Ivinghoe Town Hall

Image: © Stephen McKay Taken: 30 Aug 2018

The town hall name refers back to a time when Ivinghoe was a market town of some importance, although much of the history of this building has been forgotten. The first reference to a hall was in 1519; it is believed to have had an open ground floor where wool was traded. For many years the hall served as a 'poor house' or workhouse until this function was transferred to Leighton Buzzard in 1834. In 1840 the hall was rebuilt with a timber framed construction and herring-bone brick infill to the first floor, but the ground floor was left open sided. The rebuilt hall was used as a magistrates' court. In the 20th century the building took on the role of a more conventional village hall, a function it still fulfills; the ground floor now accommodates a community library and a post office. It is grade II listed.

Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0