Local Life - St Helens - May/Jun 2021

15
St Helens’
Civic Spirit
by Nicola Gray
Civic buildings have been used for generations as central
landmarks, symbols of power, dominance and authority,
providing public services and meeting points for local
people. Over the years buildings under the civic umbrella
have come to include libraries, town halls, concert halls,
theatres, public squares, government buildings and schools.
There are civic buildings in St Helens which are still
being used for their original purpose whilst others have
undergone a merry-go-round of re-purposing over the
years. Some are iconic and recognisable in equal measure
and a few are hidden in plain sight.
Local Life takes a closer look at some of St Helens’ best
examples of civic buildings, to try and understand the
history behind them and how important they were, and
still are, to our community.
The Town Hall
The first Town Hall, which was designed in the Italianate
style, was completed in 1839. It contained a large
assembly hall for holding legal courts, concerts, balls, and
public meetings, as well as a lock up for holding prisoners.
The Town Hall became the headquarters of the new
municipal borough of St Helens on 2nd February 1868,
but the building was badly damaged in a fire in 1871.
Civic leaders decided to build a new Town Hall on the
same site and the larger Victorian style building was
completed in 1876 and still stands on Bickerstaffe Street
in the town centre.
Although the town hall itself, which is still the headquarters
of St Helens Council, is not a listed building, there are two
telephone kiosks flanking the entrance which are listed.
The pair of kiosks
were designed by
Giles Gilbert Scott
in 1935 and are
constructed in cast
iron with a square
plan and a dome.
Old St Helens Town Hall
St Helens Town Hall