“The xv^{th} day of June was this building begonne, William Jones
  and Thomas Charlton, Gent, then Bailiffes, and was erected and
  covered in their time, 1595.”

A full description of this building is given in Canon Auden’s history of the town.  He states that “under the clock is the statue of Richard Duke of York, father of Edward IV, which was removed from the old Welsh Bridge at its demolition in 1791.  This is flanked by an inscription recording this fact on the one side, and on the other by the three leopards’ heads which are the arms of the town.  On the other end of the building is a sun-dial, and also a sculptured angel holding a shield on which are the arms of England and France.  This was removed from the gate of the town, which stood at the foot of the castle, on its demolition in 1825.  The principal entrance is on the west, and over this are the arms of Queen Elizabeth and the date 1596.  It will be noticed that one of the supporters is not the unicorn, but the red dragon of Wales.  The interior is now partly devoted to various municipal offices, and partly used as the Mayor’s Court, the roof of which still retains its old character.”  It was formerly known as the Old Market Hall, but the business of the market has been transferred to the huge but tasteless building of brick erected at the top of Mardol in 1869, the erection of which caused the destruction of several picturesque old houses which can ill be spared.

Cirencester possesses a magnificent town hall, a stately Perpendicular building, which stands out well against the noble church tower of the same period.  It has a gateway flanked by buttresses and arcades on each side and two upper storeys with pierced battlements at the top which are adorned with richly floriated pinnacles.  A great charm of the building are the three oriel windows extending from the top of the ground-floor division to the foot of the battlements.  The surface of the wall of the facade is cut into panels, and niches for statues adorn the faces of the four buttresses.  The whole forms a most elaborate piece of Perpendicular work of unusual character.  We understand that it needs repair and is in some danger.  The aid of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings has been called in, and their report has been sent to the civic authorities, who will, we hope, adopt their recommendations and deal kindly and tenderly with this most interesting structure.

Another famous guild hall is in danger, that at Norwich.  It has even been suggested that it should be pulled down and a new one erected, but happily this wild scheme has been abandoned.  Old buildings like not new inventions, just as old people fear to cross the road lest they should be run over by a motor-car.  Norwich Guildhall does not approve of electric tram-cars, which run close to its north side and cause its old bones to vibrate in a most uncomfortable fashion.  You can perceive how much it objects to these horrid