Borough Hall

Borough Hall stands in Eastgate Street in the centre of Stafford, a red-brick and stone building in the Gothic style. It was designed by Henry Ward and completed in 1877 to house the growing council and a large assembly hall. Before its construction the council met in the Shire Hall and later in the 1853 Guildhall, which also held a police station. The site had once been an 18th-century warehouse called Mathew’s Yard. The front of the building shows a symmetrical façade with nine bays, a central arched doorway and a stone balcony above it. At roof level there are gables, wheel windows and a modillioned cornice. The building’s first floor once contained a large assembly hall while the ground floor had council offices and a reading room. In the early 1880s the reading room became a library and museum with exhibits collected by meteorologist Clement Lindley Wragge. An extension added in 1888 introduced terracotta carvings above the first-floor windows. The library and museum moved to a new Carnegie library in 1913, freeing space for more council offices. The council continued to use the building until 1978, when new civic offices were opened on the site of the old Royal Brine Baths. Today the building is the Gatehouse Theatre, refurbished and reopened in 1982 by the Duke of Gloucester. The interior still shows its Gothic detailing, including the original staircase and fireplaces. The theatre presents plays, concerts and community events throughout the year. Outside, the façade remains a familiar landmark in Stafford’s Eastgate Street. The building is Grade II listed, recognised for its architectural importance. Visitors can attend performances or simply admire the historic exterior.