Drill halls Options

[rogerpopeye]

Hi Pals,

The photo's I have just posted, each one is one of about 5 on each Drill Hall, I didn't want to bore you all, and as of yet I still have Batley,Dewsbury and Morley to downsize and post.

Cheers Roger.

[rogerpopeye]

[attachment=72104:Batley_D...ll._004a.jpg]

Hi Pals, here are some more Drill Halls for you.

The currant one in Batley West Yorkshire

Cheers Roger

[rogerpopeye]

[attachment=72105:Dewsbury...evationa.jpg]

Here's another one, Dewsbury West Yorkshire.

Roger.

[rogerpopeye]

[attachment=72106:Morley_D..._Hall_1a.jpg]

Here's Morley Drill Hall West Yorkshire.

Roger.

[rogerpopeye]

[attachment=72106:Morley_D..._Hall_1a.jpg]

Here's Morley Drill Hall West Yorkshire.

Roger.

[rogerpopeye]

[attachment=72108:Morley_Drill_Halla.jpg]

Another one of Morley Drill Hall, if you click on it and it expands you will see the name of the detchment that was in there.

Cheers Roger,



[attachment=72108:Morley_Drill_Halla.jpg]

Another one of Morley Drill Hall, if you click on it and it expands you will see the name of the detchment that was in there.

Cheers Roger,

[Charles Fair]

Excellent article in this weeks Spectator by the CEO of English Heritage Wake up: Britain is being demolished....

Although he doesnt mention drill halls specifically, much of what he writes re Victorian schools, pubs etc, applies just as well.

In far too many towns local authorities frightened of losing ‘investment opportunities’ and ‘regeneration’ are agreeing to poorly designed wholesale development cooked up by developers with short-term interests. .....

The expertise and experience is simply not available in many local authorities to ensure a successful outcome. Commercial developers are playing them for quick profits, building cheaply and selling on, leaving badly built and designed schemes in the centre of historic towns. Some of these are as bad as what they replace and will be as little loved and as little mourned when they, in turn, are demolished.

[Dragon]

Thank you for sharing your photos, Roger. I know that Graeme and I have already seen them and are grateful for your support.

Charles, an intriguing article. I find it extremely hard to connect the National Trust mentioned in his last paragraph with the National Trust which is selling off part of Erddig for housing development. More

He highlights a problem, but doesn't seem to be able to offer a way forward, though. A lot of preservation happens only because individuals with determination and persistence kick up a fuss which can't be ignored.

Gwyn

[rogerpopeye]

Hi there Gwyn,

No problem at all and its a real pleasure, nice to see you about again.

Cheers Roger.

[Dragon]

Thanks, Roger. I'm making progress, though it's a long haul.

[Graeme Fisher]

Hello folks

Just a reminder for you to visit www.drillhalls.org to see the new Cumberland, Westmorland and Dorset pages, uploaded by Gwyn the other day.

Hampshire is being worked on att the moment, and I've discovered mention of an Artillery Drill Hall in Shirley road, Southampton, on the corner of Shirley Avenue.

Does anyone know anything about this? Reference was found in Kelly's 1898 Direcory.

Graeme

[JPG]

Hi Graeme and Gwyn,

Do you have anything about the Handsworth Drill Hall? I have found some basic information from 1914 and did not copy the rest until I was sure

John

[Dragon]

Hello John

What I have on Handsworth is on the website, with a reference to Smethwick too (which is also on the website). I don't have the depth of information that Graeme has, so I'll draw his attention to your message. I'm sure that any extra information will be most appreciated; thank you for your support.

Gwyn

[Graeme Fisher]

Hi John

Apologies for the delay in responding.

The Handsworth drill hallis long gone; it stood in Belgrave Terrace off the Soho road. There's a little close of modern houses on the site.

I'd be interested to know what you've found.

Cheers

Graeme

[smilingsixth]

[attachment=74376:image1Gate_stone.jpg]

I can give you some deatils about the ones used by the 6th Welsh Regt(Swansea) from 1911 -1912.

