An historic guide through Walsall's Town Hall

An historic guide through

Walsall’s Town Hall

introduced by

The Mayor of Walsall Cllr Peter Smith

Cllr Peter Smith Biography

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ouncillor Pete Smith was born in Walsall in 1951 and has lived there for almost all of his life. The eldest of 6 children, Pete and his siblings were raised by their parents on the Beechdale Estate, Walsall. Upon passing his 11plus exam, Pete attended The Joseph Leckie School from 1962 to 1969, serving as Deputy Head Boy of the school in the school year 1968/9.

After obtaining his A levels, he studied History, Politics and Economics at Lanchester Polytechnic, Coventry (now Coventry University) and graduated in 1972 with a B.A. (Hons.) degree. After working for a short time in the Probation Service, Pete entered the teaching profession and spent 33 years at Great Wyrley High School in South Staffordshire before taking early retirement as Head of Business Studies in 2005.

Having served as a South Staffordshire District and Parish Councillor from 1979 to 1981, Pete was first elected as a Walsall Councillor in 1983, serving the Palfrey ward until 1987. He later represented the Blakenall ward from 1988 to 1992, 1993 to 1997, 2007 to 2011 and more recently from 2012 until

2016. During these periods of office Pete served on a whole range of Committees and school governing bodies and was for a short time the Chair of the Council’s Education Committee. In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s Pete was honorary Secretary of Walsall’s Community Relations Council, which at the time was Walsall’s largest voluntary organisation, doing a great deal of pioneering and campaigning work on equality issues, particularly the promotion of racial equality.

Pete has been involved in local politics and has been a community campaigner and activist for the last 40 years. He became Mayor of Walsall for the year 2014/15 (commencing June 16th 2014) as determined by the 60 strong Council and based on length of service as a sitting Councillor.

The charities chosen for support from the Mayor’s Charity Appeal 2014-2015 are: 1) The Macmillan Cancer Support Group, Walsall; 2) The MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Society, Black Country Branch; 3) The Walsall based “Heart Care”; 4) Bloxwich Community Partnership Charity.

The Mayor’s niece, Mrs. Laura Barnes, will support the Mayor as his Mayoress during his term in office.

Introduction Councillor Melvin Pitt, Walsall’s 2007/08 Mayor, was instrumental in the creation of this historical guide.

It provides information on the history of the building, the various rooms within it, and introduces your current Mayor and the role they play in the Walsall borough.

Architecture W alsall Council House may be more than 100 years old but it remains a majestic, fascinating, and on close inspection, beautiful building. Look past the greying façade – darkened by years of pollution – and the stunning features of this amazing structure, designed by architect J Glenn Gibson and first opened in 1905, can’t fail to impress. *Walsall Council House was 14 years in the making, from the first idea to the opening of this grand building. It cost £98,400 – double the original estimate – a lot of money in the early part of the 20th century, around £8.3 million in today’s money. This was despite cost-cutting measures such as stone stairs instead of marble. * £8.3 million calculated based on the Retail Price Index (RPI) between 1906 and 2006.

Foundation Stone Plaque

Above the Main Entrance

Architecture In 1902 there was a grand celebration when the foundation stone was laid and royalty visited the town – Prince Christian of Schleswig Holstein, who was married to Princess Helena Augusta Victoria who was Queen Victoria’s daughter. But it was to be another three years before the council house would officially open. Changes and additions to the original plans and the Boer War led to delays.

Look up around the outside of the building and you will see intricate carvings by sculptor Mr H C Fehr at a cost of £2,000. These include a huddled figure with a child on the archway over the main entrance and the bell tower.

The bell tower is operated by a Carillon, a small keyboard. The outside construction is stone with brick arches. A trap door leads to the bell tower itself and views stretch over Walsall and across to Barr Beacon and Dudley.

A view from the bell tower looking out over Walsall

Some councillors had called for a clock in the tower but it was never designed to take one. They did however insist on gas light fittings as a back- up to the electricity in both the main entrance hall and the public hall and a lift was installed when councillors voted 16 to 9 in favour of having one although they were still quite rare.

