The Guildhall Arts Centre St Peter's Hill
Introduction
The photograph on this page of The Guildhall Arts Centre St Peter's Hill by Jo and Steve Turner as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk

Image: © Jo and Steve Turner Taken: 2 May 2011
Guildhall and jail Grade II Listed built 1867-9 and designed by Lincoln architect William Watkins commissioned in 1866 by Mayor Thomas Winter after criminal Jesse Dale twice walked out of the town’s original jail in 1864. On the site was an old school, The Firs, housed in a former town house. This and the adjoining land were bought for £2,100.00. At the height of World War I, the jail in the Guildhall was resurrected and the first female officer to have full powers of arrest, Edith Smith, joined the Grantham force and was based there. As late as 1930, publican Frank Milner of the Victoria Hotel, Commercial Road, was let off with a caution for serving out of hours because he set his time by the clock which was, and still is, a little slow. In 1972, a dome replaced the original wrought ironwork over the clock tower and in 1974, the magistrates moved to the London Road. Much of the building was redundant until 1991 when it was redesigned by Sleaford architect Tim Benton and re-opened as the council owned Guildhall Arts Centre at a cost of £1.2 million. In 2010 a refurbishment, saw the box office move to the front of the building and the Victorian entrance being used once more, a new coffee shop was housed in the jail where the kitchen area is still referred to as ‘the back cell’.