Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2007 | Page 69

ISLAND HISTORY

life

Appearances
are deceptive
For visitors arriving at the
sleepy hamlet of Newtown
via Cassies Bridge the rural
exterior of the Old Town Hall
gives little hint of the electoral
history contained within its
walls. A far more grandiose and
imposing view is gained when
approaching from Porchfield
and the pillared portico seems
fitting for a building which
until 1832 regularly returned
two Members to Parliament.
Queen Elizabeth 1 granted
Newtown the right to
parliamentary representation
in 1584 and although elections
were held from that date it was
in the late 17th century when
interest in politics increased
that it was decided to enlarge
the Town Hall to its present
size. The new, larger hall was
built around 1699 on top of
the original foundations but
because these were on a clay
soil the additional weight has
caused the Town Hall to lean
giving it its quirky appearance.
The Town Hall played an
important part in many aspects
of local life: Borough courts
were held there quarterly

and attendance was usually
compulsory for landowners and
tenants. Until the 1832 Reform
Act Newtown sent two members
to parliament and inside can
be found lists of the MPs and
Mayors that represented the
hamlet together with pictures
of some of the most eminent
including Canning, who was
Foreign Secretary whilst was
MP for Newtown and who
later became Prime Minister.
In 1835 Borough status
was withdrawn and the Town
Hall became redundant.
For awhile it was used as a
school and then as a house
but it finally fell into ruin until,
in the 1930s, it came to the
attention of the mysterious and
anonymous Ferguson Gang.
The Gang were a group of
young people influenced by
Clough William-Ellis’s book
‘England and the Octopus’:
the octopus represented
sprawling development.
Having purchased the Town
Hall for £5 they gave it to the
National Trust in 1933 who
have cared for it ever since.
From 1935 until the early

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years of the War, the building
was leased to the Youth
Hostel Association and during
the latter part of the War
the basement was used by
civil defence organisations.
Nowadays the Old Town
Hall is open to visitors who

can discover for themselves
this hidden part of the
Island’ 2