Barnsley Town Hall

Barnsley Town Hall is the seat of local government in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. It is a Grade II listed building.[1]

Barnsley Town Hall
Barnsley Town Hall
LocationBarnsley
Coordinates53.5542°N 1.4827°W / 53.5542; -1.4827
Built1933
ArchitectSir Arnold Thornely
Architectural style(s)Classical style
Websitewww.barnsley.gov.uk
Listed Building – Grade II
Designated13 January 1986
Reference no.1151143
Shown in South Yorkshire

History

The town hall was designed by Sir Arnold Thornely in the classical style.[1] The foundation stone was laid on 21 April 1932 and was opened by Edward, Prince of Wales, on 14 December 1933.[1] The cost of construction of the town hall and of furnishing the new seat of local government in Portland stone was £188,037 12/10d. George Orwell, in his book The Road to Wigan Pier, was highly critical of this expenditure, and said that the council should have spent the money on improving the housing and living conditions of the local miners.[2]

The war memorial in front of the building, which predates the town hall, was sculpted by John Tweed and was unveiled at a ceremony attended by General Sir Charles Harington on 11 October 1925.[3]

In June 2013, Experience Barnsley, a museum dedicated to the history of the town and its people, moved from the old Central Library into a part of the town hall, which was designated the Experience Barnsley Museum and Discovery Centre.[4]

See also
  • List of Mayors of Barnsley

References
  1. Historic England. "Town Hall including attached railings (1151143)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  2. Orwell, George (2015). A Kind Of Compulsion: 1903 - 1936. Secker. p. 558. ISBN 978-1846559457. total cost of new Town hall was £148,697 and was incurred at a time when the town admittedly needed over 2000 houses, not to mention public baths.
  3. "Barnsley". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  4. "Barnsley Archives and Local Studies achieves national accreditation". Experience Barnsley. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
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