Many of the original features of the council house remain today – a speaking tube runs from the Tower Street doorway to the curator’s flat. It is no longer used but youngsters used to rudely shout into it knowing that they could run away by the time the curator got down to street level to tell them off.

John Henry Carless Awarded Victoria Cross

Walsall Town Hall came under threat during a Zeppelin raid in 1916. The Mayoress Mary Slater was hit by shrapnel and later died of her injuries. Shrapnel damage can still be seen in Bradford place opposite the cenotaph.

Plaque to commemorate Mayoress Slater

Ornate carvings surrounding the bell tower

Entrance Hall

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ery few buildings have survived the ravages of time as well as Walsall Council House. Look on the walls, the windows, the ceilings and you will see historic pictures, statues and memorials.

There is also a bust of Bob Roberts, a former Walsall Youth organiser, who was highly respected and made a big impact for the youth of the town.

Through the double doors there is The Great War Roll of Honour which lists the 55 council employees who lost their lives in the 1914/18 conflict. The dead are listed by name, department, rank and regiment or ship. If you look closely you may be able to spot Bob Roberts

Staff Role of Honour

just one woman among the dead, Miss G Bytheway, who had been with the Voluntary Aid Detachment Nursing Service Territorial Forces.

The Great War Role of Honour

The Mayors of Walsall

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ccording to the records Walsall has had a Mayor since 1377. For hundreds of years the Mayors role was to lead the council but since the 1830s it has been a more ceremonial post.

A list of the town’s Mayors can be seen on the wall of the Council Chamber’s ante room. Some have been Mayor more than once; some are father and son or other relatives. There have been just 11 lady Mayors so far.

Richard II Henry V Edward III 1349 Black Death

Richard III Edward IV Henry VIII

Henry IV Henry VI 1455-1489 Wars of the Roses

Edward V Henry VII

Mayor Cresswell

Mary I Jane Edward VI Elizabeth I

1536 Anne Boleyn Beheaded

James I

Charles I Ch

1607 Gunpowder Plot

1642 Civil War

Pictured are several well known Walsall Mayors. The earliest portrait is of Mayor Holden dating from 1870, and there is also a portrait of Mayor Cresswell, the first lady Mayor. Mayor’s Leckie and Harrison have schools named after them, and Mayor’s Toon and Smith were both awarded the honour of Freedom of the City.

Mayor Toon

Mayor Leckie

Mayor Harrison

Mayor Smith

Mayor Holden

Historical Time Line When Henry VIII was on the throne - from 1509 to 1547 - the Mayors included Roger Pemberton, Richard Hopkys and William Hawkes. They would have seen his six wives including Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn come and go. During the reign of James I - 1603 to 1625 - which saw the Gunpowder plot when Guy Fawkes and other Roman Catholic conspirators tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament and the start of the 30 Years War which began in 1618, Thomas Gorway Senior and William Taylor were among Walsall’s Mayors and during the reign of Anne I - 1702 to 1714 - which was dominated by the War of the Spanish Succession Mayors included Thomas Wilson and Edward Ball. In 1807 Walter Spurrier was Mayor as Britain saw the abolition of the slave trade.

Edward VII Edward VIII

James II George II Anne I George III

George I harles II William III 1665 Fire of London

George IV Victoria

George VI George V

1807 1853-1856 1899-1902 1914-1918 Abolition of slave trade Crimean War Boer War World War I

1939-45 World War II

The Town Hall

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s you walk into the town hall you are transported back in time. Of course it has been redecorated over the years but it retains a feeling of grandeur with its high ceiling and elaborate décor.

The organ was put in to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and cost £2,500. It has 98 stops, five keyboards and thousands of pipes – one of Walsall’s great treasures.

On either side of the organ are murals depicting the Great War another name for the First World War. They were commissioned by businessman Joseph Leckie who became

Mayor in 1926 and were designed by artist Frank O Salisbury who spoke to the officers who had served in the South Staffordshire Regiment so he could paint actual events.

