Romsey Town Hall

The first municipal building in the town was a medieval structure in the Market Place which was described latterly as "a small old house in bad repair". In the 17th century civic leaders decided to buy a house at The Hundred and to convert it for use as a town hall and as a lock-up for petty criminals. In 1736, the 1st Viscount Palmerston acquired Broadlands and thereby became lord of the manor: and, during the Swing Riots, the mayor permitted several hundred labourers, as well as the farmers, to attend a meeting at the town hall in 1830. The old building in the Market Place was demolished and replaced by a more substantial market hall known as the "Audit House" on Palmerston's instigation…