Stafford community leader calls for Shire Hall to reopen ahead of History Day
A Stafford community leader has called for an iconic town centre building to be reopened to the public for a history celebration later this month.
Stafford History Day takes place on Saturday, March 28, and several venues will be open to visitors, including the Ancient High House, St Mary’s Church, St Chad’s Church and Staffordshire History Centre.
But one local landmark that has not been open for a number of years is the Shire Hall frontage. The Grade II Listed town centre building, formerly home to Stafford Library, has been transformed into office and work space for businesses, but the section facing Market Square, which was previously home to an art gallery as well as the historic former court area, currently remains vacant.
In 2024 it was revealed that Shire Hall was considered as a potential temporary trading space for the town’s indoor market, which closed that year after plans were approved to demolish the neighbouring Guildhall Shopping Centre for regeneration. But this move did not take place.
Stafford councillor Ann Edgeller asked about the potential reopening of the Shire Hall frontage at the latest full Staffordshire County Council meeting. She said: “The new History Centre in Stafford is a great asset to the community of
Staffordshire, along with the business Enterprise Centre occupying the back of the Shire Hall.
“When do you anticipate opening the front of the Shire Hall that leads onto the Market Square? It might be a good idea to ask the people of Staffordshire what they would like to see occupying the front of the Shire Hall and not what the county council wishes to impose on the people of Staffordshire; let us bear in mind Stafford is the County Town so therefore the Shire Hall belongs to all the people residing in Staffordshire.”
In a written response, acting county council leader Martin Murray said: “Shire Hall is available for booking for durations as short as a day or longer. It is currently booked for private purposes from February until March.
“Following this rental, it will undergo significant refurbishment, lighting upgrades and general redecoration. The council is then happy to continue ad-hoc booking or will work with any interested parties who would use or manage the front hall for appropriate uses.”
In a follow-up question at the meeting, Councillor Edgeller said: “Why don’t we as councillors in Stafford know who is renting the premises? We know nothing about it, so who is renting Shire Hall?
“It’s the jewel in Stafford Town. We have courts in there that have done major trials throughout the last couple of hundred years and we have cells underneath Shire Hall.
“We have a history day in Stafford on 28th March and all this should be open to the public – it’s part of our history. Can we get Shire Hall up and running, make it part of our history like the History Centre and make sure we draw people into Stafford?
“Please can I ask, from 28th March can we open the cells and the courts to the public to see what Stafford is all about?”
Councillor Murray replied: “Shire Hall is such a wasted space and has been for many, many years now. It’s not been properly used since pre-lockdown.
“The investment has been sort of there then vanished. There is a works order on there all ready for its flooring, which is a key issue, and we are looking at this right now.
“It’s so beautiful that there is filming happening there and it is soon going to be on national TV. It will highlight its importance.
“But it must also be fit for purpose – we’re not just putting something in there that costs money and then does nothing. In recent years they would love to have had food offerings, but the works that needed doing and the costing of it all – it had been poorly managed as a business plan from the start.
“This goes back to the 80s – it’s decades worth of not being looked at in the correct way. We have an amazing cabinet member for culture who is going to look at these venues and that one is key.”
