Gloucester Guildhall

The original town hall, known as "the Tolsey" meaning "town hall", was a 15th century building located on the corner of Westgate Street and Southgate Street.[2] It was rebuilt in the neo-classical style in 1751 but was inadequate for the needs of civic leaders by the late 19th century.[2]

The site chosen for the new building had previously been occupied by Sir Thomas Rich's house, the initial home of Sir Thomas Rich's School,[3] but had become vacant when the school moved to the site of the former Crypt School in Barton Street in 1889.[4]

The new building, which was designed by George H Hunt in the French Renaissance style, was completed in 1892.[1] The exterior design involved five bays with an entrance flanked by pilasters on the ground floor; there were five french doors with fanlights interspersed by four Ionic order pilasters together with a central stone balcony on the first floor; there were three circular windows with a moulded architrave above them on the second floor and vases were erected at roof level.[1] Internally, the principal rooms on the first floor were the main hall and the council chamber.[1] Works of art contained in the guildhall included a silver gilt roundel dated 1563 bearing the arms of Sir Thomas Bell, a former mayor of Gloucester.[5]

King Edward VII visited the guildhall on 23 June 1909[6] before departing for the Royal Agricultural Show at the Oxlease Showground on Alney Island.[7] The guildhall also received a visit by the Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by Duke of Edinburgh, to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the granting of the city's charter by King Henry II, on 3 May 1955.[8][9]

For much of the 20th century the guildhall was the meeting place of the county borough of Gloucester; it continued to be the local seat of government following the formation of the enlarged Gloucester City Council in 1974.[10] However, in 1985 the council decided to move their meeting place to a converted warehouse at Gloucester Docks.[2]

The ground floor was converted into offices in 1987; a lease on the floor was taken by a branch of Cheltenham & Gloucester which, in September 2013, evolved into a branch of TSB Bank.[11] Meanwhile, on the upper floors, an arts centre was established; the council chamber was converted into a cinema with capacity to seat 100 people in 1991, while the main hall, which has a capacity to seat 400 people, is still available for public use.[1][12] The rock band, EMF, recorded a video of their first single, "Unbelievable", which reached number 3 on the UK Singles Chart,[13] in the main hall one night in 1990.[14]