Grand hall is talk of the town again (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Grand hall is talk of the town again

10:04am Wednesday 29th April 2009 in

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A GRAND building in the historic heart of Basingstoke has been restored to its former Georgian glory.

The Old Town Hall, housing The Willis Museum, is the centrepiece of Market Place and has undergone a major refurbishment which started in the summer.

Following a £600,000 revamp, the museum now boasts an impressive high-security gallery called the Sainsbury Gallery, named after Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover, who donated £45,000 to the restoration project.

Now that the roof is repaired and a new coffee shop has been completed, in what was once the Mayor’s Parlour, The Willis Museum reopened on Saturday.

The late Georgian building replaced the Mote Hall, which stood nearby from 1597 to 1832, and was designed by one of the country’s leading architects Lewis Wyatt. Like the Mote Hall, his design incorporated a ground floor open space. This was later enclosed in the 1860s and partitioned into rooms to provide offices for the town clerk, borough treasurer and borough surveyor.

Lewis Wyatt has a close connection to Basingstoke because of his work at Hackwood House, having taken over from his uncle, Samuel Wyatt, as Hackwood Park’s retained architect back in 1813. He was responsible for the Bolton Arch which can be seen at Crabtree Plantation, which was once the northern gateway to Hackwood Park.

The Town Hall was an important commission for the borough and Wyatt’s drawings still survive – the earliest, dated 1828, shows two versions of what became known as the Grand Design.

Later versions of the Grand Design, show a Greek influence, although the popularity of Greek Revival-style architecture was fading by this time.

Final more simpler designs were produced by 1830 with the building being completed in 1831, topped with a clock tower.

The museum’s curator, Sue Taplis, hosted a sneak preview of the new-look Sainsbury Gallery and the café for guests who were involved with the restoration project and other interested parties, including the borough mayor and mayoress, Councillor George Hood and his wife, Davina, along with the deputy mayor, Cllr Brian Gurden.

Clearly fond of the building, and delighted with the restoration work, Sue told the guests: “The Willis Museum and the Old Town Hall hold a special place in the heart of Basingstoke people.

“The town around it has changed beyond recognition and through it all the Old Town Hall has stood in the heart of historic Basingstoke.”

Sue said that when people find out she is the museum’s curator, they often share their memories of the building with her.

Much of the original character of the building had been hidden from view over the years, particularly on the ground floor where the Sainsbury Gallery is now situated.

Recalling its previous appearance, Sue said: “It had all the character and ambience of a 1980s office block!”

Indeed, when the Civic Centre opened in the 1980s, the Old Town Hall was modernised with plans for it to be used as commercial offices.

Fortunately, it became home to The Willis Museum, which had previously been at the Mechanics’ Institute, in New Street.

Sue said: “Since its completion in 1831, the Old Town Hall has witnessed succeeding generations gradually remove nearly every trace of what was a fine building.”

Citing fireplaces, dado rails, chandeliers and even windows, Sue said: “The original features were either removed, or at best, covered over, as each generation imposed its own tastes and fashions.”

One of the first things visitors will see in the Sainsbury Gallery is that it is much brighter and has an airier feel, as the ceiling is higher than before. The cast-iron columns are now on show, having previously been boxed in.

Now, visitors can admire 330ft of plaster cornice restored, thanks to a £5,000 donation from the Friends of The Willis.

The white plasterwork can be seen because two suspended ceilings were removed, having covered successive water, heating, gas and electrical installations.

“Each redundant system had been simply shut off and kept exactly as it was while new piping and cabling was laid underneath,” explained Sue.

“And when the ceiling space was filled with pipes and cables, they simply lowered the ceiling to make room for more pipes and cables, until eventually the cornice and the tops of the fine arched windows were covered over.

“The Old Town Hall has become The Willis Museum’s first and most important object. The decades of additions and ‘improvements' have been stripped back and as much as possible of the original building has been restored.

“An important part of Basingstoke's heritage has been retained and preserved to an excellent standard – it’s truly a local place to be proud of.

“One of our aims was to create a museum fit for the 21st century – even if we did have to go back to the 1830s to do it!”