Worth fighting for? It certainly is!
The old Fenton Town Hall, bequeathed to the people of the town by the philanthropist William Meath Baker.
Originally built in 1889 as part of a development, including the surrounding streets and built by Robert Scrivener and Sons, this building has been the scene of a local community demonstration over the last few months, including an organised sit-in in November 2014.
The Town Hall was passed on to the Ministry of Justice by the local council (free of charge) and was used as a Magistrates Court for many years. However, when the court was closed the Ministry put the building up for sale.
The building contains a large Minton Tile war memorial to 498 men from Fenton who lost their lives during the First World War. Due to the size and weight of this memorial it is thought that would be particularly difficult to relocate, and as the building does not have listed status the local community were worried about the future of both the building and its memorial.
Fenton Community Association and Urban Vision put forward plans to buy the building but were unable to raise the £500,000.00 price tag. It seeems that salvation has been found though. The great-grandson of the altruistic William Meath Baker, Justin Meath Baker is reputed to have agreed to buy the building, after fighting for the buildings future with the various local community groups.
It is hoped that the old hall may be used as a hub for community and commercial groups in the future.
One point of note regarding the building is that originally had a central spire which was dismantled after being deemed unsafe.
Worth fighting for? It certainly is!
The old Fenton Town Hall, bequeathed to the people of the town by the philanthropist William Meath Baker.
Originally built in 1889 as part of a development, including the surrounding streets and built by Robert Scrivener and Sons, this building has been the scene of a local community demonstration over the last few months, including an organised sit-in in November 2014.
The Town Hall was passed on to the Ministry of Justice by the local council (free of charge) and was used as a Magistrates Court for many years. However, when the court was closed the Ministry put the building up for sale.
The building contains a large Minton Tile war memorial to 498 men from Fenton who lost their lives during the First World War. Due to the size and weight of this memorial it is thought that would be particularly difficult to relocate, and as the building does not have listed status the local community were worried about the future of both the building and its memorial.
Fenton Community Association and Urban Vision put forward plans to buy the building but were unable to raise the £500,000.00 price tag. It seeems that salvation has been found though. The great-grandson of the altruistic William Meath Baker, Justin Meath Baker is reputed to have agreed to buy the building, after fighting for the buildings future with the various local community groups.
It is hoped that the old hall may be used as a hub for community and commercial groups in the future.
One point of note regarding the building is that originally had a central spire which was dismantled after being deemed unsafe.