In the 1970s during a refurbishment of the hall the murals were very nearly lost as there were plans to paint over them but luckily Councillors realised the importance of these amazing scenes and they were saved.

Completed in 1920 the painting on the left shows the First South Staffordshires attacking the Hohenzollern Redoubt during the Battle of Loos and the other shows the Fifth South Staffords storming the St Quentin canal at Bellingtise on September 29, 1918.

Around the hall you will also see bronze plaques listing all those who died in the First and Second World Wars.

On the rear wall of the balcony is a copy of a fresco – the original can be found in the House of Commons.

It is described “Charles, assisted in his escape by Jane Lane” referring to Charles II who escaped from the Battle of Worcester and hid in Walsall’s Bentley Hall.

The hall also has a foyer and entrance on Leicester Street which means that the many functions held there can take place independently of the rest of the Council House. Concerts, dances and Mayor Making are just some of the events this great hall has seen over more than a century.

Stairs and Galleries T

he main stone stairway leads up from the entrance hall to the first and second floors of the council house.

The council house was originally decorated in blue and gold.

Gallery of Mayors

At each level you will see the walls adorned with pictures of yesteryear alongside more current photos, and if you look up you will see some beautiful stained glass windows.

On the second floor there are photographs of many past Mayors, still keeping a watchful eye on the comings and goings in the council of which they were once such a big part of. After a recent spell in storage, it was Mayor Pitt in 2007 who said “History isn’t just about it’s architecture and industry but it’s people.”

They have recently been put up again in the gallery of Mayors.

Further along the passageway is a white painted plaster statue of a woman with a child, a model of the Statue of Justice which can be seen above the main entrance.

Entrance to the Mayors Parlour

Council Chamber

The Council Chamber

The Ante Room

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efore you get to the main chamber of the council house you go through an ante room where members have coffee and a chat before meetings. This where you will find the list of the first recorded Mayors.

Just off the room is a single toilet – it was provided with only men in mind as women were not part of local government when Walsall Council House was built.

The council used to sit monthly, now it sits every eight weeks. When council business first moved to this building in 1905 from the Guildhall, there were 24 councillors and eight aldermen. Now there are 60 members of the council and extra seating has been added since the Chamber was first built.

Councillors should be seated before the Mayor and stand when he enters behind the Maces. The meeting begins after a short prayer and normally lasts around two hours.

The Chief Executive sits to the right of the Mayor and officers, there to advise Councillors on more technical issues, sit to the left. The Conservatives sit to the left, Liberals and Independents in the centre and Labour to the right. The press sit in the public gallery.

Walsall Council has around 700 different functions. Education, social services, leisure and planning are just a few of the council’s responsibilities.

Councillors, who are elected by local people, serve a four-year term.

They make decisions on behalf of the community about local services such as land use, refuse collection and leisure facilities and agree the local authority’s budget.

Around 100 to 120 people can be seated in the Public Gallery in the Chamber and anyone wishing to attend is allowed in.

When members of the council wish to speak during the meeting they press a button in front of them which lights up on the Mayor’s desk and when it is their turn the Mayor allows them five minutes.

A green light signals the start of their time and a red light glows when their time is up.

As the list of Mayors in the ante room was full by 1835 all Mayors since that date have instead been listed around the Chamber on heavy oak panels. Another oak panel lists the names of those who have been made Honorary Freemen – the highest honour a council can award. These include Mrs Laura Barnes Edward Thomas Holden, Mayoress admitted in 1905, the first to be appointed in Walsall; Jerome K Jerome, 1926 and Councillors Herbert Smith and Arthur Toon, 1998.

The original Mayor’s throne is still in place and as you leave the Chamber there is a plaque unveiled by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth in her Jubilee year to mark the appointment of the 600th Mayor.

Mayor’s Parlour

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he Mayor’s Parlour is housed on the second floor of the Council House, entered via an imposing set of wrought iron gates.

