In the early 1770s, the Newark Corporation commissioned for a new municipal building to be erected in the town market. The Moot Hall which had served as a civic building for many centuries prior, was not as grand and imposing as what the Newark Corporation wanted in the town. Newark Town Hall was first built and completed in 1776. It was designed and architected by the famous John Carr, who had also designed incredible buildings like Buxton Crescent and Harewood House. He envisioned the new Town Hall to be in neo-classical style and constructed using ashlar stone.

 

In the late 18th Century, additional offices and civic rooms were made for the Mayor and his secretary and for the local council. The Assembly Room (now called the Ballroom) was designed and used as the new home of the Borough Law Court, where previously it was held at the nearby Moot Hall. It was also designed to hold balls, dances and concerts. The colonnade on the ground floor served as a butter market for the locals, and adjacent to that are the Victorian Police Cells used to imprison men who were arrested for an array of criminal charges, until their court trial commenced.

 

As well as a court of law, the Assembly Room served many public meetings, including one in November 1880 on women's suffrage which featured speakers like Caroline Ashurst Biggs (a women's rights advocate and third generation Ashurst family of radical activists) and Jessie Craigen (a women's rights activist and public speaker). In 1914 before the breakout of World War 1, a presentation was held at the Town Hall where a silver casket was bestowed to Henry Pelham-Clinton, 7th Duke of Newcastle.

 

The building continued to serve as the headquarters of the local borough council for much of the 20th Century, but ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged Newark and Sherwood District Council formed at Kelham Hall in 1974. Between  1989 and 1991, the Town Hall was restored and especially the Assembly Room, which was redecorated and restored to its original Georgian splendour and renamed as the Ballroom. The restoration work was a success and in 1993 it was awarded with a Europa Nostra Diploma of Merit.

 

The building was reopened in 1999 for public access as a museum and art gallery. And in 2017, the exterior of the building was restored and maintained by historic building consultants Powell Williams, costing roughly £600,000. Today Newark Town Hall stands tall as a viewing pleasure for locals and visitors who come to this historic town.

Councillors, staff and the Brookes Paranormal Team have experienced a variety of paranormal activity and ghost sightings at Newark Town Hall.

 

In the Mayor's Parlour, the presence of a Civil War soldier has been sensed and detected intelligently with our K2 Meters and REM Pod. Even though the Town Hall was built more than 100 years after the Civil War and Siege of Newark, do the spirits of this historic bloody conflict still linger around the town?

 

In the Ballroom, the ghost of a gentleman sitting with a cigar has been witnessed. It was function event and a person attending noticed this gentleman in the corner of the Ballroom smoking a cigar. He went to go and report the man to the organisers as there's no smoking allowed in the building, but upon his return the man had gone. Interestingly, another account from a cleaner said that she could smell cigar smoke in this area. Staff have also heard footsteps and loud knocks in this room, as well as people being touched by unseen hands.

 

In the Council Chamber, some maintenance workers saw a painting strangely fall off the wall. They put the portrait back up on the wall and made sure it was hanging sturdily before leaving the room. When they returned a shortwhile later, they noticed the painting had not only come off the wall, but was found on the other side of the room. Who is the spirit that keeps pulling down the paintings? Is it the person in the portrait who comes back in visitation?

 

In areas like the Committee Room, ghostly energies have been felt and detected on EMF readings, and in the Museum and Art Gallery on the top floor, the ghost of a woman has been sensed accompanied by vivid smells of lavendar. Plus a small reception bell has been known to go missing, only to turn up in its exact same spot weeks later.

 

In the Victorian Police Cells, the groans of men and jangling gaol keys have been heard on numerous occasions, and the Colonnade provides a dark, sinister feeling to those who are brave enough to enter.

DATE: Friday 12th June 2026

 

TIMES: 8:00pm - 2:00am (arrive 15 minutes early and wait patiently outside the front entrance until a member of our team greets you at the door)

 

LOCATION: Town Hall Museum & Art Gallery, Market Place, Newark, Nottinghamshire NG24 1DU

 

PARKING AT EVENT: Asda Newark Supercentre Car Park and Local Street Parking (parking charges may apply).

 

REMAINING BALANCE: Needs to be paid FOUR WEEKS prior to the event date. Failure to pay your remaining balance(s) before this deadline will result in you forfeiting your place(s) and your place(s) will be sold on. Deposits are NON-REFUNDABLE!

 

WHAT TO BRING: A torch, a warm coat/jacket, sensible footwear, any equipment you wish to bring along (your responsibility), your positive and open-minded energies.

 

PLEASE NOTE: Bringing alcohol or illegal drugs to this event is strictly prohibited. If anyone arrives at the event under the influence of alcohol or illegal substances, they will not be allowed to stay for the night and will be asked to leave immediately, NO REFUNDS!