Old Town Hall

Old Town Hall: The Town Hall is the only remaining evidence to the one-time importance of Newtown. Built of brick with stone dressings, it stands on the foundations of an earlier building. It was built and paid for by public subscription in around 1699. The architect is unknown but various features such as the round headed windows, the stone dressings and the interior panelling point to such a date. The stone walls and windows of the basement formed part of the previous building, while the Gothick fenestration and four columned portico on the North front were probably added around the end of the l8th century. One of the last acts of the old corporation before it was dissolved was a restoration of the Town Hall in 1813, at a cost of £443.

After the dissolution of the council, it became a school, then a house and then an ivy clad ruin. In the 1930's a group called Ferguson's Gang, a group of anonymous individuals with names such as Bill Stickers, Shot Biddy and Sister Agatha, who were dedicated to halting sprawling development and preserving England's heritage puchased it (for £5) and an adjoining field (for £100). It was then restored at an estimated cost of £1000 and given to the National Trust. It is now open to the public. .

For more information about Old Town Hall, please contact 01983 741302, or see event details on the left.

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