Westgate,Mansfield, Notts.

Image: © David Hallam-Jones Taken: 7 Feb 2016

This view along Westgate from the Market Place provides a view of the former Moot Hall. It was erected in 1752 at the instigation of Henriette Cavendish Holles (d. December 1755), Countess of Oxford and Mortimer and the Lady of the Manor at the time. It was built as a place in which ‘manor business’ could be transacted although its secondary purposes included being a place for the discussion of public matters, before the Town Hall was built and as an elegant Assembly Room for the gentry. The coat-of-arms of the Oxford family can be seen on its front elevation with: “17  H C H O M   52” cut in relief beneath it. Originally the Moot Hall was supported by stone columns, the square beneath the hall being left open for the use of the market vendors. The ground floor was remodelled in the mid and again in the late C20th. It has seen service as a bank and a private residence, and more recently to house a succession of shops. It is Grade II-listed.

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