Granville Town Hall

The township of Granville developed following the construction of the railway from Sydney in 1855 with timber and then fruit-growing as early industries. By the mid-1870s Granville had become a popular site for the erection of "gentlemen's villas". John Nobbs was a major figure among the early group of gentlemen, tradesmen and workers who settled at Granville. In 1878 the locality received its own post office, which was then part of the station master's house. The township retained the name of Parramatta Junction until 1880 when public meetings voted to change the name to Granville, in honour of the Earl of Granville, a former colonial secretary, in honour of the then British Foreign Minister, Lord Granville.[2] A significant boost to the area came with the establishment in 1881 of the Hudson Brothers engineering works nearby at Clyde. A workforce had to be recruited and housed.[3]

On 12 February 1884, a petition calling for incorporation of the area was published in the Government Gazette, and in January 1885, Granville was officially gazetted and incorporated as a municipality. John Nobbs was elected the first Mayor, and enjoyed a reputation as the "Father of Granville". Council meetings were initially held in the School of Arts building in Good Street, north of the railway line.[1][3]

In 1888 Granville Council decided to erect its own Town Hall to celebrate the centenary of European settlement in Sydney. Architect Charles A. Harding of Sydney designed the Town Hall, and Banks and Whitehurst were selected to complete the building. The foundation stone was laid by John Nobbs on 5 September 1888.[1][3]

In his speech at the ceremony, John Nobbs as Mayor referred to the rapid growth of Granville over the decade. From 12 or 13 houses, it had grown to 900 buildings including 760 houses, 60 shops, two banks, three public halls including a School of Arts, seven churches, two public schools and 13 factories, of which, two were the largest in the colony: Hudson Brothers and Brunton's (Flour) Mills.[1][3]

The official opening of Granville Council Chambers was held on 16 January 1889. The opening ceremony was held in the Council Chamber which was lit by two chandeliers. According to the press report, the Council Chamber was built on "true Australian lines in the matter of ventilation freely afforded by windows all around the room." It was reported that the site had cost 600 pounds, and the building's contract price was 1090 pounds without fittings. Offices for the Council Clerk, Engineer, Overseer, Inspector of Nuisances, and library were on the ground floor. A spacious staircase led to the first floor where the Council Chamber was located, 11m x 9m and Mayor's Room. A balcony, 3m x 1.5m was erected over the porch.[1][3]

The auditorium (i.e. the main hall) was added in 1900, designed by James Whitmore Hill, a Parramatta-based architect.[1][3]

The Municipality of Granville was merged into the Parramatta City Council from 1 January 1949 and the regular council meetings of the new Parramatta City were held at the Granville Town Hall from 1948 until 1958, when the new Parramatta administration centre opened.[1][3][4]

On 12 May 2016, the Cumberland Council was proclaimed as a new local government area, combining parts of Auburn City Council (south of the M4 Western Motorway), the Woodville Ward of the Parramatta City Council (which contained the Town Hall), and the majority of the Holroyd City Council.[5] The first Special Meeting of Cumberland Council was held on 19 May 2016, at the Granville Town Hall.[6]

Holy Name Society Granville-Harris Park Branches at the Town Hall

The Granville Town Hall is a largely intact example of a Victorian Free Classical local government building.[1]

The original 1888 section is a two-storey, rendered brick building on an almost square plan with a hipped corrugated iron roof. The facade to Carlton Street is designed in the Italianate manner and features a two-storey projecting port and flanking piers with second-storey paired pilasters. Fenestration is bi-partite on the ground floor and tri-partite on the upper floor. The interior consists of offices and the original Council Chamber. Of interest is the timber joinery, especially the elaborate architraves and the timber Honour Boards in the Council Chamber. The auditorium or hall, added in 1900, is a plain painted brick gabled structure running westward behind the front section. Internally the large hall is distinguished by restrained Doric pilasters supporting a panelled vault ceiling. Restoration work undertaken in early 2003 by architect Graham Edds involved removing the modern plaster covering the walls and ceiling of the auditorium, and revealing an unusual ripple iron ceiling, painted pale blue with gold stars, and three large decorative ventilation domes.[7] To the south of the front section of the town hall there is a former council workers office, now used by the Granville Historical Society. This is a Federation brick building, with the stretcher brick bond tuck pointed on the northern and eastern sides. It has a gabled Marseilles tiled roof and exposed beams in the eaves. It has two equal sized rooms. On the west and south-western sides of the hall there is a variety of non-significant skillion roof structures.[1]

The current allotment covers an area of 2739.4 sqm and is located on a gentle sloping site fronting Carlton Street, Granville. Today it is bounded along the northern side by a laneway leading to the library carpark. To the south and west of the property now abuts residential development. A driveway from Carlton Street located south of the Town Hall and between it and the former council workers office provides limited on-site vehicular access and car parking. The site contains the:

• former Council Chambers / Town Hall complex
• former council officer's building, now used by the Granville Historical Society
• galvanised storage shed
• additional toilet.[1]

Heritage boundaries

The Granville Town Hall is of state significance as a rare and intact example of a Victorian Free Classical government building. It is thought to be one of only two intact nineteenth-century council chamber buildings extant in Sydney's west. It demonstrates aspects of the history of Granville and the Parramatta locality in the late nineteenth century. Built in 1888 following the incorporation of Granville in 1885, it is an important symbol of the growth of Granville and its sense of identity. Although the seat of local government has since moved to Parramatta, the building is a well-known local landmark and continues to be used as a major venue for community events and activities.[1]

Granville Town Hall was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 5 December 2003 having satisfied the following criteria.[1]

The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales.

