Crewkerne Town Hall

The first municipal building in the town was a structure known as the shambles which accommodated a series of butchers' stalls and dated back at least to the early 16th century. By the early 18th century the shambles was dilapidated and civic leaders decided to rebuild it: the remodelled structure was designed in the neoclassical style, built with hamstone rubble masonry and was completed in 1742. The remains of the earlier structure was demolished to create a piazza in front of the building in 1836 and the building was refitted with a museum, reading room and library for the newly-formed Literary and Scientific Institute in 1849. In the late-19th century a group of local businessmen formed…