Town Hall and Guildhall

Town Hall and Guildhall stand on Market Place in the heart of Durham, England, and have served as the centre of civic life in the city for centuries. The complex combines a historic guildhall with a Victorian town hall front, and it is protected as a Grade II* listed building.

What is the history of the Town Hall and Guildhall?

Civic gatherings in this spot go back to the fourteenth century, when a timber guildhall was built here in 1356. In 1535 Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall commissioned a stone building to replace it. Durham was then ruled by the prince-bishops, and the bishops had a direct hand in shaping the city's public buildings.

The guildhall seen today is mainly a seventeenth-century structure. Bishop John Cosin commissioned it in 1665, and the building was later altered in the eighteenth century. The town hall was extended in 1752, and the facade was refaced two years later, in 1754. Historic England describes the whole as a seventeenth-century guildhall with eighteenth-century changes.

Who designed the Victorian front?

The architect Philip Charles Hardwick worked on the building in the middle of the nineteenth century. Between 1849 and 1851 he remodelled the guildhall front and added a balcony, giving the town hall its Perpendicular Gothic look. The balcony still faces the market square and remains the most recognisable part of the building from the street.

What happened inside?

The hall has hosted public meetings as well as municipal business. In 1826 the abolitionist John Fenwick spoke at an emancipation meeting held here, linking Durham to the national campaign against slavery.

Inside, the Burlison Gallery was added in the nineteenth century and is named after the local artist Clement Burlison. The building also holds war memorials to citizens of Durham who died in both World Wars, which makes it a place of remembrance as well as of administration.

What is it used for today?

The Town Hall is still the official office of the Mayor of Durham, an office whose tradition dates back to 1602. The Guildhall is the historic home of Durham's Trade Guilds and the City Freemen, and the guilds' long association with the building is part of what gives it its character. Alterations in 2008 added a new public entrance and step-free access, so visitors can enter more easily than in the past.

Visiting tips

• The building is on Market Place, in the middle of the old town, a few minutes on foot from Durham Cathedral and Castle.
• The best views of the front, with its balcony, are from the square outside.
• The town hall takes part in Heritage Open Days, when interiors that are normally closed may be opened to the public. Check the current programme before you plan a visit.
• Combine it with a walk through the surrounding streets, which hold many other historic buildings of the city centre.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Town Hall in Durham open to the public? It is a working civic building, so access depends on events and opening arrangements. Heritage Open Days is a good opportunity to see inside.

When was the Guildhall built? The present guildhall dates mainly from the seventeenth century, with a commission by Bishop Cosin in 1665, although a guildhall has stood on the site since 1356.

Who designed the front of the building? Philip Charles Hardwick, who remodelled the front and added the balcony between 1849 and 1851.

Is the building listed? Yes, it is a Grade II* listed building.

Where is it? On Market Place, in the centre of Durham, close to the main sights of the old town.