Guildhall, South Molton

The Guildhall on Broad Street in South Molton in Devon was built between 1739 and 1743[1] and has been a Grade I listed building on the Register of Historic England since 1951.

[5] A central niche holds a bust of Hugh Squier (1625-1710) of Petty France, Westminster, a wealthy merchant best remembered as a generous benefactor to the town of South Molton, the place of his birth, where in 1684 he founded a "free school".

[7] The Mayor’s Parlour includes 17th-century materials bought from Stowe House including plasterwork decorative picture frames, a decorated plaster ceiling, four doorcases with gilded pediments, a large overmantel painting in the style of Rubens of "Atalanta presented with the head of the Calydonian Boar by Meleager" and four classical capriccio scenes in small rectangular panels above the doors.

[8] In 1773 a two-storey wing of stone rubble was constructed at the building's rear to hold a large dining room to provide meals and other services for visiting notables, with the kitchen and other offices below.

The Museums's collections reflect the life and times of the historic market town and the surrounding district including two Town Charters, granted by Elizabeth I and Charles II, local archaeological finds, agricultural implements, items of domestic interest, textiles, documents, maps, toys, etc.

The Mayor's Parlour in the Guildhall. The room was originally in Stowe House and was acquired for incorporation into the South Molton Guildhall designed 1739–43 [ 1 ]
Stone bust of Hugh Squier (1625-1710), within an aedicule on the façade of the Guildhall in South Molton . Inscribed on plinths: "Hugh Squier AD 1625-1710. Our great benefactor. Erected AD 1910, James Sanders, Mayor"