between 2001 and 2010, the Wirral Museum occupied a significant portion of the building. It featured both themed and permanent exhibits such as the history and development of Wirral, the Cammell Laird collection, the Wirral Silver and Mayoral collections, Della Robbia Pottery and a detailed scale model of the historic Woodside area in 1934.[3]

Current uses

Birkenhead Town Hall still retains some civic service, such as the municipal registration centre for births, marriages and deaths and as a venue for local and national elections. It is also utilised for the celebration of notable occasions and as the town's focal point for annual Remembrance Sunday ceremonies. Some of the grand civic rooms are also used for social events including weddings.[8]

Future

In 2009 owners Wirral Borough Council advertised the building for sale or lease, as part of its Strategic Asset Review.[9][10][11] The council has invited "expressions of interest from individuals and organisations who can demonstrate that they can secure a sustainable use for this important building."[9]

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See also

References
  1. Central Birkenhead, Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, archived from the original on 16 December 2003, retrieved 31 March 2009
  2. Brocklebank, Ralph T. (2003), Birkenhead: An Illustrated History, Breedon Books, p. 38, ISBN 1-85983-350-0
  3. Wirral Museum (Birkenhead Town Hall), Wirral Learning Grid, archived from the original on 15 December 2003, retrieved 15 September 2007
  4. Wirral Museum, Culture 24, retrieved 31 March 2009
  5. The Former Birkenhead Town Hall: Building, archived from the original on 11 July 2011, retrieved 30 June 2010
  6. Wirral Archives Service, Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, archived from the original on 26 July 2010, retrieved 30 June 2010
  7. "Records of Cammell Laird and Co, Shipbuilders". National Archives. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  8. "Take a look inside Birkenhead town hall". Liverpool Echo. 30 December 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  9. Historic town hall goes on sale, BBC News, 8 May 2009, retrieved 3 June 2009
  10. Birkenhead’s historic former town hall "for sale", Wirral News, 13 May 2009, retrieved 3 June 2009
  11. Wanted: New owner for Birkenhead Town Hall, Wirral Globe, 8 May 2009, retrieved 3 June 2009
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