Town Hall Queens Road Hastings.
The image below shows Hastings Town Hall from Queens Road with two turret structures at ground level, at the entrance to the cricket ground. The building above the council chamber has the two chimneys now removed. Above the windows in a triangular area are the four trapezoidal sculptures now removed and disappeared. Below in the area between the upper windows are four rectangular sculptures that remain in place. The photograph below taken after a fall of snow shows the building as originally constructed before the introduction of a coach station and the removal of chimneys and the trapezoidal sculptures by Thomas Earp.
Details of the sculptures by Thomas Earp are recorded below where the subjects depicted are described. Hastings Borough Council has been unable to state when and why the sculptures by Thomas Earp were removed and what happened to them.
Details of the sculptures by Thomas Earp are recorded below where the subjects depicted are described. Hastings Borough Council has been unable to state when and why the sculptures by Thomas Earp were removed and what happened to them.
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Hastings Town Hall Queens Road 1881 - Town Hall Police Court & Cells.
In the early 1870s HBC decided that they needed a new civic building and a national competition was launched to achieve a design for a new town hall. A 1st prize of £100 was offered with a 2nd prize of £50 and 3rd prize £25. For some reason Hastings Town Council did not include that their budget for the new building would be around £10,000. Below are a few of the 36 architects who submitted a total of 50 proposals for the competition.
A Griffin Colpoys & Arthur Baker - Building News 10th December 1875.
P Auld - The Architect 2nd October 1875.
E.J.J Shrewsbury - The Architect 24th June 1875.
Lee & Smith - The Architect 6th November 1875.
Alexander Lauder -The Architect 11th December 1875.
Jeffery & Skiller Cross & Wells -Building News 3rd November 1876
E.A. Heffer - The Architect 15th July 1876
W.C.Brangwyn - The Architect 12th December 1874
L.A. Whithall - The Architect 12th December 1874
Six of the competition entries can be seen at Archiseek.com
Not part of a competition but a Municipal Building Hastings by William Andrews.
The William Andrews building is strikingly similar to the building that we see today but before that a competition had occurred.
Building News said that the Council had failed to state in the rules for the competition that the budget for the new building was to be around £10,000, so none of the 36 architects designed their competition entry with knowledge of the maximum budget. All of the entries were too expensive for the Council and eventually the Town Council returned the plans and withdrew the competition but did award the prize money for 1st 2nd & 3rd prize.
Cross & Jeffery/Skiller & Wells architects were awarded 1st prize and received £100 and tenders for building were received from John Howell of Hastings for £26,758 subsequently reduced to £23,000 after some amendments. It seems HBC might have liked the design but considered it to be too expensive.
In 1874 the architectural press carried several letters expressing concern at "the unfair manner in which the competitors had been treated by the corporation." Others complained that they had "suffered loss due to ignorance of the council and an act of meanness." The intellectual property contained in the fifty plans that had been submitted was available for the Town Council to study and "was made available to them for next to nothing."
It seems a new architect in town must have looked at the plans and Henry Ward/ William Andrews created a different design that included some aspects of the other competition architects.
The fears expressed by some architects would appear to be true when the building that was finally designed by Henry Ward are compared with the plans submitted in 1874 where turrets to the right of the Ward building were included in the winning design of Jeffery & Skiller.
The finished building contained the Council Chamber as well as Police Station and Court and seems larger than other designs extending along Station Road.
steveonhastings.blogspot.com/2015/01/hastings-gothic-town-hall.html
A Griffin Colpoys & Arthur Baker - Building News 10th December 1875.
P Auld - The Architect 2nd October 1875.
E.J.J Shrewsbury - The Architect 24th June 1875.
Lee & Smith - The Architect 6th November 1875.
Alexander Lauder -The Architect 11th December 1875.
Jeffery & Skiller Cross & Wells -Building News 3rd November 1876
E.A. Heffer - The Architect 15th July 1876
W.C.Brangwyn - The Architect 12th December 1874
L.A. Whithall - The Architect 12th December 1874
Six of the competition entries can be seen at Archiseek.com
Not part of a competition but a Municipal Building Hastings by William Andrews.
The William Andrews building is strikingly similar to the building that we see today but before that a competition had occurred.
Building News said that the Council had failed to state in the rules for the competition that the budget for the new building was to be around £10,000, so none of the 36 architects designed their competition entry with knowledge of the maximum budget. All of the entries were too expensive for the Council and eventually the Town Council returned the plans and withdrew the competition but did award the prize money for 1st 2nd & 3rd prize.
