Kingston upon Thames Guildhall


The Kingston upon Thames Guildhall is a guildhall in Kingston upon Thames in England. It is situated in the High Street, adjacent to the Hogsmill River. It is a Grade II listed building.

History

In the early 20th century the local council had met at "Clattern House", which has since been demolished. The current building, which was designed by Maurice Webb in the Neo-Georgian style, was built at a cost of £130,000 and completed in 1935. It was established as the headquarters of the Municipal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames.
It is a neo-Georgian red brick building with Portland stone dressings and tiled roof, done to a semi-circular plan. To the centre of the semi-circular elevation is a massive square tower with a low octagonal spire and fluted corner pinnacles. The central entrance is in the base of the tower. Above it is a two-storey, round headed window set in an open pedimented stone niche with simplified Corinthian columns rising from a corbelled balcony. Pictorial references to the Thames are displayed upon a keystone inside the niche, and on the corbels, capitals and iron gates. The coat of arms of Kingston is set further up the tower. Inside, there is a marble lined circular entrance hall, and a central staircase with original opaque glass semi-spherical lamps.
The building became the administrative headquarters of the larger Kingston upon Thames London Borough Council in 1965 and, in order to accommodate a larger number of staff, was extended in 1968.
The Guildhall ceased being a magistrates' court in 2011 and re-opened as the "Old Court House" in September 2015.