Spennymoor Town Hall

Spennymoor Town Hall is an Edwardian Baroque civic building on the High Street of Spennymoor, a former coal-mining town in County Durham, north-east England. It is the seat of Spennymoor Town Council and also works as a community venue, with a theatre hall and an art gallery under the same roof.

Why was the town hall built?

Spennymoor grew quickly as coal mines opened in the area. A local board of health, set up in 1864, ran its business from a market hall on the High Street that was finished in 1870. When Spennymoor Urban District Council was created in 1894, local leaders decided that the old market hall no longer matched the town's ambitions. They chose to pull it down and put up a more substantial building on the same plot.

Who designed it and when was it built?

Work started in 1913 to designs by the architect G. T. Wellburn, with J. Miller of South Shields as the contractor. The outbreak of the First World War slowed progress, and sources disagree slightly on the opening date: some point to 1915, others to 1916. Either way, the building belongs to the last years before the war and the first years of it.

What does it look like and what is inside?

The style is Edwardian Baroque, a confident, decorative manner popular for municipal buildings in Britain in the early twentieth century. The original scheme combined several functions: a public hall measuring about 26 by 12 metres and designed to seat 850 people, offices for the council, and a market hall alongside. The attached market hall has since been demolished, but the main building remains in use.

What can you see today?

The town hall still hosts the town council and has a theatre space used for performances and local events. It also houses the Bob Abley Art Gallery. The gallery came about through the persistent efforts of Bob Abley, and its first exhibition took place in 2011. Spennymoor has strong links with the arts through the miner-turned-painter Norman Cornish, and the gallery fits that local tradition.

Visitor tips

• The building stands on the High Street, in the centre of Spennymoor, so it is easy to combine with a stroll through the town.
• Check the programme of the theatre and gallery before you go, as opening hours and events change.
• If you are interested in architecture, look at the facade as an example of how a growing industrial town expressed its civic pride in the 1910s.

Frequently asked questions

Who designed Spennymoor Town Hall? G. T. Wellburn was the architect, and J. Miller of South Shields carried out the construction.

When was it built? Construction began in 1913 and, after wartime delays, finished in the mid-1910s.

What is it used for today? It is the meeting place of Spennymoor Town Council and also contains a theatre and the Bob Abley Art Gallery.

What stood on the site before? A market hall completed in 1870, which was demolished to make way for the new building.