Warrington Town Hall
History
Bank Hall was built in 1750 for Thomas Patten. The architect was James Gibbs and it is likely that it was the last important building of his design to be completed in his lifetime. It stood in open countryside to the north of the town of Warrington.The Patten family were important merchants in the town. Thomas' father had made the lower River Mersey navigable from Runcorn to Bank Quay, Warrington, and had established a copper smelting factory at Bank Quay. In 1870 John Wilson-Patten, 1st Baron Winmarleigh, sold the hall to Warrington Borough Council for £9000, and 13 acres (0.1 km²) of surrounding land for a further £13,000. Almost all of the land was opened as Warrington's first public park in 1873. When the house was built, it was surrounded by a high wall. In 1895 this was replaced by iron railings and a fine set of gates.
Architecture
External
The hall is built in Palladian style and has three storeys and a hipped slate roof. The front (south) façade has nine bays. The ground floor is in rusticated ashlar, as are the central three bays while the outer three bays on each side are in brick. The central area consists of a portico with four large ¾-attached Composite columns with a pediment bearing the arms of the Patten family. An open two-arm staircase, with a wrought iron balustrade, leads to the main entrance on the first floor. The north side of the hall is entirely of brick and is simpler. The whole house is built on a foundation made of blocks of copper slag from the Patten's smelting works. The detached service wings each have 13 bays and are similar to each other. Their middle three bays have three storeys and are in rusticated ashlar while the lateral bays have two storeys and are in brick.
Interior
The entrance hall is spacious and contains coats of arms of the Patten family, a stone chimney piece and a mosaic floor. The floor replaced a wooden one in 1902 and was laid by Italian workmen. It includes the initials J. W. P. for John Wilson Patten, L. W. for Lionel Whittle, was the town clerk at the time, T. L. for Thomas Longdin, the borough engineer, and Q. V. for Queen Victoria. The former great hall and the music room have been combined to form the council chamber. The former ladies retiring room and the dining room are now committee rooms and the reading room is used as the mayor's parlour. There are two similar staircases with wrought iron handrails. The window frames, which appear to be made of wood, are made from a combination of copper and iron, painted white.
Warrington Town Hall
History
Bank Hall was built in 1750 for Thomas Patten. The architect was James Gibbs and it is likely that it was the last important building of his design to be completed in his lifetime. It stood in open countryside to the north of the town of Warrington.The Patten family were important merchants in the town. Thomas' father had made the lower River Mersey navigable from Runcorn to Bank Quay, Warrington, and had established a copper smelting factory at Bank Quay. In 1870 John Wilson-Patten, 1st Baron Winmarleigh, sold the hall to Warrington Borough Council for £9000, and 13 acres (0.1 km²) of surrounding land for a further £13,000. Almost all of the land was opened as Warrington's first public park in 1873. When the house was built, it was surrounded by a high wall. In 1895 this was replaced by iron railings and a fine set of gates.
Architecture
External
The hall is built in Palladian style and has three storeys and a hipped slate roof. The front (south) façade has nine bays. The ground floor is in rusticated ashlar, as are the central three bays while the outer three bays on each side are in brick. The central area consists of a portico with four large ¾-attached Composite columns with a pediment bearing the arms of the Patten family. An open two-arm staircase, with a wrought iron balustrade, leads to the main entrance on the first floor. The north side of the hall is entirely of brick and is simpler. The whole house is built on a foundation made of blocks of copper slag from the Patten's smelting works. The detached service wings each have 13 bays and are similar to each other. Their middle three bays have three storeys and are in rusticated ashlar while the lateral bays have two storeys and are in brick.
Interior
The entrance hall is spacious and contains coats of arms of the Patten family, a stone chimney piece and a mosaic floor. The floor replaced a wooden one in 1902 and was laid by Italian workmen. It includes the initials J. W. P. for John Wilson Patten, L. W. for Lionel Whittle, was the town clerk at the time, T. L. for Thomas Longdin, the borough engineer, and Q. V. for Queen Victoria. The former great hall and the music room have been combined to form the council chamber. The former ladies retiring room and the dining room are now committee rooms and the reading room is used as the mayor's parlour. There are two similar staircases with wrought iron handrails. The window frames, which appear to be made of wood, are made from a combination of copper and iron, painted white.