The Oxford Town Hall is located on St Aldate's in the centre of Oxford, England. The site was previously occupied by Oxford Guildhall. It is a meeting place for local government in the city and also houses the Museum of Oxford. In addition, it can be hired for events. Despite the fact that Oxford is a city with its own cathedral, the term "town hall" is still used.
The first Guildhall was built on the site in 1292. This was replaced by a Town Hall in 1752, built by Isaac Ware, which was demolished in 1893 to make way for the current building. Following a design competition, the present winning Gothic Revival design was by Henry Thomas Hare.
Visitors have included Mikhail Gorbachev and Nelson Mandela.
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—Beatrice Gottlieb, U.S. historian. The Family in the Western World from the Black Death to the Industrial Age, ch. 12, Oxford University Press (1993)
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“A cell for prayer, a hall for joy,—
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