Town Hall

Venue Type & Location

Town Hall

Site Name: Town Hall
Location: Folkestone
County: Kent
Location Type: Town - in town at determined location

Overview

Located at the junction of Butcher Row and ??

'...an irregular quadrilateral, not far off square, jettied on at least two adjacent sides and gabled' (Mackie, Folkestone and its Neighbourhood 83).

The hall was on the upper storey with an open market below.

Performance History

As the seat of civic government and centre for festive occasions, Folkestone's Town Hall was probably the venue for most performances by touring entertainers before the mayor and city officials between 1512 and 1621, the period during which relevant payments were recorded.

Current Status

Demolished.

History of the Venue

1565 Extensive repairs recorded.

1607 Windows glazed.

1616 Further repairs made.

1730 Deteriorating but repaired again.

1840 Demolished.

1856 New town hall built on a different site on Guildhall Street.

Record Source

REED Kent: Diocese of Canterbury 2.574--91

Bibliographic Sources

  • Bishop, C.H. Folkestone: The Story of a town. Ashford, Kent and London: Headly Bros. Ltd., 1973.
  • Green, Ivan. The Book of the Cinque Ports: Their Origin and Development, Heyday and Decline. Buckingham: Barracuda, 1984.
  • Mackie, S.J. A Descriptive and Historical Account of Folkestone and its Neighbourhood. Folkestone: J. English, 1883.
  • Newman, John. North East and East Kent. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth and New York: Penguin, 1983.
  • Rigold, S.E. 'Two Types of Court Hall.' Archaeologia Cantiana 83 (1968): 1–22.