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Huntingdon Town Hall
Built in 1745, the Grade II* Listed Georgian Town Hall is situated in the heart of Huntingdon on the Market Square. As a former Court House, the Town Hall is full of character, history, and unique original features.
The Town Hall has 5 different rooms available for hire and can accommodate bookings ranging from small meetings of up to 10 in the Gubbio Room, to functions of up to 120 in the Assembly Room. The Town Hall also has 4 rooms licenced for wedding ceremonies.
For more information or to make a booking please contact:
- email: [email protected]
- call 01480 410386
Assembly Room
The Assembly Room is a grand ballroom on the second floor of the Town Hall. It features three fine crystal Georgian chandeliers. This room contains eight portraits held by the Council as custodians for the town.
Capacity – Up to 120
Please note this room can be hired along with the Assembly Room as part of our Civic Suite.
Council Chamber
Formerly the Tea Room, the most prominent feature of the Council Chamber is the Mayoral Board which records the names of those persons who have held this auspicious office since 1729. Also recorded in this room are the names of the various Town Clerks and, more significantly, the names of some of those who fell in the service of their country in World War I.
Capacity – Up to 75
Please note this room can be hired along with the Assembly Room as part of our Civic Suite.
Courtrooms
A former Court House, the building boasts two renovated Court Rooms to provide a unique and intimate setting for a range of functions. The layout of the Court Rooms has remained very much the same for hundreds of years.
Capacity – Up to 60
Gubbio Room
Named after Huntingdon’s Italian twin town, the Gubbio Room can accommodate meetings of up to 10 people. The space includes its own kitchen, as well as a built in screen for presentations or video conferences.
Capacity – Up to 10
Weddings
In June 2015, Huntingdon Town Hall was formally approved as venue for marriage ceremonies and civil partnerships.
Whether you’re looking for a larger ceremony in our Assembly Room/Council Chamber, or something a little more unique and intimate in our Court Rooms, our team can work with you to give you a truly unforgettable day.
As a former Court House, the Town Hall is full of character and original features. The Market Square and inside rooms also provide a perfect backdrop for wedding photographs.
Exchange of Vows at Huntingdon Town Hall
Wedding Ceremony in Council Chamber
Reception in Assembly Room
History
Huntingdon Town Hall was built by voluntary subscription in 1745, helped by a contribution of £500 from the Earl of Sandwich and another £300 from Baron Clarke. The materials of a previous Old Court House were employed in the construction of the new building, which is made of brick, stuccoed, and was originally coloured in the imitation of Portland stone.
In 1817 the County Council agreed to erect an anteroom in front of the building and the Huntingdon Corporation agreed to build on top of the anteroom to form a tearoom at a cost to the Borough Council of some £200. This second-floor tearoom is now the Council Chamber, furnished with boards recording former Mayors since 1729 and the men and women of Huntingdon lost in World War I.
Meetings of the Council and its Committees are usually held the Council Chamber with the Annual Town Meeting and Mayor Making taking place in the grand Assembly Room, which affords a larger public gallery. This room contains eight portraits held by the Council as custodians for the town of
Georgian royalty and Victorian MPs. Adorning the rooms are three fine crystal chandeliers which over the years have been converted from candlelight to gas and then to electricity with a final refurbishment being undertaken in 1982.
At the beginning of the 19th century piazzas surrounded the whole building were being used by the weekly market for the sale of eggs and butter at the front and by the butchers’ shambles at the back and ends. These were enclosed in the late 1800s to form the exterior you see today.
On the ground floor are the original Court Rooms together with prisoners’ and interview accommodation which was extended and improved in 1982. The Courts on the ground floor were once described as “regions of woe, doleful shades” where once were held twice yearly the Assizes in March and July together with the Quarter Sessions and Sheriff’s Court. Subject to minor alterations for reasons of security, the layout of the Court Rooms remains very much the same. It was from these courtrooms that the trial of Joshua Slade took place, the last man to be hanged in Huntingdonshire.
On the first floor there was originally the Grand Jury Room where the Magistrates sat every week to despatch their business. From this room and overlooking the square of the Market Place is a small balcony originally consecrated for the use of the gentlemen “who make speeches for the benefit of their country” at the time of an election. These rooms are now used as offices by Huntingdon Town Council. The balcony was used in September 2022, for the Proclamation of the Accession of King Charles III.