Borough Buildings and Borough Hall

Hartlepool was an ancient borough, having been given a charter by King John in 1200. It was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1850. A few years later the council decided to commission a new market hall which could also serve as their headquarters: the site they chose was a street known as Johnny's Close. The foundation stone for the new building was laid on 10 August 1865. It was designed by Charles J. Adams in the Italianate style, built in red brick with stone dressings at a cost of £5,000 and was officially opened by the mayor, James Groves, on 4 October 1866. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with eleven bays facing onto Middlegate; the central bay featured a…