Prior to the opening of the current Guildhall in 1873, the Guildhall had, since the time of King
Edward IV, stood on a site further up the High Street.
The old Guildhall The medieval guildhall was reported in 1693 to be ruinous; eventually the decision was taken to demolish it and a new guildhall was built on the same site in 1713. The building, which is
Grade II*-listed, still stands and the curfew bell still sounds at 8pm each evening.
The new Guildhall The site of the new Guildhall was previously occupied by
St Mary's Abbey and came under crown control on the
dissolution of the monasteries in the late 1530s: it was then gifted by
Queen Mary to the City of Salisbury in gratitude for the city's support in securing her marriage to
King Philip of Spain in 1554. The foundation stone was laid by the former
Speaker of the House of Commons,
Viscount Eversley on 22 December 1871. The new building was designed by Jeffery and Skiller in the
Gothic Revival style and built by Joseph Bull & Sons. The design for the central section involved a flight of steps leading up to an arcaded entrance on the first floor, three
mullion windows on the second floor with a tall clock tower above flanked by angle
pavilions; Statues of local historical figures were erected on the front of the building at second floor level. An extension to the west of the original building, built to the designs of John Colson with a flint-work frontage, thereby creating a new banqueting facility, was added in 1893. In June 2009, a large room in the guildhall was extensively refurbished with financial support from a legacy left by the
Marchioness of Winchester; the money had been left on condition that it would be used to build a public hall in her honour, complete with a full-length portrait of her. In accordance with her wishes, the room was renamed the Bapsy Room in her honour and a huge portrait of her in her state robes by
Frank Salisbury was given pride of place in the room. Other paintings in the King Charles Room include a portrait of
King Charles II, also by Peter Lely, and a portrait of
Queen Elizabeth II by
Edward Halliday. In the stairwell there is a painting of the children of
Charles Paulet, 13th Marquess of Winchester by
Thomas Stewardson. ==References==