Rotherham Town Hall

File: The Old Town Hall - geograph.org.uk - 464180.jpg

The first town hall in Rotherham, which acted as a public meeting place, a venue for the quarters sessions and also the home of the town's grammar school, was financed by the local feoffees and opened in the Market Place in 1743.{{cite web|url=http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/6757/1/549257.pdf|pages=429–432|title=The Provision of Public Buildings in the West Riding of Yorkshire c.1600–1840|first=Kevin|last=Grady|publisher=University of Leeds|date=1 January 1980|access-date=15 November 2020}} This was replaced by a second town hall, which also acted as a local courthouse: it was again financed by the feoffees and opened on a site "near the old college" in 1826.{{cite web|url=https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/WRY/Rotherham/Rotherham37|title= White's History, gazetteer and directory of the West Riding of Yorkshire|year= 1837|access-date=16 November 2020}}

A third town hall, which once more acted as a courthouse and incorporated assembly rooms, opened in Howard Street in 1853 and was then remodelled to a design by a Mr Lovell in 1897.{{NHLE|desc=Town hall including county juvenile court, town hall assembly rooms and Number 33 Effingham Street|num=1314622|access-date=15 November 2020}}{{efn|After the third town hall ceased its municipal functions, it was sold to a developer and was subsequently converted for use as a shopping centre.{{cite web|url=http://www.rothbiz.co.uk/2016/06/news-4902-rotherham-town-centre.html|title=Rotherham Town Centre Properties Under the Hammer|date=23 June 2016|publisher=Rotherham Business News|access-date=15 November 2020}}{{cite web|url=http://www.visitoruk.com/Rotherham/old-town-hall-I2104.html|title=Old Town Hall|publisher=Visitor UK|access-date=15 November 2020}}}}

After deciding that the third town hall was no longer adequate for their needs, civic leaders at Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council decided to acquire a fourth building: the building they selected was located in the Crofts which had originally formed part of the town's old cattle market in the 19th century.{{cite web|url=http://sytimescapes.org.uk/zones/rotherham/R10|title=Complex Historic Town Core|publisher=South Yorkshire Historic Environment Characterisation| access-date=15 November 2020}} The building, which had been designed in the neoclassical style and built in white Portland stone, had opened as the West Riding County Courthouse in 1929.{{cite web|url=https://www.rotherham.gov.uk/downloads/file/642/archaeology-scoping-study-2014-79972-|page=7|title=Rotheram Local Plan: Archaeology Scoping Study of Additional Potential Site Allocations|date=9 June 2014|publisher=Rotherham Council|access-date=15 November 2020}}

The design for the courthouse involved a symmetrical main frontage with fifteen bays facing onto Moorgate Street; the central section of seven bays, which slightly projected forward and was taller than the rest of the building, featured five round headed windows on the ground floor flanked by two doorways each flanked by Doric order columns supporting pediments (one doorway for the nisi prius court and one for the Crown Court); there were three round headed windows on the first floor: the building had also incorporated a police station.{{cite web|url=http://www.rothbiz.co.uk/2017/07/news-court-date-with-wrecking-ball-nears.html|title=Court date with wrecking ball nears|publisher=Rotherham Business News|date=14 July 2017|access-date=15 November 2020}} The old courthouse was acquired by the council for the use as their meeting place in May 1985.{{cite web|url=http://www.visitoruk.com/Rotherham/town-hall-I2112.html|title=Town Hall|publisher=Visitor UK|access-date=15 November 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.donvalleyway.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Rotherham-1-.pdf|title=Rotherham Town Circular Walk|publisher=Don Valley Way|page=4|access-date=16 November 2020}}

Following a protracted procurement process, the magistrates' new facilities at the Statutes, off Main Street, eventually became available and they were able to vacate the building in May 1994.{{cite web|url=https://www.usablebuildings.co.uk/UsableBuildings/Unprotected/Probe/RMC/RMCDegraded.pdf|title=Rotherham Magistrates' Court|publisher=Usable Buildings|access-date=16 November 2020}} A cannon, manufactured by Samuel Walker & Company in Masbrough and recovered from use on a naval vessel, was installed outside the building in 1995.{{cite web|url=http://cannons.yolasite.com/don-scotts-excellent-article-on-the-walker-cannons.php|title=Walker Cannon|publisher=Rotherhams Cannon Heritage Society|access-date=16 November 2020}}

In the mid-1990s, civic leaders initiated a programme of works to convert the old courthouse into a town hall.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/8425529.stm|title=

Town hall closes for nine months|publisher=BBC|date=16 November 2020|access-date=16 November 2020}} Internally, the principal rooms created by these works were the council chamber, the mayor's suite and the committee rooms.{{cite web|url=https://www.accessable.co.uk/rotherham-metropolitan-borough-council/rotherham-metropolitan-borough-council/access-guides/rotherham-town-hall|title=Rotherham Town Hall|publisher={{Notatypo|Acces|sAble}}|access-date=15 November 2020}} A further programme of works to update and refurbish the facilities was carried out during 2010. A plaque to commemorate the nomination of Mary Maclagen as the town's first woman councillor was unveiled in the town hall in December 2018.{{cite news|url=https://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/news/plaque-unveileda-groundbreaking-rotherham-councillor-who-paved-way-womens-rights-town-194536|title=Plaque unveiled for ground-breaking Rotherham councillor who paved way for women's rights in the town|work=Sheffield Telegraph|date=6 December 2018|access-date=16 November 2020}}

• Listed buildings in Rotherham (Boston Castle Ward)

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Category:Buildings and structures in Rotherham

Category:City and town halls in South Yorkshire

Category:Government buildings completed in 1929