Falkirk Town Hall

The Committee of Feuars, created in 1808, was drawn from those Falkirk citizens holding hereditary property rights known as feus. In 1877, the committee replaced the existing Corn Exchange with a Town Hall which opened on 6 June 1879. Designed by Falkirk’s leading architect William Black in a free Renaissance style, it was intended to serve as both corn exchange and town hall although it was not long before the municipal activities overtook the agricultural ones. Concerts, political meetings, theatre and other entertainments were staged to audiences of 1700. By the 1890s, the property had passed into the hands of the Town Council. Plans to replace the building had to be halted in April 1968 when demolition work resulted in the neighbouring church and medieval tower threatening to collapse. The site was landscaped with only a fragment of window and part of a side wall remaining from William Black’s original building with its imposing facade of rounded arches on two floors with a central tower. A much smaller 1960s glass fronted multi-purpose arts, cinema and conference venue was built as a replacement which now welcomes community groups and national touring companies. Raked seating in the stalls and balconies are supplemented by flat seating in front of the proscenium stage. Currently managed by Falkirk Community Trust on behalf of Falkirk Council, the viability of the Town Hall as a performance venue is again under discussion with competing plans for its future size and ambitions.