A Little Bit of History
Click here for some history about the Town Hall
Thank you very much to Colin Narramore for allowing us to use this lovely picture!
Walking up and down Northallerton’s streets allows us to glimpse a little bit of its history. The streets are lined with beautiful Georgian buildings, which have both a very present role in our community, and an interesting past. If we delve into its history, we discover that Northallerton was the site of the Battle of the Standard in 1138, the first battle between the English and the Scots since the Norman Conquest. It was here that 26, 000 men lost their lives in a vicious conflict. The King of Scotland, King David entered England in order to defend his niece's title to the English throne against that of the current English Monarch King Stephen, and more importantly to gain valuable land. On the way to Northallerton, King David's army had taken much of Northumberland; they met the English forces 2 miles north of our town and within three hours the Scots were defeated with heavy losses. They retreated, and the battle was won by the English, although later King David actually got the territorial concessions he had gone into battle for.
The Battlefield monument at Cowton Moor near Northallerton.
Why is called Northallerton? Some possible origins of the name…
In the Domesday Survey, Norman scribes named the settlement Alvertune, Aluertune and Alretone, with some people today still referring to it as Alverton.
Some believe the name derives from the popular personal name of Alfhere, in the 11th and 12th centuries.
However, there is an alternative suggestion for Northallerton. It might come from the name AllerTown that has links with places such as Aldershot, Allerwash and Allerford.
Alternatively it may be referring to the Alder trees which grew nearby.
The prefix of North was added in the 12th century to differentiate from the parish of Allerton Maulever, 25 miles (40 km) to the south.
So there are very many alternatives so its probably best to leave it to the explanation you like the most!
The Town Hall
The Town Hall was built in 1872 and officially opened in 1873, replacing the shambles and Toll booth. It was built in part by a man named Thomas Thompson, a master builder of high reputation, who was also involved in the building of the Savings Bank and Wesleyan Chapel.
In the Second World War the Town Hall held an important role. As Northallerton was the County Town of the region, it was important to be aware of the possibility of air raids. The Town Hall basement was one of the places designated as an Air Raid Precaution Team headquarters.
The Town Hall's future was at risk following the government restructuring of 1974. It had been left in abeyance, and there was a significant amount of support within Hambleton District Council to demolish it. However, led by the then Mayor, Councillor Bob Tennant, there was a huge campaign to 'Save the Town Hall'.
As a result, it was decided at a meeting at Hambleton District Council on the 20th of December 1978 to offer the Town Hall to the Town Council for £1! If this offer were not accepted by the Town Council by the 30th of January 1979, it would be demolished. The Council duly accepted the offer, and the hall has remained a vital part of our towns civic and social fabric.
The Town Hall have a solid silver tureen which is almost two hundred years old, and has a very rich history.
It is named the Boss Tureen after Captain George Boss, a local man who was married to the cousin of Earl Grey.
Boss was a great liberal, and thus when the Great Reform Act was passed, local men, tired of being under the coercive power of the local landowners approached Boss to stand in Parliament and thus open up the borough of Northallerton.
Naturally Boss won the election as he was up against a man called William Wrightson who represented the interests of the local landowners. There were huge celebrations all over Northallerton, and a group of our mayors clubbed together to buy Boss the tureen.
Thank you to Michael Riordan whose book has been very useful in compiling this.