Salisbury Guildhall

The first guildhall, known as the "Bishop's Guildhall", was built on the initiative of the Bishop of Salisbury, Simon of Ghent, in around 1314.[3] It was so-called because this was the place where the bishop would exercise his feudal rights.[4] A second building, known as the "Council House" was built by the Merchants Guild to the north of the original building in 1585.[5] After the Council House was burnt down in a fire at a banquet, it was rebuilt, with a gift from Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie, 2nd Earl of Radnor, in 1780.[5]

In 1785 the bishop gave up his rights as clerk of the market and in return was released from his obligations to maintain the guildhall.[6] This enabled the old Bishop's Guildhall, which had become dilapidated, to be demolished.[7] The current building, which was designed by Sir Robert Taylor and William Pilkington, was built on the site of the former Bishop's Guildhall and completed in 1795.[2] The design involved a portico with Doric order columns with triglyph frieze above; tall arched windows were inserted on each side of the portico.[2] A grand jury room was added in 1829.[5]

There was a bomb explosion outside the guildhall in September 1884; according to the judge, the defendants had been "motivated by a mischievous desire to alarm the public".[8]

The building, which had been the meeting place of the municipal borough of Salisbury throughout much of the 20th century, became the headquarters of Salisbury District in 1974.[9] All magistrates' court hearings in Salisbury were held in the courtroom in the west wing of the guildhall.[10][11] Additional judicial facilities, to accommodate the crown and county courts, were established in Alexandra House in St John's Street in the mid-1980s.[12][13] Princess Diana visited the guildhall on 14 May 1991.[14]

After the abolition of the district in 2009, the guildhall became the meeting place of the newly created Salisbury City Council.[15] The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall visited, in the aftermath of the Salisbury nerve agent attack, on 22 June 2018.[16]

Works of art in the guildhall include a portrait by John de Critz of James VI and I,[17] a portrait by Peter Lely of John Seymour, 4th Duke of Somerset[18] and a painting by George Cole depicting a view of Salisbury from Harnham Hill.[19] The Victoria Cross awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel Tom Adlam during the First World War is also on display in the guildhall.[20]