Scarborough Town Hall

The origins of local government in Scarborough date to a charter granted by Henry II in 1163.[4] An ancient town hall based on Sandside, facing the harbour on a site now occupied by the former Bethel Mission Chapel,[5] moved in 1800 to William Newstead's Assembly Rooms on Long Room Street (now St Nicholas Street).[6] This was the Corporation's seat until 1867, when a new town hall and courthouse were opened in Castle Road. By 1898, this too was considered inadequate and the Corporation sought a new town hall site.[6]

The mansion which was to become the town hall was St Nicholas House, which was commissioned by John Woodall – part of a prominent and successful Scarborough family – to replace his previous home, 22 Long Room Street. The date and architect of the construction appears to be contested; research by Scarborough Civic Society suggests it was by Henry Wyatt in 1844,[6] while the listing description from Historic England ascribes it to W B Stewart, 1869–70.[3] It cost approximately £2,300 (equivalent to £234,000 in 2021) at a time when Scarborough's population was 18,377.[1]

In 1898 – by which point the population had grown to 33,776 and needed further resources for administration[2] – John Woodall's son, John W Woodall, whose portrait hangs inside the building's foyer, and who had inherited the property in 1879, put forward and sold St Nicholas House to the Corporation. It paid £33,575 (equivalent to £3,980,000 in 2021) for the building; this price also included other properties on the cliff which have been demolished. The house needed work to make it suitable for use as a town hall, and this was designed by the newly appointed borough engineer and surveyor Harry W Smith in 1898–1903. This involved a new east wing to fit new rooms such as departmental offices and the council chamber.[6] The cost of conversion was about £19,500.[2]

A blue plaque on Scarborough Heritage Trail

An official opening ceremony took place on 28 July 1903,[7] during which Queen Victoria's youngest daughter, Princess Beatrice, formally opened the Town Hall – the ceremonial key used is displayed in a cabinet inside the building – and unveiled a new bronze statue of Victoria by Charles Bell Birch in gardens outside. The memorial statue, which is separately grade II listed,[8] is the only statue of a public figure in Scarborough.[6]

The Town Hall takes the form of a Jacobean-style mansion with two-storeys plus attic, of red brick with stone dressings, string courses, cornice and parapet, whose main south front is set on a strapwork balustraded terrace to public gardens. Along this main front are Dutch gabled bays to the left and centre, and to the right, a pair of square turrets with leaded ogee domes, between which is a large stained-glass oriel window. Another Dutch gabled block at the western end forms the main entrance from St Nicholas Street. The doorway is flanked by engaged stone Ionic columns on pedestals, topped by an entablature with a cartouche with pyramid finials.[3]

Internally, the Town Hall features a Civic Parlour, Mayor's Parlour, Mayoral Corridor, Committee Room and Council Chamber. These are all lavishly decorated in a style Edwardian municipal grandeur, with plaster ceilings, fine carpets, and hardwood furniture and panelling; the Council Chamber also has an intricate wooden arched ceiling and raised public gallery.[6]

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  Oriel window and turrets
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  Side entrance
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  The 1960s extension to King Street
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  View from Foreshore Road
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  Statue of Victoria and view of the South Bay

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