Demolished Ludlow Town Hall remembered in magnificent 10ft-long replica

Artist David Jackman has created a 10ft-long replica of Ludlow Town Hall, which used to stand where the outdoor market does today, in Castle Square. It was demolished in 1986.

Mr Jackman put in "countless" hours of work to create the model, which he said he wanted to use to revive residents' memories of the historic building.

The impressive model is now on display at The Railway Shed, which is home to Ludlow Brewery and Taproom, for the next couple of weeks.

After that, Mr Jackman said if the model doesn't find a home he will most likely destroy it in the Castle Square, similar to how the original building was knocked down after serving the town for nearly 100 years.

“The project has taken countless hours, but I’ve loved every minute of it," he said.

"This was a magnificent building which in 1987 would have been 100 years old. Many mourn the loss of such a useful civic building and there isn’t much to commemorate it, so I wanted to honour the building by recreating a 3D model.

“I couldn’t think of a better place to exhibit the model than another popular multi-purpose Victorian building, Ludlow Brewery’s The Railway Shed."

The town hall, built in 1887, was multi-functional and in use on most days of the week, housing a weatherproof indoor market hall, council chambers and offices, as well as one of the finest ballrooms in the county.

Mr Jackman, from Ashford Carbonel, put the lockdowns to good use as he spent months making the 9ft x 3ft x 4.5ft model of Ludlow’s only large Victorian building.

"I started this whole project in October 2019, as a member of an art group that meets in the centre above the library, for a nine-week art course," he explained.

"You research a project with the intention of painting it, and then we have an exhibition at the end of March.

"The theme back then was architecture. A painting was obviously what I had originally planned, but then lockdown happened, and before I knew it I had built a 10ft long model of the town hall in my summer house.

"I spent so much time researching the building, that I wanted to properly pay tribute to it. There is nothing in town about the building and its significance. I wanted to try and raise its profile because this building was serving the people of south Shropshire for 100 years and seems to have been completely wiped from history."

So he began the time-consuming but worthwhile task of creating the model. Mr Jackman said he wanted people to look back on its significance, and what the town lost when it was destroyed.

"I have always been interested in the history of places and wondered why this building that was such a service to the people of Ludlow was demolished," he said.

"It was such a wonderful building with even its own dance floor, now replaced by an open market.

"I just think by demolishing this amazing building, they took away a lot and gave back very little."

Mr Jackman will be hosting a talk about the project on Sunday, February 6, at the Ludlow Brewery.

The event starts at 5pm and it is free entry.