Otley Civic Centre
Otley Civic Centre
LocationCross Green, Otley
Coordinates53°54′22″N 1°41′22″W / 53.9061°N 1.6895°W / 53.9061; -1.6895
Built1871
ArchitectCharles Fowler
Architectural style(s)Italianate style
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameThe Mechanics Institute
Designated8 July 1974
Reference no.1200204
Otley Civic Centre is located in West Yorkshire
Otley Civic Centre
Shown in West Yorkshire

Otley Civic Centre is a municipal structure in Cross Green, Otley, West Yorkshire, England. The structure, which was the offices and meeting place of Otley Town Council, is a Grade II listed building.[1]

History

The building was commissioned by members of the local mechanics institute which had been formed as the Otley Useful Instruction Society in 1835.[2] Its members, who included the magistrate, John Peele Clapham, initially met in a school room attached to the Salem Chapel in Bridge Street before moving to the Wesleyan Chapel in Nelson Street the following year.[2] In the 1860s the members decided to erect a dedicated building for the mechanics institute to promote adult education in the town.[2]

The foundation stone for new building was laid by a local philanthropist, Mrs Emma Dawson, of Weston Hall on 19 June 1868.[2] It was designed by Charles Fowler of Leeds in the Italianate style, built in ashlar stone and was officially opened on 31 October 1871.[3] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto Cross Green; the central bay, which slightly projected forward, featured, on the ground floor, a portico with two pairs of Tuscan order columns supporting an entablature and, on the first floor, a stone balcony and a French door flanked by Corinthian order pilasters.[1] The other bays were fenestrated by sash windows on the ground floor and round headed windows on the first floor.[1] At roof level, there was an entablature, a cornice supported by brackets and a balustrade.[1] Internally, the principal rooms were the concert hall on the first floor and the lecture theatre on the ground floor.[2] The building became the main forum for public events in the town with lectures, theatrical performances and concerts all being held there.[2]

Following significant population growth, largely associated with the status of Otley as a market town, the area became an urban district in 1894.[4] Although, the mechanics institute was extended to the rear in 1895,[5] the council established offices for council officers and their departments in North Parade.[6] The council eventually took ownership of the former mechanics institute, which it received as a gift for the benefit of the community, in 1957.[7]

The Otley Museum, which was established in 1961 with the objective of assembling a collection of objects depicting the history of the town, subsequently moved into the building.[8] Following local government re-organisation in 1974, the building was transferred to the ownership of Leeds City Council[9] and the building subsequently became the offices and meeting place of Otley Town Council which was formed in the mid-1970s.[10] After the city council decided to redevelop the building, the town council was asked to relocate and the museum had to close in December 2010.[11] The city council went on to sell the building to a developer in December 2020.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Historic England. "The Mechanics Institute (1200204)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cobley, Fred (1882). On Foot Through Wharfdale. William Walker & Sons. p. 88.
  3. ↑ "Otley Civic Centre". Open Plaques. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  4. ↑ "Otley UD". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  5. ↑ "Community Facilities in Otley" (PDF). Otley Town Council. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  6. ↑ "No. 41009". The London Gazette. 22 February 1957. p. 1221.
  7. ↑ "Ownership dispute blows up over Otley Civic Centre". Wharfdale Observer. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  8. ↑ "Collections". Otley Museum. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  9. ↑ Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN 0-10-547072-4.
  10. ↑ "Our Role". Otley Town Council. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  11. ↑ "Otley museum prepares to move exhibits". Wharfedale Observer. 27 January 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  12. ↑ "Town waiting to hear new owner's plans for Civic Centre building". The Telegraph and Argus. 20 December 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
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