Luton Town Hall#Destruction in the Peace Day Riots
{{Short description|Municipal building in Luton, Bedfordshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name =Luton Town Hall
| native_name =
| image =File:Luton Town Hall and War Memorial (01).jpg
| caption =The current Town Hall, from George Street, Luton
| locmapin =Bedfordshire
| map_caption =Shown in Bedfordshire
| coordinates ={{coord|51.8799|-0.4178|type:landmark_region:GB-LUT|display=inline,title}}
| location =George Street, Luton
| area =
| built =1936
| architect =Bradshaw Gass & Hope
| architecture =neoclassical style
| governing_body =
| designation1 =Grade II Listed Building
| designation1_offname =
| designation1_date =27 August 1998
| designation1_number =1376193
| website=
}}
Luton Town Hall is a building at the junction between Manchester Street, Upper George Street and George Street, Luton, England; the current building was completed in 1936 on the site of the older Town Hall, which was burnt down on 19 July 1919, following the Peace Day Riots. The current hall, which is the headquarters of Luton Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.{{NHLE|desc=Luton Town Hall|num=1376193|access-date=10 April 2020}}
History
=First town hall=
The original Town Hall was built in the classical style with Doric columns supporting a frieze designed by Luton architects John Williams and Sons in 1846 and was built for a total cost excluding the purchasing of the land for £2,200.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=20IuAAAAMAAJ|title=The History of Luton |first=Frederick |last=Davis |publisher=J. Wiseman|year= 1855| page=165}} In 1856 a small tower and clock was added in commemoration of the Crimean War.{{cite web|url=http://bedsarchives.bedford.gov.uk/CommunityArchives/Luton/InterestingbuildingsinLuton/LutonTownHall-TheOldBuilding.aspx|title=Luton Town Hall – The Old Building|publisher=Bedfordshire Archives|access-date=10 April 2020}} It was built by the Town Hall Company to hold public meetings and entertainment in the town and was only brought into public ownership by the Luton Local Board of Health in 1874. The building became the headquarters of Luton Borough Council after it succeeded the Local Board of Health in 1876.{{cite web|url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10133580|title=Luton MB/CB|publisher=Vision of Britain|access-date=25 April 2022}}
On Peace Day, 19 July 1919, a crowd of ex-servicemen assembled, unhappy with unemployment and other grievances.{{cite web|url=http://libcom.org/history/1919-the-luton-riots |title=The Luton riots, 1919|publisher=Lib.com|access-date=10 April 2020}} The riot started after members of the council arrived to read out the proclamation of peace and many in the crowd expressed their disapproval.{{cite web|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/all-notices/content/100215|title=This month in history: Peace Day, July 1919|work=London Gazette|access-date=19 July 2020}} Tension boiled over into violence and a number of protesters broke through the police line and forcibly entered the town hall. Shortly after a number of violent clashes took place, with the town hall being stormed by the crowd and eventually set on fire.[http://www.aftermathww1.com/peaceday.asp Peace Day – 19 July 1919] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611041355/http://www.aftermathww1.com/peaceday.asp |date=11 June 2011 }}, aftermathww1.com; accessed 19 July 2015.
Order was eventually restored to the town by midnight on 19 July, but the fire brigade were unable to extinguish the fire and by the next morning the town hall was little more than ruins. The remains of the building were demolished in August 1919 and the statue "Peace", which was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield and inscribed with the names of dead servicemen from the First World War, was unveiled in 1922.{{cite web|url=http://www.worldwar1luton.com/object/three-designs-luton-war-memorial|title=Three designs for Luton War Memorial|publisher=World War I Luton|access-date=10 April 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.dunstabletoday.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/retro/war-memorial-unveiled-14-years-town-hall-2307793|title=War memorial unveiled 14 years before town hall|publisher=Dunstable Today|date=15 January 2014|access-date=10 April 2020}} Following the destruction of the building the town's administration was carried out from the Carnegie library.{{cite web|url=http://www.worldwar1luton.com/event/riot-1919-mayor-impey-back-luton|title=Riot 1919: Mayor Impey back in Luton|publisher=World War I Luton|access-date=10 April 2020}}
=Second town hall=
The original site offered the best location in the town for a replacement town hall and in 1930, a competition was held for designs for the new town hall: there were 86 entries to the competition. The competition was won by Bradshaw Gass & Hope from Bolton with a neoclassical style design incorporating Art Deco features. It was built with a steel frame and clad in grey Portland stone and was officially opened by The Duke of Kent on 28 October 1936.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bebRDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT124|title=Luton in 50 Buildings|first= Paul |last=Rabbitts|publisher=Amberley Publishing|year=2020|isbn= 978-1445692814}} Many of the interior features were designed to recall images from the town's coat of arms, which was carved in stone above the main entrance, the bee, the wheatsheaf, the rose and the thistle. The new clock and bells were manufactured by Gillett & Johnston of Croydon; the hour bell installed was the heaviest in the county, weighing approximately two tonnes.{{cite web |title=Commissions |url=https://www.gillettjohnston.co.uk/about/commissions/ |website=Gillett & Johnston |access-date=13 April 2023}}[http://www.discoverbedfordshire.co.uk/article.php?issueopen=5&id=37 Discover Bedfordshire article on Luton Town Hall] by [http://blackthumb.org.uk Robert Farrow] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070704155026/http://blackthumb.org.uk/ |date=4 July 2007 }}
During the Second World War, the clock tower was camouflaged to protect it during air raids as the bright white stonework would have been highly visible from the air.{{cite web|url=http://virtual-library.culturalservices.net/webingres/bedfordshire/vlib/0.digitised_resources/bedfordshire_buildings.pdf|title=Bedfordshire Historic Buildings and Monuments|publisher=Bedfordshire Libraries|access-date=10 April 2020}} The town hall continued to serve as the headquarters of the borough council for much of the 20th century and remained a meeting place for the enlarged Luton Borough Council which was formed in 1974.{{cite book|title=Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70|publisher=The Stationery Office Ltd|isbn=0-10-547072-4|year=1997}} During the 1980s an extension was built on Manchester Street to provide additional office space.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-23159343|title='Grave doubts' over Luton Town Hall's £5m makeover|date=3 July 2013|publisher=BBC|access-date=10 April 2020}}
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- D. Craddock, (1999) Where They Burnt the Town Hall Down: Luton, the First World War and the Peace Day Riots of July 1919, Book Castle, {{ISBN|1-871199-86-7}}
- J. G. Dony, (1978) The 1919 Peace Riots in Luton, Bedfordshire Historical Record Society, volume 57, 205–233.
External links
{{Commons category}}
- [http://www.culturalhistories.org/luton-peace-riots/ 2019 events to commemorate the centenary of the Peace Day riots]
{{Luton}}
Category:Government buildings completed in 1846
Category:Government buildings completed in 1936
Category:Listed buildings in Luton
Category:City and town halls in Bedfordshire
Category:Grade II listed buildings in Bedfordshire
Category:1919 riots in the United Kingdom