| Northampton Guildhall | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Northampton, Northamptonshire |
| Coordinates | 52°14′14″N0°53′41″W / 52.23722°N 0.89472°W /52.23722; -0.89472 |
| Built | 1864 |
| Architect | Edward William Godwin |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival style |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Designated | 19 January 1952 |
| Reference no. | 1052399 |
.svg)  Location of Northampton Guildhall in Northamptonshire | |
Northampton Guildhall is a municipal building in St Giles' Square inNorthampton, England. It is a Grade II*listed building.[1]
The first guildhall in Northampton was a 12th-century building at the junction of Gold Street and Horsemarket.[2] The second guildhall was an early 14th-centurybattlemented structure at the corner of Abington Street and Wood Hill; it was sold in 1864 and subsequently demolished.[2][3]
The current building, the third guildhall, designed byEdward William Godwin[4] in theGothic Revival style, was officially opened on 17 May 1864.[5] The original part of the building was symmetrical with three first-floor windows either side of the main entrance,[6] above which rose a clock tower with a steeply pitched roof.[1] The clock, byJ. Moore & Sons of Clerkenwell, was installed in 1867,[7] along with a hemispherical bell to strike the hours.[8]
The building was extended to the west to the designs of A W Jeffrey and Matthew Holding in 1892, creating a frontage of 14 bays with arcading on the ground floor and windows above on the first floor.[1] The sculptor R.L. Bolton was commissioned to design 14 statues of monarchs and other famous people which were erected on the front elevation between the windows on the first floor.[5] A modern extension to the east, built to accommodate the expanding office needs ofNorthampton Borough Council, was completed in 1992.[5]
Inside, thegreat hall displays murals of famous local men, painted byColin Gill in 1925.[4] It also contains murals ofThe Muses Contemplating Northampton, painted byHenry Bird in 1949.[9][10] A statue bySir Francis Chantrey ofSpencer Perceval,Member of Parliament for Northampton and the onlyBritish Prime Minister to have been assassinated, was originally unveiled in 1817 and is also on display inside.[1][11]
A plaque on the eastern extension marks the fact thatDiana, Princess of Wales, was made aFreeman of the Borough of Northampton in 1989, marking her and her family's strong connections with the town and withAlthorp where she was brought up and is buried. The plaque below the memorial reads: "The memorial above was unveiled by the9th Earl Spencer in memory of his sister, 7 November 2002 in the presence of theMayor of Northampton, Michael Geoffrey Boss".[12]
A series of bronze statues of Northampton's "history makers", cast by the sculptor Richard Austin, were unveiled in July 2017 within the courtyard of the 1992 extension.[13]
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Media related toNorthampton Guildhall at Wikimedia Commons
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