THE TOWN HALL

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 131, 1 December 1930, Page 8

THE TOWN HALL

(To the Editor.) Sir,—One often sees statements published in the Press which furnish amusement; the latest being the reported remark by Mr. O'Shea at yesterday's hearI ing ■of the arbitration proceedings in connection with the above matter, that "the Wellington Town Hall was a ' replica of the Dewsbury (England) Tov/n Hall." As an old Dewsburian, and a fairly recent revisitor thereto, I can say that the Wellington Town Hall was built before pewsbury had a town hall, and which.is in no way similar to the Wellington one, being for one thing a triangular structure fronting two streets of very different levels. As a matter of fact, I know that the design of the Wellington Town Hall was based very largely on the Leeds Town Hall. The architect of our building (the late Mr. J. Charlesworth) was a lifelong friend and schoolmate of mine, and I had many interesting conversations with him when he was preparing his competition design. As Mr. John Campbell states, Mr. Charlesworth had to cut his coat according to his,cloth. One of the conditions of the competition was that the accommodation prescribed had to be put into a building which was not to cost more than a stipulated sum, and moreover, before the architect could secure the oversight of its construction, a satisfactory tenderer bad to be forthcoming to erect the building within the stipulated price. Naturally it took Yorkshiremen to fulfil both requirements. The fact that Wellington has a Town Hall which fails to "o< .nmand great respect from those who know what constitutps good architecture" is no fault of either the architect or builder.—l am, etc., E. BOLD. 29th November.