Old Town Hall

The Old Town Hall in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, England, was a municipal building on the south side of the High Street. It was commissioned by the Rickmansworth Town Hall Company, a group of local businessmen formed in the mid-1860s, on a site donated by the lord of the manor, John Saunders Gilliat. Designed by Arthur Thomas Allom in the Gothic Revival style, it was built in red brick with Bath stone dressings at a cost of £1,200 and officially opened in December 1869. The building served as a venue for dances, concerts, lectures, and meetings of the Penny Reading Society. In 1896 an inquiry was held there into establishing an urban district, and the first meeting of Rickmansworth Urban District Council took place at the hall on 16 April 1898. In 1912 the assembly hall was converted into a 300-seat cinema known as the Electric Picture Playhouse, later renamed the Electric Palace, which closed in 1927. The council relocated to Basing House in 1930. The auditorium and the upper part of the town hall facade were later demolished; the lower facade was altered into two shop fronts, and a two-storey office block was built on the site of the auditorium. The ground floor remains in retail use.

In the mid-1860s, a group of local businessmen formed the Rickmansworth Town Hall Company to finance and commission a town hall for the town. They selected a site on the south side of the High Street, previously occupied by the old Market Hall, which had become dilapidated. The site was donated to the directors by the lord of the manor, John Saunders Gilliat, whose residence was at The Cedars in Rickmansworth. The new building was designed by Arthur Thomas Allom (1829–1895) of Westminster in the Gothic Revival style, built in red brick with Bath stone dressings at a cost of £1,200, and officially opened in December 1869. The design featured a symmetrical two-bay frontage on the High Street, with an arched doorway, casement windows, and a stepped gable. Inside, the principal room was an assembly hall, 56 feet long and 27 feet wide, with a hammerbeam roof, used for dances, concerts, lectures, and monthly meetings of the Penny Reading Society. In February 1896 an inquiry was held at the hall to consider establishing an urban district; the proposal went ahead, and the first meeting of Rickmansworth Urban District Council was held there on 16 April 1898. In 1912 the assembly hall was converted into an auditorium for use as a cinema called the Electric Picture Playhouse, with a capacity of 300 people. It was later renamed the Electric Palace but closed as a cinema in 1927. The urban district council relocated to Basing House, the former home of William Penn on the north side of the High Street, in 1930. The auditorium behind the old town hall was later demolished, along with the upper part of the town hall facade. The lower part of the facade was altered to create two shop fronts, and a two-storey office block was built on the site of the auditorium behind. The ground floor is now in retail use.

• Rickmansworth Town Hall Company formed by local businessmen.

• New town hall officially opened in December 1869.

• Inquiry held at the hall in February 1896 to consider establishing an urban district.

• First meeting of Rickmansworth Urban District Council held at the Town Hall on 16 April 1898.

• Assembly hall converted into a 300-seat cinema, the Electric Picture Playhouse, in 1912.

• Cinema closed in 1927.

• Urban district council relocated to Basing House in 1930.

• Auditorium and upper facade demolished; lower facade converted to shop fronts and office block built behind.

1. 1Old Town Hall, Rickmansworth - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Old Town Hall - Wikidatawikidata.org