Shire Hall

Hidden in plain sight, Shire Hall has witnessed the ebb and flow of Cambridge life. Shire Hall isn’t just a building. It’s a time capsule. It’s a silent observer of evolving laws and changing times. The original Shire Hall, built in 1843, stood proudly on Castle Street. It served as the county courthouse, with a police station next door and a prison occupying the rest of the castle site. County leaders, finding County Hall on Hobson Street too cramped for their growing needs, decided to build anew. They chose the former prison site behind the old courthouse for the new Shire Hall. Interestingly, the bricks from the demolished prison were recycled to construct the new hall. The police station, however, was spared and repurposed for office space. The new Shire Hall, designed by Herbert Henry Dunn in the Neo-Georgian style, opened its doors in 1932. The council held its inaugural meeting there on July 23rd of that year. The building’s symmetrical facade, facing the Castle Hill mound, features fifteen bays. The central bay boasts a doorway flanked by pilasters on the ground floor, a stone balcony, and a first-floor window with a fanlight. The heart of Shire Hall was the council chamber, located centrally on the first floor. In the 1950s, the 1843 courthouse was demolished. Its site was incorporated into the gardens in front of the new Shire Hall. Shire Hall continued to expand. The Octagon office building, named for its unique shape, was added in the 1960s, and a nuclear bunker for emergency planning followed in 1989. After serving as the headquarters of Cambridgeshire County Council for nearly a century, Shire Hall’s role ended in 2021. The council relocated to New Shire Hall at Alconbury Weald. Shire Hall now awaits its next chapter. It stands as a testament to Cambridge’s rich history, ready to embrace a new purpose while holding onto the echoes of its past.