Earlier municipal buildings The first municipal building in Devizes was a
medieval structure in the New Port area, a district inside the outer bailey of
Devizes Castle, completed in the mid-15th century. A second structure, a
guildhall with an adjoining council house, was completed in the mid-16th century: this structure accommodated the courts and also provided storage for the town's archives. The building became home to the cheese market in 1689 and was re-configured to accommodate a council chamber in 1735. The building was largely used as a market hall: between 1785 and 1787 it served as an
arsenal for the
Royal Wiltshire Militia and, while the current structure was under construction, it was very briefly used as a venue for council meetings. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing south down St John's Street; the central section of three bays formed a full-height
curved bow. The ground floor, which was rusticated, featured round headed windows, while the first floor featured pedimented sash windows flanked by Ionic order columns supporting an entablature. The re-construction also preserved the lock-up in the basement. After significant population growth, largely associated with the status of Devizes as a market town, the area became a
municipal borough with the town hall as its headquarters in 1835. The basement of the building was used as an
air raid shelter in the
Second World War and, after the war, the assembly hall was used as an events venue: performers included the beat band,
The Merseybeats, in June 1966 and the
rock band,
Status Quo, in December 1968. The building continued to serve as the headquarters of Devizes Borough Council for much of the 20th century but ceased to be the local seat of government after
Kennet District Council was established at The Cedars in Bath Road in 1974. The town hall subsequently became the offices and meeting place of Devizes Town Council. Works of art in the town hall include portraits by
Joshua Reynolds of
King George III and of
Queen Charlotte, and portraits by
Briton Rivière of
Lord and
Lady Roundway of
Roundway Park. There is also a portrait by
Thomas Phillips of the politician, Joshua Smith, and a portrait by
Henry William Pickersgill of the politician,
John Pearse. ==See also==