192.—Desk in Almshouse, Corsham, Wiltshire.
193.—Almshouses, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire.
194.—Market-house, Shrewsbury.
195.—Market-house, Wymondham, Norfolk (1617).
196.—Market-house, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire.
There are not many town-halls of this period to be found. Civic life did not express itself in concrete form in nearly so pronounced a manner as, for instance, in the Low Countries during the period under consideration, and as it is doing at home at the present day. The most striking example of a town-hall of the time is the picturesque Guildhall at Exeter, which has a richly-ornamented front projecting over the pavement and carried on arches. But there were a great many market-houses built. The finest of these, so far as design and workmanship go, is the well-known Market-house at Rothwell, presented to the town about the year 1577 by a neighbouring squire, Sir Thomas Tresham, but left unfinished owing to the donor being harassed on account of his zeal as a Roman Catholic. Like most market-houses, this building was to have consisted of an open market-hall on the ground floor, with a room over it. There is a good example on a larger scale at Shrewsbury (Fig. [194]), substantially built in stone, with mullioned windows and an ornamental parapet. The ground floor serves as a covered market, and the upper floor is carried on open arches. At Wymondham, in Norfolk, is a smaller specimen (dated 1617), serving the same purposes, but it is built of timber and plaster (Fig. [195]). The upper floor stands on stout posts and brackets, set some two feet within the outside face, and is approached by a quaint wooden staircase. There is a one-storey market-house at Chipping Campden (Fig. [196]), built of stone, with arches on each side; the five down the long side are supported on pillars, and have a gable over every alternate arch, while the two at each end are divided by a short length of wall and have a gable over each, thus securing a pleasant variation of treatment: the detail throughout is quite plain. There were also a few market and village crosses erected at this time, but there are not many examples to be found: one of the best is at Brigstock, in Northamptonshire (Plate [LXXX].), where its situation in an open space, and backed by stone-built and thatched cottages, renders it a quaint and pleasant feature. The shields at the top bear alternately the royal arms and Elizabeth's initials, E. R., with the date 1586.