The building was commissioned, as a place for preserving the borough
muniments, by Elizabeth Allanson, who had inherited
Studley Royal Park from her father,
William Aislabie, and was also the widow of the former local
Member of Parliament,
Charles Allanson. The site she selected was occupied by two buildings, one of which was a public house which had previously been used by the borough council for its meetings. The new building was designed by
James Wyatt in the
neoclassical style, built in brick with a
stuccoed coating and was completed in 1799. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto the Market Square; the central section of three bays, which slightly projected forward, featured a round headed doorway with a
fanlight on the ground floor flanked by round headed windows. The inscription reflects
Psalm 127 "unless the Lord keeps the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." The substitution of the word "wakeman" for "watchman" refers to the wakeman or horn blower who was responsible blowing the horn at the corners of the market cross at 9pm every night at the start of the nightly patrol to identify any enemies in the city. The Marquess of Ripon assigned the building to the borough as a gift on 31 July 1897. The town hall continued to serve as the headquarters of the borough council for much of the 20th century but it ceased to be the local seat of government after the enlarged
Harrogate District Council was formed in 1974. Concerns over the deteriorating fabric of the building led to Ripon City Council, as tenant, to request, in March 2021, that Harrogate Borough Council, as owner of the building, carry out urgent repairs. Works of Art in the town hall include a portrait by Henry Milbourne of the benefactor, Elizabeth Allanson, a portrait by
Sir James Thornhill of the former
Chancellor of the Exchequer,
John Aislabie, and a portrait by
Sir Thomas Lawrence of the former
Prime Minister,
Viscount Goderich. ==See also==