Milford Haven Town Hall
| Milford Haven Town Hall | |
|---|---|
| Native name Neuadd y Dref Aberdaugleddau | |
.jpg) Milford Haven Town Hall | |
| Location | Hamilton Terrace, Milford Haven |
| Coordinates | 51°42′41″N 5°01′47″W / 51.7114°N 5.0298°W |
| Built | 1939 |
| Architectural style(s) | Neo-Georgian style |
  Shown in Pembrokeshire | |
Milford Haven Town Hall (Welsh: Neuadd y Dref Aberdaugleddau) is a municipal structure in Hamilton Terrace, Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is the meeting place of Milford Haven Town Council.
History[edit]
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The Milford Improvement Act 1857 (20 & 21 Vict. c. 74) appointed improvement commissioners to govern the growing port town.[1] Under the Local Government Act 1894 the improvement commissioners' district was reconstituted as the Milford Haven Urban District, with an elected council.[2] Initially, council leaders established accommodation for council officers and their departments in Charles Street.[3] In the early 1930s, civic leaders decided to procure a more substantial structure: the site they chose on the south side of Hamilton Terrace was occupied by allotment gardens.[4]
The new building was designed in the Neo-Georgian style, was built in brown brick with stone facings and was officially opened by the former Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, on 31 August 1939.[5] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with eleven bays facing onto Hamilton Terrace; the central section of three bays, which slightly projected forward, featured a doorway on the ground floor with a stone surround. There was a cast iron balcony with a French door flanked by two tall windows on the first floor and a modillioned pediment above with a clock in the tympanum. The outer sections were fenestrated with square headed sash windows on both floors and featured a modillioned cornice at roof level. There was also a central turret on the roof. Internally, the principal rooms were the council chamber and the mayor's parlour.[6] When it first opened, the town hall also included facilities for the local fire engine.[7]
A drinking fountain, which had been cast by the Saracen Foundry in the form of a font and inscribed with the words "erected in the sixtieth year of H.M. Queen Victoria's Reign 1897" as part of celebrations for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, was relocated from Charles Street to the front of the town hall shortly after it opened.[8]
The building continued to serve as the headquarters of the urban district council for much of the 20th century,[9] but ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged Preseli Pembrokeshire District Council was formed in 1974.[10] However, it subsequently became the offices and meeting place of Milford Haven Town Council.[11] In the early 21st century it became an approved venue for weddings and civil partnership ceremonies and the first wedding took place in June 2010.[12]
Pembrokeshire County Council declared the building as surplus to requirements in December 2019,[13] and marketed it for sale in early 2020; the planning authority subsequently approved change of use to offices on condition that the town council be allowed to remain in the building under its new ownership.[14]
References[edit]
- ^ The Statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 23. 1862. p. 753. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
Milford Improvement Act 1857 (20 & 21 Vict. c. 74)
- ^ "Milford Haven UD". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ "Haverfordwest and Milford Haven Telegraph and General Weekly Reporter for the Counties of Pembroke Cardigan Carmarthen Glamorgan and the Rest of South Wales". John Rees Davies. 29 August 1906. hdl:10107/4117454. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1908. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ "Souvenir programme to mark the opening of the Milford Haven Town Hall by David Lloyd George". Pembrokeshire County Council. 31 August 1939. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ "Meads pupils spend a morning with the mayor". The Milford Mercury. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ McKay ', Wing Commander Ken (1989). A Vision Of Greatness: The History of Milford 1790-1990. Brace Harvatt Associates. ISBN 978-0-9515212-0-5.
- ^ Diamond Jubilee Fountain. Architecture. 28 March 2018.
- ^ "No. 46059". The London Gazette. 23 August 1973. p. 10157.
- ^ Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN 0-10-547072-4.
- ^ "Council Meeting". Milford Haven Town Council. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ "Council Chamber Witnesses First Wedding". The Milford Mercury. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ "Milford Haven town hall could be sold off by Pembrokeshire County Council to raise cash". The Milford Mercury. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ "Change of use of former Milford Haven Town Hall to Offices" (PDF). Pembrokeshire County Council. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
