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The original Town Hall, or Town House as it was then called, was built in 1612 by a group of charitably minded feoffees. Collectively they donated tenements and pieces of land in Deddington, Bloxham and 12 acres in Over Worton which provided an income. In 1806 they rebuilt the Town Hall with financial help from the parish and the three Lords of Deddington Manor. Timbers from the original 17th century brick-built Town House can still be seen in the undercroft ceiling.
Initially the undercroft was left open and used for market stalls, in particular for butchers. Then in 1858 the arches were blocked to provide a shelter for the parish fire engine and so it remained until the 1930s. After that the undercroft was re-opened and latterly it has been used again for stalls, especially on Farmers’ Market days, as a bus shelter and as a venue for parish noticeboards and the Millennium maps of the three villages in the parish. |
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The upstairs room has been used at various times for vestry meetings, for a court, for a reading room and library, for a polling station and, during the second World War, as an HQ for the Deddington platoon of the Home Guard. Post-war the building was leased for some 40 years to the parish council which held its monthly meetings there.
On the southern wall of the Town Hall is Deddington’s Coat of Arms granted in 1994 – one of only a handful of villages in the country to be awarded arms. The building was renovated by the local builders Catling & Catling Ltd in 2015. Now the upper floor is occupied by an art gallery. The red telephone kiosk by the north wall is the classic 1935 K6 Sir Giles Gilbert Scott design.
On the southern wall of the Town Hall is Deddington’s Coat of Arms granted in 1994 – one of only a handful of villages in the country to be awarded arms. The building was renovated by the local builders Catling & Catling Ltd in 2015. Now the upper floor is occupied by an art gallery. The red telephone kiosk by the north wall is the classic 1935 K6 Sir Giles Gilbert Scott design.
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Location: The Town Hall, Market Place Deddington, OX15 0SE |