The
Town
Hall
MARKET
DEEPING
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The town hall has been the centre of
local affairs for centuries, an imposing building which usually houses the
city or town council and its associated departments and their employees.
It also usually functions as the official headquarters of the mayor and
the place where council meetings are held together with other significant
events.
Most of our larger towns have one and those which exist in the less
populated areas of rural England may be regarded as a sign of the pride which the people felt in the management of their affairs which was
sufficient to finance such a venture.
A town hall is recorded in Market Deeping as early as 1563 when it was
also used as a court house but new premises on the same site were proposed
in the early 19th century and members of the public were invited to help
foot the bill. Thirty-nine substantial subscriptions were received, the
biggest being £20 each from the rector, the Rev William Hillyard, and
local businessman William Goodale, totalling £285 in all. Many smaller
contributions were also made and the new building, described by a local
newspaper as "a neat structure", was erected in 1839 at a cost of £320
[£37,000 at today’s values], a remarkable expenditure for a market town
with a population then of 1,219 [1841 census].
It stands on the north side of the market place and was designed in the
Tudor Gothic style by the Bourne architect Thomas Pilkington (1799-1889)
and built of limestone with ashlar quoins and a Collyweston slate roof.
The building also has a single gable and leaded lights while inside there
is a baluster staircase with a curved handrail leading to offices situated
over a ground floor waiting room.
The Town Hall has been in continual use ever since and was Grade II listed
as being of architectural interest in 1987. In the early years, felons
were kept in the cells below the building until the police station opened across the road in 1880.
Local organisations have also taken advantage of the premises over the
years, the Market Deeping Literary Institute meeting there from 1848 and
using the upper room for reading and games, while the town’s Social Club
rented the same space in 1909 but most importantly, the parish council,
now the town council, has been holding meetings there since it was formed
by the Local Government Act of 1894.
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