The Chester Town Hall is an amazing building that really captures the mind through its historical appeal and wonderful architecture. The Chester Town Hall is also a huge symbol of the city and a much loved building by the people of the city.
The Town Hall is a Grade II Listed building and has an interesting history attached to its inception and the architecture of the building seen today.
History of Chester Town Hall
In 1698 an exchange was built to house the city administrators. This building stood in Chester, for two hundred years, until the year 1862 when it burnt down.
The city of Chester was sad at the loss of its iconic administrative building so a competition was held for someone to win the project of building a new and improved city hall that would help bring the city to life.
The winner of this competition was won by William Henry Lynn, an architect from Belfast. William Henry Lynn had £40,000 to play with to make his design come to life. To put this into perspective this would be around £2.75 million today.
The building was complete by 1869 and was opened to a huge fanfare on the 15 October 1869 by the Prince of Wales; who later became King Edward VII with the famous Prime Minister of the time William E. Gladstone in attendance.
In 1897 tragedy struck again when the building suffered fire damage to the second floor, this was repaired. In 1979 a clock was also added to the town hall.
The Chester Town Hall Building
The interior of the Chester Town Hall is a grand affair – as you walk through the front door you enter the waiting hall which is a large area with a high ceiling. The waiting hall also boasts busts of George V and Sir Horatio Lloyd and three sculptures of minstrels.
Further into the Town Hall there is a war memorial remembering the 768 men of Chester who gave their lives during the First World War and another memorial for those who fought and died during World War Two.
Chester Town Hall Today
Today the Chester Town Hall is used for wedding ceremonies and many of the rooms for hire. The council doesn’t actually use the building much as they moved to an adjacent building but the town hall has been kept as a council building as it is a huge symbol of Chester as a city.
Address:
Chester Town Hall
Northgate Street,
Chester,
Cheshire
CH1 2HJ
Related News:
Chester Town Hall not currently available for commercial hire
- Cheshire West and Chester Council
See also:
Places of Interest: Chester
Places of Interest: Liverpool
Places of Interest: Newcastle upon Tyne
Places of Interest: York
Places of Interest: Leeds
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