Talk report – Civic Splendour
August 2025 – Civic Splendour: The Story of Wiltshire’s old Town Halls – James Holden
Our speaker invited us to join him on a tour of some of the county’s finest town halls.
Town halls are a relatively recent addition to our townscapes. First came markets where folk bought and sold their produce. Next came assembly rooms where people, usually the upper echelons, came together socially. Local communities were administered by Town Commissioners, later Town Councillors and, as time progressed, by employees performing a range of duties. In addition, the law was upheld by the provision of courts according to the size and importance of specific communities.
An early ‘Town Hall’ may be seen at Wootton Bassett where the market is situated on the ground floor with columns supporting an assembly room above. This fine building, c. 1700, originally funded by a member of the nobility, has been through various restorations. In contrast, Melksham, a grand but later building was paid for by subscription. Calne’s town hall was completely rebuilt in 1886 without market provision but included a police station and, like several of its neighbours, an imposing clock tower.
A town hall arrived rather later in Trowbridge which already possessed a market hall (1861) and two good halls. Wealthy local clothier, Roger Brown, purchased a property adjacent to the Market Hall and funded the impressive town hall which was opened in 1889, two years after the intended commemoration of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. It is currently being restored to its former glory as a community facility, though not as a town hall.
Bradford on Avon’s dilapidated former town hall at the head of The Shambles was demolished after which the Swan Hotel provided a base for town meetings. Our present grand building, on the corner of Church and Market Streets, was opened in 1855. In addition to various offices it included an assembly room, a police station (essentially accommodation for police officers), a Mechanics Institute and space for a market (where the car park is currently situated). The police, fire service and market eventually quit the premises and, in 1954, the whole building was purchased by the Roman Catholic Church where the church itself now occupies the former assembly room.
Salisbury was originally under the ownership and control of the established church. Competition grew between the ecclesiastical and civilian authorities. Eventually, in 1795, the splendid Guild Hall was constructed, together with the Assizes, later poached, in part, by the ambitious denizens of Devizes.
Swindon experienced a similar tug of war between Old Town and New Town, the latter being a product of the arrival of the railway. Peace broke out in 1891 when a new town hall was opened on a site between the two communities though currently sadly unused. Following a major fire in Marlborough, a new building with market, assembly room and Quarter Sessions, was opened in 1793 followed, in 1902, by a new building with courts on the ground floor and an assembly room which vies with that of Salisbury as the more impressive, but no market.
James delivered a most interesting talk: when we visit Wiltshire’s towns in future we will surely take note of their town halls, once (and still?) proud symbols of their respective communities.
Note: James Holden is the author of several books featuring Wiltshire’s built heritage. These include ‘Testaments in Stone’ which describes the many nonconformist chapels of Bradford on Avon. It is published by the Museum, price £7.50.
Roger Jones