In the Parlour Foyer is displayed the crockery set originally used by Willenhall Urban District Council. The crockery case was made

by Harris and Sheldon and was presented to Willenhall Council in 1951. On the walls are several Sister Dora artefacts including the original panel from the base of the town centre Sister Dora Statue. A white marble statue was erected on The Bridge in 1886 following her death in 1878. By the 1950’s the memorial was showing signs of wear. Harry S. Gwinnutt therefore made it a Mayoral promise to replace the statue in 1954 and the present bronze Sister Dora located on The Bridge, is the result. Councillor Gwinnutt salvaged the least worn panel from the base of the original statue to display in the Mayoral Suite. A stain glass window at the rear of the Foyer was presented to the Council from the Municipality of Mulhouse in 1979. Also displayed are articles depicting the Coat of Arms and relationship with Mulhouse including the original twinning agreement from 1962.

The Parlour is used as the Mayor’s personal office and for hosting receptions to local organisations and even royalty. The Mayor’s Parlour, Ante-Room and Foyer feature much of the art-nouveau detailing used throughout the building. The doors, drinks cabinet and fireplaces are original and are made from Spanish mahogany.

Around the top of the walls are several portraits of past Mayors who are still alive. On the day of a past Mayors funeral the portrait is removed and placed in chronological order in the corridors outside the Parlour.

It is tradition that every Mayors Parlour will have a portrait of Her Majesty the Queen which must be hung higher than any other portrait in the room.

There is a selection of military pictures commemorating several historic events which have been donated by the 3rd Battalion of The Mercian Regiment (formerly The Staffordshire Regiment) who have very close links to Walsall.

The Regiment hold the Freedom of the Borough which, although essentially a ceremonial title, means that they are entitled to parade through the streets of the Town Centre with fixed bayonets. Above the drinks cabinet are two bugles which are on permanent loan from the Regiment.

The writing bureau once belonged to Jerome K. Jerome, Walsall’s most famous author and was the bureau on which he apparently wrote “Three Men In A Boat”. Born in 1859, he spent only a short time in Walsall but the town claimed him as a son, conferring the Freedom of the Borough upon him shortly before his death in 1927. He bequeathed the bureau in his Will to the people of Walsall and it was decided at the time by the Trustees of the Will that it was appropriate that this would be donated to the Mayor’s Parlour, and this is where it has been since his death.

The photograph on top of the writing bureau shows Esther Venables, the Mayoress in 1913. Mrs. Venables was the first Mayoress to wear the chain of office. Previous to this, the office of Mayoress was not officially recognised and therefore they wore no regalia. The women of the town of Walsall decided this was not acceptable and therefore funds were raised by a Ladies Committee, chaired by Miss E. J. Brace, and £114 6s was raised to have the chain made. The photograph was taken for the occasion of the chain being publicly presented to her by Miss Brace. This chain is regarded as the most beautiful chain worn by a Mayoress in the West Midlands.

It is encrusted with diamonds, sapphires and rubies. The Mayor can choose a consort – male or female – who escorts them on functions. They can be a friend or relative and normally if they are female they will be called a Mayoress. The youngest Mayoress was Abigail Pitt in 2007/2008 who was 16.

In the glass cabinet in the corner of the room is displayed the Mayoral regalia. Here you can see the Mayoress chain along with the main Mayor’s chain. It was felt by the Council in 1875 that the Mayor, being the first citizen of the Borough and Her Majesty’s representative, should look the part and therefore obtained a gold chain.

The Mayor still wears this main chain on such occasions as Mayor Making, Civic Sunday, Remembrance Sunday and for royal visits but Thomas Fattorini Ltd of Birmingham, the original manufacturers and the jewellers still used to maintain the regalia, advised the Council to restrict the use of the chain as it is quite fragile.

The Mayor subsequently has a smaller chain which he uses for his daily duties.

