Kirton in Holland Town Hall

Kirton in Holland Town Hall is a municipal building in Station Road in Kirton, Lincolnshire, England. The structure is currently used as a community events venue and as the meeting place of Kirton Parish Council.

Kirton in Holland Town Hall
Kirton in Holland Town Hall
LocationStation Road, Kirton, Lincolnshire
Coordinates52°55′39″N 0°03′24″W / 52.9275°N 0.0566°W / 52.9275; -0.0566
Built1912
ArchitectHenry Kidd
Architectural style(s)Châteauesque style
Kirton in Holland Town Hall is located in Lincolnshire
Kirton in Holland Town Hall
Shown in Lincolnshire

History edit

 
Statue of William Dennis

The town hall was commissioned and paid for by a local potato businessman, William Dennis, to commemorate the Coronation of George V and Mary.[1] The site he chose for the new building was open land on the south side of Station Road.[2] The foundation stone for the new building was laid in 1911.[3] It was designed by Henry Kidd in the Châteauesque style, built in red brick and was officially opened by Baroness von Eckardstein[a] in August 1912.[5]

The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with seven bays facing onto Station Road. The central bay, which slightly projected forward, featured a two-stage tower; there was a doorway flanked by pilasters supporting a foundation stone and a pediment in the first stage, two small pedimented windows in the second stage and a mansard roof and an iron crown above.[6] The second bays on both sides were fenestrated by pedimented bay windows while the other bays were fenestrated by pedimented sash windows. The building was subsequently extended with a four-bay extension to the left and a single bay extension to the right. Internally, the principal rooms were the main assembly hall and a smaller reception room, known as the Upsall Room, which became the meeting place of Kirton Parish Council.[7]

A statue to commemorate the life of the benefactor, William Dennis, was designed by Philip Lindsey Clark and was unveiled in front of the town hall in 1930.[8][9][10]

The Upsall Room and the entrance hall were refurbished in the early 21st century and the management of the town hall was transferred to a committee of local residents and users which was registered as a charity in 2007.[11][12] A recipe book was published by the town hall management committee in June 2011 to commemorate the centenary of the completion of the town hall.[13][14]

Notes edit

  1. ^ Baroness von Eckardstein was the daughter of the furniture businessman, Sir John Blundell Maple, and the wife of the local member of parliament, Sir Archibald Weigall.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ "Kirton". Visitoruk.com. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1885. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  3. ^ Foundation stone above the front door (Stone). 1911.
  4. ^ "Weigall, Sir William Ernest George Archibald (1874–1952)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Timeline History of Boston". Visitoruk.com. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  6. ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus; Harris, John; Antram, Nicholas (1989). Lincolnshire (Buildings of England Series). Yale University Press. p. 421. ISBN 978-0300096200.
  7. ^ "Parish Council Meeting Agenda". Kirton Parish Council. 23 November 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  8. ^ Historic England. "Statue to William Dennis, in front of Kirton Town Hall, Station Road (1165276)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  9. ^ "Philip Lindsey Clark". Glasgow - City of Sculpture. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  10. ^ Lindsey Clark, Philip. "William Dennis (1841–1924)". Art UK. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Kirton Parish Plan". Kirton News Online. 1 October 2007. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  12. ^ "Kirton Town Hall Management Committee". Charities Commission. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  13. ^ "Kirton Town Hall Recipe Book". Heritage Lincolnshire. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  14. ^ Kirton Town Hall Recipe Book. Kirton Town Hall Management Committee. 2011. ISBN 978-1849835510.