The guildhall was commissioned at a time when Poole prospered from the cross-Atlantic and Mediterranean trade routes. Ships would sail from Poole to Newfoundland loaded with salt and provisions; they then transported fish from Newfoundland to Spain, Portugal and Italy and returned to Poole laden with wine, olive oil, dried fruits, and salt. The building was funded by
public subscription with much of the funding donated by two local
members of parliament,
Joseph Gulston and
Thomas Calcraft. The building was designed in the
Georgian style, built in red brick with stone dressings at a cost of £2,250 and was completed in 1761. and continued to serve as a
court of record,
magistrates' court,
Court of Admiralty and a venue for
Quarter Sessions for much of the 19th century. It was outside the guildhall that, in 1886, a local man, John King, murdered a councillor, Horatio Hamilton, who had advised him that, unless he found the funds to purchase a boat, his licence as a harbour pilot would be withdrawn. The building continued to serve as the headquarters of the borough council until the council moved to
Poole Civic Centre at the junction between Parkstone Road and Sandbanks Road in May 1932. During the
Second World War, the guildhall was used as a canteen and meeting room for American troops preparing to take part in the
invasion of France. The showers and washing facilities installed at that time were later converted into
public baths which were used until the 1960s. and remained on the first floor of the building until moving to new premises in the Lower High Street area in 1989. After some 16 years of disuse and increasing dilapidation, an extensive programme of refurbishment works was carried out to a design by HGP Conservation in the early 21st century. The works, which cost of £800,000, involved the conversion of the building for use as a register office and a venue for weddings and civil partnership ceremonies. It was officially re-opened by the
Princess Royal in October 2007. ==See also==