There are mullioned windows under each gable.
[Illustration: Guild Mark and Date on doorway, Burford, Oxon]
The city of Salisbury could at one time boast of several halls of the
old guilds which flourished there. There was a charming island of old
houses near the cattle-market, which have all disappeared. They were
most picturesque and interesting buildings, and we regret to have to
record that new half-timbered structures have been erected in their
place with sham beams, and boards nailed on to the walls to represent
beams, one of the monstrosities of modern architectural art. The old
Joiners' Hall has happily been saved by the National Trust. It has a
very attractive sixteenth-century facade, though the interior has been
much altered. Until the early years of the nineteenth century it was
the hall of the guild or company of the joiners of the city of New
Sarum.
Such are some of the old municipal buildings of England. There are
many others which might have been mentioned. It is a sad pity that so
many have disappeared and been replaced by modern and uninteresting
structures. If a new town hall be required in order to keep pace with
the increasing dignity of an important borough, the Corporation can at
least preserve their ancient municipal hall which has so long watched
over the fortunes of the town and shared in its joys and sorrows, and
seek a fresh site for their new home without destroying the old.
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