The Town Hall
The Town Hall
The view of 1814
London House, the building next to the Town Hall was owned by Peter Copeman who ran a draper’s shop from here. His house and draper’s shop is the white rendered building in Repton’s 1814 watercolour. By 1839 the left-hand side had been re-fronted in brick and the semi-circular front added.
The new Town Hall
The first stone was laid for the new town hall building by Lord Lothian in 1856 and a commemorative stone can be seen by the town hall steps. The building next to the Town Hall was owned by Peter Copeman who ran a draper’s shop from here.
The 1897 extension
The extension was added to the original town hall building in 1897 which gave office accommodation and a stage in the main hall.
The Town Hall
The Town Hall, built in 1857, is one of the most recognisable buildings in Aylsham and looks out over the Market Place. In the 1850s farmers and corn merchants traded in the Black Boys and other inns, and it was recognised that a corn hall would be beneficial. The Aylsham Town Hall Company was formed to build such a building. The money - £2100 – was raised in £10 shares. These are recorded in the Deed of Settlement, which can be found in the town archives. This extract shows a sample of who held shares, including William Repton.
The building, opened on 25th August 1857, measured 60 feet by 30 feet and contained desks and stands for corn merchants. There was a reading room containing the principal newspapers and periodicals. It also had an 800-volume library.
The Magistrate Court was held in the Town Hall for many years. The justices would enter the main hall from the Green Room. On display high above them were two stuffed eagles on perches in a glass case – their beaks looking down in ‘The Beaks’!
The coming of the railways meant that the Town Hall was no longer useful as a corn hall. The building was still popular as a meeting place however, and a local solicitor, William Forster, bought it for £900. He purchased and demolished the rest of the building next door - London House- and extended the town hall to its present size.
After Forster’s death in 1906, the town council purchased the town hall following a vote to agree that the buildings could be purchased with a loan of £1400.
Mik Richardson
For more than two decades, the artwork of Mik Richardson has appeared in towns and cities across the UK, delighting visitors on colourful public sculpture trails and helping raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity. Yet despite a career that has taken his work nationwide and overseas, his latest commission means more than any other.
For the first time, Mik has created a major sculpture for his adopted home town of Aylsham, where his specially designed snail will form the centrepiece of the new Snail Trail.
“I couldn’t be more delighted,” he says. “To have one of my works displayed in my home town is a great honour and I hope it will put a smile on people’s faces.”
Mik’s distinctive artwork has earned a strong following over the years. He has worked with BBC Blast, created an installation for Blue Peter at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and appeared on Countryfile alongside Matt Baker and Julia Bradbury. His sculptures have also attracted admirers including broadcaster Jake Humphrey, author Peter James, Paralympian Ade Adepitan and singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran.
Peter James owns one of Richardson’s Snowdog sculptures, while Ed Sheeran bought one of his Elmer creations, both part of Wild in Art trails that have raised significant sums for charity.
To date, Mik has painted 132 sculptures for 65 Wild in Art trails across the country, helping generate more than £500,000 at charity auctions. One sculpture was even shipped to Switzerland after being sold.
Entirely self-taught, Mik first developed his artistic skills while serving as an avionics technician in the RAF, where he became known for creating humorous caricatures and artwork on crewroom walls and aircraft during postings around the world.
After 27 years in the RAF, including 16 at RAF Coltishall, he left in 2006 to pursue art full-time.
What began with a school mural commission in Wymondham grew into a flourishing freelance career.
His latest Aylsham creation took more than two weeks to complete and features local landmarks, countryside scenes and hidden details — including 20 tiny snails woven into the design.
All historical images reproduced here courtesy of Aylsham Town Archive, a part of Aylsham Town Council
