Middlesbrough Town Hall

Middlesbrough Town Hall
The Middlesbrough Town Hall
General information
Type	Town Hall, Concert Hall
Architectural style	French Gothic
Address	Corporation Road, Middlesbrough
Country	England, United Kingdom
Construction started	1883
Completed	1889
Cost	£130,0001
Client	Middlesbrough Corporation

Middlesbrough Town Hall, located in Middlesbrough, England, was built between 1883-1889, to replace the older and much smaller, Old Town Hall. The architect was George Gordon Hoskins of Darlington and the project cost £130,000. It is a Grade II listed building.^[1]

The building is of sandstone ashlar with slate roofs, built around four sides of a courtyard with the main town hall on the north side. As well as offices and conference rooms, it contains a still intact, though obsolete, courtroom and a sizeable theatre. The basement crypt also seves as a concert hall. It is built in a revived "French Gothic" style, with courtyard elevations in a "Domestic Revival" style. It was one of the last large Gothic style town halls to be built in England, towards the end of the 19th century. The town hall element has one storey centre with two-storey end pavilions. The building features statuary by W. Margeston of Chelsea. To the east are a complex of modern civic buildings linked by a bridge passage.^[2]

Theatre and Crypt

Middlesbough Town Hall has a large theatre with proscenium stage and balcony seating, which seats 1190. It presents as a well-preserved example of a Victorian concert hall, with its original 1898 organ. There is a second concert hall, known as the Crypt, which is beneath the main theatre hall; it contains a large bar, catering outlet and capacity for up to 600.^[3]

Old Town Hall

The Old Town Hall still stands in a relatively isolated position on East Street, not far from the Transporter Bridge. It was designed by W.L. Moffat of Doncaster and dates from 1846.

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