Public Hall

About Public Hall

The Public Hall was designed in 1900 by the architect J. P. Alison and completed in 1901 in a style described in a contemporary journal as “an adaptation of the later Renaissance period”. The Public Hall was designed to replace the town’s Corn Exchange, which had burned down in 1898. The Hall can accommodate around 800 people. Below ground level, two rooms from an old malt barn remain. The malt barn at one time served as the town armoury. The Hall itself is quite grand with a barrel vaulted ceiling supported by pilasters and ornamental scrolled brackets, called consoles. There is a gallery supported on cast iron columns, providing further seating for the public.