Cross & Jeffery/Skiller & Wells architects were awarded 1st prize and received £100 and tenders for building were received from John Howell of Hastings for £26,758 subsequently reduced to £23,000 after some amendments. It seems HBC might have liked the design but considered it to be too expensive.
In 1874 the architectural press carried several letters expressing concern at "the unfair manner in which the competitors had been treated by the corporation." Others complained that they had "suffered loss due to ignorance of the council and an act of meanness." The intellectual property contained in the fifty plans that had been submitted was available for the Town Council to study and "was made available to them for next to nothing."
It seems a new architect in town must have looked at the plans and Henry Ward/ William Andrews created a different design that included some aspects of the other competition architects.
The fears expressed by some architects would appear to be true when the building that was finally designed by Henry Ward are compared with the plans submitted in 1874 where turrets to the right of the Ward building were included in the winning design of Jeffery & Skiller.
- In 1878 an alternative design was considered that was submitted by Henry Ward with the assistance of the borough surveyor W Andrews. New tenders were invited from D G Jones of Gloucester at a cost of £12,180. Building work commenced on the ward design in 1880 with a foundation stone ceremony on 24th March 1880. The cost in today's money would be £1,519,161. The opening ceremony for the new town hall was held on 7th March 1881.
The finished building contained the Council Chamber as well as Police Station and Court and seems larger than other designs extending along Station Road.
steveonhastings.blogspot.com/2015/01/hastings-gothic-town-hall.html
When originally built the north elevation (adjacent to Priory Meadow) was decorated with eight sculptures four rectangular that are visible and and four trapezoidal that were to the top of the building and have now been removed and are shown below.
The Sculptures are the work of Thomas Earp 1828-1893 who was also responsible for the Eleanor Cross at Charing Cross London and also work at Holy Trinity Hastings. As well as many other works around the UK. The sculptures were installed with the rectangular between the upper windows and the four trapezoidal sculptures above the windows.
Currently Hastings Council is not able to state why the trapezoidal sculptures were removed or where they might be stored. All that is available are the photographs below. They were removed before it became a listed building and it is possible that the town council of that period did not appreciate the value of the items that may be mislaid, lost or stolen. What is not known is whether HBC would take greater care for the artistic detail of the buildings in its care. The photographs of St Mary in the Castle another building they own probably indicates that HBC still has much to learn about care of its listed buildings.
Trapezoidal panel sculptures.
950.22.3 Cinque Ports Barons bearing canopy at coronation 1204.
950.22.4 Arms of the of the Cinque Ports 1046.
950.22.6 Battle of Hastings. Harold with arrow in eye 1066.
950.22.7 Building Hastings Castle.
The Sculptures are the work of Thomas Earp 1828-1893 who was also responsible for the Eleanor Cross at Charing Cross London and also work at Holy Trinity Hastings. As well as many other works around the UK. The sculptures were installed with the rectangular between the upper windows and the four trapezoidal sculptures above the windows.
Currently Hastings Council is not able to state why the trapezoidal sculptures were removed or where they might be stored. All that is available are the photographs below. They were removed before it became a listed building and it is possible that the town council of that period did not appreciate the value of the items that may be mislaid, lost or stolen. What is not known is whether HBC would take greater care for the artistic detail of the buildings in its care. The photographs of St Mary in the Castle another building they own probably indicates that HBC still has much to learn about care of its listed buildings.
Trapezoidal panel sculptures.
950.22.3 Cinque Ports Barons bearing canopy at coronation 1204.
950.22.4 Arms of the of the Cinque Ports 1046.
950.22.6 Battle of Hastings. Harold with arrow in eye 1066.
950.22.7 Building Hastings Castle.
Rectangular panel sculptures.
950.22.1 Landing of the French and their defeat year 1360.
950.22.2 Queen Elizabeth grant charter to the corporation year 1588
950.22.5 Cinque Ports ships going to meet the armada year 1588.
950.22.8 Hastings fishermen boarding French Pirates year 1796.
950.22.1 Landing of the French and their defeat year 1360.
950.22.2 Queen Elizabeth grant charter to the corporation year 1588
950.22.5 Cinque Ports ships going to meet the armada year 1588.
950.22.8 Hastings fishermen boarding French Pirates year 1796.
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