Summary
House built in the early C19 converted to the Town Hall and Museum in the late C20.
Reasons for Designation
The Town Hall and its attached front railings are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* for the symmetrical and well-considered red brick frontage and historic external detailing which enhances the varied architectural character of the town;
* for the architectural quality of its classical façade, which is enlivened by projected window bays, gauged skewback arches and decorative doorcase and window arches.
Historic interest:
* for the contribution it makes to the evolution of both London Street and the Market Place, along with the historical development of the town.
History
Swaffham’s significance in the medieval period stemmed from its position on the crossroads of the main routes from London, Norwich and King’s Lynn. The first written record of a market in the town, which was established on a triangular-shaped area formed by the convergence of the aforementioned roads, was in 1215 when King John issued a royal writ to the Sherriff of Norfolk to abolish it should it ‘damage the market in Dunham’. It was never abolished and expanded rapidly. The Market Place was probably open to the church on its east side, but later C17 development closed this off, while the development of The Shambles in the middle in the late C18/early C19, further reduced the size of the open space. From the mid-C18, for a period of just over a hundred years, Swaffham became one of the most populous parishes in Norfolk and one of the most fashionable centres in the county, attracting many leading West Norfolk Families. A racecourse had been established by 1628, the Assembly Rooms were constructed in 1776-1778, subsequently extended and modernised in 1817, and George Walpole, the Third Earl of Orford (1730-1791), founded a coursing club in 1786. During this period of prosperity, much rebuilding took place around the Market Place and the overall character of the town is primarily of mid- to late Georgian in date, although there is evidence for C16-C17 work behind many façades. Further rebuilding also took place after ‘The Great Fire of Swaffham’, which probably started in the vicinity of the Blue Boar Inn (now the White Hart) on the afternoon of 14 November 1775, when it was set ablaze by a spark from a nearby blacksmith’s workshop. Fire soon engulfed the densely packed houses and workshops behind the inn and along London Road, with 22 buildings being completely destroyed and a further two badly damaged. The town continued to expand in the C19 when its population increased from 2,200 in 1800 to 3,350 in 1845. It also became an important local administrative centre during this period and acquired several notable buildings, including a National School (1838), Shire Hall (1839) and Corn Hall (1858).
The Town Hall was built as a house in the early C19. The 1797 Faden map of Swaffham shows a rectangular building fronting onto London Road. The 1840 Tithe map shows that this has been replaced by a square building with a number of outbuildings. The Tithe award records a house, garden, brewing office and yard. A similar configuration is shown on the 1883 first edition OS map. It was converted to the Town Hall and Swaffham Museum in the late C20.
Details
House built in the early C19, converted to the Town Hall and Museum in the late C20.
MATERIALS: the building is constructed of red brick laid in Flemish bond with a slate roof.
PLAN: the building faces east onto London Street. It has an approximately rectangular plan with a rear extension. A larger extension was added to the west around 2003.
EXTERIOR: the two-storey building, with dormer attic, is three window bays wide under a gabled roof. The window bays project forward slightly. There is one stack on the rear roof slope to the left and one stack on the front roof slope to the right. Three flat-topped dormers are fitted with two-over-two pane horned sashes. To the first floor are three four-over-four pane horned sash windows with gauged skewback arches. Two large two-over-two pane horned sash windows which are under arched heads with painted arched hoods sit on either side of the main entrance. Central to the building is a six-panelled door behind a Greek Doric doorcase consisting of two columns and two pilasters supporting an entablature.
INTERIOR: the Council Chamber, formerly the dining room, has two fluted Greek Doric columns at the south end, moulded cornices and a late C19 marble chimneypiece. The entrance hall has a late C19 stick-baluster staircase with panelled newel posts.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: there are circular-section wrought-iron railings to the street.
