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Revision as of 23:58, 20 December 2024 by Dormskirk (talk | contribs) (add infobox, some details and extra citations)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Municipal Building in Whitland, Wales
| Whitland Town Hall | |
|---|---|
| Native name Neuadd y Dref Hendy-gwyn (Welsh) | |
 The building in May 2015 | |
| Location | King Edward Street, Whitland |
| Coordinates | 51°49′07″N 4°36′55″W / 51.8187°N 4.6153°W / 51.8187; -4.6153 |
| Built | 1904 |
| Architectural style(s) | Vernacular style |
  Shown in Carmarthenshire | |
Whitland Town Hall (Welsh: Neuadd y Hendy-gwyn) is a municipal building located on King Edward Street in Whitland in Carmarthenshire in Wales. The structure is currently used as the offices and meeting place of Whitland Town Council.
History
The building was commissioned for retail and industrial use by the Whitland Industrial Co-operative Society. The site they selected was on the corner of King Edward Street and Cross Street on the south side of the town, just to the north of Whitland railway station. The rail connection was important as the local co-operative society's activities included dispatching milk from local farms via the local railway station in railway milk tankers to outlets throughout London.
The building was designed in the Vernacular style, built in brick with a cement render finish and was completed in 1904. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of three bays facing onto King Edward Street. The central bay featured a doorway, flanked by a pair of iron columns supporting a timber canopy. There were shop fronts on either side of the doorway. The first and second floors were both fenestrated by casement windows and there was a single casement window at attic level in the gable above. The ground floor was originally used by the Whitland Industrial Cooperative Society as a shop and the first floor was made available for public meetings. The whole structure became known as the Town Hall Buildings.
The ground floor was later used as a butcher's shop. In 1951, its upper floor was converted for use as the Coliseum cinema, and the remainder was converted into a staff and social club. In 1964, the social club took over the cinema and converted it into a bingo hall. The building was not used for municipal purposes at that time: although the local authority for the area, Whitland Rural District Council was named after the town, the council established its offices at Market Square in Narberth, rather than at the Town Hall Buildings. Similarly, the local parish council for Whitland was based on St Mary Street rather than at the Town Hall Buildings. However, the building was acquired by an independent board of trustees, so that it could be managed on behalf of the community, in 1973, and the board was registered as a charity in 1979.
The building was then refurbished in 1992, to provide a small library on the ground floor, a main hall able to seat 200 people, and a mayoral parlour in which meetings of the successor body to the parish council, Whitland Town Council, could be held. It has since also become the location for the food bank for local people in financial difficulty.
References
- "Ordnance Survey May". 1900. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- Stratton, Michael; Trinder, Barrie (2014). Twentieth Century Industrial Archaeology. Taylor & Francis. p. 52. ISBN 978-1136748011.
- Annual Co-operative Congress. Co-operative Union. 1916. p. 193. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- Reports of the Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies. Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies. 1918. p. 56.
- "No. 33827". The London Gazette. 20 May 1932. p. 3285.
- "No. 45072". The London Gazette. 3 April 1970. p. 3791.
- "Whitland Town Hall". The Charity Commission. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- "Whitland Town Hall shows its versatility". Tenby Observer. 12 August 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- "Whitland Town Hall, Whitland". Carmarthenshire Community Halls. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- "Coliseum Theatre". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- "Whitland Town Hall Community Food Bank". Carmarthenshire County Council. Retrieved 20 December 2024.