Shire Hall, Stafford

Designs were submitted by Samuel Wyatt, then working at nearby Shugborough Hall, and by John Nash, but the one chosen was by John Harvey - his only significant building. Harvey had worked as Wyatt's assistant or pupil, and Wyatt is believed to have been involved in the final Neoclassical style design. Building began in 1795, and the hall was completed in 1798. The hall has nine ashlar bays above a rusticated ground floor. The portico has an architrave and pediment, supported by four Doric columns. Figures of Justice and Mercy, by John Rossi and his partner John Bingley, recline on the pediment. A clock was placed between them in 1799, instead of the planned figure of Britannia from…