The Shire Hall Building, History and Accessibility

The Shire Hall building was built around 1876 as a Market Hall. It was given to the people of Howden in 1942 and was to be represented by a Trust responsible for its upkeep.

Improvements

A building the size of the Shire Hall needs care and attention for it to stay in good condition. Over the last 10 to 20 years the Shire Hall building has been developed and improved to try and brighten the building, create useful spaces for the town and bring the building up to the standards needed for the uses our modern era may demand of it. Below are some of these improvements.

Access

One of the first improvements and additions made to the Shire Hall was a lift put in from the ground floor to the Upper Hall. This allows not only disabled access to the whole building but also helps users with heavy equipment more comfortable access to the performance space.

A disabled toilet was put in downstairs and a ramp built up to the entrance door to allow access into the building.

Upper Hall Space

The upstairs was developed to have ladies and gents toilets, a bar/meeting room, a green room/small meeting room and a large multi-functional hall with a static stage.

The Seating

In 2000 a massive project was embarked upon to put in a 170 seat retractable raked seating system. This project involved not only the huge cost of fitting the seating but also showed up the need to flatten and strengthen the flooring. The seating now is used for theatre events, some music performances and of course the cinema. For information on sponsoring a seat please see our 'fundraising' page on this site.

The Library Extension

The library proved a popular resource, placed in the Shire Hall in the centre of the town, and therefore was extended into our lower hall.

Theatre Improvements

One of the latest improvements to be done to the Shire Hall is the addition of better lighting facilities and curtains to create a 'black-box' theatre. This has not just improved professional theatre coming into the hall but has also created a professional atmosphere for amateur groups.