| Description | Early in 1889 a proposal was made to build a masonic hall in Bakewell, and considerable sums of money raised for this purpose. Before further steps were taken it was suggested that the Freemasons should join with those people who had advocated the building of a new Town Hall, to provide a building available to not only the Freemasons but also the wider community. A public company was incorporated on 25 March 1889, with an initial capital sum of £3500 being fully subscribed.
The Town Hall was situated at the junction of Anchor Square and Bath Street. It was built in the Gothic style to designs by George E Statham, architect, of Nottingham, and was opened by the Duke of Rutland on 18 September 1890. It included a public hall seating 500, a court room for the Magistrates and County Courts, the library and reading room of the Bakewell and High Peak Institute (established in 1848) as well as other rooms for the use of public bodies, Freemasons and other social and voluntary agencies. After the building of the Town Hall, the Company continued to run the management of it, raising the bulk of its revenue by the letting of rooms.
The Town Hall was sold to Bakewell Urban Distirct Council for £5000 in 1945, and the Company was liquidated. |