{{Short description|Municipal building in Faversham, Kent, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Use British English|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox historic site | name =Faversham Guildhall | native_name = | image = The Guildhall, Faversham - geograph.org.uk - 1179453.jpg | caption= Faversham Guildhall | locmapin =Kent | map_caption =Shown in Kent | coordinates ={{coord|51.3158|N|0.8911|E|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}} | location =The Market Place, Faversham | area = | built =1574 | architect = Charles Drayson | architecture =Neoclassical style | designation1 =Grade II* Listed Building | designation1_offname = The Guildhall | designation1_date =29 July 1950 | designation1_number = 1343844 | website= }} '''Faversham Guildhall''' is a municipal building in the Market Place in Faversham, Kent, England. The structure, which was the meeting place of Faversham Borough Council, is a Grade II* listed building.<ref name=listed>{{NHLE|desc=The Guildhall|num=1343844|access-date=7 June 2021}}</ref>
==History== The first guildhall in Faversham was a medieval structure on the east side of Tanners Street; this was replaced by a second guildhall on the east side of Court Street in 1547.<ref name=life>{{cite web|url= https://favershamlife.org/faversham-guildhall/ |title=Faversham Guildhall|publisher=Faversham Life|date=27 April 2018| access-date=7 June 2021}}</ref> Queen Elizabeth I visited this guildhall and enjoyed a civic banquet there in 1572.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://openplaques.org/plaques/2113 |title= Here stood Faversham's second guildhall|publisher=Open Plaques| access-date=7 June 2021}}</ref>
The town received a royal charter, allowing it to hold markets, from King Henry VIII in 1546.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://favershammarket.org/faversham-market-history/ |title=Faversham Market History|publisher=Faversham Market| access-date=7 June 2021}}</ref> The market initially took the form of a series of stalls in the area now known as the Market Place but in the mid-16th century it was decided to build a permanent structure.<ref name=life/> The new market hall was a timber-framed structure with a stucco finish which was completed in 1574.<ref name=listed/> It was arcaded on the ground floor, so that markets could be held, with an assembly room on the first floor. The original design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto the east side of the Market Place: there was a row of sash windows on the first floor.<ref name=listed/>
In 1605 the borough council took over the building for use as its third guildhall.<ref name=listed/> Following a disastrous fire, caused by the excesses of local people celebrating British military successes in the Napoleonic Wars, the building had to be rebuilt in 1814. The enlarged structure, which preserved the original arcading, was designed by Charles Drayson in the neoclassical style and featured a three-stage tower at the southwest corner; the tower involved an arched doorway on the ground floor, a round-headed sash window on the first floor, a clock on the second floor and an octagonal cupola with a weather vane above.<ref name=listed/> (The clock, dated 1814, was by Francis Crow, clockmaker of Faversham.)<ref name="life" /> As part of the re-building, the building was extended by an extra two bays on the east and west facing elevations; the north facing elevation featured a Venetian window with a pediment above containing a cartouche depicting the borough coat of arms in the tympanum, while the south facing elevation featured two round headed windows with a similar pediment also containing a cartouche.<ref name=listed/> Internally, the principal room was the council chamber, on the first floor, which contained wooden panels listing the mayors of the town since the late 13th century as well as a series of miniature photographs of mayors since the early 19th century.<ref name=life/> County court hearings and borough council meetings were held in the guildhall until 1942, when the local court hearings were discontinued and the borough council relocated to the Alexander Centre.<ref name=life/>
The Alexander Centre ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged Swale Borough Council in 1974,<ref>{{cite book|title=Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70|publisher=The Stationery Office Ltd|isbn=0-10-547072-4|year=1997}}</ref> but the guildhall subsequently became the meeting place of Faversham Town Council.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.favershamtowncouncil.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/70291-Minutes_-_Faversham_Town_Council_Meeting_9th_March_2020.pdf |title=Council Meeting|date=9 March 2020|publisher= Faversham Town Council| access-date=7 June 2021}}</ref> A paving stone to celebrate the life of the locally-born soldier, Lieutenant General Sir Philip Neame of the Royal Engineers, who, as a junior officer, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at Neuve-Chapelle in France during the First World War,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29074|supp=y|page=1700|date=16 February 1916}}</ref> was unveiled outside the guildhall by Lieutenant-General Sir Mark Mans on 19 December 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://kent-lieutenancy.org.uk/kent-county-events/lieutenant-general-sir-philip-neame-vc-paving-stone-unveiling-ceremony-19th-december-2014/ |title= Lieutenant General Sir Philip Neame VC Paving Stone Unveiling Ceremony|date= 19 December 2014|publisher=Lord Lieutenant of Kent| access-date=7 June 2021}}</ref> The guildhall became an approved venue for weddings and civil partnerships in January 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.visit-swale.co.uk/attractions/the-guildhall-faversham-41513/ |title=The Guildhall, Faversham|publisher=Visit Swale| access-date=7 June 2021}}</ref>
Works of art in the guildhall included a portrait by Joseph Clover of a local benefactor, Henry Wreight, who paid for the rebuilding of the Faversham Almshouses in the early 19th century.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/henry-wreight-esq-76293 |title= Henry Wreight Esq|first=Joseph|last=Clover|publisher=Art UK| access-date=7 June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.favershamalmshouses.org/history |title=History|publisher= Faversham Almshouses| access-date=7 June 2021}}</ref>
==See also== * Grade II* listed buildings in Swale
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1574 Category:Government buildings completed in the 16th century Category:Market halls Category:City and town halls in Kent Category:Buildings and structures in Faversham Category:Grade II* listed buildings in Kent