Image: StHelensTownHall1839

Description: A sketch of the 1839 Town Hall, based on an original in the archives of St. Helens Library The original sketch is unusuable due to the poor quality of the original copy made. I have completely re-coloured, cleaned, and where possible drawn back in information lost during transfer. This document falls under Public Domain as a record of a Civic Building, destroyed by fire in 1872. Described as: "This imposing building, erected by public subscription, on the west side of the New Market Place, was opened on 8 October 1839. Peter Greenall had been the prime mover, and that day in its assembly room (whose court room furnishings were designed to vanish below floor level), his wife entertained the invited guests to luncheon. The Town Hall becamse the venue for social events, from a cavalry ball given by Sir John Gerard, to concerts and public meetings. In addition to the courtroom there were rooms for the magistrates, a bridewell and a house for the constable. The Improvement Commissioners met here. It housed the Mechanics Institute, and found space for the first public library. Much used, it was partly burned down in 1871 *luckily Galie's wines, stored in the basement, escaped the conflagration), repaired, and caught fire a second time in July 1873. It was decided to erect another building - more suited to the growing town with its new status of borough."
Title: StHelensTownHall1839
Credit: Own work (Original text: I (Koncorde (talk)) created this work entirely by myself.)
Author: Koncorde (talk)
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License: CC BY-SA 3.0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
Attribution Required?: Yes