Guildhall, Bailey Head, Oswestry

In August 1890 Oswestry Town Council announced a competition for new municipal buildings with prizes of £50 and £20 The assessor was T M Lockwood of Chester and twenty-six designs were submitted. In November of that year, H A Cheers was awarded first premium but little is known of the other competitors save that an entry by W R Sugden and W C Atkinson was illustrated in the British Architect.Working drawings were commenced in February 1891 and tenders obtained in June. Cheers had estimated the cost as £6, 200 but the lowest tender amounted to £8,4. The Town Council paid H A Cheers off and in September 1891 forwarded the drawings to T H Lockwood for amendment. Not until August 1892 was the foundation stone finally laid.

OSWESTRY NEW MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS - At the monthly meeting of the Oswestry Town Council, held on the 1st inst., the Mayor (Mr. A. Wynne Corrie) presiding, it was agreed to submit the accepted plans of the new municipal buildings, designed by Mr. Cheers, of Twickenham, to the Library Committee, the Works Committee, the Standing County Joint Committee, and the county and borough magistrates, for suggestion. The estimated cost of the new buildings is £6,200. [Builder 6 December 1890 page 445]

MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS, OSWESTRY - The foundation-stone of the new Municipal Buildings at Oswestry, to be erected on the site of the old Guildhall on the Bailey Head, was laid by the Mayor (Mr. A. Wynne Corrie), on the 29th ult. The old bas-relief of St. Oswald, the patron saint of the town, which was on the pediment of the old Guildhall, will be introduced into the new edifice. The Municipal Buildings will include a central hall, Council-chamber, magistrates' and  County- court room; Town Clerk’s, Borough Surveyor’s, Magistrates’ Clerk’s, Assistant Overseer’s, and County-court offices; rooms for the Reference and Lending Libraries, and Schools of Science and Art, etc. The amount of the contract for the work is £8,597. The original architect was Mr. Cheers, of Twickenham, whose designs were selected in competition. Mr. T. M. Lockwood, of Chester, is the consulting architect. [Builder 13 August 1892 page 134]

OPENING OF THE OSWESTRY MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS BY THE EARL OF POWIS. - Monday must be regarded as a day of exceptional historical importance to the municipality of Oswestry, inasmuch as there was then opened by the Right Hon. the Earl of Powis, the new municipal buildings, which have been erected, partly by voluntary subscriptions and partly at the expense of the ratepayers, by Mr. W. H. Thomas, builder, Oswestry, from the plans of Mr. Cheers, of Twickenham, modified to better suit the requirements of the town by Mr. Lockwood, of Chester.