The Granville Town Hall is of state significance in demonstrating the development of Granville and nearby Parramatta in the late nineteenth century following the opening of the railway in 1855. The building of the Town Hall in 1888 followed closely after the incorporation of Granville as a local government district in 1885. It is an important symbol of the growth of the Granville locality and the rapid development of its sense of identity, from a minor settlement to a fully fledged local community complete with its own local government authority and its own Town Hall.[1]

The place has a strong or special association with a person, or group of persons, of importance of cultural or natural history of New South Wales's history.

The Granville Town Hall is locally significant for its associations with the following people of note:[1]

• Charles Assinder Harding: was born and trained as an architect in England before arriving in Sydney in 1876. He initially worked for Thomas Rowe preparing the drawings for the new Sydney Hospital in Macquarie Street. He left in 1880 to set up his own business as an architect and building surveyor. Examples of his private work include the Grand Central Coffee Palace, the Victoria Arcade, aquariums in Bondi and Manly, the Kiama Hospital and the Granville Council Chambers (1888). Between 1890 and 1904 he was an architect in the Harbours and Rivers Branch of the Department of Public Works and examples of his public work include four new lighthouses, buildings on Garden, Spectacle and Cockatoo Islands, cottages at Trial Bay Prison, government cargo stores, and additions to the pilot stations on the Macleay, Clarence and Manning Rivers.[1]
• James Whitmore Hill: was born and educated in Melbourne, and joined the Victorian Public Works Department at the time it was managed by William Wardell. In 1881, he moved to Sydney and opened an office in Elizabeth Street, then another office in Parramatta where he also lived for the rest of his life. He was active in the life of Parramatta and served as an alderman on the council. He was a successful and prolific architect, and responsible for many domestic and commercial buildings in Parramatta and surrounding districts. Examples of his work include: the Jubilee Hall addition to Parramatta Town Hall; the Convent of the Sisters of Mercy, Parramatta; the Blacktown Council Chambers; Parramatta Primary High School (now the Arthur Phillip High School) and the main auditorium addition to the Granville Council Chambers in 1900. According to the 1907 Cyclopedia of NSW, even though domestic work formed the major part of his practice, he was also responsible for over 100 business premises, four theatres and public halls, and 11 churches and convents.[1]
• John Nobbs: the first mayor and "Father of Granville", who was instrumental in the development of Granville and the construction of the Town Hall.[1]

The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.

The Granville Town Hall is of state significance as a rare and intact example of a Victorian Free Classical government building. Its size, prominence and classical details indicate its public status as the seat of local government, and its façade is a confidently executed example of the Italianate Civic Palace style. It is thought to be one of only two intact nineteenth-century council chamber buildings extant in Sydney's west.[1]

The original 1888 Council Chambers building is a fine example of local government building which uses stucco in a decorative manner to provide a veneer of respectability to a brick building.[1]

The building has undergone extension and minor alterations during the twentieth century, and internally there is an eclectic mix of styles and fashions that reflect the growth of the building over time. Although not in public view, the auditorium has an unusual ceiling of ripple iron with decorative ventilation domes. The decorative use of ripple iron in a large auditorium is considered rare and unusual.[1]

The Granville Town Hall is also a well-known local landmark in Granville.[1]

The place has strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.

Granville Town Hall is of high local significance to the Granville community. It has been used throughout its history as the venue for many major functions and festive occasions in the Granville area. Such activities have included regular meetings for social and cultural activities and these uses are ongoing. Dancing was, and still is, a regular activity held within the auditorium.[1]

The significance of the Granville Town Hall for the wider Sydney and NSW community is reflected in its listing in the following heritage schedules: the Parramatta City Council LEP, the Register of the National Estate and the Register of the National Trust of Australia (NSW). It has been the subject of conservation work by Parramatta City Council since 2000, reflecting the community's high regard for the building.[1]

The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

The auditorium of the Granville Town Hall has some technical significance as an early example of extant ripple iron ceiling combining ventilation domes and exhaust cowls to provide air circulation.[1]

The archaeological potential of the site is considered to be low. This is due to the Town Hall being the first building on the site and occupying the whole site.[1]

The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

Granville Town Hall is of state significance in being a rare example of a Victorian Free Classical government building built in the nineteenth century. It is thought to be one of only two intact nineteenth-century council chamber buildings extant in Sydney's west.[1]

The building is an almost intact, although extended, government building. It has retained its original character and nearly all its fabric, both internally and externally. The decorative use of ripple iron in a large auditorium is considered rare and unusual.[1]

The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or natural places/environments in New South Wales.

Granville Town Hall is of state significance as a largely intact example of a council chambers building (1888) with an early auditorium (1900). Few such buildings were built and it is thought to be one of only two left in Sydney's west.[1]

Media related to Granville Town Hall at Wikimedia Commons