Burton upon Trent Town Hall


Burton upon Trent Town Hall is a municipal building in King Edward Place, Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. It is a Grade II listed building.

History

In the mid 19th century local council meetings were held in the old Town Hall in the Market Square: this was a building which had been designed in the classical style, possibly by James Wyatt, and completed in 1772.
The current building, which was designed by Reginald Churchill in a Victorian Gothic style, was commissioned by Michael Thomas Bass for use as the St Paul's Institute and the Liberal Club and completed in 1878. Bass' son, Michael Arthur Bass, donated the building to the town in 1891 and it was extended, by the inclusion of purpose-built municipal offices, a council chamber, a concert hall and a new staircase, in 1894. A statue by F. W. Pomeroy of Michael Arthur Bass was erected in the square in front of the building in 1911. A further large extension, designed by George Moncur, the borough surveyor, in the Art Deco style was built to the southeast of the main building and completed in 1939.
The new town hall initially became the headquarters of Burton upon Trent municipal borough, before becoming the headquarters of Burton upon Trent County Borough in 1901 and, more recently, of East Staffordshire Borough Council in 1974.
Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, visited the town hall and waved to the crowd from the town hall balcony on 28 March 1957.
The hall boasts a Wurlitzer organ, which had originally been installed at the Cameo Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio in 1925; after a fire in the theatre it was repossessed by its manufacturer before being installed at the Forum Cinema in Wythenshawe in 1934 and then being moved Burton upon Trent Town Hall in 1973. In 1995 OS Digital Recordings released a recording from Burton upon Trent Town Hall entled "Come Dancing" which involved excerpts of music performed by Arnold Loxam on the organ.
In the entrance lobby are four large wooden plaques, listing the names of the men of the County Borough of Burton who gave their lives in each world war.