Labour Party meeting hall gains listed status

Morris Hall was designed to be a home for the Labour Party in Shrewsbury

A hall that was built for the Labour Party in 1933 has been given Grade II listed status.

Morris Hall in Shrewsbury was designed in the Arts and Crafts style and was intended as a meeting point for members.

It was initially known as the Bellstone Hall, but was later renamed after James Kent Morris, a local politician and businessman who commissioned its construction.

He employed local craftsmen using traditional methods, with the aim of making the hall an embodiment of his views on the value of skilled labour.

The hall was given the listed status on the advice of Historic England, which said it was of national interest as a "little-altered example of the historic English Revival architecture that was popular in the inter-war years".

The building is set behind a row of shops in the town centre and accessed through an archway, leading Historic England regional director Louise Brennan to describe it as a "hidden gem".

She said: "Its unique political history, beautiful craftsmanship, and striking repurposed timberwork make it worthy of the recognition and protection afforded by Grade II listing."

Julia Buckley, the Labour MP for Shrewsbury, said it was a "fascinating and beautiful place" that had "its own story to tell".

The hall was decorated in an Arts and Crafts style

Mr Morris paid for the construction of the hall himself and in 1934 transferred ownership to to a trust set up to look after the building on behalf of the Shrewsbury Labour Party.

He died in January 1935 and it was re-named in his honour the following year.

James Morris wanted the hall to show off the value of skilled labour

The building was designed to appear as two sections - a medieval-looking hall to the north and a Tudor-style house to the south.

Nowadays it is available for wedding receptions and other celebrations, fundraising and launch events, workshops and classes, meetings, conferences and dances.

Its original name, Bellstone Hall, is a reference to a boulder of volcanic rock, known as the Bellstone, which was thought to have been brought to Shropshire on a melting glacier during the last ice age.

The stone can be seen in front of the steps leading up to the hall.