Chippenham Town Hall

Chippenham Town Hall stands in the High Street of Chippenham, Wiltshire. It is a 19th-century municipal building made of ashlar stone in the neoclassical style. The site once held a public house called The Cannon Inn before the hall was constructed. Joseph Neeld, a local member of parliament, paid for the new building after Chippenham became a municipal borough in 1835. The hall replaced the older Yelde Hall in the Market Place, which had become too small for the growing town. The town hall is a Grade II listed building and was designed by James Thomson. Its frontage is asymmetrical, with four bays facing the High Street. The left section features a loggia with three bays, each having openings on the ground floor. Above these are three-light mullioned windows on the first floor. A panel from 1851 bears the inscription thanking Joseph Neeld for his contribution. The coat of arms of Neeld is displayed on the parapet above. Inside, the principal rooms are the market hall on the ground floor and the council chamber on the first floor. The building was extended between 1848 and 1850 to include a large cheese hall, later renamed Neeld Hall. During the First World War, it served as an auxiliary war hospital. In the 1960s, Neeld Hall hosted concerts by bands like The Kinks and The Who. Today, after refurbishment, it functions as a community and arts centre, with improved facilities added in 2015.