At ceremonial events the Mayor will wear the robes, which are not altered and therefore fit any Mayor. The Deputy Mayor has a similar robe but in Royal Blue. They will carry the hat and gloves. If the Mayor is female they will wear a tricorn hat.

The casket on display is the Joseph Leckie Freedom Casket. The Freedom of the Borough of Walsall was conferred on Joseph Leckie, the seventh person to receive the honour, on 13 December 1937. At the time Joseph Leckie’s health was very fragile and a date for the ceremony at which he would be presented with the towns’ highest honour could not be settled due to his changing conditions. Joseph Leckie passed away in an Edgbaston Nursing Home in August 1938. He would never be presented with his Freedom Scroll and casket. Furnished in gilded silver weighing 71 ounces it is simple, rather than ornate in design, crowned with a monogram of the letters JAL on the hinged lid. On each side are designs which depict symbols of the interests embraced by Leckie: education, magisterial and Parliamentary work. Others represent the Church, Rotary and business interests. There are ceramic panels which illustrate in excellent details the Council House, the Victoria Nursing Institution, the Presbyterian Church and the School which bears his name. The casket is lined with silk and is mounted on a mahogany plinth.

The illuminated scroll it contains is of best quality calf skin and has a silk cord attachment.

The casket remained in the possession of Leckie’s family until it was disposed of for reasons unknown. The casket and its contents eventually appeared for sale in a second hand shop. The owner of a local jewellers, Mr. Hayes acquired the casket in 1972. Mr. Hayes offered the casket to the Corporation at half its market value. It was purchased in May 1972 on behalf of the Council by Sid Wright in his year of Mayoralty.

The Mayor’s Mace

The oldest regalia displayed in the Parlour are the two Maces and Stand which, from the London hallmark, date from 1627-28 and were obtained under Charles I’s charter. They are silver parcel gilt – they form a pair and are exactly alike in every respect. The heads are divided by beaded straps into four panels bearing a thistle, rose, harp and Fleur de Lys. Alterations were made to the original maces because they now read at the top “Vive le Roy cr. 1660” translated as “Long Live The King” with the date of Charles the Second’s accession, when the Monarchy was restored following Cromwell’s reign as Protector. The Maces are a sign of authority and these are carried at ceremonial events and parades. In past years the Maces were carried by the Sergeant At Arms and were responsible for the Mayor’s wellbeing. If anyone got too close to the Mayor they would be hit on the head with the Maces, but that sort of punishment isn’t seen today!

Nowadays at each Council meeting the Mayor enters the Council Chamber following the Maces, signalling that the meeting has started.

The Mayor hosts many visits to the Parlour and VIP visitors will sign the visitor’s book which proudly displays details of a visit by HM The Queen.

Next to the robe cabinet is a beautiful photograph which records the presentation of the Freedom of the Borough to Sir Edwin Smith in 1913. Note on the photograph the two gentlemen at the ends of the back row. These show the Sergeant at Arms who would carry the Maces. Also note the local residents peering over the gate at the back of the photo!

The cabinet behind the Mayor’s desk holds silver items which have been donated to the Mayor’s Parlour such as candelabras, salvers, jugs and trophies. This also includes regalia which were used by Darlaston, Brownhills, Willenhall and Brownhills Councils. Darlaston Urban District Council became part of the County Borough of Walsall in 1966.

Aldridge & Brownhills Urban District Council became part of Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council in 1974 as part of the reorganisation under the Local Government Act 1972.

Standing on the mantelpiece of the magnificent fireplace are two figures of the nineteenth century - Prime Minsters Disraeli

Gladstone and Disraeli, They are manufactured by Wittman & Roth and presented to Councillor Brian John during his Mayoralty.

