Portrush Town Hall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Portrush Town Hall |
|
|---|---|
Old Town Hall
|
|
| Location | Mark Street, Portrush |
| Built | 1872 |
| Architect | Lanyon, Lynn and Lanyon |
| Architectural style(s) | Scottish baronial style |
|
Listed Building – Grade B+
|
|
| Official name: Town Hall, Kerr Street, Portrush, County Antrim | |
| Designated | 22 June 1977 |
| Reference no. | HB 03/10/001 |
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
The Portrush Town Hall is a special old building in Portrush, Northern Ireland. You can find it on Mark Street. It's not just any building; it's a Grade B+ listed building. This means it's really important because of its history and unique design. Today, it's a busy place where many fun events happen.
Contents
A Historic Building for Portrush
How Portrush Town Hall Was Built
Long ago, in 1872, some local business people in Portrush had a great idea. They wanted to build a special hall for the town. So, they created a company to raise money for it. The land for the building was rented from a powerful landowner, the Earl of Antrim, for £15 a year.
The famous architects Lanyon, Lynn and Lanyon designed the new building. They used a style called Scottish baronial, which looks a bit like old castles. A builder named Thomas Stewart Dickson built it using red bricks. It cost about £2,300. The Portrush Town Hall officially opened its doors on 12 August 1872.
The building had a unique look. It had a curved wall with many windows on one side. There was also a tall, three-story tower with narrow windows. Inside, the main room could hold 500 people. There was also a special curved reading room.
Early Uses of the Town Hall
From the very beginning, the Town Hall was a busy place for events. It was used for local court hearings, called petty sessions. Many concerts and shows were held there too. A famous songwriter named Percy French even performed there in the late 1800s.
As Portrush grew bigger, people elected town commissioners in 1892. These commissioners were like a local council. They started meeting in the Town Hall. Later, in 1899, Portrush became an urban district, and the new council continued to meet in the building. In 1916, the council bought the Town Hall outright from the Earl.
Important Moments and Changes
After a peace agreement in 1921, a very important event happened at the Town Hall. The first Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, Denis Henry, was sworn in there. This was a big moment for Northern Ireland's legal system.
In 1922, a war memorial was placed in front of the Town Hall. It was a bronze statue of victory on a stand. This memorial was made to remember the local people who had died in the First World War.
The Town Hall got bigger in 1930. A builder named Hugh Taggart added new parts to the north and northeast sides. This cost £4,000. The new entrance had the words "Portrush Town Hall" above it. In the 1960s, the reading room was changed into a special room for council meetings.
The building was the main meeting place for the local council for many years. However, in 1973, a larger council was formed, and the Town Hall was no longer the main government office. It continued to be used for events until 1997. At one point, there was even a plan to knock it down, but thankfully, that idea was stopped.
Restoration and Modern Use
The Portrush Town Hall needed some care. So, a huge restoration project began. It cost £1.6 million and was finished in 2005. The project was managed by a group called Hearth Historic Buildings Trust. They made sure the building was carefully repaired and brought back to life.
After the restoration, the old reading room was renamed the Girvan room. This was to honor Paul Girvan, who helped a lot with the restoration. The project even won an award from the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2006.
Today, the Portrush Town Hall is once again a lively place for events. Comedians, musicians, and many others use its historic rooms. For example, the comedian Shane Todd filmed a BBC show there in 2021. It's a wonderful example of how an old building can still be important and useful today!
