Ruthin Town Hall

Ruthin Town Hall
Town hall with tower; on the right (large doors) is the market hall: previously Ruthin Fire Brigade.
General information
Town or city	Ruthin, Denbighshire
Country	Wales
Coordinates	53°06′47″N 3°18′12″W / 53.113182°N 3.303207°W / 53.113182; -3.303207Coordinates: 53°06′47″N 3°18′12″W / 53.113182°N 3.303207°W / 53.113182; -3.303207
Construction started	1837
Completed	1863
Technical details
Structural system	stone

The Old Town Hall, taken down in 1863.

Ruthin Town Hall is a Victorian building in Market Street, Ruthin, Denbighshire, which was Grade II Listed by Cadw on 12 April 1973 (Cadw Building ID: 875).^[1]

The original town hall was located on St Peter's Square, built in 1663 from stones taken from the ruined chancel of St Peter’s Church. The building was demolished in 1863. The Corporation (council) met over the market hall approx where Peers Memorial Clock located, with magistrates sharing the same upper level and market traders using the ground floor. The demolition of the Bull Inn on top of Market Street enabled access form the square to the railway station. Ruthin became a designated County town for Denbighshire in 1907. The status was granted under the Act of Union during the reign of Henry VIII. Meetings of the Court of Quarter Sessions were held in the town as were those of Great Sessions. From 1775 Ruthin housed the county gaol, and in the nineteenth century clerks of the peace administered the county from their solicitors offices in the town. The status of a county town was lost in 1974 under local government reorganisation.

Ruthin Fire Brigade

Originally formed in 1841, the fire engines (which were drawn by donkeys or ponies) were stationed at the new town hall in 1869, soon after it was built. In 1926 it became one of the first brigades in North Wales to have a motorised engine. The brigade is now stationed in Park Road.

References