As you move into the Ante-Room glance at the ceilings and note the intricate design. The Ante-Room is used as a waiting room and as an extension when the Mayors hosts function. When the building was completed in 1905 this room was occupied by the Mayor’s secretary. On the walls are two paintings “Gods Acre”

by Thomas Faed and “Cupboard Love” by Briton Riviere. “Gods Acre” was hung at the Royal Academy in 1872 and was later selected for display at the International Exhibition in Vienna. It shows a poignant scene of three young children gazing down Gladstone into an open grave. Edmund Crompton Potter commissioned Riviere to paint “Cupboard Love” which depicts his third daughter Mary Catherine (Katie to her family) with her poodle Figaro. This was painted in 1881 and displayed at The Royal Academy in 1882. Edmund Potter died in 1882 and his collection of paintings was sold at Christies in 1884. The painting came into the possession of a local Magistrate in the Walsall area. When he died in 1917, his daughter inherited the painting and in the 1930’s she lent it and twelve other Victorian and Edwardian paintings to Walsall Council where they were displayed in the Mayor’s Parlour. Following her death the paintings were purchased by the Council at auction in 1954 and were displayed from 1967 in Walsall Art Gallery. “Cupboard Love” returned later to the Mayor’s Parlour. The famous author Beatrix Potter was the niece of Edmund Crompton Potter. In her diary dated Wednesday March 19th 1884 she wrote “Went to Christie, Manson and Woods to see Uncle Crompton’s pictures which are to be sold on Saturday… Cupboard Love… not a bit like Kate but remarkably good of Figaro!”.

There is also a photograph of HM The Queen signing the Visitors Book with the Mayor Alice Taylor. This was the first time that a reigning monarch had entered the Council House.

On top of the mantelpiece is a very ornate clock. Roy Cavanagh of Queensland handcrafted this clock from timber indigenous to Australia. The main body is of Red Cedar, the inner ring is of Emu Apple circled by a fine line of Silver Ash. The centre segments are White Cedar and Burdekin Plum. The stones are mostly Agate from North Queensland Gem Fields. The clock was donated by Harry Richards. Harry was born in Bloxwich in 1921 and from the late 1940’s has been prominent in the political scene in Walsall. Harry now lives in Australia and on a visit to the Parlour in the mid 1990’s he noticed the Mayor’s clock was not working and promised to replace it. He donated this clock to the Parlour in 1997.

Mayor’s Appeal 2014–2015

I would like to take this opportunity of inviting the Townspeople of Walsall to support the worthy cause I have officially adopted as The Mayor’s Appeal 2014/2015. The Charity Appeal was launched by me on assuming the office of Mayor in June 2014 and will be open to any donations, however small, until the end of my own Civic Year in June 2015.

Monies raised will be donated to the Mayor’s Charity Appeal 2014/2015 for the direct benefit of MS Society: Black Country Branch, Bloxwich Community Partnership, Heart Care and Macmillan Cancer Support, Walsall.

MS Society: Black Country Branch maintains services for people in Walsall affected with MS. They have recently started an exercise group at the Stan Ball Centre, Bloxwich to promote healthy activity for disabled persons. They want to extend this service to include complimentary therapies to help members manage their condition more effectively.

Bloxwich Community Partnership is a community organisation and operates over three sites in the Bloxwich area, The Stan Ball Centre, Blakenall Community Centre and The Electric Palace. They bring local people together to support people of all ages to engage in learning, leisure and social activity and to encourage healthy lifestyles and well being.

Heart Care is a Walsall based Cardiac Rehabilitation Trust. It has developed a flexible and accessible programme, with each patient given a tailor made exercise programme arranged and supervised by their exercise physiology team. The programme includes diet and nutrition advice as well as relaxation and stress management groups.

Macmillan Cancer Support helps cancer patients by giving advice and supporting emotionally and financially. The Walsall committee was formed 18 years ago and they have raised over £500,000. Since 2013 they have helped 240 people financially with heating, transport, clothing and respite holiday costs.

I know that my chosen charities will benefit greatly from your kindness.

Yours sincerely, Councillor Peter Smith Mayor of Walsall 2014/2015

The Mayor’s Parlour, Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council, The Council House, Walsall WS1 1TP Tel: 01922 652013 / 652072 Fax: 01922 622321 Designed and printed by Walsall Council Print and Design Services. Tel: 01922 653223

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