Horsham Town Hall

‘community heritage’

Page contents; John Bray’s appeal, history, acoustics, top room, and other features.

This letter from local artist John Bray appeared in the May edition of the Horsham Society Newsletter 2011. Mr Bray puts the Town Hall into context and underlines the reason why the supporters of the Blue Flash Music Trust feel that this iconic building has an enormous potential to offer not only the residents of Horsham but to people far beyond as well.

In the recent BBC documentary ‘VillageSOS’ (10 Aug 2011) on the rebuilding of the water mill in Talgarth, Wales, Sarah Beeny used the phrase ‘community heritage’, and, like the Talgarth Water Mill, the Horsham Town Hall has the potential to bring the

people of Horsham together as it has done in the past.

 

There has been a public building on the site of the Horsham Town Hall for the past six hundred years. At one time it would have been a wooden building with closed quarters on the first floor, and an open area on the ground floor for markets or for storage purposes.

There have been many rebuilds. In Shakespeare’s time the Town Hall was built in stone, and in 1721 the Lords, Eversfield and Ingram, had it rebuilt in portland stone and gifted it to the people of Horsham.
   Unfortunately the rebuilds proved to be of not such great quality, so in 1812 it was rebuilt in sandstone by the then Duke of Norfolk.  However, the roof let in so much rain, that the judges became convinced that the floor would give way under them. Then in 1888 came the final big building phase, which is what makes up the Town Hall as it stands today. The only part that dates from 1812 to survive the rebuilding of 1888 is the front.

   The hall has been used for many different and varied purposes over hundreds of years; as a bank, concert venue, theatre, market, meetings, courts etc.


A Trust supporter recently found this entry in the Horsham Blue Book published 1939 showing how busy the Town Hall was in those days.


Town Hall; Sessions and Justices rooms, Headquarters Independent Order of Oddfellows, Ancient Order of Foresters, Freeman Hardy and Willis ltd.

Town Hall Chambers; National Provincial Bank Ltd, Inland Revenue Office, Customs Excise and Old Age Pensions Office, Hilton, Sharpe and Clark chartered and incorporated accountants

The barn at Waterperry gardens, above, is the kind of building that would have been familiar to Catherine Howard, the future Queen, when she lived at Chesworth in the 16th Century.

Drawing of the Town Hall, in about 1750 then built

in Portland Stone.

Drawing of the hall 27th August 1860

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   A vision of what is possible where buildings such as the Horsham Town Hall is concerned is set out in this extract from Francis Maude's weekly Francis' Footnote in an edition of the West Sussex County Times some years ago;

 

‘St Mary's in Sittingbourne is a deconsecrated church right in the heart of Bournemouth's most deprived area. It is a major community centre serving thousands of families that currently lacks basic facilities. And this is a community that needs facilities more than most. So over this week we've been working with the community to transform it into a self-sustaining centre; with space for local charities, an arts studio, a neighbourhood kitchen and a venue for conferences, exhibitions and drama productions.    It's a project inspired by local people, volunteer-run and entrepreneurial. It’s taken a lot of work-painting, cleaning, and building. Even from me! On Tuesday I spent the whole morning painting and cleaning. I got so caught up in the job that I had to speak on the conference platform in painting clothes. There were loads of people helping-David Cameron and other Shadow Cabinet members, volunteers and even a journalist or two! Local MP, Tobias Elwood, organised the whole deal, and now his local community will be reaping rewards for years to come.’