On the 10th of February 1919, it was decided that a suitable memorial should be erected to record the part played in the Great War of 1914 to 1918 by the inhabitants of the parish of Blyth and Hodsock, and of the sacrifices made by them.
The decision was made to build a village hall for recreation and education purposes, and that a suitable tablet should also be placed in the Parish Church recording the names of all those parishioners who sacrificed their lives for justice and freedom. A committee was appointed and a plan was prepared by Mr A H Richardson, Architect, with provisions for a hall capable of seating about 300 people plus billiard room, committee room, games room, kitchen, cloakrooms and bathrooms.
To carry out this scheme, it was estimated that a sum of £2000 would be required, which seemed a large amount to raise in a rural parish, but the response made to the Country’s call was so magnificent that the committee made the appeal with every confidence. It was essential that the memorial should be not only an ornament to the village but one of which future generations could be justly proud.
Barnby Memorial Hall was built in 1926/1927 and for this to happen, several estate cottages were demolished to clear the site in the middle of the village. These cottages were of the same design as those still in existence next to the archway on the opposite side of High Street. They would have been occupied by the estate workers who were moved to alternative accommodation elsewhere in the village and the land was then donated by Lord Barnby.
The opening ceremony and the unveiling of the tablet took place on Friday, the 15th of July, 1927 at 2.45pm. A guard of honour was supplied by The Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry and The British Legion. A Prayer was offered by the Right Rev the Lord Bishop of Southwell and there was an address by the Right Hon Lord Barnby, introducing Field Marshall Sir Wm Robertson, Bart.; GCB; KCMG; KCVO; DSO LLD; DCL, who carried out the official Opening. The memorial tablet was unveiled by the Lord Bishop.
When the hall opened, it was looked after by a full-time caretaker who was in attendance at all the functions and who was available throughout the day to take bookings.
There was a projection room located over the front vestibule and through a hole in the wall high up in the Main Hall (now covered by the clock), films could be projected onto a white wall at the rear of the stage. In addition, plays were put on by travelling theatre groups from time to time. There were whist drives combined with dances, costing one shilling (now 5p) for the whist and another shilling for the dance, or, if you went to both, the cost was one shilling and sixpence (7½p). The band would play until 2am but there would often be a whip-round to persuade them to play until 2.30am, when everyone would go home in an orderly and quiet manner as there were no bar facilities in the hall at that time.
The hall was lit by eight white globe lights and it was ventilated through a ducting system at three points in the ceiling. Around the walls at high level between each window was a stag’s head complete with majestic-looking antlers. The stage was much as it is today with the wings used as dressing rooms and doors off the stage at each side.
In the early 1930s, when the Misses Mellish lived at Hodsock Priory, they would put on a children’s party at Christmas with a present for every child and a large decorated Christmas tree in the corner, where the bar is now. Other functions were held in the Main Hall in the same way they are now.
The kitchen facility was available and housed a cooking range, and the room at the rear of the kitchen was used for meetings, as it is now, and it had a fireplace. The room at the bottom of the stairs was used as a reading and games room where local would go to read the newspapers, play cards and dominoes.
Upstairs is the original snooker room with two tables and there was originally a raised area with fixed seating for viewing, although the seats were later removed and the area was then used for playing darts. The caretaker’s office was at the top of the stairs and the other room at that point was used for public baths. In this area there were three bathrooms which could be booked in advance through the caretaker for hot baths at a cost of 3d (just over 1p). Outside, at the front of the hall, there was a wall with railings and gates where the car parking area now is.
The hall was used for all of the above facilities until the early 1960s when it fell into disrepair. It was closed down for several months until funding was found to carry out the necessary repairs. The bathrooms, which were no longer needed, were taken out and this space was used to create another room, which became a meeting room. Other rooms were changed around to make room for the bar and to create storage space. The old heating was taken out and the boiler room outside at the back was filled in and new electric heating installed. The whole place was re-wired and re-decorated.
The Memorial Hall was re-opened in 1966 and since then, it has been used for a variety of functions – and still is today. From the 1970s onwards, a considerable amount of work has been carried out to continuously improve the facility, involving the roof, the heating system, which was replaced by individual gas heaters, and a more modern kitchen. In the Main Hall, a new floor was laid to replace the old one, which had worn out, and with the aid of a lottery grant, a new entrance was created at the side of the building for disabled persons. The whole building was re-wired, the cost of this work was met by a generous grant from the Lord Barnby Trust, so it seems we are still being helped by the original builder of this magnificent hall.
Over the last six years, through fund raising and grants from the Lord Barnby Trust and Notts County Council, there have been further extensive renovations. A new heating system powered by two gas boilers. Refurbishment of the kitchen with professional catering fittings. New toilets. Lighting throughout the hall has been updates using LED lights to bring us up to higher environmental standard. The main hall has also had acoustic panels fitted to ensure the quality of sound in the hall is as good as it can be.
Past generations who built and looked after the hall would be pleased it is still in such good shape.
However, it is now down to the present generation to look after it and retain it for the future, so don’t let the hall down and use it as often as you can. There are many towns that would envy a hall like Blyth Memorial Hall and the facilities are there to be used, so make the most of them.