1 - 128 Neath Road Hafod ( 6th Batt, Welsh Regt, Drill Hall)
2 - 220 Oxford Street, Swansea ( Drill Hall 6th Welsh Regt)
3 - Between 23b & 24 Strathen Place, Swansea ( 6th Batt Welsh Regt, HQ)
These are listed in PURRIERS Directory on 191 - 12, as sort of Thompson Local for the period, as far as I know, none of the building are there.
The main Drill hall of the battalion was at RICHARDSON STREET, in Swansea just off the sea front and was next to the old Vetch football ground, this was used up until the 1980's as used to go there when I was a cadet in the early 1980's.
I may have some newspaper cuttings about the new one being built, as the old stones that are over the door were found by the TA RE Regt, they are red clay and have the name of each unit that used the old Drill Hall - 6th Welsh, 7th Welsh etc. They were found in boxes, and were then put up in the Sgt Mess, and are still there to this day.

Hope this help - Simon

[Graeme Fisher]

Thanks, Simon, that's excellent info.

I'm not familiar with Purrier's Directory, but it's delivred the goods. Was it local to Swansea or south Wales?

The newspaper cuttings would be excellent if you can find and scan 'em, it all helps. The arch things are quite odd; were they doorways?

Thanks so much for your input

Graeme

[rogerpopeye]

Hi there Graeme,

Have you any info on drill halls in the Castleford,Normanton and Pontefract area that you need looking at as I passed a building in Castleford today that looked remarkably like an old drill hall, I will go back at the weekend and have another look.

Cheers Roger.

[Grantowi]

Hi Chaps,

Has anyone got any info on the Railways drill hall in Swindon ?
It stands on Church Place in the Railways park.
I understand it was used by the Wiltshire Fortress RE (TF).
The present building stands on the site / foundations of the original building having been rebuilt in the 1960's.
Any info appreciated
Cheers
Grant

[Dragon]

Hi Grant

There's some information on the Swindon page of drillhalls.org.

Graeme might be able to add something. I think I might have some more that I haven't confirmed to my satisfaction yet. I'll have a look in my files.

If you ever come across a photo, we'd be indebted to you.

Cheers

Gwyn

[Dragon]

Hi Roger

Thanks! We have references to the units. I'll let Graeme answer you, as he tells me he's been working on Yorkshire.

Gwyn

[Grantowi]

Gywn,

Thanks - I had visited the site before I posted (should have said so), even if you have unconfirmed stuff, i'd be intrested to see it.
The building now as I said is a 1960's building (still on the same site) and the other one is sheltered housing, are you still wanting pics as they are now ?

Grant

[Dragon]

Hi again

Sorry, I should have made myself clearer. I meant archive pictures. Thanks for the offer, though!

I'll have a look at my material and ask Graeme to check his files too.

Cheers

Gwyn

[meltow]

Hello Graeme,
I am interested to look at the database entries in Yorkshire on the Drill Hall website. But the link is missing. The other counties I have looked at appear to be fine. Perhaps you could check this out?

Mel

[Graeme Fisher]

Hi Mel

Sorry - Yorkshire isn't there yet! The website is a work in progress, with all my research being converted to something sensible and legible by Gwyn.

I've just sent her Hampshire to work on, I guess Yorkshire will be a little later on....

If you have any specifics just PM me and I'll try to help

Graeme

[Dragon]

The pennants against the county names on the database page indicate the counties which have been loaded. Mouse hover also shows the links that are live.


The 'About' page I wrote for the website explains:

The Drill Hall Project encompasses an extensive database of several thousand locations, compiled by Graeme Fisher. Research is an ongoing pleasure and new and interesting information is constantly coming to light as we explore this under-investigated and under-recorded subject.

However, the task is huge and the centralised historical records are sparse and often misleading. Key pieces of information have often been located in the archives of local newspapers, the records held by building owners, local libraries, on-line resources, and other sources typically used by local historians. The project, although national in compass, essentially comprises several thousand local investigations of limited scope.

We decided that it was important that the information gathered to date should be shared as soon as possible, while the website is under development and so much of our material has yet to be uploaded. We have a rolling programme of uploading ...

Therefore, we urge you to keep coming back to see what is new! There is a vast amount of important and intriguing material still to come.

Equally important, we recognise the limits of our own resources and the dispersed nature of the data on this subject. Therefore we hope that the website will also function as a collaborative research tool and we welcome evidence-based contributions that can augment and be added to the body of knowledge on the website about this diverse and overlooked category of buildings.

HTH


Gwyn