105 feet in length, is symmetrically divided by a central
tower, on either side of which the Corinthian pillars
are discontinued until the two corners are almost
reached, where they support pediments. The tower,
which for a distance above the root is square, contains
four clock-faces and supports an octagonal storey,
covered by a panelled stone dome, surmounted in turn
by a lantern and its finial. The height of the
tower from the level of the street is 105 feet, the
slated towers over the lateral pediments being smaller.
The Newhall Street facade, 160 feet long, is broken
into three portions of nearly equal length, and the
middle portion is treated differently from the other
two. Above the line of the second floor entablature
the windows, instead of being in a double row in correspondence
with the storeys, are in this middle section of the
facade carried almost to the height of the columns,
and the section is surmounted in its centre by an
ornamental pedestal, which bears a group of sculpture,
and at its extremes by slated flagstaff towers, whose
sides are concave. The purpose of these larger
windows is the effectual lighting of the Boardroom,
which is of the height of two storeys. The length
of the Bread Street front is 90 feet. The Boardroom
is 60 feet long, 36 feet wide and 24 feet high, the
room being lighted by two sunburners suspended from
the ceiling panels, and is handsomely decorated throughout.
The offices of the Registrar of births, marriages
and deaths are entered from Newhall Street, and there
is a special waiting room for the use of marriage
parties whilst they are preparing to go before the
Registrar, a provision which will no doubt be fully
appreciated by many blushing maidens and bashful bachelors.
Public Office.—The office for the
meetings of the Justices was at one time in Dale End,
and it was there that “Jack and Tom” were
taken in November, 1780, charged with murdering a
butcher on the road to Coleshill. The first stone
of the Public Office and Prison in Moor Street was
laid September 18, 1805, the cost being estimated at
L10,000. It was considerably enlarged in 1830,
and again in 1861, and other improving alterations
have been made during the last three years, so that
the original cost has been more than doubled, but the
place is still inadequate to the requirements of the
town.
Smithfield Market.—Laid out by the
Street Commissioners in 1817, at a cost of L6,000,
as an open market, has been enlarged by taking in most
of the ground bordered by Jamaica Row, St. Martin’s
Lane and Moat Lane, and is nearly all covered in for
the purposes of a wholesale market, the work being
commenced in November, 1880. The main entrance
is in the centre of the St. Martin’s Lane front,
and consists of a central roadway for carts and wagons,
15ft. wide and 24ft. high, together with a wide entrance
on either side for foot passengers. The main piers
supporting the large archway are of stone, but the