Tree view

I took this photo yesterday looking out of the Fenton Town Hall window. Then I remembered the room used to be a court room, and I had been a witness there in a trial 30 years ago.

I won’t talk about the case, but I can say the person was found guilty.

Other features were holding cells where witnesses were kept until it was time to appear in front of the magistrates. I have to say it was a long and boring wait. I still remember sitting in a green painted room for hours.

Funny how taking a photo of something with no connection with a memory can stir  up things from years ago,

Stained glass

Not in a church, but in Fenton Town Hall. In Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire.

History of the hall from Google : Fenton Town Hall is 138 years old. It was built in Albert Square between 1888 and 1889 by local architect Robert Scrivener and financed by pottery magnate William Meath Baker.

I love the fact that municipal buildings can be beautiful and subtle too. Just because they are used for local political work or council business does not mean they have to be brutalist (although more modern buildings can be very ugly). I guess you have to balance cost and utility. But I love beautiful architectural design.