Old Town Hall, Swindon

Until the construction of the town hall on the High Street, the town council had met in the Goddard Arms on the High Street.^[3] This small pub had been owned by the Goddard family since 1621 and was a small cottage alehouse known as the Crown until 1820.^[3] The Goddard Arms was used for public meetings in the early 19th century and was used in this way by Ambrose Goddard to report progress on the Wilts & Berks Canal.^[3]

The town hall was designed by Sampson Sage and E Robertson in the neoclassical style, built in ashlar stone by a local builder, George Major,^[4] and was completed in 1854.^[2][5] The main frontage has five bays separated by full-height Tuscan order pilasters, with arched windows on the ground floor, casement windows on the first floor and a pediment and roof lantern above.^[2]

The building was extended to the northeast with a tower, as well as accommodation for a corn exchange at ground floor level, to the designs of Wilson and Willcox of Bath in 1866.^[2] A wine store was built on an adjoining site and its upper hall was used as a magistrates' court from 1871 to 1891.^[3]

After civic functions transferred to the new town hall in 1891, the building became a roller skating rink in 1910,^[6] and a cinema known as the Rink in 1919. After the Second World War it was refurbished and re-opened as the Locarno Dance Hall.^[6] Performers at the dance hall included the singer, Cilla Black, in April 1964,^[7] followed by the rock bands, The Yardbirds in July 1964,^[8] The Who in October 1965,^[9] The Small Faces in November 1965^[10] and Fleetwood Mac in November 1968.^[11] After the last concert was held in 1970, the building served as a bingo hall but became vacant in the mid-1980s.^[12]

The building was acquired by bar owner, Gael Mackenzie, in 1999.^[13] Major fires occurred in the building in May 2003 and again in May 2004.^[14] In November 2016, Swindon council entered into a development agreement with Swindon Corn Exchange Limited, a business managed by housebuilder, Steve Rosier, under which Rosier agreed to pursue a development on the site.^[15] However, after no progress was made with the development and the building continued to decay, the Victorian Society added the structure to its list of most endangered buildings in September 2019.^[16] The council also threatened to use a compulsory purchase order to re-acquire the property in January 2020.^[17][18]