The Old Town Hall
“Gosh, all this dancing has tired me out. Oh yes, I am more than just a Town Hall don’t you know. Those large windows up there – that’s the Assembly Rooms. My, how the light would flood in during the day…helping the wise civic-minded men hold their meetings. But come the evening – that’s when I really lit up – when the good ladies and gentlemen of St Albans would dance the night away at balls and feasts…just like in a Jane Austen novel.
But there is more to me than fun and frivolity. I was also home to the court room which was used up until the 1960s. Oh yes… and below that are the cells for all those criminals awaiting their trials… it makes one shudder!
As the Town Hall, I served an important civic function and was where the Mayor was based – hence my grand façade – designed by architect George Smith, so I can reign like a Greek temple over the market place.
I’m having a bit of a facelift at the moment, but soon I will be an amazing museum and gallery, telling the history of this remarkable district and creating many new stories. There’s still life in the old girl yet!”
The audio clip is voiced by Cllr Annie Brewster.
To find out more about this building, click here to read the excerpt from the Conservation Plan that was undertaken in the planning stages for St Albans Museum + Gallery:
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