The buildings occupy the very inconvenient site with regard to levels occupied by the old Guildhall. The original plan of the building was selected in competition, and was arranged by Mr. Cheers, but it was found necessary to modify re-arrange the external elevations of the building. The elevations are in white Grinshill stone, and the design generally is of 17th century Renaissance, freely treated, with mullioned and transomed windows, filled in with lead lights. In the front gable of the Court room a carved replica of the seated figure of King Oswald has been introduced, being a careful copy of the bas-relief, which formed a conspicuous feature in the old Guildhall, but which was itself too dilapidated to be refixed. No doubt the old carving will be preserved by the Corporation, and placed in some sheltered position. Other ornaments are also introduced into the elevation, and a frieze over one of the ground floor windows bears the legend “Floreat Oswestria." The main entrance is from the Bailey Head, not far removed from the original entrance of the old building This entrance is seven feet wide, and leads to a well-lighted and capacious staircase hall, 32 feet 6 inches by 10 feet  9 inches, paved, as the remaining corridors are, with mosaic flowing of a good pattern, and well designed to reflect the light. The offices on the left of the main entrance are devoted to the Surveyor's rooms, consisting of public and private offices, with space for the public and a plan room. The right of the main entrance is occupied by a lavatory, with all the modern conveniences of sanitary science, and beyond this are fine offices for the Town Clerk, and the Finance Clerk, and in the former of which is the strong room for the storing of Corporation Muniments. The Council Chamber occupies the North-east corner of the building adjoining the Pitcher Bank. The room is a beautiful and commodious one, 723 feet in area. The walls and ceiling are panelled, and, in its arrangement, it was very properly thought that it would be well to use the fine carved mantel piece which recently occupied a place in the Court of the old Guildhall, and was removed thither from the Three Tuns Inn. It bears the date 1641 The room is well lighted by means of two fine east windows and a smaller north window, all filled with beautiful stained glass. The upper portion of the windows are filled with stained glass showing the arms of the borough and county, the seal of the borough, a seated figure of King Oswald occupying a prominent position. Returning to the hall, the main staircase leads up to the court room, magistrates' retiring room, magistrates’ office, and grand jury room. The Court Room, admirably lighted from the west, is a (illegible). At the end of the Court is the Public Gallery somewhat restricted in dimensions, with an approach from the Pitcher Bank. The dock is approached from a waiting room below, and the prisoners' entrance to the building is in Arthur-street. There are three separate entrances to the Court: one for the public, another for those officially engaged in Court, and another for magistrates and judges. The witnesses' and solicitors' room are within easy access of the Court across the corridor. The lending library, 428ft. area, has its entrance by means of a fine flight of steps from the lower end of the Pitcher Bank, and is placed in close proximity to the retiring room for the jury, which may be used as an additional reading room when not in use at session time. The access to the second floor is from the same entrance from the Pitcher Bank. This floor has a corridor and stair? leading to the reading room, reference library, and librarian's room, which are placed adjoining each other, with means of inspection and observation from the librarian's room. On the north-west of this floor the accommodation for the school of art is placed; it consists of an admirable drawing school, 800ft. in area, with north lights, and an art master's room, with means of observation there- from to the drawing school. These rooms have lavatories for male and female students, and all the rooms are separated from the reading-room corridor by folding doors. A science class room is provided on this floor and is distinct from the art room. The art and science rooms are arranged as- far as possible to conform with the rules issued by the South Kensington authorities. To return to the entrance hall, a pair of folding doors lead into a corridor, to right and left of which are the County Court offices, with also an entrance from Pitcher Bank. The basement floor is accessible from the Bailey Head, and comprises kitchen, pantry, scullery, and two bedrooms for the hall keeper's use, from which convenient access is provided direct to the main building overhead; an office is also provided in the basement for the water inspector, and ample provision is made for heating, cellarage, and storage of coals. Lavatory accommodation has been amply provided on every floor for each department. The warming and ventilating have also been specially considered, the offices generally having open fires, and the larger rooms an auxiliary system of pipes and coils so arranged as to warm the whole of the departments thoroughly. The ventilation has been carefully arranged, and for this purpose a special ventilating shaft is arranged, in which the iron flue from the heating apparatus is centrally. placed. This in- duces a powerful up-draught, and all the large rooms are specially connected with the ventilating shaft by air flues, calculated to remove the vitiated air as soon as it accumulates. The Court is warmed and ventilated in a similar manner, being sup- plied by fresh air over the various systems of pipes, the vitiated air being removed, as before named, by gratings and air flues in the upper portion of the court, The contractor is Mr. W. H. Thomas of Oswestry, who has carried out the work in a substantial and creditable manner, and the sub-contractors are—Heating and ventilating, Messrs. Haden and Son of Manchester; fire-proof flooring, Messrs. Shrigley and Hines, of Lancaster; Mosaic floors, Mr. G. Swift of Liverpool; carving, » Mr. Griffiths of Chester. The work has been carried out under the superintendence of the architects, Messrs. Thomas M. Lockwood and Sons of Chester, with Mr. John Jones as clerk of the works. It is a matter for some regret that the buildings should be opened before their completion, but it was considered appropriate that the ceremony should be performed during the Mayoralty of Mr. Wynne Corrie, as they were inaugurated during his Mayoralty. [Montgomery County Times 11 November 1893 page 2]

Reference        Builder 30 August 1890 page 177 – competition announced
Reference        November 1890 competition results
Reference        Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser 7 February 1891 page 8 - working drawings
Reference        Building News 16 May 1891 page 400 – contracts
Reference        Builder 13 August 1892 page 134 – foundation stone
Reference        Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser 6 August 1992 page 5 – foundation stone
Reference        Montgomery County Times and Shropshire Advertiser 11 November 1893 page 2
Reference        Buildings of England, Shropshire 2006