The 'new' town hall was opened in Queens Road by the mayor, Mr William F Revill, on 7th September 1881, replacing the smaller town hall in the High Street (built in 1823), which is now the Old Town Hall Museum; itself under threat of closure because of recent spending reductions dictated to Hastings Borough Council by central Government.
The architect was Henry Ward (1854-1927), who briefly worked under the guidance of local architect Walter Liberty Vernon when he first moved to Hastings, soon succeeding Vernon, and working for 50 years in Hastings, becoming a prolific architect, based in his practice at 8 Bank Buildings, Hastings.
As a young architect Ward entered the winning design in the competition for the new Hastings Municipal Buildings. The site of the building was an awkward shape to deal with, and the winning design was a clever piece of ingenuity. It brought Ward recognition that ensured his election as an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects, an honour conferred only following significant professional success.
Council Chamber
Consequently, one of his first designs was the Grade II listed 'Gothic Revival' Hastings Town Hall, which originally included the local Police Court and cells at the end of the ground floor corridor. The bench was at the east end of the room, with the dock in front, and the west end given over to a public gallery. Next to the court room was the police station, which took up the central part of the Station Road frontage.
External walls were built using local blue stone, having Bath stone dressings, and the roofing was green slates. Inside, the staircase included scagliola marble columns and stained glass windows. The southern chimney place is made of Bath stone, having a carved statue of St Michael (the 'patron saint' of Hastings) and large painted tiles of Kings William and Harold.
No more clocks -
Early sign of austerity measures?
Having recently visited the 'Council Chamber' I can confirm it is a reminder of Victorian municipal splendour, the Victorians certainly didn't hide their lights under bushels! Sadly, it is now showing slight signs of neglect, needing a fresh lick of paint at least, presumably another result of austerity measures. Indeed, the clocks outside the town hall disappeared ages ago, due to the expense of fixing them apparently.
The opening ceremony for the town hall was followed by a luncheon in a large marquee in the adjoining cricket ground, with over a hundred guests enjoying fine food and the entertainment of a local band. Indeed, the first council meeting at the new town hall received a petition protesting about the cost to ratepayers of such an expensive event. The council refused to discuss the petition...
Henry Ward died at the age of 73, at home in 22 Magdalen Terrace, Bohemia Road, having designed numerous other local buildings in his career, including many churches, the Observer Building, Bexhill Town Hall, and a few days after his death the Plummer Roddis department store (now Debenhams) was opened.
A man of substance, locally a significant architect, he was buried in September 1927 at Hastings cemetery.
