26412

 

II  

Designated  

19/03/1951  

28/03/2002  

The Old Town Hall  

 

Pembrokeshire  

Tenby  

Tenby  

 

213412  

200407  

N  

Situated on the N side of St George's Street just W of the churchyard of the Church of Saint Mary in Liberty  

Civil  

 

Supposed former town hall in use until the mid C19, a single chamber over the former S gate into the churchyard. There was a town hall meeting room in use in the C16, the borough having been incorporated in 1581, that may be this structure. The structure was larger and is partly built into the former Regent Hotel adjoining, and the surviving medieval windows point to a late C15 date. There was a gaol below the town hall, but this would have had to be in the ground floor of the former Regent Hotel, as the church entry is under the meeting room. A wooden canopy from the old Town Hall in Tenby Museum is dated 1683. Upper room in use as Augustus Galleries, 2001.  

Former town hall over churchyard gate, painted stucco with slate close-eaved roof and small C20 brick right end stack. Low 2-storey range with 2 large early C19 arch-headed windows to the upstairs room, small-paned sashes with radiating bars to heads. To extreme left is a blocked small late medieval flat-headed window of 2 lights, chamfered with trefoil cusping and dripstone. On the ground floor there is a C20 door to extreme left (listed as a small window in 1977) and a wide segmental arch to throughway to the churchyard to the right. This has exposed squared stone jambs and voussoirs, and is floored above pavement level with rendered front wall and fixed iron screen above. Rear wall to the churchyard has similar stucco lined as ashlar and segmental arch with Bath stone voussoirs and keystone.  

Stairs up to first floor are actually in the former Regent Hotel building to the left and ground floor left of the Old Town Hall building is in use as part of the former Regent Hotel. This section has a plastered arched ceiling, presumably a late medieval rough stone vault. Stair leads up to L-plan landing with exposed timber-framing on left wall, coved cornice. Paired medieval lancets to left of rear wall, small medieval round arched window on right wall. The main upstairs room has an early C19 character, reeded surrounds to elliptical arch through to landing, to the 2 S arched windows and a N wall elliptical-arched recess.  

Included as a partly medieval structure, of historical interest as the oldest surviving town hall in the region.