Old Town Hall

The Old Town hall was built in the High Street, replacing the Court Hall that stood close to today’s junction of The Bourne and Courthouse Street, then the centre of the town around 1700. The Court Hall was a chamber above two shops, which disappeared long ago, and there were stocks and a whipping post nearby. The new town hall was paid for by the town’s two Members of Parliament, John Pulteney and Peter Gott. The 1700 building was replaced on site in 1823 by the current building that served as the Old Town Hall Museum until recently.. In May 1859, the clock mounted on the building was repaired, the repairs being carried out by Mr. Aaron Spellman, a resident of St. Leonards. Sellman's quote was the only response to the notice of tender for the timepiece - the quoted price being £57. Brett reports that the committee set up to oversee the new clock was not keen to accept this quote, however after some wrangling in the council (mainly on an east-west divide; the antagonism between St. Leonards and Hastings still being strongly felt at this time) as to whether the clock needed complete replacement or merely repairs - one councillor apparently approaching clock makers and repair companies outside of the tender process, it was resolved that Spellman would get the contract.

This building is also a Grade II Listed (Historic England listing 1043489). An interesting decoration mentioned as being on the roof of the building is a spherical stone - supposedly having been fired from a Roman-era catapult, but certainly once located at Pevensey Castle.

See also: Town Hall

Images

• Images
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  Old Town Hall c1800

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  The-Old-Town-Hall-in-the-High-Street.-c1830.

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  High-Street.-1901.

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  High-Street-1910

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  The-Jenny-Lind-in-the-High-Street-showing-bomb-damage-in-1942.

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  Old Town Hall Blue Plaque, High Street