Compared with many towns Sunderland was very late in providing a town
hall to house its councillors and officials with dignity. Since 1835
council meetings had been held in the Exchange Building, but by 1870
pressure was increasing to remedy the situation.
The first proposal came from architect Joseph Potts in 1868. He
suggested developing the Fawcett Street site for the erection of a
council chamber, administrative offices, concert hall, library, museum
and police courts. This centralized facility would have been paid for
by renting out accommodation to the Post Office, the Inland Revenue
and 11 shops. The cost was an estimated £45.000. The Corporation
declined the idea.
In 1873 the council decided to hold an architectural competition to
cost no more than £20,000 for the town hall. There were thirty designs
submitted and they were exhibited in April 1874. The corporation who
were judging the designs had picked two winners, but could not decide
which was the best.
After several years of effort no progress had been made and the
project for the time being was abandoned. It was not until 1883 that
the decision of where the town hall would be built that, the site of
Fawcett Street was acquired. A new competition was announced in 1886
with a cost limit of £27,000. The winning architect was Brightwen
Binyon of Ipswich.
In the end it had taken twenty years to decide where to build it, who
should build it, the cost did come within the £27,000 limit. However
with the cost of land, furnishings, decorations and services the final
cost was almost £50,000. The new town hall was opened with much
ceremony on November 6th 1890. Brothers John and Thomas Tillman were
the Sunderland architects who built it.
At the time the building was described as a credit to the town, though
the town hall was found to be inadequate for its purpose almost at
once. The building only survived for 80 years as a number of
departments were moved else where in the town. Until the new Civic
Centre was built. The Town Hall building became an important Victorian
design and a much prized part of the townscape.
Alternative uses were proposed for the building and all were rejected.
As it was the most public of buildings in Sunderland it was surrounded
by controversy trying to design and build it and also when in 1971 the
town hall was demolished.
