THE OLD GUILDHALL. 123 



the " Old Guildhall " and its appendages. One custom 

 that prevailed, on which some of the old inhabitants still 

 love to dwell in their reminiscences of olden times; 

 was this, the space under the Hall was duly cleaned after 

 the market on Saturday Evening, in order to prepare it 

 as a fit promenade for all that was dignified and power- 

 ful in the corporate body on the Sunday Morning, 

 prior to their attendance at public worship. Here 

 under each arch stood an Halberdier with his ensign 

 of office extended, whilst the dignified great ones paced 

 up and down until the wonted signal was given for the 

 procession to form itself. 



In 1 800 when the " Old Guildhall " was taken down, 

 private interest prevailed powerfully to induce its re- 

 erection on the same site, and in an evil hour, a man 

 called Eveleigh who had been Clerk of the works to 

 some Architect at Bath, undertook in so limited a space 

 to provide room for a Guildhall, all the purposes of a 

 Mayoralty House, as far as regards kitchens and their 

 appendages and dining rooms ; prisons for debtors as 

 well as thieves, rogues and vagabonds, a news-room, 

 and withal a Market-place ; such a preposterous plan 

 could only be approved by ignorant men who unfortu- 

 nately at this time governed the affairs of the Corpor- 

 ation ; it met with very general reprehension and some 

 feeble opposition amongst the inhabitants, but nothing 

 effectual was done to impede its progress, and thus 

 7000 was spent in erecting a structure, which soon 

 was found to be inadequate for the purpose of a Mayoral- 

 ty House, incapable of affording the accommodation re- 

 quired for the market, utterly unfit for all the purposes 

 of a Prison, but moderately adapted to the purposes 

 of a Guildhall, and totally inefficient as a place for a 

 Hall of Justice. So much for modern improvements ! 

 But let us return to our " Old Guildhall, " we cannot 

 advocate it as at all fitting for the Town in its present 

 altered and enlarged state, but undoubtedly at the 

 period of its erection it was more commendable, than 

 the structure which the wise men of the 19th century 

 have constructed. In the lapse of two centuries many 



