The Town Hall

Cadw's description

Location

On roadside opposite church lychgate.

History

Converted into a Town Hall in 1848, from Cross storehouse, presumably a marine warehouse. The son of William Rogers of St Clears was asked to draw plans for the conversion. There was a carpenter's shop on the 1st floor in the early C20. Infants' classroom to 1st floor since the 1960's.

Exterior

Town Hall, converted from storehouse, rubble stone walls, pitched slated roof with C20 red brick end stack, and cast iron gutters and downpipes. 2-storey, 3-bay facade with red brick heads to openings. Ground floor has 3 arched openings with paired, painted, boarded timber doors with glazed upper panels, reached via stone steps of full facade length. Upper storey has 16-pane timber sashes with slate sills and flat heads. Between centre and L bay is fixed, painted plaque, circular, with corbel and stepped, arched crest. Crest bears painted inscription "1848. Town Hall". Plaque depicts wild boar or "Twrch Trwyth" of Mabinogion legend, around which is the painted inscription "Corporation of St. Clears. Prif Cufeillach Trwy'r Byd". Left end flight of stone steps with rubble stone retaining wall, coped in cement, leading to 1st storey entry porch. Lean-to porch has pitched, slated roof, plain barge board, painted, boarded door to stair and small 4-pane sash to S wall. Main S gable has timber barge board, roughcast rendered wall with raised 2nd storey band.
Rear has similar 16-pane sashes to 1st floor, ground floor openings altered with later C20 windows inserted to S and centre, and later C20 boarded timber door to N bay.

Interior

Ground floor wholly altered with mid to late C20 panelled ceiling and internal partition wall. Upper storey said to have bolted trusses visible, and boarded timber floor.

Reason for designation

Included as an early C19 commercial building converted to town hall use, the architectural character reflecting the unusual history.