County Offices, Kendal


The County Offices, formerly Westmorland County Hall, is a municipal building in Stricklandgate, Kendal, Cumbria. It is a Grade II listed building.

History

In the early 20th century the Town Hall in Kendal was the meeting place of Westmorland County Council. After the Town Hall became too cramped to accommodate both the Town Council and the County Council, a new building, which was designed by Verner O. Rees in the Neo-Georgian style in Stricklandgate, became the dedicated County Hall for Westmorland in 1939. An emergency control centre was built in the basement of the building in case of nuclear attack in the 1960s. Following the implementation of the Local Government Act 1972, Westmorland County Council and Cumberland County Council amalgamated to form a single county council known as Cumbria County Council in 1974. Although the administrative offices of Cumbria County Council are at Cumbria House in Botchergate in Carlisle, formal meetings of the Council are held at the County Offices in Kendal.