When facing this building in the Cross Hayes the half on the right was built as the Market House by the Malmesbury Market House Company in 1846/7. It was rented out to auctioneers and by the end of the Century the lessees were Fielder and Rich. This firm was founded in 1795 and its successor, Fielder and Jones, still have offices at 10 Oxford Street. The building was described in The Builder of 29th July 1848 as follows; Its chief front which faces the old cattle market in Cross Hayes consists of three arches with gates opening on to an area for pitching corn and cheese; behind are butter and poultry and other market places. Above is a large assembly room, roofed with timber, besides two smaller apartments. The front of the building is faced with carved freestone.
It was called the Town Hall long before the Borough Council bought it in 1920 for £1,250 with £100 legal costs. Repairs such as a new hot water system came to an additional £903 18s. 1 1d. Councillor James Jones was largely instrumental in arranging this purchase and the subsequent enlargement of the premises. This was achieved by buying part of the adjoining building (on the left) in 1926 and rebuilding it. Originally there was a wool warehouse here but in the 19th Century it became the malthouse of Smith's Brewery taken over by Thomas Luce and then bought by Esau Duck in 1889. This property cost £300 and rebuilding amounted to another £2,598. Further expansion was completed in 1970 when the old chapel at the back on Oxford Street and offices on the Market Lane frontage were bought and a service core added to join the three separate buildings. On the reorganisation of local government North Wiltshire District Council took over the complex in 1974. Major refurbishment is now required to bring the structure up to modern standards.
Malmesbury Town Council is the successor to centuries of municipal governance but has little of the power formerly exercised here. The town is proud to boast that it is England's oldest Borough although regrettably there is no direct evidence to support this. It is said that King Alfred gave the town its first Charter in 880 but this is based on the 1381 Charter, the Saxon parts of which modern scholars feel are spurious. The Old Corporation [Old Courthouse] was replaced by a democratic Borough Council in 1886. C.R. Luce was appointed the first Mayor. The Council's area was larger than that controlled by the Old Corporation as it used the same boundaries as the Urban Sanitary Authority. In the south and east the rivers formed the boundary, from the Duke of York it followed the warditch on top of the Worthies to Stainsbridge, back down the river to Stainsbridge House, up Shipton Hill, cut across to Burnham Road, down Gastons Road to rejoin the river at Trucklebridge. The area was extended first in 1934, then in 1956 with the large area out to the bypass, Filands and Park Lane being added in 1984. Joseph Poole was elected Mayor in 1890. On relinquishing his office he donated street name-plates, some of which can still be seen today inscribed "Josh Poole Esq Mayor 1890-91". The Council comprised the Mayor and four Aldermen elected by Councillors for one and six years respectively and 12 Councillors elected by voters for three years. The Borough Council was the most important arm of local government until 1974 when most of its powers were passed to North Wiltshire District Council. The present Council has 16 members elected every four years and has the powers of a Parish Council. As had become normal on Local Government reorganisation (for the details see the Old Corporation) Malmesbury led the fight to be known as a Town rather than Parish Council. The Town Council now looks after a number of recreation grounds, administers the cemetery which is jointly owned with Malmesbury St. Paul Without Parish, manages the Town Hall on behalf of the District Council and provides information services for tourists and the general public from our larger hinterland.
For many years the Town Hall was used for dispensing justice locally. Before the last war sittings of magistrates were held on the first and third Wednesday of the month. From 1st April 1977 the Malmesbury magistrates ceased to be a separate Division but fortnightly hearings continued in the Town Hall until 1991. Although some local worthies continued as magistrates their administrative base was in Chippenham. The hearings were held in the Oxford or Hobbes Room and when the Athelstan Players were holding a production there the justices would appear amongst the scenery! The County Court, serving 43 parishes including Tetbury, also sat in the Town Hall from at least 1859. A century later Malmesbury was part of the Swindon County Court, but hearings were still held here monthly. Forrester and Forrester acted as Clerks to this court, but during the 1970s these hearings came to an end.
The Mayor, James Jones appealed in the Wiltshire Gazette of 19th February 1931 for exhibits for a new collection to be called the Athelstan Museum. At first this was housed in the Town Hall. In 1973 it moved to 20 Gloucester Street but the floor of those premises could not bear the weight of the proposed displays. On 24th April 1975 it reopened in the Town Hall. The museum is the responsibility of North Wiltshire District Council but at the time of writing they hope to transfer ownership to a local trust.
Source: Charles Vernon
