The first town hall, known as the "moot hall", was built at the corner of the Market Place and Stricklandgate in 1591. It was a plain white building embellished over the centuries with a
Venetian window, a
turret clock, a
bell cote and a
flagpole. The building was designed with a large
Ionic order loggia on the first floor with a
pediment above on its western i.e. front elevation. the carillon plays seven different tunes (one for each day of the week) on ten bells (the largest of which weighs 46
cwt (2.3 tonnes)). After the
Local Government Act 1888, which established county councils in every county, the building also became the meeting place for
Westmorland County Council. The building was extended to the north, to the designs of Stephen Shaw and financed by a donation from Alderman William Bindloss, in 1893. The town hall ceased to be the local seat of government when the
South Lakeland District Council was formed in 1974. From 1974 to 1991, South Lakeland District Council was based at Stricklandgate House, the former offices of
South Westmorland Rural District Council. In 1991 the council moved to a new building called South Lakeland House, immediately behind Kendal Town Hall, on a site formerly occupied by a police station. The main public entrance to South Lakeland House was down an alleyway beside the town hall. In February 2019 South Lakeland District Council announced works costing £4.9 million to convert the town hall into a reception centre for both the Town Council and the
District Council, using part of the ground floor as a reception area for the offices in South Lakeland House behind the town hall, and bringing council meetings back into the town hall itself. Space was also provided to be a hub for small businesses. The refurbished building reopened in May 2021. Further local government reform in 2023 saw South Lakeland District Council replaced by the new unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness Council. The new council chose to use Kendal Town Hall and the adjoining South Lakeland House as its official headquarters. Full council meetings were initially held at
County Hall in Kendal, but in 2024 the council decided to close that building and move meetings to Kendal Town Hall. Works of art held in the town hall include Queen
Catherine Parr's
prayer book, a
ceremonial sword presented to the town by
King Charles I and a painting by
George Romney depicting "King Lear in the Tempest Tearing off his Robes". Outside the building is a lump of stone known as the "Calling Stone", formerly part of Stricklandgate Market Cross, at which the accessions of new monarchs have historically been announced to the local people. ==Notes==